13 ms·

Intel Compute Stick

929 points by stickhandle 12y ago

fidotron 12y ago
Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. It's fairly interesting to note what it's not: Android or Chrome OS. I suspect Microsoft will do quite well out of this, especially in the digital signage market, anywhere which is reasonably price sensitive but if developer time and cost can be reduced then they get a lot of leeway. Still, yet another reminder that the cost of computing is collapsing. Most of the cost here is Intel margin and in the case of the more expensive one MS licenses.
- ashcairo 12y ago
  Microsoft made licenses for their OS's free for anything under 9 inches.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    Not sure it applies to this, since it doesn't have a screen. Windows is used in a lot of embedded applications, and I think we still charge for that (disclaimer: unknowledgeable Microsoft employee).
    - rbanffy 12y ago
      They'll go great lengths to prevent Linux from getting any more exposure than Windows on any format. A zero or negative-cost license is to be expected.
      - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
        For embedded applications? Those aren't exactly visible; as a consumer, you can't really tell if it is running windows or not. Anyways, I'm not sure.
  - sciurus 12y ago
    I thought that was for devices with screens under 9 inches, e.g phones and some tablets. Is there still no charge if it doesn't have a screen?
    - damian2000 12y ago
      You'd think not because desktop PCs, ultra compact PCs (NUC, Brix) by definition don't come with a screen either - screens are add ons. I think the 9" rule basically applied to mobile devices only, i.e. tablets and smartphones.
  - tdicola 12y ago
    Is that for OEMs or for end users? I thought it was just for OEMs.
- chrismsnz 12y ago
  > Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. Unfortunately, general purpose hardware and operating system needs a fair amount of juice to route and inspect 1gbps of traffic. Best performance per watt I've found is the Edgerouter Lite but that has dedicated routing acceleration hardware to achieve what it does with the little mips processor it has. Closest you'll find is Soekris, ALIX or APU for a routing platform. A Beaglebone black makes a nice little box for lightweight serving on its own.
  - jrockway 12y ago
    There are ARM CPUs available that do network forwarding in hardware. Some even support iptables rules. I would be very surprised if a quad-core current-gen Atom could not do that in software, though. I could route 300Mbps through OpenBSD's pf on an AMD Geode.
    - wtallis 12y ago
      There's a lot out there that can do NAT and some firewalling in software at large fractions of a gigabit/s for pretty cheap. But if you throw in QoS and queue management the CPU requirements get very high by the standards of MIPS and embedded x86. And unfortunately, none of the network acceleration hardware you'll find on any of those SoCs has anything like a hardware implementation of fq_codel or even RED. The CeroWRT project has been searching for more than a year for a new generation of hardware to use as the platform for their development of better router software. There's nothing affordable that can keep up with the really fast DOCSIS connections available while doing anything intelligent on a per-packet basis.
      - walterbell 12y ago
        How about running the packet filter in a dual-NIC VM on a VT-d capable PC? Dell T20 has Xeon E3 for $500 with 1TB disk and 4GB RAM. Add a PCI NIC for firewall purposes and still have the rest of the PC for use to run other VMs. GPU can be passed through to another VM.
- ac29 12y ago
  > Most of the cost here is Intel margin Hard to say. Intel has taken a loss on their mobile division lately [1], and I'm assuming this is a mobile-class processor. ARM has had them spooked, enough to make a major shift into mobile-first development and offering heavy discounts (or perhaps even selling at cost or at a loss) on mobile hardware. [1] http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-to-merge-pc-and-mobile-processor-units-in-profit-push/# http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-to-merge-pc-and-mobile-pr...!
- erkose 12y ago
  "Pre-installed with Windows 8.1* or Linux"
  - yitchelle 12y ago
    Why is there a star against the Windows 8.1?
    - erkose 12y ago
      Further down it lists it as an indication of a trademark.
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
- ddeck 12y ago
  >Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. You may want to take a look at these: http://www.hystou.com/products/fanless-computers/celeron-1037u-mini-pc/12v-low-power-pc-cheap-desktop-computers-aluminum-case-celeron-1037u-cpu-2g-ram-8g-ssd-1101.html http://www.hystou.com/products/fanless-computers/celeron-103... It's small and fanless with dual gigabit ethernet ports. I use one with VyOS as a dedicated firewall/router/VPN client. Disclaimer: I bought mine from a 3rd party seller (via taobao) and not that site, although I believe they are the manufacturer.
- gizzlon 12y ago
  > Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. Yeah, me too.. I currently use a fan-less Via board with integrated 686 compatible CPU. It's been great, but it's now 7 (?) years old so it might be time for an upgrade. Wonder if they still make them, they never got the attention they deserved. Edit: The boards are called EPIA and come in different sizes: http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/boards/ http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/boards/ Mine has this processor - It's not Intel or AMD, but "Pentium compatible" :) cpu0: VIA Esther processor 1000MHz ("CentaurHauls" 686-class) 1 GHz Edit 2: Seems like these haven't matured a lot, and are expensive and hard to come by compared to other mini-itx boards. Do like the fanless, integrated processor on mine though, and that the power consumption is really low.
  - xorcist 12y ago
    There are fanless Atom motherboards with dual ethernet. Should be a painless upgrade for you when that time comes.
- papaf 12y ago
  I run one of these and I am quite happy with it: http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/marvell/mirabox http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/marvell/mirabox The arch support is good (apart of wireless).
interdrift 12y ago
This looks sick.Now all I need is a resizable monitor.
- nickbauman 12y ago
  I think this will come in the form of an LCD on flexible fabric in a few years. You'll roll it up into a tube and take it with you in your messenger bag.
  - interdrift 12y ago
    Can't wait to go camping with my 53 inch LCD screen in my backpack LOL.
    - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
      Short throw micro-projector and a [white 'canvas'] tent?
- rapind 12y ago
  Pocket projector. http://www.projectorcentral.com/popular-pocket-projectors.htm http://www.projectorcentral.com/popular-pocket-projectors.ht...
jostmey 12y ago
Great concept. I really like the idea of owning cheap computing devices. That way, if I break it I won't feel bad. Nothing feels worse than accidentally spilling water all over your expensive laptop. It would fit me just perfectly.
- interdrift 12y ago
  Hold on, who said it will be cheap?
  - jostmey 12y ago
    The linux version of the device is rumored to be priced at $90.
    - danielmeah 12y ago
      it's already for sale from chineese sellers. all this is, is a Intel case with exact same parts. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221639054114?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221639054114?_trksid=p2059210.m274... See http://lowendtalk.com/discussion/39399/meegopad-t01 http://lowendtalk.com/discussion/39399/meegopad-t01
      - discordance 12y ago
        A bit cheaper off DX: http://www.dx.com/p/meegopad-t01-quad-core-android-4-4-windows-8-hdmi-google-tv-player-w-2gb-ram-32gb-rom-eu-plug-361931#.VKyYFSuUcZw http://www.dx.com/p/meegopad-t01-quad-core-android-4-4-windo...
  - dangrossman 12y ago
    Given Intel/Windows tablets cost less than $100 in stores today, there's no reason to think similar hardware minus the touchscreen will cost much more.
    - interdrift 12y ago
cottonseed 12y ago
Can you do touch screen over HDMI?
- lucb1e 12y ago
  I know a tv can send back commands from e.g. the remote control over HDMI, it really is bidirectional communication, but I wouldn't know whether it's good enough for something like touchscreen.
  - freehunter 12y ago
    Well you can do 100Mbps Ethernet over HDMI 1.4 with a compatible cable, so I don't see why it would be technically impossible. The question is, can this stick do it?
  - _lce0 12y ago
    it read somewhere that it can keep up to 10 different connection/devices, I think over CEC. There are various comm protocols https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Communication_channel_protocols https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Communication_channel_pro...
- Sanddancer 12y ago
  No. Touch screen monitors with HDMI need another channel, usually a USB port, to send touch events. In theory, I guess you could send events over DDC, but then you're gonna have to get video driver makers involved, make sure that the spec you choose doesn't cause existing drivers to puke, etc.
  - sfilipov 12y ago
    On the picture there's a USB port, probably you will be able to use it to send touch events.
integraton 12y ago
What are the existing products this will compete with?
- mschuster91 12y ago
  For the media enthusiasts, likely the Chromecast and I believe Amazon also offers a HDMI stick computer.
  - brianbreslin 12y ago
    roku also has one. there was an open source one announced here on HN last week.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - notduncansmith 12y ago
    It doesn't seem like it's really competing with the Chromecast. My impression was that the Compute Stick can actually run software by itself, not requiring a connection to another device.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- Narishma 12y ago
  In the past couple of years there have been dozens of similar products based on ARM SoCs out there.
  - rab_oof 12y ago
    Yup. If any of this class of product were any good, we'd be using them right now. And even if Intel produced the best of breed, how much computing power can be wringed out of the power supplied by USB (say 10W max, which is generous)? Not much. (This product line is DOA.)
- lmedinas 12y ago
bobbles 12y ago
"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon." this is how product announcements work these days? Would've been nice to have a bit of actual information.
- kolev 12y ago
  They should at least collect emails, but, I guess, they expect a new wave of PR when it actually launches.
  - joezydeco 12y ago
    Like Edison did. Or didn't. Did that ever launch?
    - Alupis 12y ago
      Yes, but it's overpriced and the specs are poor (when compared to other embedded-like solutions)
      - asynchronous13 12y ago
        I'm quite happy with an edison board for $50. Is that overpriced?
        kolev 12y ago
        Haters gonna hate. Microsoft, Intel, Google - these brands are never cool for some ungrateful as where we are today is in big part thanks to those three.
