Intel Portable Computer - Gamechanger?

[groneg]

Just saw this on hacker news a little while ago

Intel® Compute Stick

I use Chromecast almost daily but that's just media. This seems like the logical next step.......

 

[BigWill]

old.

 

[blank_czech]

No, but Microsoft is doing big things. Windows 10 will be a gamechanger. There are a ton of low-end tablets right now running Windows. Windows 8/8.1/Windows Phone on a touchscreen is a fantastic experience. They nailed it in that respect. Once they make some slight adjustments for the desktop and fix the DPI scaling issues, MS will be back on top.

 

[n8800]

What happens if i can't find a screen to connect it to? What if I'm in cafe in Thailand surrounded by "Ceos" on their macs and i show up with this 4 inch brick? Where is the baller status?

 

[Lucidity]

I'm still struggling to think of a straight forward use for these stick computers other than media centers. Nevertheless, they still blow my mind and I will probably buy some brand of stick that has an x86 chip to run linux on. I just can't believe we have desktop-class computing power in a thumbdrive that uses like 3 watts of power and costs (in some cases) less than $100.

 

[Jizzlobber]

What happens if i can't find a screen to connect it to? What if I'm in cafe in Thailand surrounded by "Ceos" on their macs and i show up with this 4 inch brick? Where is the baller status?

When they come out with a plated one with built-in cigar cutter and torch.

 

[groneg]

I'm still struggling to think of a straight forward use for these stick computers other than media centers. Nevertheless, they still blow my mind and I will probably buy some brand of stick that has an x86 chip to run linux on. I just can't believe we have desktop-class computing power in a thumbdrive that uses like 3 watts of power and costs (in some cases) less than $100.

the portability of it is quite nice. wireless mouse+ keyboard and you're in business. I've used my wireless keyboard with an ipad which is pretty good but nothing beats a bigger screen.

plugging this into a projector is another option for presenting without having to carry so much shit

 

[Kiopa_Matt]

Looks cool, but as stated above, having trouble seeing the practical use. So what? When travelling, instead of lugging my laptop around, I have to lug a wireless keyboard, mouse, and my 4" computer around?

If this became popular, and hotels started offering wireless keyboards and mouses in their rooms, then I could definitely see it. Aside from that though, I just don't really see it. I can already install Windows 8, LINUX, or whatever OS I want on a USB stick, and just pack that around with me, and boot it from any computer in the world.

 

[BigWill]

I'm still struggling to think of a straight forward use for these stick computers other than media centers. Nevertheless, they still blow my mind and I will probably buy some brand of stick that has an x86 chip to run linux on. I just can't believe we have desktop-class computing power in a thumbdrive that uses like 3 watts of power and costs (in some cases) less than $100.

try 50 bucks. linux supports arm too. MK809III Mini PC TV Box, Android 4.2.2, RK3188 Quad Core up to 1.6GHZ, 2G RAM, 8G ROM, GPU Mali-400 MP4 OpenGLES2.0/1.1 and OpenVG1.1

 

[groneg]

try 50 bucks. linux supports arm too. MK809III Mini PC TV Box, Android 4.2.2, RK3188 Quad Core up to 1.6GHZ, 2G RAM, 8G ROM, GPU Mali-400 MP4 OpenGLES2.0/1.1 and OpenVG1.1

That's pretty nice. But it's USB which I haven't seen those ports much on TVs. Both of my tvs have 1 port but I believe they're only used for servicing.

As for carrying a separate mouse and keyboard- not much you can do there-- I've been wishing for a better way to interact with computers/device for the past few years. Typing and using a mouse is agonizingly slow sometimes. Text to talk has improved tremendously but it's one piece of a much bigger puzzle.

