Slashdot Mirror
A $25 PC On a USB Stick
KPexEA writes with this excerpt from geek.com:
"[Game developer David] Braben has developed a tiny USB stick PC that has an HDMI port on one end and a USB port on the other. You plug it into an HDMI socket and then connect a keyboard via the USB port, giving you a fully functioning machine running a version of Linux. The cost? $25. The hardware being offered is no slouch either. It uses a 700MHz ARM11 processor coupled with 128MB of RAM and runs OpenGL ES 2.0, allowing for decent graphics performance with 1080p output confirmed. ... We can expect it to run a range of Linux distributions, but it looks like Ubuntu may be the distro it ships with. That means it will handle web browsing, run office applications, and give the user a fully functional computer to play with as soon as it's plugged in. All that and it can be carried in your pocket or on a key chain."
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those! Hey, someone bemoaned this no longer being a popular Slashdotism, and I agree it should be brought back.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
Eat your heart out, OLPC. This is 10 PC's per pocket.
If the HDMI is on one end, and the USB is on the other, is this thing battery powered?
"His name was James Damore."
If the idea is to plug in a keyboard, then why does it have a male USB plug, and not a female ?
I'd love one of these if it had networking as well. It would be a great thing to have a portable computer that could fill in for a emergency terminal, not just a dedicated machine with no connectivity, I guess I could carry a hub and such too but then the usefulness of having it on my keychain is gone.
XBMC, anyone? Seems perfect, if only it had either: a) A more powerful CPU b) Hardware video decoding
HDMI one end, USB the other for keyboard. How is it going to connect to the web? Maybe you can chain a USB-ethernet connection through the keyboard.
What other people think of me is none of my business
Sounds Grand But where does the OS sit, Can it access the internet, will it fit in my fer-de-lance??
Um, two questions:
1. How is it powered?
2. How is it to be connected up to a network??
I'm sure wireless could be used for networking but are they talking a power brick for power or can HDMI power it? I haven't personally looked in the HDMI specs for something like that but my gut tells me it wont work that way.
It looks freaking awesome :D
If you connect it to a PC's USB port, will the PC recognise it? If so, will it piggyback the network connection?
Or can just connect it to a USB phone charger or USB hub?
This is the sig that says NI (again)
If it only has a HDMI and USB connection for keyboard/mouse, how do you power the thing?
Not quite as capable, in certain respects, as the Gumstix line of similarly sized ARM boards; but, on the other hand, you'll be lucky to walk away with change from $200 after getting your main board and an I/O expander if needed if you go that route. I wonder where the cost delta comes from?
One minor nit, this system doesn't appear to have any onboard networking(aside from the USB port which, from the picture of it connected to the B port of a hub, would appear to be one of those 'OTG' master or slave jobbies, which could easily enough act as a USB CDC or RNDIS connection to a host PC(which is kind of a waste for a single user; but a basic cheapy desktop loaded with USB cards could easily act as a gateway/fileserver/host for CPU intensive or x86 only programs over an X tunnel for a classroom full of the things)). I have to wonder if a "Flash drive sized" computer that basically doesn't work unless connected to a powered USB hub and a USB network adapter or CDC host PC might be rather less useful than would be a "pack of playing cards sized" computer that actually has a NIC and at least enough USB ports to support a mouse and keyboard(and ideally one extra for miscellaneous purposes)...
Now we just need to get Lego on board.
froody...
throw in a network interface, and I'll buy enough for a beowulf cluster.
~men are from earth. women are from earth. deal with it.~
If this has wifi I'm in for one. It would probably be pretty good for streaming video, if the CPU can handle the decoding.
Couple this puppy with some networking and I got myself a web server in me pants.
Stop procrastinating and gives us our damn Elite 4 already.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
Really cool idea but I am curious how a child with not enough money to have a computer at home is going to have money for a tv with an HDMI port. I can only assume that they'd be using some communal tv at school or something, but at that point, why not just use the computer labs...
I like this idea, now if only it utilized the HDMI ethernet we'd be in business.
Take one of these to your hotel, and who gives a crap if you forget it when you check out. Given I don't think the hotel is going to put TV's with HDMI, let alone ethernet enabled. Most hotels go the cheap-ass method now and are wifi only.
Still, much less kit to carry around than a laptop if it's just a USB hub, keyboard/mouse,usb-wifi/usb-ethernet.
Y'all did notice the microphone and camera in the photo right? You all thought the same thing I did... spycam.
Definitely want one! I am curious about how the device is powered ... maybe it leeches power off the monitor?
Put OSX on it to debug when plugged into a Mac when OSX goes poof.
