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Meet "Ophelia," Dell's Plan To Reinvent Itself
redletterdave writes "Dell is reportedly working on a project codenamed 'Ophelia,' a USB stick-sized self-contained computer that provides access to virtually every major operating system — from the Mac OS, to Windows, to Google's Chrome OS, to cloud-based solutions from Citrix and Dell — all via the cloud. Powered by Android, Ophelia works just like a USB stick: Just plug it into any flat panel monitor or TV, and boom, you have a computer. Ophelia connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and can connect to keyboards and other peripherals over Bluetooth. Not only is the computer portable and power-efficient, but to make it truly accessible, Dell plans to sell the device for just $50."
The two biggest roadblocks to Ophelia - besides most LCD's not supporting this type of USB connection - is licensing these multiple OS's on the cloud and the inherent latencies that are going to hound such a small CPU while it tries to handle graphics, WiFi & Bluetooth network stacks and the throughput of data. $50 is a wonderful price for the hardware. What will the services end of this product cost?
Amazon will rent you an entire virtual Win Server 2008 server for around 12 cents/hour - presumably desktop pricing would be lower, but if a typical home user uses their desktop for 4 hours/day, that's around $15/month at 12 cents/hour.
The summary implies this somehow connects to a USB port on a monitor. I was curious how it would then do video. Answer - it doesn't use USB. It's actually made to connect to an MHL port, which isn't nearly as widespread as either HDMI or USB. MHL doesn't use a specific connector - although it's quite common for it to be provided as an alternative to USB over a micro-USB connector (some smartphones do this). But, it's one or the other - you can't do both at once over a USB connector. MHL ports provide power, where HDMI ones don't (well, 5V@50mA, which ain't much) - which is the reason they're doing it that way. (there are also some proprietary connectors with more pins which will accept a USB plug, or a proprietary plug which allows simultaneous USB and MHL)
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
even if this is useful as just a web browser, this is going to be a market changer.
They've been on the market for a while. I have half a dozen of them, given others to family and friends as Skype terminals.
http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=android+usb+pc&catId=0&manual=y
A lot of SMEs in parts of Asia have started using them as basic office PCs as well. I'd say Dell is trying to get on this wave before it peaks.
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."