Your next computer may have a 60″ screen.
The latest trend in computing is the PC-on-a-stick, promising to turn any television into a computer. Well okay, not any television… it has has to have a spare HDMI input. But that covers most any TV made in the last several years!
Devices from Amazon, Intel and Dell plug into your TV and make it a computer display. Most of the reviews have been lackluster at best– clunky setup, cryptic interface, slow response, etc. Most of the complaints center around user input… or lack thereof. The keyboard or mouse relies on a USB or Bluetooth-connected device to provide human interaction. Once that hurdle is overcome the user is confronted with a mashup of the Kindle, Android or Windows operating system.
The Next Big Thing in this arena is the Google Chromebit, a device manufactured by Asus. The Chromebit works like the current crop of dongles, but runs Chrome OS, similar to the popular Chromebook laptops. Announced in March, the Chromebit buzz had been pretty quiet lately. Then a mention of the ‘Bit earlier this month by Hiroshi Lockheimer from Google assured the world that Chrome is here to stay and the new computer stick was only weeks away.
We’re waiting.