  - snlacks 12y ago
    When companies have actual competitive value to offer, marketing is easier. I guess.
- allworknoplay 12y ago
  seriously, what a bunch of dinosaurs
lsiebert 12y ago
The interesting thing would be if you could stack them and cloud compute.
- tommoor 12y ago
  *cloud compute stick
- sandworm 12y ago
  Bundle of sticks = Tree computing? There is another, less-PC, name for a bundle of sticks but I don't think they would go that way.
  - eru 12y ago
    Fasces?
  - NLips 12y ago
    'bassoon'
- rab_oof 12y ago
  They're power limited by what a USB port can provide. It would make more sense to buy actual rack-mounted gear. Also, you'll need to setup a cloud cluster... A nontrivial task.
mperham 12y ago
Such an elegant name.
- encoderer 12y ago
  I look forward to Windows 8.1 Professional Compute Stick Edition
  - godzillabrennus 12y ago
    Maybe they'll have a special collectors version at launch.
hengheng 12y ago
Wait, so, an HDMI stick similar to those ARM/Android ones that we've all been using as media centers since 2012?
- SG- 12y ago
  with a real OS this time around and quite a bit more than just a 'media player'.
pzxc 12y ago
Wow. I have a feeling this could be a game changer. I'm more than impressed... I'm stunned.
- ossreality 12y ago
  Cause you haven't been paying attention for the last 3 years? Linux version for $90? I can get a bucket (3 probably) ARM Android ones for that price.
pedalpete 12y ago
As the power increases beyond Atom processors, I think this will be very compelling. I'd love to be able to unplug a dongle from my desktop monitor at home, and plug it into a tablet sized device to use on the train, then plug it into my monitor when I get to work, or a hotel rooms tv screen, or the presentation screen in our office conference room, etc. etc.
- niels_olson 12y ago
  I'm not clear how these work: is the idea that each device (desktop, tablet, etc) has a CPU and this is an additional CPU, so you're basically carting around your own VM and the host equipment can let you play in it's garden or not, complete with network access? Why is it that I don't see many corporate IT departments adopting this?
  - rab_oof 12y ago
    It's a full, separate system on a USB stick. This means it will need to patched and maintained, and that apps and dats will still need the usual back-and-forth sync of multiple systems.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- prawn 12y ago
  Wouldn't that often just be easier if it were your phone, so you didn't have to carry multiple devices?
  - mdaniel 12y ago
    I was really stoked when the Motorola Atrix came out, and was hoping that would turn into a trend: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Motorola-ATRIX-4G-Laptop-Dock-Review_id2667 http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Motorola-ATRIX-4G-Laptop-D...
  - pedalpete 12y ago
    Yes, phone would be ideal, but I think we're seeing that a phone OS is usually quite stripped down vs a desktop. Though I haven't tried the Ubuntu Touch stuff, so maybe that is the right solution. Pluging an HDMI or USB dongle into a display is pretty simple, I suspect pairing with your phone would be more difficult, or would require cables and such.
briandh 12y ago
"TV sticks" of this form factor have been all the rage on AliExpress, DealExtreme, and the like, although their popularity seems to have waned somewhat compared set-top-boxes (I read somewhere that it was due to trouble managing heat while customers demanded more powerful processors, but I don't know). See http://www.google.com/cse?q=tv+stick&sa=&cx=partner-pub-8120806476788575%3A3386820028&ie=UTF-8#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=tv%20stick&gsc.page=1 http://www.google.com/cse?q=tv+stick&sa=&cx=partner-pub-8120... and http://liliputing.com/?s=tv+stick http://liliputing.com/?s=tv+stick They've mostly run on ARM and Android, with some hobbyists loading more traditional Linux distros on. Probably the most notable exception that I know of is the following: http://liliputing.com/2014/12/100-bay-trail-pc-stick-can-run-ubuntu-windows.html http://liliputing.com/2014/12/100-bay-trail-pc-stick-can-run... If this is priced well it will be interesting to see how it impacts that landscape.
auvi 12y ago
Lately Intel is trying to enter several device markets. Other than their core products they now have at least the following "compute" products: - Intel NUC - Intel Galileo - Intel Edison Now comes the Compute Stick.
- xanderstrike 12y ago
  The sad thing to me is that none of them are even remotely innovative. The NUC is just a small form factor PC, exceptionally well executed but nothing new. Galileo is a Raspberry Pi Edison is an Arduino (sort of) Compute Stick is a Fire TV/Android Stick None of these could be really considered booming markets. ARM is eating Intel's lunch in the mobile market and Intel is shooting for the products that are least likely to turn a profit. If they could get a viable x86 phone on the market (or start making ARM processors) I think they'd be in much better shape.
dholowiski 12y ago
But, it doesn't exist. This will be interesting, when it exists.
allworknoplay 12y ago
Here's hoping they'll offer a version for embedded computing (and support it better than they historically supported their embedded motherboards).
aditya 12y ago
$149 for Windows 8.1 version and $89 for Linux version, not bad. via: http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-149-windows-pc-to-go http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-14...
- bhouston 12y ago
  That actually seems expensive for a device without a screen or input devices. I wish that Chromecast and Apple TV supported an open standard for streaming rather than everyone using their own proprietary standards.
  - wyldfire 12y ago
    AFAIK Chromecast uses DLNA underneath (which is mostly RTSP + mDNS discovery?).
    - TD-Linux 12y ago
      It hardly matters what they use when you need a client certificate to be able to connect.
- discardorama 12y ago
  ... and the Linux version will have half the RAM (1GB instead of 2GB) and a fourth the storage (8GB instead of 32GB). I think I might pass on this.
  - damian2000 12y ago
    Linux will probably run fine on those specs, remember Windows has a ton of overhead in terms of RAM and storage.
    - nacs 12y ago
      I'm not really concerned about whether Linux will run 'fine' on less hardware, I'd just want to be able to purchase the higher-end (hardware-wise) version. I'm not going to buy the high-end version if it requires me to buy the prepackaged Windows license however.
mark_l_watson 12y ago
Very cool, but... I think the future is our compute power in our "phones" that work with ambient peripherals (keyboards, monitors).
- sanderjd 12y ago
  Totally, anybody aware of anybody working on this?
  - wtracy 12y ago
    Surprisingly enough, it's already doable: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-set-up-the-galaxy-nexus-as-a-desktop-replacement/ http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-set-up-the-galaxy-nexus-as-...
  - cherioo 12y ago
    You can use MHL and bluetooth keyboard and mouse for something similar today.
- prawn 12y ago
  Could we see people move from a phone to carrying two devices? One which is quite personal (phone, social, camera, etc) and one which is a little more generic (general computing device). I'm thinking about how most people would be reluctant to let their phone out of their sight, while they could also use a general stick that allowed tasks, work, etc.
  - veb 12y ago
    I usually have my phone in my pocket, and my Moto360 watch on my wrist. Two devices. I used to be really reluctant to let my phone out of sight but since getting the smart watch, I no longer mind because it does an absolute fantastic job at notifying me of emails, texts, and other alerts. No longer do I have to pull out my phone to check stuff etc. I may be in the minority but it's definitely changed my habits. I feel as if it's "easier" for some reason.
  - rab_oof 12y ago
sentinel 12y ago
"compute-on-a-stick" what a name...
- logicallee 12y ago
  I seriously couldn't decide if the copywriter was laughing when he or she wrote "The Intel Compute Stick is a new generation compute-on-a-stick device." (Because x-on-a-stick is an inherently funny phrasing.) But I read the text very carefully and concluded that it was written earnestly, so I didn't leave a comment. It really is a new generation of compute-on-a-stick device.
  - niels_olson 12y ago
    The code names would all have to come from Something About Mary
ummonkwatz 12y ago
So long, NUC!
- rosege 12y ago
  needs more ram and better cpu before that
- Sanddancer 12y ago
  The NUC has different niches than what this is going for. The NUC line at the low end will probably be pushed out by this, but a lot of NUCs are sold with things like PCIe ports and the like that this thing almost certainly won't have. The low end has a lot of differentiation, especially in boutique devices where you just need a processor, and some kind of output.
rubiquity 12y ago
I'm anxiously awaiting for Intel to team up with Justin Timberlake and offer us Compute in a Box.
OedipusRex 12y ago
I really hope they get a 90 degree adapter for the HDMI.
quarterwave 12y ago
Consider the use case suggested by the image on the copy i.e; on-screen projection of slides in a business meeting. Can this use case be met with a tablet/smart phone using a VGA adapter?
- bulatb 12y ago
  The "business meeting" use case pictured doesn't make a lot of sense. The copy at the bottom says the stick itself is a computer, not a video receiver, so there'd have to be a keyboard/mouse/controller of some kind connected to it, and they'd have to get the slide deck onto it somehow, and open PowerPoint, and that just doesn't seem particularly useful. It's much easier to use some wireless display technology and cast it from a laptop, or plug in a cable. What they say they're aiming for are simple, self-contained (display-only?) kiosks... which maybe could be useful, for some people. You could also use it as a media center. If it could magically transform a huge TV into a touch screen, on the other hand... that would be amazing.
  - wtracy 12y ago
    It supports Bluetooth, so you could pair a remote or a smartphone with it, and it's easier to carry than a laptop. Remember there's a full version of MS Office on it, too. What makes more sense to me, though, would be a phone with an HDMI port (or wireless video capability) that connects directly to the projector. It's one less device to carry. If you don't want to walk over to the phone to advance to the next slide, you could still add a Bluetooth remote or control it from one of those smart watches. (I'm kind of suprised that Blackberry never tried something like what I just described--it would have been a great way to differentiate themselves in the enterprise sector and keep the iPhone at bay.)
    - xanderstrike 12y ago
      Some phones tried the HDMI out (I bought my Droid Razr because of it), but I guess market research has shown that people don't really care. Most phones (including the iPhone) still support the HDMI out over USB in some form, and still next to nobody uses it.
damian2000 12y ago
