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Intel Compute Stick

intel.com

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Re: Intel Compute Stick

#281

Post by walterbell »

murbard2 wrote: post #280

Now imagine if this were wireless, so that you didn't have to connect it to a TV? And while we're at it, add a screen, so that you can use it when you're not around a monitor. And... it's a smartphone with chromecast.

Compared to a smartphone, this has:

  unlocked bootloader
  open-source graphics driver
  no app store restrictions
  no Java overhead
  no OEM customizations

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#282

Post by walterbell »

Alupis wrote: post #278
_nedR wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that Intel makes quite a few great products and initiatives. They just don't market it as loudly as others. The Intel NUC ( http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/overview.html ) is quite a versatile machine - smaller, better performance and value for money than mac minis, and more hacker friendly. It even has a cute unboxing experience (The box plays the intel jingle when you open it) Then there are initi…

When I was in the market for a small low-power home server, I actually found the NUC's to be overpriced and under-performing. There's no i7 option, and they will run you about the same base price as an Gigabyte Brix which does offer i7 and/or i5's with more powerful graphics (and AMD APU options for very nice graphics if required). My home server did not require much graphics of course, but the i7 quad core is very m…

NUCs are the modern incarnation of Intel whitebox reference motherboards. If they were too cheap or tailored to specific use cases, OEMs would be out of business.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#283

Post by Jayd2014 »

jaimeyap wrote: post #279

Attach a highspeed microSD card reader (or build one in) and this would make a very compelling low power, personal media file server. Although needing to keep the television on to power it might get annoying.

I see this device as the perfect next-generation-chromecast. You can download anything you want wirelessly and play it on your HD TV. No need for Chromecast to load youtube and be a "closed garden" of google.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#284

Post by murbard2 »

walterbell wrote: post #281
murbard2 wrote: post #280

Now imagine if this were wireless, so that you didn't have to connect it to a TV? And while we're at it, add a screen, so that you can use it when you're not around a monitor. And... it's a smartphone with chromecast.

Compared to a smartphone, this has: unlocked bootloader open-source graphics driver no app store restrictions no Java overhead no OEM customizations

Compared to the smartphones currently on the market, I agree. My argument is that the form factor / functionality of the smartphone is very compelling.

I am not going to buy this Intel product, but I would if it were a smartphone.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#285

Post by kbenson »

Alupis wrote: post #278
_nedR wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that Intel makes quite a few great products and initiatives. They just don't market it as loudly as others. The Intel NUC ( http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/overview.html ) is quite a versatile machine - smaller, better performance and value for money than mac minis, and more hacker friendly. It even has a cute unboxing experience (The box plays the intel jingle when you open it) Then there are initi…

When I was in the market for a small low-power home server, I actually found the NUC's to be overpriced and under-performing. There's no i7 option, and they will run you about the same base price as an Gigabyte Brix which does offer i7 and/or i5's with more powerful graphics (and AMD APU options for very nice graphics if required). My home server did not require much graphics of course, but the i7 quad core is very m…

I don't think Intel necessarily wants to dominate or even lead the market with these offerings, they want to spur the market to fill the niche now that they've shown the demand and the ability(and the parts for sale). Intel didn't want to sell ultrabooks itself, but it very much wanted a vibrant marketplace so it could sell more high-end parts, and keep Apple from leveraging their market position for better pricing from Intel.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#286

Post by walterbell »

murbard2 wrote: post #284
walterbell wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compared to a smartphone, this has: unlocked bootloader open-source graphics driver no app store restrictions no Java overhead no OEM customizations

Compared to the smartphones currently on the market, I agree. My argument is that the form factor / functionality of the smartphone is very compelling. I am not going to buy this Intel product, but I would if it were a smartphone.

Intel has spent/lost a lot of money pursuing smartphone design wins, without success. Maybe Project Ara modules will give Intel another shot at smartphones or handheld devices.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#287

Post by dragonwriter »

toyg wrote: post #191
boyaka wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got my Dad a NUC for Christmas...He hasn't really been using it yet. I think this might have been a more interesting and simple gift, wish it came out in time. I did get to play with the NUC because I wanted to have it all configured and ready to use. It was interesting to see how they got all of the components packed in and I was impressed by the performance. Main issue I had was graphics support, because I wanted…

> There's just so many different options for computing these days. It's like information overload, but with hardware. Yeah. I have two Dreamplugs lying there unused at the moment, plus a CuBox used as NAS/TimeMachine, and a MicroPython waiting for some free time... so many options, so little time. They are also getting so powerful, I'm seriously considering a few "enterprise" scenarios. Remember when IT meant mainfra…

> between mobile and these little bad boys, there's plenty of power around to run a number of applications that would have required a rack server 5 or 10 years ago. Now John Accountant could just buy a little silent box and put it on his desk, without having to go through hellish rounds of IT approvals.

Which would be nice, if we had the hardware of today with the IT practices of a time when enterprises might exert centralized control of departmental server purchases but not exert the same control over individual desktop system purchases and even the software installation on those desktops.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#288

Post by rebootthesystem »

Jormundir wrote: post #135

This looks awesome. Finally a piece of tech I actually want, and by Intel of all companies. The bigger consumer companies have been shuffling their feet, releasing arbitrary, very closed off pieces of tech that I don't really need. I really applaud Intel for making the tiny little PC I've been wanting for media and linux tomfoolery. The Chromecast was a no-go, and now with an apple tv, I'm feeling a little too enclos…

Web design/business fail: The page is lacking a "Register to get updates" form. I find this to be a common frustration point for industrial product companies. Their websites typically have different degrees of sucking.

Hardware design fail: A male HDMI connector on something this big is a bad idea. You don't want to hang this kind of weight (imagine USB other cables connected to it) off an HDMI connector on a TV or monitor. The female connectors are not designed as load-bearing devices. It'd be far better to put a female HDMI connector on the stick and let people use a proper HDMI cable.

Re: Intel Compute Stick

#290

Post by alsocasey »

Does anyone happen to know whether the quad-core atom mentioned would be sufficiently powerful to handle being a Plex client or Steam streaming client machine? This would make a remarkably cheap living room client PC.
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