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Message
Google Chromebit
Posted on 3/31/15 at 1:15 pm
Posted on 3/31/15 at 1:15 pm
quote:
Perhaps the most interesting of the new products is the Asus Chromebit. Packed into a device about the size of a mobile broadband stick is a full Chrome OS computer. You simply plug it into a display via the built-in HDMI port (or you can use an HDMI-to-VGA adapter), and then connect a keyboard or mouse using the integrated USB port or Bluetooth. (Intel introduced a similar device for Windows or Linux in January.)
...While Asus is still finalizing pricing, Google said it will cost less than $100 and will be available later this summer. The company also expects other device manufacturers to come out with Chromebit models.
LINK /
How significant is this? I had always envisioned some sort of docking/projection technology making your phone your main computing device, but could "computing sticks" actually leapfrog phones? Under $100 and all day battery life? Much easier to bring on vacation than a laptop. Will hotels start including mice and keyboards with the wifi?
2
Posted on 3/31/15 at 1:50 pm to TigerinATL
I like that the sticks are becoming more of a general purpose computer rather than mainly media devices like Chromecast, Roku, FireTV stick, etc. It seems like computing is becoming more mobile, cheaper, and flexible by the day.
I think these are going to start making headway into schools really soon. Maybe not the Chromebits specifically, but Intel's compute stick has a good chance. Not only are they really cheap, but they have the potential to save a lot of money on power bills, both in direct usage and reduced cooling costs.
I think these are going to start making headway into schools really soon. Maybe not the Chromebits specifically, but Intel's compute stick has a good chance. Not only are they really cheap, but they have the potential to save a lot of money on power bills, both in direct usage and reduced cooling costs.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 1:57 pm to TigerinATL
Intel's version is supposed to release next month. $149 one runs full Windows 8.1, and the $109 one runs Linux. I'd get one of those before I'd get one with ChromeOS.
I can the see potential in some home automation type of usage, or just as a more powerful streaming stick to run XBMC/Kodi. I don't see any other practical use for them. More of a novelty. My view of them could be short-sighted, but they don't seem to bridge any gap. If you've ever sat in front of a TV with a wireless mouse and keyboard and tried to be productive, you'd understand the issues and limitations. But yeah, if you were going from place to place with the guarantee that there'd be a mouse, keyboard, and display available for your use, it would be great for productive computing vs. a phone or tablet. And I suppose it could clear some space in an office for very light computer work. Otherwise, something like this would stay in my living room as a Kodi stick with constant USB power.
Although, I could probably use it as a torrent stick too, and let it download to and seed from a NAS all day long.
EDIT: Using them in schools would be a good idea too.
Hmm, I started off thinking "nah" and now I'm kind of wanting the Intel stick.
I can the see potential in some home automation type of usage, or just as a more powerful streaming stick to run XBMC/Kodi. I don't see any other practical use for them. More of a novelty. My view of them could be short-sighted, but they don't seem to bridge any gap. If you've ever sat in front of a TV with a wireless mouse and keyboard and tried to be productive, you'd understand the issues and limitations. But yeah, if you were going from place to place with the guarantee that there'd be a mouse, keyboard, and display available for your use, it would be great for productive computing vs. a phone or tablet. And I suppose it could clear some space in an office for very light computer work. Otherwise, something like this would stay in my living room as a Kodi stick with constant USB power.
Although, I could probably use it as a torrent stick too, and let it download to and seed from a NAS all day long.
EDIT: Using them in schools would be a good idea too.
Hmm, I started off thinking "nah" and now I'm kind of wanting the Intel stick.
This post was edited on 3/31/15 at 1:59 pm
Posted on 3/31/15 at 2:37 pm to ILikeLSUToo
quote:
Hmm, I started off thinking "nah" and now I'm kind of wanting the Intel stick.
I'm still very on the fence but will likely get one because I like to buy all these little devices to do my own personal reviews for friends, family, and the folks on here- or really that's my excuse for buying things I don't need.
My big holdup is that the biggest advantage of these things seems to be for the hidden, 10ft interface (from the couch, as opposed to the "2ft" which is your traditional, normal desktop/laptop sizes). Microsoft is really killing the 10ft stuff. They had a fantastic program in WMC that was very easy to interact with. It lost ground to roku et al for streaming integration. XBMC also doesn't have great ways of streaming Netflix or Amazon prime that are purely remote-accessible. If you're open to keeping mouse/keyboard handy, it's a good choice. If you want a simple universal remote (and I'll include my Harmony 700 in the "simple" category), there's just not a fantastic Windows interface that "does it all."
Yes, you lean toward using it as a full computer and prefer (it seems) mouse/keyboard, but even still, optimization for the 10ft interface seems to be a thing of the past for Microsoft. And if you're streaming from the, umm, "extra" Kodi apps, it's probably a lot more accessible and desirable. I hope that I'm wrong and KODI gets official, fancy plugins that actually function for the "big streamers," but as it stands, it will likely be a frustrating, underpowered little stick whose big advantage was being discrete that still requires very non-discrete hardware to do its job. If that's the case, I'll stick with mATX builds and a Linux system that runs Kodi. It may come in slightly north of $150, but it will require less discrete hardware away from the TV.
Also, if anyone has a good solution for rc6/universal remote operation of things like Netflix, Amazon, and KODI/WMC, please let me know. I just haven't found it. And my little handheld keyboard is slightly flawed in that the easiest way to hold it while typing has my hand seemingly over the RF chip, leading to signal loss and dropped characters while typing.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 2:43 pm to Hopeful Doc
Have you tried NetfliXBMC? I haven't, but it's supposed to be pretty good for remote interface.
Also, while it will take up the USB port for the IR dongle, a windows media center remote is actually pretty damn good, because if all else fails, it has a control pad that operates the cursor. (and you dont have to be in any particular application to use it).
I also find myself using Chrome Remote Desktop on my phone a lot to access my desktop and get a torrent started from the couch/bed.
Also, while it will take up the USB port for the IR dongle, a windows media center remote is actually pretty damn good, because if all else fails, it has a control pad that operates the cursor. (and you dont have to be in any particular application to use it).
I also find myself using Chrome Remote Desktop on my phone a lot to access my desktop and get a torrent started from the couch/bed.
This post was edited on 3/31/15 at 2:45 pm
Posted on 3/31/15 at 3:10 pm to ILikeLSUToo
quote:
I'd get one of those before I'd get one with ChromeOS.
With either one I'd probably just remote into a real workstation to do almost everything like I already do with the chromebook.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 3:13 pm to ILikeLSUToo
quote:
windows media center remote
I can't get mine to work since I moved to Win8
For now I use unified remote to control the pc with my phone.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 3:30 pm to ILikeLSUToo
quote:
Have you tried NetfliXBMC? I haven't, but it's supposed to be pretty good for remote interface.
It's OK at best. It launches into a kiosk version of chrome/ie. I programmed my remote to have an alt-f4 function to get back to xbmc. But it fails to launch at all more often than I'd like.
quote:
a windows media center remote is actually pretty damn good, because if all else fails, it has a control pad that operates the cursor. (and you dont have to be in any particular application to use it).
I had an MCE remote and dongle. Currently I control it with my Harmony. If there were simple hot-key switching between keyboard d-pad and cursor, I would love it. How are you getting cursor control? As it stands, mine only send d-pad presses, which isn't ideal for the WMC/KODI side. I have my remote set up to where I can press it and I get basic mouse control. It's just not great, and I don't think I could teach someone else in the house to use it to navigate to get a web browser and the on-screen keyboard up. I can make it work OK for me, but I feel like it's "just off" from having any real mass appeal.
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