Resisting the urge to say ‘Dude youre getting a Dell’ but this tiny thing is absolutely *perfect* for most home theaters and IT shops. It’s not quite a thin client, but it has enough functionality packed into a small form factor that you’d be silly not to consider using one.
It has HDMI and DVI output, as well as optical out. It supports the full 1080p resolution, which means hooking one of these up to your PC would imply home theater bliss. I currently use a Mac as my home theater, and while it’s nice, it would be a little better to have something small that can run linux, and support the 1080p resolution (and surround sound). At $599, the price is a little steep, but I haven’t seen an HTPC with HDMI/DVI+Optical output for less.
So, if you’re in the market for an HTPC, check out the Dell. (I never thought I’d say that)