That's very true - one of those mini Linux sticks would fit the bill nicely, for example: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Original-authentic-RKM-MK802IV

That's very true - one of those mini Linux sticks would fit the bill nicely, for example: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Original-authentic-RKM-MK802IV-LE-Quad-Core-RK3188-2GB-8GB-Ubuntu-Linux-MINI-PC-WIFI-Bluetooth/1403049_32268439359.html http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Original-authentic-R... And apparently Intel has the same thing with it's atom chip: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/01/intels-compute-stick-is-a-full-windows-or-linux-pc-in-an-hdmi-dongle/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/01/intels-compute-stick-... With high capacity flash getting fast-enough for real use, I don't see much of a need for spinning platters anymore. It's seems like a shame to give up on all that old hardware, but technology marches on I suppose.