My 2c ... I see a problem with it not being able to fit into the HDMI ports on my TV ... due to the design of the TV there is only room for a compact HDMI cable (the port is located in a small recessed section). In this case I'd need to connect it with an HDMI extension cable, and would end up having to mount the dongle itself somewhere. Its probably better to buy an ultra compact PC such as an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix, which come with VESA mounts for mounting onto the back of the TV, and store data on an SSD drive.
- w-ll 12y ago
  Amazon Fire TV Stick came with just a 3 inch HDMI 'extender' cable to fix this problem.
- nevdka 12y ago
  NUC and Brix are also more powerful. I could almost see myself carrying one of these around like I used to carry around a USB memory stick. Plug it into any monitor or TV and I've got a computer. Not sure what I would do about mouse a keyboard, though.
  - supernovae 12y ago
    Bluetooth mouse / keyboard
    - GrayParsec 12y ago
      Having public places like schools, libraries and even the local Starbucks just have a stack of Bluetooth peripherals and screens whilst you carry your own computer in your pocket would suit so many people. Laptops are great but clunky and not really solving the issue of computing without lugging it around. Tablets are great but are exceeding difficult to work on at the moment. This will be a fine middle ground.
      - icebraining 12y ago
        Tablets are great but are exceeding difficult to work on at the moment. How so? Something like a Surface seems fine if you need a tablet for work. I think the peripherals dock would be a decent solution for certain environments (schools, libraries, maybe hospitals, military bases, cruise ships, and such), but relying on public places to have well-kept and generally available peripherals would be folly.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
justizin 12y ago
"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon"? Intel, you totally fail at social media!
damian2000 12y ago
If they support a keyboard and mouse via USB then wouldn't supplying power to 2 USB ports be an issue? Assuming the stick itself gets its power from HDMI.
- libria 12y ago
  Doubtful. Both Chromecast and Firestick require an external power source. Only TV's that support MHL can deliver power from the TV. I'm guessing that for wider adoption, this will not rely on that feature.
  - ariwilson 12y ago
    Chromecast can be powered by a USB port on the TV itself. Fire Stick cannot.
    - xaqfox 12y ago
      My Fire Stick is plugged into the USB port of my receiver. I don't see why it wouldn't work with a TV USB port.
- zevyoura 12y ago
  >Assuming the stick itself gets its power from HDMI. I wouldn't make that assumption; Chromecast can't do it, and it's a lot less demanding than this.
  - eco 12y ago
    Chromecast doesn't because it doesn't support MHL-HDMI which added a power over HDMI option (HDMI does have power but it something like 50mA). The newest version of MHL-HDMI does 2A. I'm not sure if that's enough to power this Intel stick however.
pellaeon 12y ago
It's already on sale in Taiwan for 1 or 2 months. (with a different case though) http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495 http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495 (specs inside)
- damian2000 12y ago
  Here's a brief english article about it http://focustaiwan.tw/news/ast/201410080025.aspx http://focustaiwan.tw/news/ast/201410080025.aspx Cost is listed as NT$4,990 (US$164) for the Win 8.1 version
bedhead 12y ago
They are such idiots for not having the picture of the device in the palm of a hand or something. Marketing fail.
johnvschmitt 12y ago
Cool. Close, but not what I need. What I want (& maybe others?) is: Compute on a stick that's a VM. Then, I can plug this into my laptop's HDMI or USB port to work on my project's local data/apps that's inside the VM. Then I can take the stick when I travel, instead of taking my laptop. I can plug the stick into any laptop for full keyboard/trackpad. Or, I could plug the stick into a TV/monitor & use my phone/tablet's IO (keyboard/touch) over the same wifi. (Yes, the stick would need a minimal host OS to run a VM on a dumb monitor.) Small local storage (working cache) with the rest in the cloud. If such a device exists, please educate me/us.
- afro88 12y ago
  This is totally unfeasible unfortunately. Either you support running the VM on the stick inside the host device's OS (supporting every major OS), without requiring root access nor installing anything. Or you boot from the stick and include display, keyboard and mouse/trackpad/touch drivers for every potential device you're going to plug it into. And for your last option (TV/monitor using phone/tablet IO) you'll also need an app for Android, iOS, Windows Mobile etc.
  - rab_oof 12y ago
    Without metric tons of engineering effort for a questionable use-case. The cheaper and more sensible options are: bigger laptop or run the workload elsewhere.
    - johnvschmitt 12y ago
      I appreciate your inputs, but IMO this use case is kind of inevitable. Yes, it's hard, and not quite doable today. But, there are millions of people working on making the components of this solution better. It's so attractive to carry around a computer in our pockets (our "phones") and it's really not much of a stretch to envision a near future where the thing in our pocket is our "local data/projects" that we can plug into any larger display or keyboard /IO on demand. Before you know it, it's going to seem archaic to have local working data on any other device than the one in your pocket. And it's going to seem archaic that any nice large interface (screen or keyboard) is tied to only 1 device.
veidr 12y ago
Why this is interesting to me is that most of the popular hot-dog-on-a-stick devices run some crappy, limited, or proprietary OS (although if you have time to invest, many can be upgraded to Linux). But this one will ship with Linux or Windows. For some decent background info on this form factor, see: http://www.stickcomputing.com http://www.stickcomputing.com
bla2 12y ago
Somewhat similar open-hardware project that'll ship in March: https://www.crowdsupply.com/inverse-path/usb-armory https://www.crowdsupply.com/inverse-path/usb-armory (I'm not involved with the project)
- beefsack 12y ago
  There have been so many ARM mini PCs over the last couple of years, this one is vastly different from those and the one you posted in that this one will be x86.
chavesn 12y ago
Too bad the plug is on the end... my guess is that it's impossible to pick an arrangement that works for every TV, but this seems likely to be a problem for wall-mounted TVs like the one in the picture.
- secabeen 12y ago
  Most TVs have a side HDMI port.
- acjohnson55 12y ago
  I'd have to imagine it probably comes with a short M-F cable or something like for such cases.
  - beefsack 12y ago
    These ~10cm M-F extension cables are very common for these stick style mini PCs.
ohashi 12y ago
I wonder if you could hook this up to your computer and run it like a VM but it's just a whole computer you can use from your main machine?
- icebraining 12y ago
  Well, it has wireless, so you could just use it as a remote desktop.
  - Jeffreytooker 12y ago
    I actually run a Chromebook 14 with a 27 in monitor and wireless mouse and keyboard. It suits my needs. I am presently able to control my two Win7 computers through Chrome remote desktop. It seems that the Compute Stick once set up should be able to be run from any remote desktop with only power to the stick. This gives me a Win8.1 computer inside my Chrome system. I need to maintain a Win computer due to legacy issues, with some of my hobbies. I can combine all of my data from the two Win7's and an XP in one Win8.1 computer and retire a lot of old equipment. I will have to try it when I get the Compute Stick. My needs are simple, and it works for me, I am not a high end user. It will clear a lot of space on my computer desk, and fit in my computer case when I travel.
xbryanx 12y ago
This could be a direct competitor to the digital signage folks over at Brightsign - http://www.brightsign.biz/digital-signage-products/overview/ http://www.brightsign.biz/digital-signage-products/overview/
medecau 12y ago
Is it expectable that this will ship with Intel Management Engine? And if so why is it that 4 hours after posting there is no mention of this? We should be asking these questions upfront.
- walterbell 12y ago
  Do Intel Atom chipsets support an AMT / ME processor? ARK has no mention of AMT: http://ark.intel.com/products/82116/Intel-Atom-Processor-Z3736G-2M-Cache-up-to-2_16-GHz http://ark.intel.com/products/82116/Intel-Atom-Processor-Z37... http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/intel-adds-encryption-to-pos-chip/ http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/intel-adds-encryption-to... says, "The protocol, code-named Baker Beach, “adds an extra layer of software to protect the payment process .. software resides and runs on the Intel chipset for enhanced security .. tablets with the Intel Atom processor code-named Bay Trail-T and future Intel Atom processors,” will also work ...Intel’s position is that it’s approach is more secure because it is using a security co-processor that appears to the OS as a separate external device" That description implies a separate chip is added for use cases where Atom processors need OOB management/security.
Jormundir 12y ago
This looks awesome. Finally a piece of tech I actually want, and by Intel of all companies. The bigger consumer companies have been shuffling their feet, releasing arbitrary, very closed off pieces of tech that I don't really need. I really applaud Intel for making the tiny little PC I've been wanting for media and linux tomfoolery. The Chromecast was a no-go, and now with an apple tv, I'm feeling a little too enclosed; they don't have enough apps to satisfy all my media needs. I've been watching the mini-pc market, chronically unsatisfied with what's been released up to this point. The Intel compute stick finally looks like the thing I've been looking for, mainly because they balance the size and low price, with just enough power for what I need. To top it off they're offering a Linux version, so I don't have to be worried about buying into a closed off platform.
- bkurtz13 12y ago
  How do you know how much it's going to cost? I don't see that information anywhere.
  - bobbles 12y ago
    http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-149-windows-pc-to-go http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-14... $149
    - _nedR 12y ago
      Ah. Thanks for the link. The 149$ version comes with Windows 8.1 Preloaded. The linux version is 89$.
      - r00fus 12y ago
        For something less than an AppleTV, that is indeed appealing.
      - ekianjo 12y ago
        Intel Linux support is usually pretty good so that Linux option is certainly appealing.
untog 12y ago
I was pleasantly surprised to find the Intel NUC ("next unit of computing ", sigh) devices recently - I've bought one and it sits under my TV. Having a full PC instead of a Chromecast/Roku stick/whatever really is awesome. Not only can I use every streaming option out there, I can also browse the web and order food, look up maps, etc. etc. It'll be interesting to see how these perform, but if they are similar to the NUC units, they'll be worth the extra money. The only complaint I have with mine is actually software based - I can't find a way to make the Windows 8.1 tiles larger (and more suitable for TV viewing distances)
