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I don't really understand why Plug Computers [1] didn't catch on a lot. A decade and a half later and hardly made a dent. Super things, very simple to use, ju

I don't really understand why Plug Computers [1] didn't catch on a lot. A decade and a half later and hardly made a dent. Super things, very simple to use, just plug it in and leave it running. A decade and a half however is a long time and they've not come far other than getting bigger and less able to compete on features with new offerings. Perhaps the horse has left the stable on these. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug_computer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug_computer

moocowtruck 6y ago
I thought a few plug computers over the last decade... honestly I always had fire hazard at the back of my mind...and the one time I opened one up that was getting hot only to be horrified by the setup inside and stopped using it! Of course this doesn't speak for all plug computers, just why I've avoided them since
- zhte415 6y ago
  Right. I think this is a huge missed gap that may or more likely may not be filled in the future. A phone USB charger isn't in risk of being a fire hazard, nor an eSATA, nor some RAM, nor a wireless card. Passive cooling is plenty as long as not stuck in a cupboard, and being plugged into a wall brings the benefits of heat transfer to the wall. I agree that most implementations have got me cautious as well. But it shouldn't be so. I feel the concept has been eclipsed on several fronts and it'll take quite an effort to become mainstream.
- kc0bfv 6y ago
  I used a ShivaPlug and part of it melted. I was glad when I had planned for that by putting it on a low risk surface - it came with a cord option, and I was using that partly because I also don't like the strain it was likely to induce on the outlet.
ysleepy 6y ago
I ran a dockstar with the same kirkwood soc that was in the plugs. Ran well, even gbit. Had mpd, dhcp, dns, nat running on it. The plug variants were overheating left and right though.

moocowtruck 6y ago

I thought a few plug computers over the last decade... honestly I always had fire hazard at the back of my mind...and the one time I opened one up that was getting hot only to be horrified by the setup inside and stopped using it! Of course this doesn't speak for all plug computers, just why I've avoided them since

zhte415 6y ago
Right. I think this is a huge missed gap that may or more likely may not be filled in the future. A phone USB charger isn't in risk of being a fire hazard, nor an eSATA, nor some RAM, nor a wireless card. Passive cooling is plenty as long as not stuck in a cupboard, and being plugged into a wall brings the benefits of heat transfer to the wall. I agree that most implementations have got me cautious as well. But it shouldn't be so. I feel the concept has been eclipsed on several fronts and it'll take quite an effort to become mainstream.
kc0bfv 6y ago
I used a ShivaPlug and part of it melted. I was glad when I had planned for that by putting it on a low risk surface - it came with a cord option, and I was using that partly because I also don't like the strain it was likely to induce on the outlet.

ysleepy 6y ago

I ran a dockstar with the same kirkwood soc that was in the plugs. Ran well, even gbit. Had mpd, dhcp, dns, nat running on it. The plug variants were overheating left and right though.