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Intel Compute Stick

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Re: Intel Compute Stick

#111

Post by notsony »

supernovae wrote: post #94
damian2000 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linux will probably run fine on those specs, remember Windows has a ton of overhead in terms of RAM and storage.

Windows will run amazing on these and all things considered storage isn't an issue. They have really optimized for ultra small devices and id be willing to bet windows 8.1 on these would be super awesome actually. My daughters tablet with similar specs but only 1gb of ram is smooth as can be.

This raises an interesting question.

How much memory does Mac OS X Yosemite need?

How much engineering effort is spent on optimization and improving performance, as opposed to changing the look'n'feel and adding consumer-focused features?

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#112

Post by secabeen »

chavesn wrote: post #108

Too bad the plug is on the end... my guess is that it's impossible to pick an arrangement that works for every TV, but this seems likely to be a problem for wall-mounted TVs like the one in the picture.

Most TVs have a side HDMI port.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#113

Post by zevyoura »

damian2000 wrote: post #80

If they support a keyboard and mouse via USB then wouldn't supplying power to 2 USB ports be an issue? Assuming the stick itself gets its power from HDMI.

>Assuming the stick itself gets its power from HDMI.

I wouldn't make that assumption; Chromecast can't do it, and it's a lot less demanding than this.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#114

Post by rab_oof »

niels_olson wrote: post #57
pedalpete wrote: post #19

As the power increases beyond Atom processors, I think this will be very compelling. I'd love to be able to unplug a dongle from my desktop monitor at home, and plug it into a tablet sized device to use on the train, then plug it into my monitor when I get to work, or a hotel rooms tv screen, or the presentation screen in our office conference room, etc. etc.

I'm not clear how these work: is the idea that each device (desktop, tablet, etc) has a CPU and this is an additional CPU, so you're basically carting around your own VM and the host equipment can let you play in it's garden or not, complete with network access? Why is it that I don't see many corporate IT departments adopting this?

It's a full, separate system on a USB stick. This means it will need to patched and maintained, and that apps and dats will still need the usual back-and-forth sync of multiple systems.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#115

Post by beefsack »

bla2 wrote: post #106

Somewhat similar open-hardware project that'll ship in March: https://www.crowdsupply.com/inverse-path/usb-armory (I'm not involved with the project)

There have been so many ARM mini PCs over the last couple of years, this one is vastly different from those and the one you posted in that this one will be x86.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#116

Post by acjohnson55 »

chavesn wrote: post #108

Too bad the plug is on the end... my guess is that it's impossible to pick an arrangement that works for every TV, but this seems likely to be a problem for wall-mounted TVs like the one in the picture.

I'd have to imagine it probably comes with a short M-F cable or something like for such cases.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#117

Post by mortenjorck »

rab_oof wrote: post #109
discardorama wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and the Linux version will have half the RAM (1GB instead of 2GB) and a fourth the storage (8GB instead of 32GB). I think I might pass on this.

Yup. Seems like pointless, instant-gratification consumerism when server boxes are far faster, cheaper and greener. Worse, it's an un-upgradable device to buy and throw away. Anyone that needs more horsepower, it's far simpler to either trade up, use a real server or just use a cloud/VPS similar to AWS.

It's been too long since I built a PC so I'll take your word on the faster/cheaper argument, but greener? Can you really build a server box that uses less power than a 1-2A USB device?

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#118

Post by rab_oof »

prawn wrote: post #65
mark_l_watson wrote: post #45

Very cool, but... I think the future is our compute power in our "phones" that work with ambient peripherals (keyboards, monitors).

Could we see people move from a phone to carrying two devices? One which is quite personal (phone, social, camera, etc) and one which is a little more generic (general computing device). I'm thinking about how most people would be reluctant to let their phone out of their sight, while they could also use a general stick that allowed tasks, work, etc.

The one system image idea is the next logical progression of N screens. The engineering issue is providing enough cooling to a laptop+phone when being used as a desktop/laptop... The entire dock would have to be a heatsink for folks that want to play their 3d games.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#119

Post by rab_oof »

afro88 wrote: post #101
johnvschmitt wrote: post #91

Cool. Close, but not what I need. What I want (& maybe others?) is: Compute on a stick that's a VM. Then, I can plug this into my laptop's HDMI or USB port to work on my project's local data/apps that's inside the VM. Then I can take the stick when I travel, instead of taking my laptop. I can plug the stick into any laptop for full keyboard/trackpad. Or, I could plug the stick into a TV/monitor & use my phone/tablet'…

This is totally unfeasible unfortunately. Either you support running the VM on the stick inside the host device's OS (supporting every major OS), without requiring root access nor installing anything. Or you boot from the stick and include display, keyboard and mouse/trackpad/touch drivers for every potential device you're going to plug it into. And for your last option (TV/monitor using phone/tablet IO) you'll also…

Without metric tons of engineering effort for a questionable use-case. The cheaper and more sensible options are: bigger laptop or run the workload elsewhere.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#120

Post by beefsack »

acjohnson55 wrote: post #116
chavesn wrote: post #108

Too bad the plug is on the end... my guess is that it's impossible to pick an arrangement that works for every TV, but this seems likely to be a problem for wall-mounted TVs like the one in the picture.

I'd have to imagine it probably comes with a short M-F cable or something like for such cases.

These ~10cm M-F extension cables are very common for these stick style mini PCs.
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