- ygra 12y ago
  PC settings > PC and devices > Display > More options Change the size of apps, text, and other items on the screen (only applies to displays that can support it): Change to "Larger".
  - untog 12y ago
    I did that, and the size of things on the desktop (task bar, etc) changed but the tiles are still small.
- spinchange 12y ago
  This post and comments thread have brought the NUC to my attention for the first time and they look really cool. Curious, though, how did you handle storage? It appears they don't ship with memory? Do you just install your own in its chassis or use external? I currently "tab cast" from a laptop running Chrome to a Chromecast for viewing non-video web content on the big screen, but these NUCs look really cool. I can totally see the value in having a full blown PC like an NUC or this compute stick as well.
  - xgbi 12y ago
    You have to add SO-DIMM RAM and a mSata drive. There's also a mini PCI-e for a Wifi card.
  - kbaker 12y ago
iwince 12y ago
This is really big. We might now upgrade to the next Roku with Netflix running in Chrome on Linux, fast, now an Intel CPU device, really cool.
frik 12y ago
Can one install WinXP, Win7, Win10 or Linux too? Or is the BIOS/Efi locked down?
andyidsinga 12y ago
I'm totally thrilled about this ..cant wait to try one, ( ps. i work there, funny i heard about it here first ...big company :) )
krisgenre 12y ago
Damn! Wonder why Ubuntu Edge didn't get the funding. It was quite similar but much better, why carry a separate stick when your smartphone itself is capable.
barrkel 12y ago
Presumably this thing needs a power brick too, though? As I read it, HDMI as standard only supports +5V at 55mA. Taiwanese versions of this thing linked on this discussion suggest it needs +5V at 2A: http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495 http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495
- jdoliner 12y ago
  According to http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-149-windows-pc-to-go http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-14... it's micro usb right now but they're going to make it HDMI only eventually.
  - barrkel 12y ago
    Do TVs these days come with high current USB ports? 500mA probably isn't enough.
    - fredsted 12y ago
      Some do
johnbolts 12y ago
nice post
ekr 12y ago
This has already been done by some Chinese manufacturers, http://www.szapec.com/default.asp?id=1793 http://www.szapec.com/default.asp?id=1793, and the Meegopad (http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/10/15/meego-t01-hdmi-tv-stick-supports-android-windows-8-1-and-ubuntulinux/ http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/10/15/meego-t01-hdmi-tv-sti...). And given that the Intel's Linux version will only have 1GB of RAM, and maybe a slower CPU than a Windows version, these Chinese alternative could get quite a bit more attractive, given that their price will go down in time as well.
epaga 12y ago
Fascinatingly in one of the comments sections, someone referred to this product which looks like it's almost exactly the same product, just not directly made by Intel: http://de.aliexpress.com/item/2014-Original-MeegoPad-Meego-T01-Mini-PC-Windows-8-1-CPU-64-Bit-intel-Quad-Core/32245105251.html?recommendVersion=1 http://de.aliexpress.com/item/2014-Original-MeegoPad-Meego-T...
igl 12y ago
I am currently crafting together a new desktop, seeing this makes me feel really silly.
Aissen 12y ago
What's the SoC in this NUC? Is this a Broadwell i3 ? Which one ?
aaronbrethorst 12y ago
"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon." Hello, Marketing 101 called, and said, "sign up for Mailchimp."
Shivetya 12y ago
I just love the idea of having the computer being a plug in accessory to my display. Small enough that where ever I go and a display is available I have my computer and data. Now if it is topped up with good sync software so I can have the truly workhorse computer at work/home and take whatever partition of it I want I will be sold
DigitalSea 12y ago
This is fantastic. As a car PC enthusiast, this kind of device is going transform the car PC community once again. Up until now, small form-factor PC's have been somewhat unaffordable.
- CamperBob2 12y ago
  A Dell Venue 8 Pro with Windows 8.1 is about $150-$200 (and is a damned nice machine, surprisingly enough.) I'm having trouble seeing the use case(s) for a headless Intel PC.
  - DigitalSea 12y ago
    The headless Intel PC has the benefit of being easier to conceal in the car. I could put this thing in a nice fan enclosure and put it under the passenger seat or equivalent out-of-sight place. Not to mention, the Intel headless PC looks smaller than that of any laptop out there. Each to his own though. The Dell Venue 8 Pro sadly is $300 here in Australia. Obviously given the low Australian dollar, buying it overseas and shipping it will cost over $300 for me.x
Nimi 12y ago
Can a malicious display install a rootkit on the device? If there's USB access, this seems like an avenue worth exploring...
- nailer 12y ago
  It can via DP (make a DP connection that's actually Thunderbolt, flash the firmware) but that's on OS X - see http://bgr.com/2014/12/30/mac-os-x-thunderbolt-hack/ http://bgr.com/2014/12/30/mac-os-x-thunderbolt-hack/. And this DP connection isn't Thunderbolt, it just does DP.
olaf 12y ago
Intel offers "... Pre-installed with Windows 8.1* or Linux, ...". "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mahatma Gandhi
- vincentkriek 12y ago
  Are you talking about Windows 8.1 or Linux?
  - olaf 12y ago
    About Intel.
akshaykarle 12y ago
So any comments on how is this better than a Raspberry Pi for example? You could all this using an arduino or a pi isn't it?
- lmedinas 12y ago
  The advantage of this Intel stick compared to RPI is: - more power - x86 - Run Windows (this might be interesting for lot's of users) - Bigger storage - Better and compact pack Disadvantages: - More power consumption (??? any numbers on this) - Expensive compared to RPI - I guess it will be hard to beat the RPI community with this product. - No GPIO EDIT: Add GPIO
fit2rule 12y ago
This is a very welcome leap towards a new platform. From the perspective the musical-instrument manufacturers, this now allows us to do something we've wanted to do in synthesizers, effects, digital-audio processing, and so on: build an instrument that can be upgraded. I imagine a new controller category, akin to the current iOS USB/MIDI controllers that allow music-making with iPads/etc., albeit its a synth workstation with all the knobs you could possibly want, and maybe a little screen. And of course, a place to stick the 'compute device' of choice. I'll get 3 or 4 of these, put a different pre-configured music-production system on each one, and make a complete suite of instruments that can be easily upgraded in the future. Very nice to see this happening.
reidrac 12y ago
"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon." That made me chuckle. If just there was a technology based in XML that could be used to do that...
Gonzih 12y ago
Wow, very impressive. But > Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon Where is email subscription form?
jaimeyap 12y ago
Attach a highspeed microSD card reader (or build one in) and this would make a very compelling low power, personal media file server. Although needing to keep the television on to power it might get annoying.
- Jayd2014 12y ago
  I see this device as the perfect next-generation-chromecast. You can download anything you want wirelessly and play it on your HD TV. No need for Chromecast to load youtube and be a "closed garden" of google.
murbard2 12y ago
Now imagine if this were wireless, so that you didn't have to connect it to a TV? And while we're at it, add a screen, so that you can use it when you're not around a monitor. And... it's a smartphone with chromecast.
- walterbell 12y ago
  Compared to a smartphone, this has: unlocked bootloader open-source graphics driver no app store restrictions no Java overhead no OEM customizations
  - murbard2 12y ago
    Compared to the smartphones currently on the market, I agree. My argument is that the form factor / functionality of the smartphone is very compelling. I am not going to buy this Intel product, but I would if it were a smartphone.
    - walterbell 12y ago
      Intel has spent/lost a lot of money pursuing smartphone design wins, without success. Maybe Project Ara modules will give Intel another shot at smartphones or handheld devices.
rebootthesystem 12y ago
I've been looking for a board like this that has HDMI in and out for real time image processing. It seems nobody makes such an animal.
- undersuit 12y ago
  Your dream board would have far to small of a market because no one is going to license a hackable system that can sit between two HDCP devices for HDCP. If the board doesn't have HDCP why would you pay the HDMI royalties. Would be much simpler to use DVI capture card and HDMI->DVI adapters.
  - rebootthesystem 12y ago
    HDMI is separate from and does not require HDCP. You can have an unencrypted HDMI signal from, for example, an industrial video camera. Yet, I do agree with you: It's a small market.
alsocasey 12y ago
Does anyone happen to know whether the quad-core atom mentioned would be sufficiently powerful to handle being a Plex client or Steam streaming client machine? This would make a remarkably cheap living room client PC.
theandrewbailey 12y ago
Off topic: while running Noscript I know I am just begging for broken websites, but this page shouldn't be outright unstyled without JS.
- nhayden 12y ago
  I run into lots of sites that won't load at all with scripts off. Just a blank screen. Or image sharing sites (flickr) where the image you want to see won't load at with scripts off.
tailrecursion 12y ago
Intel's compute stick strikes me as a vehicle for "Windows 8.1 with Bing", which also appears in cheap laptops. There are already many powerful followons to the Raspberry Pi, with 1-2 GB RAM and up to four ARM cores for $40-$100. Microsoft must have jogged Intel and said, Do something!
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
fasteo 12y ago
Cotton candy [1] has been around for some years. This looks pretty similar. [1] http://www.fxitech.com/ http://www.fxitech.com/
ryan-allen 12y ago
I bought a i5 NUC [1] which I use for work (in the places I contract where I'm there for a bit longer than a few days). It's such a cool little device, the build took all of 15 minutes, and now Intel release this! The NUCs come in a few sizes, the cheapest costing around 150 AUD. They make great media, desktop replacements or linux servers! As soon as this little guy comes out I'm totally buying one (a stick), I like what they're doing with this stuff! [1] http://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/nuc/overview.html http://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/nuc/overview.html
blueberry73 12y ago
what do you need to have besides a tv or monitor to use the Compute Stick?
spurgu 12y ago
Any idea whether this will run on 5V or 12V or something else?