 

[jryan21]

I like these better:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-Jetson-TK1-Development-Kit/dp/B00L7AWOEC"]Amazon.com: NVIDIA Jetson TK1 Development Kit: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

 

[vgeek]

try 50 bucks. linux supports arm too. MK809III Mini PC TV Box, Android 4.2.2, RK3188 Quad Core up to 1.6GHZ, 2G RAM, 8G ROM, GPU Mali-400 MP4 OpenGLES2.0/1.1 and OpenVG1.1

Came here to post

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sell-Mini-PC-with-both-Android-Windows-8-system/2044898752.html

They seem really cool at first, but as already mentioned, what is the point of them, aside from plugging into a TV? They will suffice as a desktop replacement for 90% of people, so they can use a dongle instead of a larger form factor tower.

 

[Fatbat]

That's pretty nice. But it's USB which I haven't seen those ports much on TVs. Both of my tvs have 1 port but I believe they're only used for servicing.

You need to look closer. The part that plugs into the TV is HDMI, not USB. USB is for the keyboard and mouse.

Beyond that, every Smart TV has multiple USB ports, and even the el cheapo models come with one. My Samsung has 2. But they're not for video input, they're so you can plug USB sticks or hard drives directly into the television.

 

[Kiopa_Matt]

Or how are those projection keyboards coming along? Maybe something like this, with a second "snap on" component for the projection keyboard / mouse.

When you check in to a hotel, you unsnap the device into two components -- one is the computer that goes into your TV, then other gets put on the table and projects a keyboard & mouse pad. That I could see myself using. Would come in handy for travelling around.

 

[dmnEPC]

What if it's not about portability? Maybe it's a cheap alternative to the big clumsy desktop?

 

[Kiopa_Matt]

What if it's not about portability? Maybe it's a cheap alternative to the big clumsy desktop?

Oh, so this shit isn't even meant for us? It's for places like Africa?

If I'm going to use it at home, why would I take a 80% hit in specs?

 

[Fatbat]

Oh, so this shit isn't even meant for us? It's for places like Africa?

If I'm going to use it at home, why would I take a 80% hit in specs?

Because for 90% of the shit that 90% of people do, they don't need gaming rig specs. They want to surf, watch videos, answer emails, make social media posts and maybe do a bit of work in Office or something similar. Oh, and porn. Can't forget the porn.

 

[Kiopa_Matt]

Because for 90% of the shit that 90% of people do, they don't need gaming rig specs. They want to surf, watch videos, answer emails, make social media posts and maybe do a bit of work in Office or something similar. Oh, and porn. Can't forget the porn.

I don't know, home use still doesn't make much sense though, at least in the Western world. I mean, if you're an average Joe, come home from work and plug your little computer into your TV to play around a bit, your wife is going to start bitching because she wants to watch Chicago Fire, or whatever.

So then off you go to the store to buy a new TV, so you can plug your shitty little computer into it. Why not just buy a laptop or tablet to begin with?

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I only really see this being beneficial to travellers, and poorer regions of the world. And that's only if they resolve the keyboard / mouse dilemma.

 

[adamx12m]

I'm still struggling to think of a straight forward use for these stick computers other than media centers. Nevertheless, they still blow my mind and I will probably buy some brand of stick that has an x86 chip to run linux on. I just can't believe we have desktop-class computing power in a thumbdrive that uses like 3 watts of power and costs (in some cases) less than $100.

Signage, kiosks, I'm not raspberry pi expert or similar boards but this seems be an indirect competitor maybe. $89 bucks is cheap. Figure they probably make them for half the cost so with that much computing power, the future for "Internet of Things" looks promising for devices.

 

[dmnEPC]

I don't know, home use still doesn't make much sense though, at least in the Western world. I mean, if you're an average Joe, come home from work and plug your little computer into your TV to play around a bit, your wife is going to start bitching because she wants to watch Chicago Fire, or whatever.

So then off you go to the store to buy a new TV, so you can plug your shitty little computer into it. Why not just buy a laptop or tablet to begin with?

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but I only really see this being beneficial to travellers, and poorer regions of the world. And that's only if they resolve the keyboard / mouse dilemma.

This thing is not designed for people like us. The PC market has been on a steady slide for a long time. This is an attempt at something different. I don't know that it's going to be in every home. But smaller, cheaper computers are a definitely a thing. And smaller and cheaper carries over to the rest of the market at some point.