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Remix Mini Review: a $70 Android Desktop PC (liliputing.com)
walterbyrd writes: Earlier this year, Jide released a 2-in-1 tablet called the Remix Ultra, which shipped with a custom version of Android called Remix OS. The software features a taskbar, a desktop, support for keyboard shortcuts, and support for running many apps either in full-screen mode or in smaller windows. The Remix Ultra tablet comes with a keyboard cover and touchpad, allowing you to use it like a laptop — and it worked... kind of. But the Remix Ultra is also kind of expensive. Now Jide is offering something much more affordable: the Jide Remix Mini is basically a small, low-power desktop computer that ships with Remix OS. After running a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise money (and awareness) this fall, Jide is now shipping the Remix Mini to customers.
I got one of these from the Kickstarter campaign. It works reasonably well. I haven't tried to do much with it, but as a tiny desktop computer it's OK.
I had initial problems getting the display to work, because my monitor (a Benq GW1255) only accepted 1080p on its HDMI interface and the Remix output 720p. I first connected the Remix to a monitor that could handle 720p and changed the Remix's display settings, but I finally ended up getting a HDMI to VGA connector (from Amazon by CableMaster, about $10) and it now works fine.
I use the Remix just for playing around. It prints fine with a Brother driver over my wifi to a 2360DW.
I use my Apple keyboard (wired) with its attached trackball via USB, and they both work without any problems.
So far, I like it.
(Wow - I sure haven't posted in a loooooong time - look at my sig)
This is the Constitution.This is the Constitution under the Bush administration. Any questions?
This looks a lot like android set-top box. While they can perform some functions of a PC, they are still far. In that regard this modified android is a step in right direction, although it seems there are still things to be desired.
I've been looking for a cheap low power fanless server that I could host a web server I could ssh into for my family. Think along the lines of managing chores, etc. Is this something that's fit for that task or are there better options (such as something even cheaper)?
I saw Android 2-in-1s going for 80 last week. And Win10 2-in-1s starting at $100. And those include display/keyboard/trackpad so they're ready to go out of the box. They're not amazingly powerful but neither is this thing. Why would I pay $70 for something in the same class that lacks input devices, a display, and a battery? $25 tops.
I get that people that live on their phones may be fond of their apps and the app store(s) and the environment they are used to, but please consider:
The Raspberry Pi 2 (under $40), running Raspbian, is a very usable Debian Linux based desktop environment, unencumbered by the limitations of Android.
'sudo apt-cache search ' will yield all sorts of interesting things worth investigating, and maybe even a few worth 'sudo apt-get install '
Android for anything other than a phone is rather pointless.
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." - H. G. Wells
What is the point of all these Kickstarter Android toys? Maybe I shouldn't even call them toys, as they're barely capable of doing anything short of being a word processor.
The Ouya was a flop, this is just the Ouya again minus the controller. Why do people keep funding these things that nobody has any practical use for? If you're not sticking this thing in your kitchen to read recipes, I think this is yet another product looking for a market that doesn't exist.
Look, I know everyone wants to whine and bitch about AppleTV being a whole lot of powerful stuff and nothing in the Android camp is even remotely close to it, but please Android fans, stop trying to use Android as a sad excuse to say "it runs Android" because that's not a selling point. "Runs all Android games that would normally require a 800$ Samsung Galaxy S6" would WoW me. Barely being able to open the web browser like the Raspberry Pi isn't progress. At least the Pi's can be used in robotics.
Geezus that Remix OS is a huge Windows 10 knock off. I wouldn't be surprised if the Chinese try to present it as such.
Sorry, but Android is totally unusable as a desktop operating system. (And I'm not saying that it's particularly usable on phones either.)
But how about installing some good GNU/Linux on it? Does it run?
I have nothing against Android on a smartphone or even a tablet. But not on a desktop or notebook. I would say even IOS would face similar problems on a desktop. Both OS have mobile roots and are not so inclined to work well with a mouse and keyboard. Nor does Apps work well in a desktop environment. I think they use Android only because its freely available.
The software features a taskbar, a desktop, support for keyboard shortcuts, and support for running many apps either in full-screen mode or in smaller windows.
I think many of these features have been pretty common for quite a while now...
...a raspberry pi is half the cost of this,
Development of peripheral hardware by hobbyists, for one. Windows already requires all kernel-mode drivers to be digitally signed with a certificate issued by a CA that Microsoft trusts. And in the run up to the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has announced that Windows will soon require drivers to be signed with an EV certificate, which only an established company can obtain. No, "Test Mode" doesn't help a hobbyist who intends to actually sell the hardware to other hobbyists at low volume.
In Android, can you have a browser in one half of the screen and e-mail in the other half so you can see the page you're referring to while you write an e-mail about it? Or since when has Android solved the problem of, say, the the full-screen calculator app?
A set-top box for grandma where she can use the same OS on her TV that she already has on her phone?
Answer this question from grandma: "Why does the calculator app take up the whole screen? I want to see the figures that I'm adding up." It's different with a phone, where the full-screen window management policy actually works well for what a 5" screen is capable of.
ironically Hangouts (an IM app - exactly the kind of thing you want to have in a small window) - didn't work at all.
That's because Google was for a long time adamant about running everything maximized. At one time, the Android CDD specified that the screen size that the OS presents to an app wasn't ever allowed to change after installation. This means all resizing to a window had to be zoom-based which isn't very good for text readability. Google even threatened to stop tolerating installation of Google Play Services and Store on CyanogenMod if the latter were to implement the Cornerstone window manager. (I can dig up citations if you want.)
I'm more bothered about how horrendous typical desktop features like cut-and-paste seem to be when translated to mobile and then back again via Android.
Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V on a Bluetooth keyboard work well in Android on my Nexus 7 (2012) tablet. The most painful part of copying text around is selecting it with a finger, but a mouse solves that.
Also why the f--- are they closing Windows 10? The utter lack of imagination the F/OSS community can have on occasion is staggering.
By "closing" do you mean "cloning"? If so, how else would a non-full-screen version of the Android app launcher look?
From the article:
I also see Gapps in the screenshots, meaning either Google somehow approved this or this product is infringing copyright in the Gapps. I'll assume good faith and assume the former. What got Google to change its mind and allow resizing apps after installation, which was previously forbidden?
Was going to load up RemixOS on a VM to try it out, looked at the website found this:
Disclaimer: Remix OS is only licensed to authorized business partners and pre-loaded on specific product models of those partners;it's not intended for personal use.
I know they have their part of the software that doesn't have to be GPL, but the rest has to be released. Scrutinize....
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The Android Compatibility Definition (CDD) as of about a year ago stated: "Devices MUST NOT change their reported screen size at any time." Dianne Hackborn of Google explained how Cornerstone broke the CDD.
Very cool little device, and it's great to see that people are waking up to the fact that Beijing, and the whole south-east of China really, is the new place to be if you're in electronics or IT, and that people who once left for the U.S are making their way back there.
I got one from the kickstarter, and I like it alot, it works well, doesnt take up much space and seems stable and fast enough for most light work.
I just can't seem to find a use for it around my house. It may very well end up in my sister's stocking as a Christmas present.
Have you ever fallen asleep at the keybhanusdiog?