#slashdot: A $25 PC On a USB Stick - The new danger in air travel comes with a $25 fee /.0 oh no "PC On a USB Stick" http://bit.ly/iqij2R (PS: /.0 stands for -)
The HDMI spec requires a 55mA supply at 5V. This seems to be enough to power this little computer.
It might not work with a lot of usb devices without a hub that has external power but a keyboard should be possible.
Maybe he developed this hardware so everyone can play Elite 4 when it comes out? (Elite 4 is proving to be the next Duke Nukem....)
Agrajag: "Oh no, not again!"
it would have to be a little bigger?
This could be a godsend for MAME DIY builders... vastly cuts down the cost of the computer segment, and simplifies the video connection to HDMI. Plug one end into your controller and the other into the monitor. Boom, done. You could store a buttload of classic games on a fairly small SD card.
Since 2 years ago you can already get those media player box like Patriot Box Office for around $50 that run Linux and can play many 1080p media, with network port, HDMI (cable included)+composite video, multiple USB port, IR remote and power brick.
It sounds to me like the $25 cost is the cost of the assembled unit. The likely retail cost will be something on the order of $100-$200.
Here it is: Oolite, you're welcome.
I have an OLPC, which only has 256MB RAM, and it was constantly running out of memory. Coupled with the fact that it only came with 1GB NAND flash storage, which could not be used as swap space, and it was almost unusable. Most recently, I installed stock, unmodified Ubuntu Lucid 10.04 to an external SD card (not too difficult to do, see instructions here). The desktop would load fine, and gnome-terminal worked well, but running a modern web browser (e.g. Firefox or Chromium) was impossible. Even creating a swap file on the SD card did not help with this. I also tried stock Lubuntu, which uses the lightweight LXDE desktop, but the results were similar.
So, now imagine cutting that amount of memory in half, and there's no way I can see this working well with stock Ubuntu. Android might be a better target, or an extremely lightweight distro such as Puppy Linux. Or, just kill the requirements for a GUI, and let the kids play around with the CLI.
fully-featured computers would be a bit more useful to system integrators...
I'm /still/ waiting for someone to build an nVidia ION as small as their (not for sale) pico-ITX reference platform that came out years ago:
http://www.mini-itx.com/67219812
The fit PC2 is pretty neat, but they still need binary blob drivers for Intel's crappy PowerVR GPU, which severely limits Linux distribution... if they had that form factor with an ION chipset I'd be sticking those little buggers all over the place :-P
Kind of like buying a 80 GB HD for $19. One upon a time, that was a ton of storage, now it's a few HD movies.
It's old tech.
Hopefully it will include a C64 emulator and Elite
I turned on the closed captioning to watch it in the office but the, admittedly beta translation code, made some funny translations. Something about iran, and kids building missiles and using the Internet for sex and twitter. Hilarious!
Windows 7 will boot with 96MB...(Install in a VM with the minimum-required 512MB; reduce VM down and down, once I hit 88MB it BSOD'd) - and no, it wasn't as slow as one would think...
Raspberry? - My blackberry isn't working
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
What kind of storage does it have?
How do you plug in a keyboard and a mouse?
How do you power it?
Can it play Crysis 2? (j/k)
But it does sound like a cool idea to use as the start of an even cooler idea.
The USB-port seems to be an USB A plug, not a USB A Receptacle (port). A keyboard cannot be directly connected to it. Either it uses rather odd off-spec USB cabling, or it is not an USB host but an USB client device.
It appears to have a third connector for power. In the picture this appears to be connected to another USB cable.
0x or or snor perron?!
Cool computer, but putting Ubuntu on that is a horrible choice. Ubuntu is a nice desktop distro (for now) but it's terribly resource-intensive as Linux distros go. Even the most lightweight 'buntu variant will struggle on a PC of those specs, I ran a Xubuntu server on a computer with almost identical specs, and it worked fine as a simple home server but I wouldn't want to try doing anything more on it. Try launching Firefox and the whole thing would nearly grind to a halt. For Ubuntu you want no less than 512MB RAM, and it will be still be sluggish with under 1GB.
What they should have put on here is Debian with LXDE. That will give you a nice non-masochistic distro with a good usable GUI that will run quite comfortably in 128MB RAM.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Thats nice,
Just wondering if it is possible to create a small box that can draw power form the USB port of a TV and use the TV as a display ??
Also, in that case is it theoratically possible to attach USB devices like a Keyboard, mouse and card reader ?? Can such a low power system be disigned (or does one already exist) ??
Most people already carry around this much computing power with them in their smart phone. You can get adaptors for the USB perhipheral interface on most smart phones to turn it into a USB host with a hub, which can then be used to connect a keyboard. And I'm sure I've seen someone do a video-over-usb off one of those as well.
