$25/$35 Mini-PC Available Next Month - ARM based

[autoxerke]

Who's funding?

Skynet

Seriously though, I work in educational technology and think these could make awesome thin clients. I need to look into that Linux the show on the demo.

 

[drwho9437]

The board is basically an open source version of the internals of a Roku which should give you an idea of what it can do.

 

[drwho9437]

For $35, I can get a bunch of them, run Ethernet everywhere, and control everything in my house. Oh god, so many options..

If you want to do this why don't you just setup a wireless PAN using cheap 3 dollar Nordics and some 2 dollar micros and save about 25 dollars a node?

 

[mnewsham]

Who's funding?

University Of Cambridge I believe.

 

[wirednuts]

they have xbmc running 1080p h.264 videos on it now. looks about as fast as an atom machine running win7mc, which is freaking amazing!

$25 and 1w. man i think the first thing i want to do is just buy a nice 22" $100 lcd monitor, open it up and mod in a rasberry pi. add a 2.1 speaker system and a remote control, and bam instant htpc!

 

[Macgyversite]

Shhhhh. Dont say that. You'll see Major brand TV's with built in DVD players and Rasberry PI's. It would be a total system as you say.

 

[beergeek]

they have xbmc running 1080p h.264 videos on it now. looks about as fast as an atom machine running win7mc, which is freaking amazing!

$25 and 1w.

I'd think $35. The $25 version doesn't provide networking, so you'd either want an Ethernet USB dongle (more than the $10 difference for the one with built-in Ether) or the $25 version plus a WiFi dongle.

I am interested in this for a HTPC, though - wondering what people suggest for a remote?

 

[AFurryReptile]

I'd think $35. The $25 version doesn't provide networking, so you'd either want an Ethernet USB dongle (more than the $10 difference for the one with built-in Ether) or the $25 version plus a WiFi dongle.

I am interested in this for a HTPC, though - wondering what people suggest for a remote?

Your phone.

 

[alaricljs]

If you want a USB IR transceiver (control the TV/stereo/whatever from the HTPC) iguanaworks has what you're looking for. The site hasn't been updated but they do have a version that has both transmit and receive socketed so you can run a cable to wherever you need.

You can then control both the HTPC and all your theater stuff via IR or via the HTPC. Throw in a nyxboard remote for IR and wireless control of the whole nine, or use your 'phone' to control the HTPC and have it send signals to the other stuff.

 

[beergeek]

Your phone.

Doesn't work for my wife . No smart phone and no interest in one. Similarly not great for anyone else who is using the TV and doesn't necessarily have the right app set up the right way. For a bunch of reasons, I'd want a dedicated remote (possibly in addition to my phone)...

 

[mvbighead]

Doesn't work for my wife . No smart phone and no interest in one. Similarly not great for anyone else who is using the TV and doesn't necessarily have the right app set up the right way. For a bunch of reasons, I'd want a dedicated remote (possibly in addition to my phone)...

Buy an old Droid off of CL with no phone access.

 

[cytoSiN]

It's got USB, so it can probably take a Logitech nano receiver, and then you can use any logitech device with a pointer as a remote. For HTPC use, something like this would be nice.

 

[beergeek]

If you want a USB IR transceiver (control the TV/stereo/whatever from the HTPC) iguanaworks has what you're looking for. The site hasn't been updated but they do have a version that has both transmit and receive socketed so you can run a cable to wherever you need.

While that is a powerful approach, it seems overkill for my needs (I don't have that many devices and their interactions aren't that complex). Plus, it would be fairly software intensive and non-intuitive for casual users who are used to "conventional" remotes.

You can then control both the HTPC and all your theater stuff via IR or via the HTPC. Throw in a nyxboard remote for IR and wireless control of the whole nine, or use your 'phone' to control the HTPC and have it send signals to the other stuff.

Just a remote would likely be adequate for my needs (driving the various components directly from the remote rather than from the HTPC). However,the nyxboard seems not quite there. The device control side controls too few devices, with too few controls (buttons) for the range of devices I'd like to control, and with an awkward programming method (learning only, not directly programmable) and no macros. The keyboard side is cramped and missing too many useful keys (at least partially due to the space lost to (what I assume is) the battery compartment door. The "mouse pad" also looks iffy - though admittedly I've never used a nyxboard, so I could be wrong on that.