929 points by stickhandle 12y ago

Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. It's fairly interesting to note what it's not: Android or Chrome OS. I suspect Microsoft will do quite well out of this, especially in the digital signage market, anywhere which is reasonably price sensitive but if developer time and cost can be reduced then they get a lot of leeway. Still, yet another reminder that the cost of computing is collapsing. Most of the cost here is Intel margin and in the case of the more expensive one MS licenses.

ashcairo 12y ago
Microsoft made licenses for their OS's free for anything under 9 inches.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Not sure it applies to this, since it doesn't have a screen. Windows is used in a lot of embedded applications, and I think we still charge for that (disclaimer: unknowledgeable Microsoft employee).
  - rbanffy 12y ago
    They'll go great lengths to prevent Linux from getting any more exposure than Windows on any format. A zero or negative-cost license is to be expected.
    - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
      For embedded applications? Those aren't exactly visible; as a consumer, you can't really tell if it is running windows or not. Anyways, I'm not sure.
- sciurus 12y ago
  I thought that was for devices with screens under 9 inches, e.g phones and some tablets. Is there still no charge if it doesn't have a screen?
  - damian2000 12y ago
    You'd think not because desktop PCs, ultra compact PCs (NUC, Brix) by definition don't come with a screen either - screens are add ons. I think the 9" rule basically applied to mobile devices only, i.e. tablets and smartphones.
- tdicola 12y ago
  Is that for OEMs or for end users? I thought it was just for OEMs.
chrismsnz 12y ago
> Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. Unfortunately, general purpose hardware and operating system needs a fair amount of juice to route and inspect 1gbps of traffic. Best performance per watt I've found is the Edgerouter Lite but that has dedicated routing acceleration hardware to achieve what it does with the little mips processor it has. Closest you'll find is Soekris, ALIX or APU for a routing platform. A Beaglebone black makes a nice little box for lightweight serving on its own.
- jrockway 12y ago
  There are ARM CPUs available that do network forwarding in hardware. Some even support iptables rules. I would be very surprised if a quad-core current-gen Atom could not do that in software, though. I could route 300Mbps through OpenBSD's pf on an AMD Geode.
  - wtallis 12y ago
    There's a lot out there that can do NAT and some firewalling in software at large fractions of a gigabit/s for pretty cheap. But if you throw in QoS and queue management the CPU requirements get very high by the standards of MIPS and embedded x86. And unfortunately, none of the network acceleration hardware you'll find on any of those SoCs has anything like a hardware implementation of fq_codel or even RED. The CeroWRT project has been searching for more than a year for a new generation of hardware to use as the platform for their development of better router software. There's nothing affordable that can keep up with the really fast DOCSIS connections available while doing anything intelligent on a per-packet basis.
    - walterbell 12y ago
      How about running the packet filter in a dual-NIC VM on a VT-d capable PC? Dell T20 has Xeon E3 for $500 with 1TB disk and 4GB RAM. Add a PCI NIC for firewall purposes and still have the rest of the PC for use to run other VMs. GPU can be passed through to another VM.
ac29 12y ago
> Most of the cost here is Intel margin Hard to say. Intel has taken a loss on their mobile division lately [1], and I'm assuming this is a mobile-class processor. ARM has had them spooked, enough to make a major shift into mobile-first development and offering heavy discounts (or perhaps even selling at cost or at a loss) on mobile hardware. [1] http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-to-merge-pc-and-mobile-processor-units-in-profit-push/# http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-to-merge-pc-and-mobile-pr...!
erkose 12y ago
"Pre-installed with Windows 8.1* or Linux"
- yitchelle 12y ago
  Why is there a star against the Windows 8.1?
  - erkose 12y ago
    Further down it lists it as an indication of a trademark.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
ddeck 12y ago
>Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. You may want to take a look at these: http://www.hystou.com/products/fanless-computers/celeron-1037u-mini-pc/12v-low-power-pc-cheap-desktop-computers-aluminum-case-celeron-1037u-cpu-2g-ram-8g-ssd-1101.html http://www.hystou.com/products/fanless-computers/celeron-103... It's small and fanless with dual gigabit ethernet ports. I use one with VyOS as a dedicated firewall/router/VPN client. Disclaimer: I bought mine from a 3rd party seller (via taobao) and not that site, although I believe they are the manufacturer.
gizzlon 12y ago
> Hardware like that makes me yearn for one with no wireless and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports to use as a firewall and server. Yeah, me too.. I currently use a fan-less Via board with integrated 686 compatible CPU. It's been great, but it's now 7 (?) years old so it might be time for an upgrade. Wonder if they still make them, they never got the attention they deserved. Edit: The boards are called EPIA and come in different sizes: http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/boards/ http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/boards/ Mine has this processor - It's not Intel or AMD, but "Pentium compatible" :) cpu0: VIA Esther processor 1000MHz ("CentaurHauls" 686-class) 1 GHz Edit 2: Seems like these haven't matured a lot, and are expensive and hard to come by compared to other mini-itx boards. Do like the fanless, integrated processor on mine though, and that the power consumption is really low.
- xorcist 12y ago
  There are fanless Atom motherboards with dual ethernet. Should be a painless upgrade for you when that time comes.
papaf 12y ago
I run one of these and I am quite happy with it: http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/marvell/mirabox http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/marvell/mirabox The arch support is good (apart of wireless).

interdrift 12y ago

This looks sick.Now all I need is a resizable monitor.

nickbauman 12y ago
I think this will come in the form of an LCD on flexible fabric in a few years. You'll roll it up into a tube and take it with you in your messenger bag.
- interdrift 12y ago
  Can't wait to go camping with my 53 inch LCD screen in my backpack LOL.
  - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
    Short throw micro-projector and a [white 'canvas'] tent?
rapind 12y ago
Pocket projector. http://www.projectorcentral.com/popular-pocket-projectors.htm http://www.projectorcentral.com/popular-pocket-projectors.ht...

jostmey 12y ago

Great concept. I really like the idea of owning cheap computing devices. That way, if I break it I won't feel bad. Nothing feels worse than accidentally spilling water all over your expensive laptop. It would fit me just perfectly.

interdrift 12y ago
Hold on, who said it will be cheap?
- jostmey 12y ago
  The linux version of the device is rumored to be priced at $90.
  - danielmeah 12y ago
    it's already for sale from chineese sellers. all this is, is a Intel case with exact same parts. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221639054114?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221639054114?_trksid=p2059210.m274... See http://lowendtalk.com/discussion/39399/meegopad-t01 http://lowendtalk.com/discussion/39399/meegopad-t01
    - discordance 12y ago
      A bit cheaper off DX: http://www.dx.com/p/meegopad-t01-quad-core-android-4-4-windows-8-hdmi-google-tv-player-w-2gb-ram-32gb-rom-eu-plug-361931#.VKyYFSuUcZw http://www.dx.com/p/meegopad-t01-quad-core-android-4-4-windo...
- dangrossman 12y ago
  Given Intel/Windows tablets cost less than $100 in stores today, there's no reason to think similar hardware minus the touchscreen will cost much more.
  - interdrift 12y ago

cottonseed 12y ago

Can you do touch screen over HDMI?

lucb1e 12y ago
I know a tv can send back commands from e.g. the remote control over HDMI, it really is bidirectional communication, but I wouldn't know whether it's good enough for something like touchscreen.
- freehunter 12y ago
  Well you can do 100Mbps Ethernet over HDMI 1.4 with a compatible cable, so I don't see why it would be technically impossible. The question is, can this stick do it?
- _lce0 12y ago
  it read somewhere that it can keep up to 10 different connection/devices, I think over CEC. There are various comm protocols https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Communication_channel_protocols https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Communication_channel_pro...
Sanddancer 12y ago
No. Touch screen monitors with HDMI need another channel, usually a USB port, to send touch events. In theory, I guess you could send events over DDC, but then you're gonna have to get video driver makers involved, make sure that the spec you choose doesn't cause existing drivers to puke, etc.
- sfilipov 12y ago
  On the picture there's a USB port, probably you will be able to use it to send touch events.

integraton 12y ago

What are the existing products this will compete with?

mschuster91 12y ago
For the media enthusiasts, likely the Chromecast and I believe Amazon also offers a HDMI stick computer.
- brianbreslin 12y ago
  roku also has one. there was an open source one announced here on HN last week.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- notduncansmith 12y ago
  It doesn't seem like it's really competing with the Chromecast. My impression was that the Compute Stick can actually run software by itself, not requiring a connection to another device.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
Narishma 12y ago
In the past couple of years there have been dozens of similar products based on ARM SoCs out there.
- rab_oof 12y ago
  Yup. If any of this class of product were any good, we'd be using them right now. And even if Intel produced the best of breed, how much computing power can be wringed out of the power supplied by USB (say 10W max, which is generous)? Not much. (This product line is DOA.)
lmedinas 12y ago

bobbles 12y ago

"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon." this is how product announcements work these days? Would've been nice to have a bit of actual information.

kolev 12y ago
They should at least collect emails, but, I guess, they expect a new wave of PR when it actually launches.
- joezydeco 12y ago
  Like Edison did. Or didn't. Did that ever launch?
  - Alupis 12y ago
    Yes, but it's overpriced and the specs are poor (when compared to other embedded-like solutions)
    - asynchronous13 12y ago
      I'm quite happy with an edison board for $50. Is that overpriced?
      - kolev 12y ago
        Haters gonna hate. Microsoft, Intel, Google - these brands are never cool for some ungrateful as where we are today is in big part thanks to those three.
- snlacks 12y ago
  When companies have actual competitive value to offer, marketing is easier. I guess.
allworknoplay 12y ago
seriously, what a bunch of dinosaurs

lsiebert 12y ago

The interesting thing would be if you could stack them and cloud compute.

tommoor 12y ago
*cloud compute stick
sandworm 12y ago
Bundle of sticks = Tree computing? There is another, less-PC, name for a bundle of sticks but I don't think they would go that way.
- eru 12y ago
  Fasces?
- NLips 12y ago
  'bassoon'
rab_oof 12y ago
They're power limited by what a USB port can provide. It would make more sense to buy actual rack-mounted gear. Also, you'll need to setup a cloud cluster... A nontrivial task.

mperham 12y ago

Such an elegant name.

encoderer 12y ago
I look forward to Windows 8.1 Professional Compute Stick Edition
- godzillabrennus 12y ago
  Maybe they'll have a special collectors version at launch.

hengheng 12y ago

Wait, so, an HDMI stick similar to those ARM/Android ones that we've all been using as media centers since 2012?