Why not just add a USB host port and an HDMI out to an existing smart phone? The incremental cost over the existing smart phone would be less than $25, they generally already have network connectivity via wi-fi or 3G, and it's still just about usable even if you don't have an external display and keyboard to plug in.
Raymond’s Rule of Smartphone Subsumption: if neither the physics nor the ergonomics of a gadget’s function require peripherals larger than will fit in a smartphone case, the smartphone will eat it!
Why doesn't the gene pool have a life guard?
http://semiaccurate.com/2011/01/19/compulab-shows-embedded-amd-brazos-system/
1.6GHz dual-core, HD6310, no moving parts. Sure its Industrial-design, so it won't be as cheap as a bare board; but it should last a good long time. Add your choice of SSD or moving-parts 2.5" HDD, RAM, and 2 optional Mini Card PCI-E cards, and you're done. I'm hoping multiple companies come out with these, and I can pick one up for under $150 myself...
Interesting that it can support a touch screen, though I guess it would just be another USB device. Does seem kind of like a cop-out that it depends on an external hub for much of it's hardware (like networking) but still a pretty cool overall design. Hope they include a wifi/bluetooth chip in the final version. Aren't there ARM designs that include those built in?
AJ Henderson
With 128 MB ram the only thing that still works agreeable is a non X session on modern distro's
Maybe just maybe you can run fvwm/fluxbox with dillo for browsing but a stock install of ubuntu, that thing
will start swapping and never quit swapping and the OOM will have his field day !
By the time you've added a keyboard, mouse, display, a decent sized SD card for storage and/or WiFi connectivity so you can actually get data in or out you're probably closer to the cost of a netbook or OLPC, but have lost the benefit of portability.
I guess that a school could provide fixed monitors/keyboards in classrooms, so kids could sit down and plug in their £25 dongle, rather than entrust them with a £150 netbook (and suffer the inevitable loss and damage) - but then (a) the computers could only be used in suitably equipped classrooms and (b) you might as well fix the computers and give kids an even cheaper USB drive to carry around.
Yes, the kids could use their dongle computers at home but its going to be a while before you can assume that everybody has an HDMI TV, and unless kids have a HDMI-equipped TV in their own room (If they do, its good odds that they already have a PC anyway) they'd still have to persuade the rest of the family to miss The X Factor so that they could work on their project.
Nothing wrong with cheap-as-chips single board PCs, but I do wonder why people are so obsessed with building them into wall-warts and USB dongles, when t something slightly bigger (with more room for connectors and space for a couple internal USB devices or a micro HD) would be far more flexible and portable.
Also from TFA:
Braben argues that education since we entered the 2000s has turned towards ICT which teaches useful skills such as writing documents in a word processor, how to create presentations, and basic computer use skills. But that has replaced more computer science-like skills such as basic programming and understanding the architecture and hardware contained in a computer.
Strongly agree - but there's a second string to that, in that ICT has not only supplanted "proper" computer science (which did, once upon a time, exist as an optional high school subject in the UK) but has also tended to pull computers out of maths and science. I've encountered maths teachers who thought, for example, that kids "did" spreadsheets in ICT (they did, but only to turn out pie charts for the annual cat & dog survey - when faced with a fairly trivial modelling exercise they used calculators to fill in the spreadsheet). "ICT" was responsible for many BBC micros being ripped out of subject classrooms and thrown into skips to be replaced by the new ICT (PC) suites. Heck, I'm not advocating it, but even today you could make good use of a good old Beeb (bristling with inputs and outputs and easy to program) in a science classroom!
Overall, I'd welcome the demise of "ICT*" as a curriculum subject (about as sensible as having "handwriting" as a separate subject) on the two conditions that the other subjects were given the necessary time and support to teach IT skills in context, and there was a CS option at age 16-18 (with some sort of "teaser" in the compulsory maths curriculum).
Seems to me that these micro-PCs would be good for the latter, but effectively tied to the computer lab.
(*Note - the 'C' stands for "Communications" and was mandated by the UK Department of Redundancy Department in the UK, who, presumably, didn't think that 'Communication' had anything to do with 'Information' . Figures.)
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Where can one buy it that cheap?
n/t
I can't see it among all the cables.
I have been looking to build something similar. The closest thing to what I'd like to see is the ISEE IGEP MODULE http://www.igep.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=123 If this had a Standard USB Type A plug rather than the miniAB it could plug directly into a computer, connect to Wifi (for Internet access), and then Enumerate a Ethernet device over USB. This would provide a basic USB Wifi module as well as providing a powerful Linux computer in-line.
It's sad that there doesn't seem to be any reference files for the ISEE IGEP MODULE. It looks like I'll have to scale down a larger development kit. I really think there is a market for such a product...
Has anyone seen anything close out there?
