Now that the Mhz race which drove the 90's has more or less lost it's appeal and with virtually everyone quite happy to stay with their 1Ghz+ PCs, people are beginning to dream of getting more functionality from their PCs than just playing games etc. PC's small and quiet enough to drive your DVD system, to connect to your network and still be able to work on is a new trend thats beginning to emerge, it is from this premise that 'HTPC' has been born.
VIA have been on the forefront of HTPC design and recently the EPIA V series was released. Using the Mini-ITX form factor, the EPIA V9000 is the cost effective brother of the M9000, released last September. The Mini-ITX factor is quoted as being the worlds smallest to date, measuring in at a miniscule 17cm squared (Seen next to an Asus K7M Motherboard below). The tiny boards haven't gone unnoticed by the modding croud either, there are some very crazy and wacky case mods out there for these motherboards!
Before proceeding I feel that it is necessary to point out that the EPIA V is NOT designed for gamers or heavy users. It is designed for situations where a low power consumption, quiet device is prudent. It would also be suited for low level productivity and Internet tasks (surfing or acting as a gateway/router).