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Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

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Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#101

Post by viraptor »

pickettd wrote: post #80
jsmeaton wrote: post #22

What I'm after is something that can run Kodi (xbmc) which links to a NAS for its media. Running Netflix is a nice to have. What devices are out there that I can use for this purpose? At the moment I have a fairly heavy htpc running Windows, but I have more tvs that I would like to use for similar purposes. Edit: Bonus if it can do 4k video, but 1080p minimum is a must.

I picked up a $50 Nexus Player (Android TV OS) last month for this purpose. It replaced a first generation Raspberry Pi B that was actually pretty decent as a Kodi box (I used the Xbian distro). So far I'm really happy with the Nexus Player. I like that it gets Android TV apps (like Kodi and Moonlight for game streaming from my desktop) and also supports Google Cast. It also has a usb port that supports things like k…

Do you know if there's any way to use nexus player with steam? I mean like their steam link device, or is that completely proprietary solution?

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#102

Post by annnnd »

Jedd wrote: post #84
annnnd wrote: post #62

A few ideas how to make it better: - include a small screen so I can still do stuff even if I don't have TV at hand - use touch screen so I can use it without mouse / keyboard too - use Android instead of Chrome OS so I can play games with it - while you are at it, can this thing make phone calls too? In other words, why not just make it simple to plug an Android smartphone to peripherals (screen, mouse, keyboard)? T…

To answer your EDIT2 - I suspect it's because your main / original post was somewhere between not-funny, and not-useful. That is, you described a device that already exists (a mobile phone) in a roundabout way, and seem to be demanding that this device should be yet another mobile phone -- rather than considering the features of this particular device as delivered. It's possible that neither ASUS or Google considered…

Thanks for the clarification on downvotes, I guess you are right.

As far as BT mice and keyboards goes, well, I wouldn't want to give them to my grandmother. What happens when battery goes out? Yes, she could always put it in charger, but why is this any better than regular USB cable then? But I recognize that some people like (and use) BT peripherals, so there might be a market for it.

I agree with your other comments, I'm sure my idea is not unique. If I'm not mistaken, MS is working in this direction (and has some advantage here because their OS is more desktop oriented anyway).

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#103

Post by creshal »

make3 wrote: post #83
atmosx wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is Intel's Compute Stick too[1] but I haven't try it yet. [1] http://www.intel.com/buy/us/en/product/desktop/intel-boxstck...

If it's x86/x86_64, it has a major advantage imho

Why wouldn't it be? It's certainly not Itanium-based…

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#104

Post by freshyill »

rplnt wrote: post #98
caractacus wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're already hugely popular in China where a lot of the use is streaming tv and movies, via both legal and illegal means (the boundaries blur a lot over there anyway). I bought an Android-based stick from Alibaba a few years ago that plugged into HDMI and worked fantastically. Computing power and abilities have come on tremendously since so I can imagine how well this would work for high quality video. The portabi…

Yet TVs still ship with crappy and slow interfaces for some reason.

They're getting better, but still a mixed bag. The menu interface on my new Vizio is perfectly fine, but the Netflix app is actually nicer than Apple TV. The Amazon app, however, is a UX nightmare, that looks like some kind of very old Android UI and it doesn't even work with the TV's keyboard remote.

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#105

Post by dzhiurgis »

rplnt wrote: post #98
caractacus wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're already hugely popular in China where a lot of the use is streaming tv and movies, via both legal and illegal means (the boundaries blur a lot over there anyway). I bought an Android-based stick from Alibaba a few years ago that plugged into HDMI and worked fantastically. Computing power and abilities have come on tremendously since so I can imagine how well this would work for high quality video. The portabi…

Yet TVs still ship with crappy and slow interfaces for some reason.

I'd rather see less features, but more polished and faster interfaces. You'll be plugging your devices anyway.

It's like car stereos - just let me plug AUX cable and we are square for next 10 years.

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#106

Post by jon-wood »

rplnt wrote: post #98
caractacus wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're already hugely popular in China where a lot of the use is streaming tv and movies, via both legal and illegal means (the boundaries blur a lot over there anyway). I bought an Android-based stick from Alibaba a few years ago that plugged into HDMI and worked fantastically. Computing power and abilities have come on tremendously since so I can imagine how well this would work for high quality video. The portabi…

Yet TVs still ship with crappy and slow interfaces for some reason.

I'm still hoping the smart TV thing will turn out to be a brief fad, and we can all get back to just buying a dumb screen that other things can be plugged into.

The software on TVs I've experienced is universally awful, my parent's one is particularly bad - you can go and make a cup of coffee in the time it takes for the Netflix app to start. When I heard that I bought them a FireTV stick and haven't looked back.

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#107

Post by DanBC »

jon-wood wrote: post #106
rplnt wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet TVs still ship with crappy and slow interfaces for some reason.

I'm still hoping the smart TV thing will turn out to be a brief fad, and we can all get back to just buying a dumb screen that other things can be plugged into. The software on TVs I've experienced is universally awful, my parent's one is particularly bad - you can go and make a cup of coffee in the time it takes for the Netflix app to start. When I heard that I bought them a FireTV stick and haven't looked back.

I'm surprised there isn't a Rockbox for TVs yet.

Re: Google and ASUS Launch the $85 Chromebit, a Chrome OS Desktop on an HDMI Stick

#110

Post by Nursie »

DanBC wrote: post #107
jon-wood wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still hoping the smart TV thing will turn out to be a brief fad, and we can all get back to just buying a dumb screen that other things can be plugged into. The software on TVs I've experienced is universally awful, my parent's one is particularly bad - you can go and make a cup of coffee in the time it takes for the Netflix app to start. When I heard that I bought them a FireTV stick and haven't looked back.

I'm surprised there isn't a Rockbox for TVs yet.

There are some projects making baby-steps but I'm not sure how far they got.

For Samsung TVs the SamyGO project can do some stuff - http://www.samygo.tv/ - but it's more about hacking the existing firmware than making an open replacement.

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