Encryption: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to encrypt it...
lose the webcam and add a nic. then tape that thing to the back of a monitor, boom, thin client.
lose != loose
... I have a new favorite thin client! 1000 kiosk machines for $25,000 is a great deal. The problem is locking the damn things down to keep employees from walking out with a handful in their pockets.
I8-D
I'd really like that thing if it had some kind of networking instead of HDMI. I'm currently in the market for a cheap, low-power computer I can use as a low-traffic Jabber server. Unfortunately "cheap" and "low-power" don't seem to go well together.
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
On a stick? Lame, wake me up when it's deep fried a well.
How about nVidia ION plus Penryn in 180 x 166 x 61 mm (7.1 x 6.5 x 2.4 in) including 8 GB DDR3, 2.5" HD, and slim optical? Screw that Atom crap and the designs that just can't cool themselves adequately. This has no oddball hardware and runs any distro you can name. Mine idles at 21 W AC input to the power brick. Here you go
Here is some more info I got from a mail list I follow:
> > 1) How long do you think it will be before the boards become
> > available?
>
> I'd say three or four months. As you can see from the screenshots, we
> have usable Linux, but we're waiting to get final versions of the the
> chip from our supplier.
>
> > 2) Are there any plans for a version with onboard ethernet?
>
> I don't think we're likely to do onboard Ethernet; we will have an
> onboard 3-port USB hub so people can add an external adapter.
>
> > 3) Are there any plans for a version with onboard wifi?
>
> Yes. The final version (though maybe not the first distributables)
> will have onboard WiFi (probably 802.11n) in the price point.
>
> > 4) What are the power requirements, both under load and at rest?
>
> At rest I'd say 50mW (we could trim this if it was really important,
> but it gets a bit fiddly below this point), under serious load
> (original XBox class graphics or 1080p30 H.264), 700mW.
In the video he kept mentioning Twitter and Facebook, but i see no way for this thing to interface with any form of internet connection, other than maybe via USB and that would be taken up by a keyboard wouldnt it?
Ian Bell over Elite?
Now that the "Burner" disposable phone is mandatory for any smart TV criminal, how long til the "evil hacker dudes" start carrying these as "Burner PC's"? The CSI crew closes in on the bad guys IP address (Yeah I know but thats what they'll do) and round the corner with guns drawn to find...raspberry pi. And you thought they were gonna catch the bad guy 13 minutes early this week.
Two of TFA links say it has a 12MP camera onboard. That's nearly one third of the system's 128MB RAM used for a single image capture - I wonder if they mean 1.2MP?
I really hope this makes it to market. The projected price is a killer.
With the small size and low price, this would be awesome for low-cost robotics - maybe schools or FIRST could buy them in volume.
All you need to add is a small powered USB hub and then you can add a USB servo controller, bluetooth/wifi, camera etc.
...than designing cheap low-end computers ? Like releasing freaking Elite IV already ???
get your ass back to work !
I'd like to obfusticate his face.
What is the point of making this a USB stick? It obviously needs to be connected to a powered USB hub. So, why not make a USB hub PC? i.e. include this device with its hdmi port in the hub, so that in the end you only need one small device, instead of this tiny usb stick device PLUS one small device?
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
Not sure I really see the point of this. If you already have a computer to plug this device in to, what's the point of adding another one? Why not just get a simple USB WiFi dongle?
Just junk food for thought...
ARM 11 is the older tech so when you think of your smartphone it's running a Cortex A8 or A9 which are about 2x faster per clock speed. top that off with the 128MB of memory and you have something which can run Linux with a very light desktop and one smallish app. As an educational aid this isn't a problem but as something most /.ers would be thinking of doing it would be under powered.
;-)
But! A Beowulf cluster of these....
