Quad-Core Stick PC Runs Ubuntu

New submitter asola writes with this cool piece of small (ha!) news from Liliputing: "This Freescale i.MX6-quad based stick will officially support Ubuntu in addition to Android. This is a first among the newfangled category of ARM-based stick PCs. This Ubuntu may very well have the hw accelerated Gstreamer plugins created by Freescale for the i.MX6 so full HD video playing will be available under Ubuntu as well."

Comments

I can almost see the product behind the watermark

[Anonymous Coward]

...in the picture.

Re:cores?`

[h4rr4r]

This is a PC on a stick, there is no display and the input is likely just a USB port. You provide display and input devices yourself, like pretty much all non-laptop computers.

a new connection format

[Charliemopps]

What these stick PCs need is a new connector that carrys full HD, 7.1 audio, power to the stick, mouse, keyboard, and remote control commands. Then TVs could include this format, you plug in your CPU stick and viola... your TV can run anything you want. Anyone could write their own TV OS or whatever. Ok kickstarter, kickstart this.

Re:a new connection format

[afidel]

Nah, having used one of these you just plug it into HDMI and USB for power (both are on the back of most TV/displays today) and use Bluetooth for keyboard/mouse and WiFi for networking. We got a couple to use as the drivers for a digital signage project, plug it into the back of any tv and turn it into a digital sign that you can update over the web. The things we found missing for that application were GPS for inventory management and cellular for updates at sites that lack WiFi coverage. We could have used a USB cellular card but that kind of defeats the elegance of a stick computer with two cables.

Re:a new connection format

[CyberKnet]

You're proposing to plug the mouse and keyboard into the TV .... instead of the stick? It sounds like you want to have the TV act as a KVM switch, which seems a bit odd unless you plan on having multiple sticks installed... I'm guessing you're in the very far minority that would want that.

Aside from that, TVs really do need a new connector. HDMI already supports full HD, 7.1 audio, ethernet, and CEC. There's enough there to let the stick control the TV, and get network service from the TV.

The power want is pretty reasonable in the general case, and I've wondered about it in the past... but do take a closer look at this stick in particular. It wants power from a 5V micro-usb. If your TV has a USB port for firmware updates, it can probably already power the thing. For TV's manufactured in the last 5 years, the odds are pretty likely.

Cheers!

Re:Render farms

[Phreakiture]

I had been tinkering with the idea of implementing HPC tasks in Javascript so that the compute nodes can be anything with a web browser. It wouldn't be the most efficient thing in the world, mind you, but I think it would be an amusing way to structure distributed computing. A popular enough site might be able to overcome not using GPUs just by sheer brute force of its viewership.

Re:I can almost see the product behind the waterma

[interkin3tic]

It's a real shame too: the product is beautiful to gaze at. A real work of art. Here is a -slightly- lower resolution image of the product with no watermark.

Elimination of clutter?

[asylumx]

What a great idea! Let's get rid of the machine and JUST have a nest of cables!

Re:I can almost see the product behind the waterma

[hattig]

Pictures: http://liliputing.com/2012/12/zealz-gk802-tv-stick-packs-quad-core-freescale-cpu-onto-a-99-pc-on-a-stick.html

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Unii-GK802-Fresscale-i-MX6-Quad-Dure-Cortex-A9-DDR3-1GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-TV-Box-Dongle----Black-312807.html

http://blog.geekbuying.com/index.php/2012/12/12/quad-core-tv-stick-gk802-finally-stock-in-geekbuying/

Wonder what the Vivante quad core graphics is like, performance wise, compared to its peers.

Re:Render farms

[jbeaupre]

I'm waiting for these SoCs to be packaged a dozen at a time on a DIMM-style board. Slap a hand full of these on a motherboard for flexible expansion.

There's minimal demand for this. It's just my prediction of how computers might evolve as power and price drop to levels that make adding computing power as simple as adding RAM.

Usage Scenarios, Retardation of Linux Community

[ilikenwf]

Were it me, I'd want one for a media center on the TV, running Android for the native Netflix support and XBMC, and then I would keep the other in my backpack or pocket or something for a go-anywhere backup machine. That said, it would have Debian or Archlinux arm installed, since Ubuntu is a steaming pile.

I really wish that bloggers and promoters would stop saying something "runs Ubuntu" without regard to other Linux distros. No device is exclusive to Ubuntu. If it runs a Linux kernel, it can run any Linux distro compiled for it's given architecture. This blind devotion to Canonical's sub-par distro is why we have so many retards clogging up Slashdot, various mailing lists, and forums with stupid questions beginning with "my Ubuntu is broken," or "Help me fix my Ubuntu." These people think Ubuntu is the end-all, be-all Linux without having tried anything else.

These ignorant people need mentors and education so that they can grow and evolve, trying other distros, and maybe even go back and improve Ubuntu to make it a bit less of an abortion than it is now. If you're a Linux vet, you've already gone through that circle, and need to pay it forward by helping educate the n00bs so that we don't get so many retarded questions - or over simplified crap - from Ubuntu and it's users.