SG- 12y ago
with a real OS this time around and quite a bit more than just a 'media player'.

pzxc 12y ago

Wow. I have a feeling this could be a game changer. I'm more than impressed... I'm stunned.

ossreality 12y ago
Cause you haven't been paying attention for the last 3 years? Linux version for $90? I can get a bucket (3 probably) ARM Android ones for that price.

pedalpete 12y ago

As the power increases beyond Atom processors, I think this will be very compelling. I'd love to be able to unplug a dongle from my desktop monitor at home, and plug it into a tablet sized device to use on the train, then plug it into my monitor when I get to work, or a hotel rooms tv screen, or the presentation screen in our office conference room, etc. etc.

niels_olson 12y ago
I'm not clear how these work: is the idea that each device (desktop, tablet, etc) has a CPU and this is an additional CPU, so you're basically carting around your own VM and the host equipment can let you play in it's garden or not, complete with network access? Why is it that I don't see many corporate IT departments adopting this?
- rab_oof 12y ago
  It's a full, separate system on a USB stick. This means it will need to patched and maintained, and that apps and dats will still need the usual back-and-forth sync of multiple systems.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
prawn 12y ago
Wouldn't that often just be easier if it were your phone, so you didn't have to carry multiple devices?
- mdaniel 12y ago
  I was really stoked when the Motorola Atrix came out, and was hoping that would turn into a trend: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Motorola-ATRIX-4G-Laptop-Dock-Review_id2667 http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Motorola-ATRIX-4G-Laptop-D...
- pedalpete 12y ago
  Yes, phone would be ideal, but I think we're seeing that a phone OS is usually quite stripped down vs a desktop. Though I haven't tried the Ubuntu Touch stuff, so maybe that is the right solution. Pluging an HDMI or USB dongle into a display is pretty simple, I suspect pairing with your phone would be more difficult, or would require cables and such.

briandh 12y ago

"TV sticks" of this form factor have been all the rage on AliExpress, DealExtreme, and the like, although their popularity seems to have waned somewhat compared set-top-boxes (I read somewhere that it was due to trouble managing heat while customers demanded more powerful processors, but I don't know). See http://www.google.com/cse?q=tv+stick&sa=&cx=partner-pub-8120806476788575%3A3386820028&ie=UTF-8#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=tv%20stick&gsc.page=1 http://www.google.com/cse?q=tv+stick&sa=&cx=partner-pub-8120... and http://liliputing.com/?s=tv+stick http://liliputing.com/?s=tv+stick They've mostly run on ARM and Android, with some hobbyists loading more traditional Linux distros on. Probably the most notable exception that I know of is the following: http://liliputing.com/2014/12/100-bay-trail-pc-stick-can-run-ubuntu-windows.html http://liliputing.com/2014/12/100-bay-trail-pc-stick-can-run... If this is priced well it will be interesting to see how it impacts that landscape.

auvi 12y ago

Lately Intel is trying to enter several device markets. Other than their core products they now have at least the following "compute" products: - Intel NUC - Intel Galileo - Intel Edison Now comes the Compute Stick.

xanderstrike 12y ago
The sad thing to me is that none of them are even remotely innovative. The NUC is just a small form factor PC, exceptionally well executed but nothing new. Galileo is a Raspberry Pi Edison is an Arduino (sort of) Compute Stick is a Fire TV/Android Stick None of these could be really considered booming markets. ARM is eating Intel's lunch in the mobile market and Intel is shooting for the products that are least likely to turn a profit. If they could get a viable x86 phone on the market (or start making ARM processors) I think they'd be in much better shape.

dholowiski 12y ago

But, it doesn't exist. This will be interesting, when it exists.

allworknoplay 12y ago

Here's hoping they'll offer a version for embedded computing (and support it better than they historically supported their embedded motherboards).

aditya 12y ago

$149 for Windows 8.1 version and $89 for Linux version, not bad. via: http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-149-windows-pc-to-go http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-14...

bhouston 12y ago
That actually seems expensive for a device without a screen or input devices. I wish that Chromecast and Apple TV supported an open standard for streaming rather than everyone using their own proprietary standards.
- wyldfire 12y ago
  AFAIK Chromecast uses DLNA underneath (which is mostly RTSP + mDNS discovery?).
  - TD-Linux 12y ago
    It hardly matters what they use when you need a client certificate to be able to connect.
discardorama 12y ago
... and the Linux version will have half the RAM (1GB instead of 2GB) and a fourth the storage (8GB instead of 32GB). I think I might pass on this.
- damian2000 12y ago
  Linux will probably run fine on those specs, remember Windows has a ton of overhead in terms of RAM and storage.
  - nacs 12y ago
    I'm not really concerned about whether Linux will run 'fine' on less hardware, I'd just want to be able to purchase the higher-end (hardware-wise) version. I'm not going to buy the high-end version if it requires me to buy the prepackaged Windows license however.

mark_l_watson 12y ago

Very cool, but... I think the future is our compute power in our "phones" that work with ambient peripherals (keyboards, monitors).

sanderjd 12y ago
Totally, anybody aware of anybody working on this?
- wtracy 12y ago
  Surprisingly enough, it's already doable: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-set-up-the-galaxy-nexus-as-a-desktop-replacement/ http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-set-up-the-galaxy-nexus-as-...
- cherioo 12y ago
  You can use MHL and bluetooth keyboard and mouse for something similar today.
prawn 12y ago
Could we see people move from a phone to carrying two devices? One which is quite personal (phone, social, camera, etc) and one which is a little more generic (general computing device). I'm thinking about how most people would be reluctant to let their phone out of their sight, while they could also use a general stick that allowed tasks, work, etc.
- veb 12y ago
  I usually have my phone in my pocket, and my Moto360 watch on my wrist. Two devices. I used to be really reluctant to let my phone out of sight but since getting the smart watch, I no longer mind because it does an absolute fantastic job at notifying me of emails, texts, and other alerts. No longer do I have to pull out my phone to check stuff etc. I may be in the minority but it's definitely changed my habits. I feel as if it's "easier" for some reason.
- rab_oof 12y ago

sentinel 12y ago

"compute-on-a-stick" what a name...

logicallee 12y ago
I seriously couldn't decide if the copywriter was laughing when he or she wrote "The Intel Compute Stick is a new generation compute-on-a-stick device." (Because x-on-a-stick is an inherently funny phrasing.) But I read the text very carefully and concluded that it was written earnestly, so I didn't leave a comment. It really is a new generation of compute-on-a-stick device.
- niels_olson 12y ago
  The code names would all have to come from Something About Mary

ummonkwatz 12y ago

So long, NUC!

rosege 12y ago
needs more ram and better cpu before that
Sanddancer 12y ago
The NUC has different niches than what this is going for. The NUC line at the low end will probably be pushed out by this, but a lot of NUCs are sold with things like PCIe ports and the like that this thing almost certainly won't have. The low end has a lot of differentiation, especially in boutique devices where you just need a processor, and some kind of output.

rubiquity 12y ago

I'm anxiously awaiting for Intel to team up with Justin Timberlake and offer us Compute in a Box.

OedipusRex 12y ago

I really hope they get a 90 degree adapter for the HDMI.

quarterwave 12y ago

Consider the use case suggested by the image on the copy i.e; on-screen projection of slides in a business meeting. Can this use case be met with a tablet/smart phone using a VGA adapter?

bulatb 12y ago
The "business meeting" use case pictured doesn't make a lot of sense. The copy at the bottom says the stick itself is a computer, not a video receiver, so there'd have to be a keyboard/mouse/controller of some kind connected to it, and they'd have to get the slide deck onto it somehow, and open PowerPoint, and that just doesn't seem particularly useful. It's much easier to use some wireless display technology and cast it from a laptop, or plug in a cable. What they say they're aiming for are simple, self-contained (display-only?) kiosks... which maybe could be useful, for some people. You could also use it as a media center. If it could magically transform a huge TV into a touch screen, on the other hand... that would be amazing.
- wtracy 12y ago
  It supports Bluetooth, so you could pair a remote or a smartphone with it, and it's easier to carry than a laptop. Remember there's a full version of MS Office on it, too. What makes more sense to me, though, would be a phone with an HDMI port (or wireless video capability) that connects directly to the projector. It's one less device to carry. If you don't want to walk over to the phone to advance to the next slide, you could still add a Bluetooth remote or control it from one of those smart watches. (I'm kind of suprised that Blackberry never tried something like what I just described--it would have been a great way to differentiate themselves in the enterprise sector and keep the iPhone at bay.)
  - xanderstrike 12y ago
    Some phones tried the HDMI out (I bought my Droid Razr because of it), but I guess market research has shown that people don't really care. Most phones (including the iPhone) still support the HDMI out over USB in some form, and still next to nobody uses it.