I think what I'd really like is something like a mid-range Logitech remote (which supposedly can act as a remote for a U-Verse STB, and can certainly drive (at least almost all the functions of) my various other devices, is code programmable, has macros, etc.) merged somehow with the Lenovo remote, all done in an ergonomic and nicely designed way (and, while we are dreaming, costing under $50 )...

 

[TwiceOver]

I want to do the same thing, but until there's a real remote available I just wont get there...

 

[wirednuts]

just find a vista remote kit (ir6 mce remote). like this one- http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Dell-...OHZ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327441129&sr=8-2


or here- http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Lenovo-...ltDomain_0&hash=item4ab13f4baa#ht_3737wt_1076

they work perfectly as basic tv remotes. i actually prefer using them over my harmony remote but the harmony stays because it can control everything

well they would be great once win8 is running on a raspberry pi anyway!

 

[soccerballtux]

So what exactly would something like this 'seriously' be able to be used for?

streaming videos as a network HT"PC".
Browsing internet it will suck.
Using Ubuntu (such as developing software) it will suck. The real motive is to make the poor children in 3rd world countries buy another, upgraded, one.
I will be checking this out in a few years when it's on a dual core processor and has 2-4GB of RAM.

 

[Harrod]

Doesn't work for my wife . No smart phone and no interest in one. Similarly not great for anyone else who is using the TV and doesn't necessarily have the right app set up the right way. For a bunch of reasons, I'd want a dedicated remote (possibly in addition to my phone)...

You can also use a regular Ipod touch for a remote if you have one.

 

[mikeford]

When these start selling, will there be lots of them, more than one vendor etc?

 

[TwiceOver]

You can also use a regular Ipod touch for a remote if you have one.

I think Beergeek has the same problem I do with these "remotes"... No tactile feedback. I can't just put my hand on it and without looking know what I'm doing. It's a novelty at best to me.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

When these start selling, will there be lots of them, more than one vendor etc?

after a while probably...i think one of the reasons the cost is so low is because they don't have a vendor mark-up.

 

[KingGheedora]

Using Ubuntu (such as developing software) it will suck.

What do you mean by this? I'm a little sleep deprived so excuse if my reading comprehension sucks this morning. Are you saying using Ubuntu to develop software sucks? If so, why? I always though Ubuntu was pretty popular, especially among dev's.

 

[alaricljs]

He means doing so directly on the Pi. Don't compile on the Pi is the take away.

 

[SithSolo1]

$35 bucks? I might bite.

 

[wirednuts]

When these start selling, will there be lots of them, more than one vendor etc?

any day now really. i think theres like 10k units in the first run... 1st come first serve. theyll probably sell out very fast. they will be making more as fast as they can but theyre just subbing out the production to a china factory so its a bit of a lead time

 

[beergeek]

just find a vista remote kit (ir6 mce remote). like this one- http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Dell-...OHZ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327441129&sr=8-2


or here- http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Lenovo-...ltDomain_0&hash=item4ab13f4baa#ht_3737wt_1076

they work perfectly as basic tv remotes. i actually prefer using them over my harmony remote but the harmony stays because it can control everything

Well, (as you note) those are both targeted at MCE, which isn't my interest. Also, that's not the Lenovo I was talking about. I meant the Lenovo N5902 Multimedia Remote, which is basically a small QWERTY keyboard with a trackpad (trackbutton?). It's somewhat like the Logitech diNovo, but half the price.

What I'd want is something that provides both "conventional" home theater remote features, with dedicated (but likely programmable) buttons for controlling TV, STB, DVD, receiver, etc. (the "Logitech Harmony" part) as well as having a (probably small and not great for typing on) PC type keyboard for controlling the Raspberry as a HTPC (not so much for running things like XBMC, but things like web browsing and so on, where using a "scroll and select" virtual keyboard is painful).

The Moto nyxboard is close, but both the device control and keyboard functionalities seem not quite adequate.

well they would be great once win8 is running on a raspberry pi anyway!

noted, but...

That it is unlikely to happen (at least on the current pi) - almost certainly not enough RAM, unclear how porting could be done (ARM platforms aren't standardized nearly as much as PCs, so it's doubtful an off the shelf version would work), and I have no idea how licensing would work. (That all ignores the fact that the idea of Windows on something like this horrifies me...)