Their product is just an off the shelf micro computer stuffed in a case with a hdd that has ubuntu and bitcoin installed on it. The mark up is around 100%. You could built it yourself fairly easily.
Here's a start
https://bitcoin.org/en/full-node#ubuntu-1410Thanks. I'm happy to put something like this together for fun and self-education, and will at some point.
But I'm always thinking more in terms of people like my own students and the general public who need an off the shelf plug and play option. I'm also thinking in terms of Bitseeds specifically, which through the Rainforest Foundation has huge potential to reach a mass audience, most of whom will
only be interested if it's dead simple. And people would tend to be buying on the benefit of supporting the Foundation and the goal of reforestation, not the price that much.
Yes, the node can run POS coins, and is ideal for running full nodes for these types of altcoins. We have run Crypti, NXT, Skycoin, and Peercoin on the unit during development.
OK, so then you have the potential for a preconfigured, Rainforest Foundation branded device that could be sold to Foundation supporters on the basis of owning a low-power device that you plug in and forget as it helps support the network and the reforestation mission. Neat.