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
How is this thing different than a Gumstix? Perhaps the price which is about 10% less, but on the other hand it is has yet to be sold so we don't know the price. And as for fitting a beowulf into a shoebox, well Gumstix was there first
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
OK, this is unrelated, but I just saw the weirdest slashdot quote on the bottom of the page (where they have some funny or witty or interesting quote). Here is the direct copy and paste:
N PBQR BS RGUVPNY ORUNIVBE SBE CNGVRAGF: 1. QB ABG RKCRPG LBHE QBPGBE GB FUNER LBHE QVFPBZSBEG. Vaibyirzrag jvgu gur cngvrag'f fhssrevat zvtug pnhfr uvz gb ybfr inyhnoyr fpvragvsvp bowrpgvivgl. 2. OR PURRESHY NG NYY GVZRF. Lbhe qbpgbe yrnqf n ohfl naq gelvat yvsr naq erdhverf nyy gur tragyrarff naq ernffhenapr ur pna trg. 3. GEL GB FHSSRE SEBZ GUR QVFRNFR SBE JUVPU LBH NER ORVAT GERNGRQ. Erzrzore gung lbhe qbpgbe unf n cebsrffvbany erchgngvba gb hcubyq. % N PBQR BS RGUVPNY ORUNIVBE SBE CNGVRAGF: 4. QB ABG PBZCYNVA VS GUR GERNGZRAG SNVYF GB OEVAT ERYVRS. Lbh zhfg oryvrir gung lbhe qbpgbe unf npuvrirq n qrrc vafvtug vagb gur gehr angher bs lbhe vyyarff, juvpu genafpraqf nal zrer creznarag qvfnovyvgl lbh znl unir rkcrevraprq. 5. ARIRE NFX LBHE QBPGBE GB RKCYNVA JUNG UR VF QBVAT BE JUL UR VF QBVAT VG. Vg vf cerfhzcghbhf gb nffhzr gung fhpu cebsbhaq znggref pbhyq or rkcynvarq va grezf gung lbh jbhyq haqrefgnaq. 6. FHOZVG GB ABIRY RKCREVZNAGNY GERNGZRAG ERNQVYL. Gubhtu gur fhetrel znl abg orarsvg lbh qverpgyl, gur erfhygvat erfrnepu cncre jvyy fheryl or bs jvqrfcernq vagrerfg. % N PBQR BS RGUVPNY ORUNIVBE SBE CNGVRAGF: 7. CNL LBHE ZRQVPNY OVYYF CEBZCGYL NAQ JVYYVATYL. Lbh fubhyq pbafvqre vg n cevivyrtr gb pbagevohgr, ubjrire zbqrfgyl, gb gur jryy-orvat bs culfvpvnaf naq bgure uhznavgnevnaf. 8. QB ABG FHSSRE SEBZ NVYZRAGF GUNG LBH PNAABG NSSBEQ. Vg vf furre neebtnapr gb pbagenpg vyyarffrf gung ner orlbaq lbhe zrnaf. 9. ARIRE ERIRNY NAL BS GUR FUBEGPBZVATF GUNG UNIR PBZR GB YVTUG VA GUR PBHEFR BS GERNGZRAG OL LBHE QBPGBE. Gur cngvrag-qbpgbe eryngvbafuvc vf n cevivyrtrq bar, naq lbh unir n fnperq qhgl gb cebgrpg uvz sebz rkcbfher. 10. ARIRE QVR JUVYR VA LBHE QBPGBE'F CERFRAPR BE HAQRE UVF QVERPG PNER. Guvf jvyy bayl pnhfr uvz arrqyrff vapbairavrapr naq rzoneenffzrag. % N qvfgenhtug cngvrag cubarq ure qbpgbe'f bssvpr. "Jnf vg gehr," gur jbzna vadhverq, "gung gur zrqvpngvba gur qbpgbe unq cerfpevorq jnf sbe gur erfg bs ure yvsr?" Fur jnf gbyq gung vg jnf. Gurer jnf whfg n zbzrag bs fvyrapr orsber gur jbzna cebprrqrq oeniryl ba. "Jryy, V'z jbaqrevat, gura, ubj frevbhf zl pbaqvgvba vf. Guvf cerfpevcgvba vf znexrq `AB ERSVYYF'". % N qbpgbe pnyyf uvf cngvrag gb tvir uvz gur erfhygf bs uvf grfgf. "V unir fbzr onq arjf," fnlf gur qbpgbe, "naq fbzr jbefr arjf." Gur onq arjf vf gung lbh bayl unir fvk jrrxf gb yvir." "Bu, ab," fnlf gur cngvrag. "Jung pbhyq cbffvoyl or jbefr guna gung?" "Jryy," gur qbpgbe ercyvrf, "V'ir orra gelvat gb ernpu lbh fvapr ynfg Zbaqnl." % N jbzna culfvpvna unf znqr gur fgngrzrag gung fzbxvat vf arvgure culfvpnyyl qrsrpgvir abe zbenyyl qrtenqvat, naq gung avpbgvar, rira jura vaqhytrq gb va rkprff, vf yrff unezshy guna rkprffvir crggvat." -- Cheqhr Rkcbarag, Wna 16, 1925 % N jbzna jrag vagb n ubfcvgny bar qnl gb tvir ovegu. Nsgrejneqf, gur qbpgbe pnzr gb ure naq fnvq, "V unir fbzr... bqq arjf sbe lbh." "Vf zl onol nyy evtug?" gur jbzna nakvbhfyl nfxrq. "Lrf, ur vf," gur qbpgbe ercyvrq, "ohg jr qba'g xabj ubj. Lbhe fba (jr nffhzr) jnf obea jvgu ab obql. Ur bayl unf n urnq." Jryy, gur qbpgbe jnf pbeerpg. Gur Urnq jnf nyvir naq jryy, gubhtu ab bar xarj ubj. Gur Urnq ghearq bhg gb or snveyl abezny, vtabevat uvf ynpx bs n obql, naq yvirq sbe fbzr gvzr nf glcvpny n yvsr nf pbhyq or rkcrpgrq haqre gur pvephzfgnaprf. Bar qnl, nobhg gjragl lrnef nsgre gur sngrshy ovegu, gur jbzna tbg n cubar pnyy sebz nabgure qbpgbe. Gur qbpgbe fnvq, "V unir erpragyl cresrpgrq na bcrengvba. Lbhe fba pna yvir n abezny yvsr abj: jr pna tensg n obql bagb uvf urnq!" Gur jbzna, cenpgvpnyyl jrrcvat jvgu wbl, gunaxrq gur qbpgbe naq uhat hc. Fur ena hc gur fgnvef fnlvat, "Wbuaal, Wbuaal, V unir n *jbaqreshy* fhecevfr sbe lbh!" "Bu ab," pevrq Gur Urnq, "abg nabgure UNG!" % Nsgre uvf yrtf unq orra oebxra va na nppvqrag, Ze. Zvyyre fhrq sbe qnzntrf, pynzvat gung ur jnf pevccyrq naq jbhyq unir gb fcraq gur erfg bs uvf yvsr va n jurrypunve. Nygubhtu gur vafhena