damian2000 12y ago

My 2c ... I see a problem with it not being able to fit into the HDMI ports on my TV ... due to the design of the TV there is only room for a compact HDMI cable (the port is located in a small recessed section). In this case I'd need to connect it with an HDMI extension cable, and would end up having to mount the dongle itself somewhere. Its probably better to buy an ultra compact PC such as an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix, which come with VESA mounts for mounting onto the back of the TV, and store data on an SSD drive.

w-ll 12y ago
Amazon Fire TV Stick came with just a 3 inch HDMI 'extender' cable to fix this problem.
nevdka 12y ago
NUC and Brix are also more powerful. I could almost see myself carrying one of these around like I used to carry around a USB memory stick. Plug it into any monitor or TV and I've got a computer. Not sure what I would do about mouse a keyboard, though.
- supernovae 12y ago
  Bluetooth mouse / keyboard
  - GrayParsec 12y ago
    Having public places like schools, libraries and even the local Starbucks just have a stack of Bluetooth peripherals and screens whilst you carry your own computer in your pocket would suit so many people. Laptops are great but clunky and not really solving the issue of computing without lugging it around. Tablets are great but are exceeding difficult to work on at the moment. This will be a fine middle ground.
    - icebraining 12y ago
      Tablets are great but are exceeding difficult to work on at the moment. How so? Something like a Surface seems fine if you need a tablet for work. I think the peripherals dock would be a decent solution for certain environments (schools, libraries, maybe hospitals, military bases, cruise ships, and such), but relying on public places to have well-kept and generally available peripherals would be folly.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

justizin 12y ago

"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon"? Intel, you totally fail at social media!

damian2000 12y ago

If they support a keyboard and mouse via USB then wouldn't supplying power to 2 USB ports be an issue? Assuming the stick itself gets its power from HDMI.

libria 12y ago
Doubtful. Both Chromecast and Firestick require an external power source. Only TV's that support MHL can deliver power from the TV. I'm guessing that for wider adoption, this will not rely on that feature.
- ariwilson 12y ago
  Chromecast can be powered by a USB port on the TV itself. Fire Stick cannot.
  - xaqfox 12y ago
    My Fire Stick is plugged into the USB port of my receiver. I don't see why it wouldn't work with a TV USB port.
zevyoura 12y ago
>Assuming the stick itself gets its power from HDMI. I wouldn't make that assumption; Chromecast can't do it, and it's a lot less demanding than this.
- eco 12y ago
  Chromecast doesn't because it doesn't support MHL-HDMI which added a power over HDMI option (HDMI does have power but it something like 50mA). The newest version of MHL-HDMI does 2A. I'm not sure if that's enough to power this Intel stick however.

pellaeon 12y ago

It's already on sale in Taiwan for 1 or 2 months. (with a different case though) http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495 http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495 (specs inside)

damian2000 12y ago
Here's a brief english article about it http://focustaiwan.tw/news/ast/201410080025.aspx http://focustaiwan.tw/news/ast/201410080025.aspx Cost is listed as NT$4,990 (US$164) for the Win 8.1 version

bedhead 12y ago

They are such idiots for not having the picture of the device in the palm of a hand or something. Marketing fail.

johnvschmitt 12y ago

Cool. Close, but not what I need. What I want (& maybe others?) is: Compute on a stick that's a VM. Then, I can plug this into my laptop's HDMI or USB port to work on my project's local data/apps that's inside the VM. Then I can take the stick when I travel, instead of taking my laptop. I can plug the stick into any laptop for full keyboard/trackpad. Or, I could plug the stick into a TV/monitor & use my phone/tablet's IO (keyboard/touch) over the same wifi. (Yes, the stick would need a minimal host OS to run a VM on a dumb monitor.) Small local storage (working cache) with the rest in the cloud. If such a device exists, please educate me/us.

afro88 12y ago
This is totally unfeasible unfortunately. Either you support running the VM on the stick inside the host device's OS (supporting every major OS), without requiring root access nor installing anything. Or you boot from the stick and include display, keyboard and mouse/trackpad/touch drivers for every potential device you're going to plug it into. And for your last option (TV/monitor using phone/tablet IO) you'll also need an app for Android, iOS, Windows Mobile etc.
- rab_oof 12y ago
  Without metric tons of engineering effort for a questionable use-case. The cheaper and more sensible options are: bigger laptop or run the workload elsewhere.
  - johnvschmitt 12y ago
    I appreciate your inputs, but IMO this use case is kind of inevitable. Yes, it's hard, and not quite doable today. But, there are millions of people working on making the components of this solution better. It's so attractive to carry around a computer in our pockets (our "phones") and it's really not much of a stretch to envision a near future where the thing in our pocket is our "local data/projects" that we can plug into any larger display or keyboard /IO on demand. Before you know it, it's going to seem archaic to have local working data on any other device than the one in your pocket. And it's going to seem archaic that any nice large interface (screen or keyboard) is tied to only 1 device.

veidr 12y ago

Why this is interesting to me is that most of the popular hot-dog-on-a-stick devices run some crappy, limited, or proprietary OS (although if you have time to invest, many can be upgraded to Linux). But this one will ship with Linux or Windows. For some decent background info on this form factor, see: http://www.stickcomputing.com http://www.stickcomputing.com

bla2 12y ago

Somewhat similar open-hardware project that'll ship in March: https://www.crowdsupply.com/inverse-path/usb-armory https://www.crowdsupply.com/inverse-path/usb-armory (I'm not involved with the project)

beefsack 12y ago
There have been so many ARM mini PCs over the last couple of years, this one is vastly different from those and the one you posted in that this one will be x86.

chavesn 12y ago

Too bad the plug is on the end... my guess is that it's impossible to pick an arrangement that works for every TV, but this seems likely to be a problem for wall-mounted TVs like the one in the picture.

secabeen 12y ago
Most TVs have a side HDMI port.
acjohnson55 12y ago
I'd have to imagine it probably comes with a short M-F cable or something like for such cases.
- beefsack 12y ago
  These ~10cm M-F extension cables are very common for these stick style mini PCs.

ohashi 12y ago

I wonder if you could hook this up to your computer and run it like a VM but it's just a whole computer you can use from your main machine?

icebraining 12y ago
Well, it has wireless, so you could just use it as a remote desktop.
- Jeffreytooker 12y ago
  I actually run a Chromebook 14 with a 27 in monitor and wireless mouse and keyboard. It suits my needs. I am presently able to control my two Win7 computers through Chrome remote desktop. It seems that the Compute Stick once set up should be able to be run from any remote desktop with only power to the stick. This gives me a Win8.1 computer inside my Chrome system. I need to maintain a Win computer due to legacy issues, with some of my hobbies. I can combine all of my data from the two Win7's and an XP in one Win8.1 computer and retire a lot of old equipment. I will have to try it when I get the Compute Stick. My needs are simple, and it works for me, I am not a high end user. It will clear a lot of space on my computer desk, and fit in my computer case when I travel.

xbryanx 12y ago

This could be a direct competitor to the digital signage folks over at Brightsign - http://www.brightsign.biz/digital-signage-products/overview/ http://www.brightsign.biz/digital-signage-products/overview/

medecau 12y ago

Is it expectable that this will ship with Intel Management Engine? And if so why is it that 4 hours after posting there is no mention of this? We should be asking these questions upfront.

walterbell 12y ago
Do Intel Atom chipsets support an AMT / ME processor? ARK has no mention of AMT: http://ark.intel.com/products/82116/Intel-Atom-Processor-Z3736G-2M-Cache-up-to-2_16-GHz http://ark.intel.com/products/82116/Intel-Atom-Processor-Z37... http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/intel-adds-encryption-to-pos-chip/ http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2014/intel-adds-encryption-to... says, "The protocol, code-named Baker Beach, “adds an extra layer of software to protect the payment process .. software resides and runs on the Intel chipset for enhanced security .. tablets with the Intel Atom processor code-named Bay Trail-T and future Intel Atom processors,” will also work ...Intel’s position is that it’s approach is more secure because it is using a security co-processor that appears to the OS as a separate external device" That description implies a separate chip is added for use cases where Atom processors need OOB management/security.

Jormundir 12y ago

This looks awesome. Finally a piece of tech I actually want, and by Intel of all companies. The bigger consumer companies have been shuffling their feet, releasing arbitrary, very closed off pieces of tech that I don't really need. I really applaud Intel for making the tiny little PC I've been wanting for media and linux tomfoolery. The Chromecast was a no-go, and now with an apple tv, I'm feeling a little too enclosed; they don't have enough apps to satisfy all my media needs. I've been watching the mini-pc market, chronically unsatisfied with what's been released up to this point. The Intel compute stick finally looks like the thing I've been looking for, mainly because they balance the size and low price, with just enough power for what I need. To top it off they're offering a Linux version, so I don't have to be worried about buying into a closed off platform.

bkurtz13 12y ago
How do you know how much it's going to cost? I don't see that information anywhere.
- bobbles 12y ago
  http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-149-windows-pc-to-go http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-14... $149
  - _nedR 12y ago
    Ah. Thanks for the link. The 149$ version comes with Windows 8.1 Preloaded. The linux version is 89$.
    - r00fus 12y ago
      For something less than an AppleTV, that is indeed appealing.
    - ekianjo 12y ago
      Intel Linux support is usually pretty good so that Linux option is certainly appealing.

