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Intel's Next Gen Compute Stick Beefs Up Processing With Core M3 and M5 Models (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: Intel is taking another stab at the PC-in-your-pocket form factor with their next gen Compute Sticks. These over-sized thumbstick devices plug into the HDMI port of any TV or monitor and offer a full-fledged computing experience and Intel has now made them faster and more capable. New for 2016, there are three new base model Compute Sticks to choose from. The first is an entry-level option running a quad-core Atom x5-z8400 quad-core processor clocked at 1.44GHz to 2.24GHz with 2GB of RAM, 32GB of eMMC storage, a pair of USB ports, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Windows 10. But perhaps more interesting are the new 6th Generation Intel Core M models. The higher end of the two is powered by a Skylake Core m5-6Y57 vPro processor while the lower end version is equipped with a Core m3-6Y30. Both models boast 4GB of DDR3-1866 RAM, 64GB of eMMC storage expandable via microSD card slot, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and three USB 3.0 ports (one on the Compute Stick and two on the power adapter). Without an OS, the Core m3 model runs $300; Windows 10 adds $100 to the price tag. The Core m5 Compute Stick will run $500 and, at least for now, doesn't appear to offer a version with Windows 10 pre-installed. The new Compute Sticks will be available in February.
My guess is that because it's using Sky Lake generation cores, it's likely to also be using Sky Lake generation chipsets and devices. So, it would follow that any Linux distribution that works properly on a Sky Lake desktop / laptop would also work on one of these.
That doesn't mean it won't be a huge ass pain to get it going.
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
Microsoft is idiotic for charging $100 for an OS on a $300 device. It virtually guarantees that many people will be interested in a free alternative simply on the basis of price (as well as the typical several percent for other reasons). $100 is a reasonable one-time expense when your PC costs a few thousand. It's ridiculous for a $160 to $500 device - and the low price is really all these things have going for them. This is the arrogance that a 95% marketplace dominance breeds.
I really wish the PC OS market were a bit more balanced, even as someone who primarily uses Windows. I'd love to see a three-way split among desktop OSes among Windows, OS X, and Linux. I'd gladly give Microsoft a third of the phone market for this, because I think the competition would be good for everyone.
You can see this in the console market, where you know that competition with Sony's PS4 was the only reason MS backed down from their initial must-check-in-once-a-day stance. I've seen this with Sony as well. Back when their PS2 was head-stomping all the other platforms, Sony was a pain in the ass to work with when getting a PS2 game certified. You couldn't believe the difference in how nice and helpful they were if you were developing a PSP game though, since that platform was lagging far behind Nintendo's handhelds.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
If an "OS X Lite" were avaailable on Compute Stick, it could be a great way of introducing users to a non-Windows OS that they could use for some existing low-RAM applications.
$500? For a low-spec computer with 64 gb hd and no operating system?
I can't imagine why somebody would want this.
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So, it would follow that any Linux distribution that works properly on a Sky Lake desktop / laptop would also work on one of these. That doesn't mean it won't be a huge ass pain to get it going.
Not really sure why, because there is almost no third party peripherals that need drivers and Intel got pretty good open source support for all of theirs. I mean their last stick already had an Ubuntu version...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
You can tell it's OK because it has _Clean_ISO at the end of the name...
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
>> Microsoft gives you a working product or your money back
Good luck with that.
I have plenty of common sense, I just choose to ignore it. -- Calvin
Windows 10 is FREE (without personalisation). Download the ISO from Microsoft's own website. No time expirey on unactivated installs, just disables personalisation.
Same for Windows IoT for SoC boards.
This assumes that time is money, which is false. That $150 comes out of one's normal salary and spending 15 hours of your own free time on this does not earn you any more or less money. To earn that $150 you have to work real hours on a real job. $150 is $150, it's a lot of money, you don't sneeze at that even if you're making a decent salary. The time is money adage only applies if you are hiring someone to set this up for you.
Next you could say $1000 is only a week's salary so don't quibble about it and just bite the bullet. But any sane person would say this is far too expensive for an OS license. There's a dividing line between what people consider as inexpensive and what is considered too expensive, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with hourly wages or comparison to cups of coffee or a price of a night out at the movies. If you've got a choice of "$400 with Windows versus $300 with Linux" the choice is not that hard for people who understand how to use Linux. The only time to pay a premium is if you get a premium product in return.