Except it doesn't come with keyboard, screen or power supply.
From the article, specs appear comparable to the Wii. Plug in a USB joystick (or several through a hub) and an HDTV, and you have the fourth game console. And 5 volt power supplies are cheap in any cell phone shop.
I can see the excuses now:
"I'm sorry Mrs. Smith, but the dog ate my computer."
"Damnit, where did I leave my computer now?"
"Crap, I left my computer in my pants and washed them."
"So, I was hacking the Gibson naked, slipped, and fell, and that's how my computer got stuck up my butt."
Zarch/Virus.. Elite/Frontier.. Rollercoaster Tycoon.. LostWinds.. Raspberry Pi..
Braben for President! Of the World! ..and, much to my surprise, he's younger than I am, which makes me feel really old and unsuccessful :( heh
This reminded of the credit card sized computer from "Ghost in the Shell", the one left under a payphone for a hacker.
I told people years ago that some day we'd walk into a drugstore and buy PCs next to the cigarette lighters and cheapo fans.
It just seems like a logical conclusion to the "cheaper, faster" trend. I started thinking this way in the late 90s. Prior to that, it was always $2000 for a PC. They just kept getting faster. Once they got fast enough to do video it seemed like there was not much more need for speed. It seems like price competition really heated up after that.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Basic android phones are within ten dollars of this now in the UK at least. Wouldn't adding hdmi out and a bluetooth keyboard to one of those rather trump this considerably?
The power comes from the HDMI cable which supplies 5v.
Work Safe Porn
Let me know when I can embed it in my brain.
I want a few of these quick. What a wonderful product if they can hold price it would be wonderful times two.
2 ports and the size of a pack of gum? That sounds like Apple's roadmap.
Mactini: The macbook with one key
To make it easier for everyone the device could use a DisplayPort rather than an HDMI and USB connectors. The DisplayPort has audio, video, and USB in it. Ethernet-to-USB would typically be in the dongle that splays out the connection. The problem is that the dongle to convert DisplayPort to USB, Ethernet, stereo audio, mic, and HDMI costs more than the mini-PC, but standardizing on the DisplayPort would make it easier for the kids and the schools to use them.
What percent of TVs have DisplayPorts in addition to HDMI connectors?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort
I want this thing, but I need it with 2 ethernet ports. Who needs a firewall/router appliance, when I could stick this in front of a cheap switch?
mark
If this works out he should be knighted. Good job David!
Seems like they created a device that aims for "cool", but missed having targetted usefulness.
Requring that you have an external USB hub to do any useful I/O, just kills the "hey, a small portable computer!" factor.
As it stands, it makes kind of a neat "Output Only" device. Plug into HDMI display, and you could have a neat animated wall decoration or something. Presuming that it can draw enough power from hdmi to actually run. Making it functionally targetted for merely non-interactive eye-candy.
It cant even handle streaming video feeds or something in that mode: No wireless, or other networking onboard!
Personally, I'd find it more useful if they can make a variant that can operate in pure HDMI-powered mode, with no other external power. Somehow rig up a low-power keyboard connection for it, and/or joystick, and you then have the ultimate cheapo game platform for this generation of hardware.
The video goes off too much into educational and programming goals for making the device available.