untog 12y ago

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Intel NUC ("next unit of computing ", sigh) devices recently - I've bought one and it sits under my TV. Having a full PC instead of a Chromecast/Roku stick/whatever really is awesome. Not only can I use every streaming option out there, I can also browse the web and order food, look up maps, etc. etc. It'll be interesting to see how these perform, but if they are similar to the NUC units, they'll be worth the extra money. The only complaint I have with mine is actually software based - I can't find a way to make the Windows 8.1 tiles larger (and more suitable for TV viewing distances)

ygra 12y ago
PC settings > PC and devices > Display > More options Change the size of apps, text, and other items on the screen (only applies to displays that can support it): Change to "Larger".
- untog 12y ago
  I did that, and the size of things on the desktop (task bar, etc) changed but the tiles are still small.
spinchange 12y ago
This post and comments thread have brought the NUC to my attention for the first time and they look really cool. Curious, though, how did you handle storage? It appears they don't ship with memory? Do you just install your own in its chassis or use external? I currently "tab cast" from a laptop running Chrome to a Chromecast for viewing non-video web content on the big screen, but these NUCs look really cool. I can totally see the value in having a full blown PC like an NUC or this compute stick as well.
- xgbi 12y ago
  You have to add SO-DIMM RAM and a mSata drive. There's also a mini PCI-e for a Wifi card.
- kbaker 12y ago

iwince 12y ago

This is really big. We might now upgrade to the next Roku with Netflix running in Chrome on Linux, fast, now an Intel CPU device, really cool.

frik 12y ago

Can one install WinXP, Win7, Win10 or Linux too? Or is the BIOS/Efi locked down?

andyidsinga 12y ago

I'm totally thrilled about this ..cant wait to try one, ( ps. i work there, funny i heard about it here first ...big company :) )

krisgenre 12y ago

Damn! Wonder why Ubuntu Edge didn't get the funding. It was quite similar but much better, why carry a separate stick when your smartphone itself is capable.

barrkel 12y ago

Presumably this thing needs a power brick too, though? As I read it, HDMI as standard only supports +5V at 55mA. Taiwanese versions of this thing linked on this discussion suggest it needs +5V at 2A: http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495 http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=514&t=4112495

jdoliner 12y ago
According to http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-149-windows-pc-to-go http://techreport.com/news/27619/intel-compute-stick-is-a-14... it's micro usb right now but they're going to make it HDMI only eventually.
- barrkel 12y ago
  Do TVs these days come with high current USB ports? 500mA probably isn't enough.
  - fredsted 12y ago
    Some do

johnbolts 12y ago

nice post

ekr 12y ago

This has already been done by some Chinese manufacturers, http://www.szapec.com/default.asp?id=1793 http://www.szapec.com/default.asp?id=1793, and the Meegopad (http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/10/15/meego-t01-hdmi-tv-stick-supports-android-windows-8-1-and-ubuntulinux/ http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/10/15/meego-t01-hdmi-tv-sti...). And given that the Intel's Linux version will only have 1GB of RAM, and maybe a slower CPU than a Windows version, these Chinese alternative could get quite a bit more attractive, given that their price will go down in time as well.

epaga 12y ago

Fascinatingly in one of the comments sections, someone referred to this product which looks like it's almost exactly the same product, just not directly made by Intel: http://de.aliexpress.com/item/2014-Original-MeegoPad-Meego-T01-Mini-PC-Windows-8-1-CPU-64-Bit-intel-Quad-Core/32245105251.html?recommendVersion=1 http://de.aliexpress.com/item/2014-Original-MeegoPad-Meego-T...

igl 12y ago

I am currently crafting together a new desktop, seeing this makes me feel really silly.

Aissen 12y ago

What's the SoC in this NUC? Is this a Broadwell i3 ? Which one ?

aaronbrethorst 12y ago

"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon." Hello, Marketing 101 called, and said, "sign up for Mailchimp."

Shivetya 12y ago

I just love the idea of having the computer being a plug in accessory to my display. Small enough that where ever I go and a display is available I have my computer and data. Now if it is topped up with good sync software so I can have the truly workhorse computer at work/home and take whatever partition of it I want I will be sold

DigitalSea 12y ago

This is fantastic. As a car PC enthusiast, this kind of device is going transform the car PC community once again. Up until now, small form-factor PC's have been somewhat unaffordable.

CamperBob2 12y ago
A Dell Venue 8 Pro with Windows 8.1 is about $150-$200 (and is a damned nice machine, surprisingly enough.) I'm having trouble seeing the use case(s) for a headless Intel PC.
- DigitalSea 12y ago
  The headless Intel PC has the benefit of being easier to conceal in the car. I could put this thing in a nice fan enclosure and put it under the passenger seat or equivalent out-of-sight place. Not to mention, the Intel headless PC looks smaller than that of any laptop out there. Each to his own though. The Dell Venue 8 Pro sadly is $300 here in Australia. Obviously given the low Australian dollar, buying it overseas and shipping it will cost over $300 for me.x

Nimi 12y ago

Can a malicious display install a rootkit on the device? If there's USB access, this seems like an avenue worth exploring...

nailer 12y ago
It can via DP (make a DP connection that's actually Thunderbolt, flash the firmware) but that's on OS X - see http://bgr.com/2014/12/30/mac-os-x-thunderbolt-hack/ http://bgr.com/2014/12/30/mac-os-x-thunderbolt-hack/. And this DP connection isn't Thunderbolt, it just does DP.

olaf 12y ago

Intel offers "... Pre-installed with Windows 8.1* or Linux, ...". "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mahatma Gandhi

vincentkriek 12y ago
Are you talking about Windows 8.1 or Linux?
- olaf 12y ago
  About Intel.

akshaykarle 12y ago

So any comments on how is this better than a Raspberry Pi for example? You could all this using an arduino or a pi isn't it?

lmedinas 12y ago
The advantage of this Intel stick compared to RPI is: - more power - x86 - Run Windows (this might be interesting for lot's of users) - Bigger storage - Better and compact pack Disadvantages: - More power consumption (??? any numbers on this) - Expensive compared to RPI - I guess it will be hard to beat the RPI community with this product. - No GPIO EDIT: Add GPIO

fit2rule 12y ago

This is a very welcome leap towards a new platform. From the perspective the musical-instrument manufacturers, this now allows us to do something we've wanted to do in synthesizers, effects, digital-audio processing, and so on: build an instrument that can be upgraded. I imagine a new controller category, akin to the current iOS USB/MIDI controllers that allow music-making with iPads/etc., albeit its a synth workstation with all the knobs you could possibly want, and maybe a little screen. And of course, a place to stick the 'compute device' of choice. I'll get 3 or 4 of these, put a different pre-configured music-production system on each one, and make a complete suite of instruments that can be easily upgraded in the future. Very nice to see this happening.

reidrac 12y ago

"Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon." That made me chuckle. If just there was a technology based in XML that could be used to do that...

Gonzih 12y ago

Wow, very impressive. But > Bookmark this page, and then set a reminder to check in soon Where is email subscription form?

jaimeyap 12y ago

Attach a highspeed microSD card reader (or build one in) and this would make a very compelling low power, personal media file server. Although needing to keep the television on to power it might get annoying.

Jayd2014 12y ago
I see this device as the perfect next-generation-chromecast. You can download anything you want wirelessly and play it on your HD TV. No need for Chromecast to load youtube and be a "closed garden" of google.

murbard2 12y ago

Now imagine if this were wireless, so that you didn't have to connect it to a TV? And while we're at it, add a screen, so that you can use it when you're not around a monitor. And... it's a smartphone with chromecast.

walterbell 12y ago
Compared to a smartphone, this has: unlocked bootloader open-source graphics driver no app store restrictions no Java overhead no OEM customizations
- murbard2 12y ago
  Compared to the smartphones currently on the market, I agree. My argument is that the form factor / functionality of the smartphone is very compelling. I am not going to buy this Intel product, but I would if it were a smartphone.
  - walterbell 12y ago
    Intel has spent/lost a lot of money pursuing smartphone design wins, without success. Maybe Project Ara modules will give Intel another shot at smartphones or handheld devices.

rebootthesystem 12y ago

I've been looking for a board like this that has HDMI in and out for real time image processing. It seems nobody makes such an animal.

undersuit 12y ago
Your dream board would have far to small of a market because no one is going to license a hackable system that can sit between two HDCP devices for HDCP. If the board doesn't have HDCP why would you pay the HDMI royalties. Would be much simpler to use DVI capture card and HDMI->DVI adapters.
- rebootthesystem 12y ago
  HDMI is separate from and does not require HDCP. You can have an unencrypted HDMI signal from, for example, an industrial video camera. Yet, I do agree with you: It's a small market.

alsocasey 12y ago

Does anyone happen to know whether the quad-core atom mentioned would be sufficiently powerful to handle being a Plex client or Steam streaming client machine? This would make a remarkably cheap living room client PC.

theandrewbailey 12y ago

Off topic: while running Noscript I know I am just begging for broken websites, but this page shouldn't be outright unstyled without JS.

nhayden 12y ago
I run into lots of sites that won't load at all with scripts off. Just a blank screen. Or image sharing sites (flickr) where the image you want to see won't load at with scripts off.

tailrecursion 12y ago

Intel's compute stick strikes me as a vehicle for "Windows 8.1 with Bing", which also appears in cheap laptops. There are already many powerful followons to the Raspberry Pi, with 1-2 GB RAM and up to four ARM cores for $40-$100. Microsoft must have jogged Intel and said, Do something!

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

fasteo 12y ago

Cotton candy [1] has been around for some years. This looks pretty similar. [1] http://www.fxitech.com/ http://www.fxitech.com/

ryan-allen 12y ago

I bought a i5 NUC [1] which I use for work (in the places I contract where I'm there for a bit longer than a few days). It's such a cool little device, the build took all of 15 minutes, and now Intel release this! The NUCs come in a few sizes, the cheapest costing around 150 AUD. They make great media, desktop replacements or linux servers! As soon as this little guy comes out I'm totally buying one (a stick), I like what they're doing with this stuff! [1] http://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/nuc/overview.html http://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/nuc/overview.html

blueberry73 12y ago

what do you need to have besides a tv or monitor to use the Compute Stick?

spurgu 12y ago

Any idea whether this will run on 5V or 12V or something else?