Let's get down to what this class of computer will really be used for:
Bank terminal - a single-purpose computer for accessing a bank account online (eg: as a requirement for business accounts)
Set-top box - netflix, web, pandora, youtube, internet TV, porn, skype, picture gallery
Office terminal - think Citrix, LTSP, and Web-3.0 client
Game console - casual games - Bejewelled, Farmville, Mame32, Android
To finance the idealistic goals of free computers for kids, sell 2 commercial boxes for $40 each to build a free one for the kids.
BEOwulf just got bit off.
I agree that the schools have focused on fluff (PowerPoint as a classroom topic? Could school be any more tortuous, and now we are inflicting yet another generation of people who cannot talk face to face in a group and communicate like we humans are hard-wired for).
However, remember, parents are the primary influence on children. While I would not want to write an electronic health record using Logo, it is still a decent tool for the early elementary school age child (plus it teaches them polar geometry basics), and basic if/then/else programming. I have not delved too deeply yet to figure out if it can do recursion or data structures. If not, once they get the hang of driving a turtle around the screen we can jump to a standard didactic platform like you can do with Java, PLT Scheme, etc.
If anyone knows of a more exciting language to use to teach 6-9 year old kids how to program (I haven't granted them BASH shells yet, so that isn't a great option) please do speak up!
Anybody else thinking this thing would be an ideal candidate for Tesla wireless power?
Remember all the articles over the years about USB being an unsafe bus in that any device can eavesdrop on USB peripherals sending information along the lines? My guess is you plug this USB computer into a POWERED USB hub and it randomly grabs and syncronizes Input from the first Human Interface Device Keyboard on that USB bus, and the same goes for any secondary peripherals in it's reach.
I bet this USB computer needs every THING to swear an Oath to not hurt it if ever you plug-in a BeoWulf cluster of them onto the same bus; what will they fight over to secure for Input Device peripherals? There was a similar problem in the Multi-User X Server that could only randomly grab USB Input peripherals for a multi-head display, but maybe USB has changed a little bit since then -- I know my USB peripherals all change in what order their activate on the bus, and so I can't just assume one USB Keyboard & Mouse will correspond to a certain display so everything gets traded around until we find what USB Keywoard & Mouse correspond to whichever Monitor since boot-up. That's why *nix is so-much better on uptime so we rarely ever do this and if-all just unplug everything while a script gives notice of when to plug-in and re-associate a branch of USB hubs or hardware to whichever station.
USB just sucks, and should've been replaced by 1394 Firewire, but alas...Intel...wants it to be a general-purpose bus that any hardware can eavesdrop on information it shares on the bus.
With this size, 1080p video, HDMI, and wifi, this can easily be XBMC in my pocket. Everybody seems to be complaining about all the peripherals needed to make this work (like a powered usb hub), but this device can easily get power via a cheap usb A cord and wall wart. Everybody has these lying around for their android or iphone devices.
A typical portable audio player (e.g. Sanisk Sansa Fuze) has a dual core ARM processor, 32MB of ram, gigabytes of flash, a few UI buttons, a USB device port, internal rechargeable battery (charged by USB), and a video screen. They are cheap, like $30 for the 2gb Clip model at newegg.com right now. You can run your own code on them by downloading Rockbox and modifying it. I've wanted for a while to program them for use as crypto coprocessors.
There are many little ARM boards, some of which are priced as low as $39 in quantity 1. These are useful for applications where the ATMega in an Arduno is too limiting.
The choice of peripherals these guys made is unusual. With a USB port and an HDMI port, you can build a game machine, which is probably what they had in mind. Most such boards are more suited to embedded applications, and have I/O - digital TTL ports, Ethernet, LCD drive, etc.
A problem with these minimal machines is deciding what to put on them. The lowest-price devices tend to have too little of some resource and too much of something you don't need. This leads to a proliferation of little embedded boards with slightly different options, which runs the cost back up.
For hobbyists, the Leaflands Maple may be interesting. It's an ARM board in the Arduno form factor. It's compatible with Arduno daughter boards ("shields"), and has some commonality with the Arduno development environment. Not enough memory to run Linux, though.
The $25 price is a vaporware price - they're not actually shipping. NXP is shipping LPCExpresso for "under $30", and that includes the entire tool chain (Eclipse, GCC, JTAG debugger, etc.)
Video Wall.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Quite useless without networking support. Sotrage can be in the cloud - so doesn't necessarliy have to be on the device.
Otherwise very very neat!
Does it run Quake?
cut an paste- makes a great dinner party game :)
Try the Moo Shu Pork. It is especially good today. % Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance. % Try to have as good a life as you can under the circumstances. % Try to relax and enjoy the crisis. -- Ashleigh Brilliant % Try to value useful qualities in one who loves you. % Tuesday After Lunch is the cosmic time of the week. % Tuesday is the Wednesday of the rest of your life. % What happened last night can happen again. % While you recently had your problems on the run, they've regrouped and are making another attack. % Write yourself a threatening letter and pen a defiant reply. % You are a bundle of energy, always on the go. % You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here. % You are a very redundant person, that's what kind of person you are. % You are always busy. % You are as I am with You. % You are capable of planning your future. % You are confused; but this is your normal state. % You are deeply attached to your friends and acquaintances. % You are destined to become the commandant of the fighting men of the department of transportation. % You are dishonest, but never to the point of hurting a friend. % You are fairminded, just and loving. % You are farsighted, a good planner, an ardent lover, and a faithful friend. % You are fighting for survival in your own sweet and gentle way. % You are going to have a new love affair. % You are magnetic in your bearing. % You are not dead yet. But watch for further reports. % You are number 6! Who is number one? % You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. % You are scrupulously honest, frank, and straightforward. Therefore you have few friends. % You are sick, twisted and perverted. I like that in a person. % You are so boring that when I see you my feet go to sleep. % You are standing on my toes. % You are taking yourself far too seriously. % You are the only person to ever get this message. % You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading this sort of trash. % You attempt things that you do not even plan because of your extreme stupidity. % You can create your own opportunities this week. Blackmail a senior executive. % You can do very well in speculation where land or anything to do with dirt is concerned. % You can rent this space for only $5 a week. % You could live a better life, if you had a better mind and a better body. % You definitely intend to start living sometime soon. % You dialed 5483. % You display the wonderful traits of charm and courtesy. % You don't become a failure until you're satisfied with being one. % You enjoy the company of other people. % You feel a whole lot more like you do now than you did when you used to. % You fill a much-needed gap. % You get along very well with everyone except animals and people. % You had some happiness once, but your parents moved away, and you had to leave it behind. % You have a deep appreciation of the arts and music. % You have a deep interest in all that is artistic. % You have a reputation for being thoroughly reliable and trustworthy. A pity that it's totally undeserved. % You have a strong appeal for members of the opposite sex. % You have a strong appeal for members of your own sex. % You have a strong desire for a home and your family interests come first. % You have a truly strong individuality. % You have a will that can be influenced by all with whom you come in contact. % You have an ability to sense and know higher truth. % You have an ambitious nature and may make a name for yourself. % You have an unusual equipment for success. Be sure to use it properly. % You have an unusual magnetic personality. Don't walk too close to metal objects which are not fastened down. % You have an unusual understanding of the problems of human relationships. % You have been selected for a secret mission. % You have Egyptian flu: you're going to be a mummy. % You have had a long-term stimulation relative to business. % You have literary talent that you should take pains to
Would be good to have GeoGebra on to support the math curriculum too:
http://www.geogebra.org
The whole smartphone ecosystem shows the great value and capability of a small device which can tap the Internet for mass storage. You don't have to worry about what to put on there when the Internet amounts to local storage. This thing looks like a tipping point waiting to happen.
...until it can run Duke Nukem Forever.
"We live in a global world" - Harvey Pitt, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman
If you wanted to develop a small cheap computer, why would you make it look like a USB stick and give it a male USB connector?
This looks like some USB-to-HDMI stick that has been hacked to run Linux. That's nice, but it doesn't exactly make a supported product.
Smartphone - Baseband processor - HID - Display
This pocket PC looks great. I would love to have one. And it runs my favourite operating system. So can't complain
However, to be picky... I would like these additions:
1. wifi
2. bluetooth
3. powered from USB
I don't know if the above is possible to pack in. But if the above additions could be done... I would buy one for each of my TV's and then just plug it into a spare HDMI port and add a little USB extension to the USB port on the TV for power (all of my TV's have USB port as well). Then I could have a networked PC available for couch control without any footprint.
True, it can display a screen full of high-definition text. But being able to display a high-definition picture doesn't imply being able to display a moving polygonal HD picture. The Super NES and Sega Genesis had 480i screen modes, but very few games ever used anything but 240p due to memory requirements. PC VGA could display text and low-color graphics in 480p (VGA mode), but Doom, Doom 2, and the first Quake ran in 32-bit DOS in 200p mode 13h. The original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 likewise had 480i, but still, most games with any sort of motion in them ran at 240p.
I want one or two to tinker with. Highly constrained
little gems like this are worth giving a good hard
look. Systems full of bloatware are too hard to maintain.
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.
No ethernet port? Put a NIC on it, and with 1000 of these connected together, instant supercomputer. Model nuclear weapons, climate, space missions, fluid dynamics, etc.
Why not use the tech to make a portable net book. Then people can buy cheap net books for 50 dollars or so. While having more room for batteries and make it have a 48 hour run time per charge and a 50,000+ standby time.