Game developer David Braben creates a USB stick PC for $25

[The Straight Story]

Braben has developed a tiny USB stick PC that has a HDMI port in one end and a USB port on the other. You plug it into a HDMI socket and then connect a keyboard via the USB port giving you a fully functioning machine running a version of Linux. The cost? $25.

The hardware being offered is no slouch either. It uses a 700MHz ARM11 processor coupled with 128MB of RAM and runs OpenGL ES 2.0 allowing for decent graphics performance with 1080p output confirmed. Storage is catered for by an SD card slot. It also looks as though modules can be attached such as the 12MP camera seen in the image above.

We can expect it to run a range of Linux distributions, but it looks like Ubuntu may be the distro it ships with. That means it will handle web browsing, run office applications, and give the user a fully functional computer to play with as soon as it’s plugged in. All that and it can be carried in your pocket or on a key chain.



http://www.geek.com/articles/games/game-developer-david-braben-creates-a-usb-stick-pc-for-25-2011055/

[ixion]

1. very cool... I want one... now.

:woohoo:

[sharp_stick]

2. wow

that is just too cool.

[customerserviceguy]

17. Extremely

I was fascinated when I could find calculators in the dollar store (my first one cost $100, and that was in 1974 dollars!), but this is even more amazing.

[tridim]

3. I'll take two.

The smallest motherboard I own is about 5" x 5", I used it to run my homemade MAME cabinet.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. but where do the floppies go?

that is some cool machine.

I was wondering who would make the mac box computer even smaller.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. it uses Cobal punch cards.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. in 6th grade I used IBM cards on the 360.

[formercia]

10. Punch cards here too

Intro to programming 1972. I created my stack of punch cards, turned them in and they were fed into a PDP-11. State of the Art back then. A week later, I found out if my 'program' was written correctly.

[customerserviceguy]

18. You were lucky

A week later, I found out my program was keypunched incorrectly, I never did "get it". At the University of Washington, I was told to take a passing withdrawl on the computer programming course while I could, because computers were only going to be used by doctors and scientists, anyway...

[LTR]

25. I remember cassette storage!

Had an Atari 800 as a kid. Took about a half hour to load games. Ahh, the old days!

[eShirl]

5. SCHWEET!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. *Drool*

[Duer 157099]

9. I'll take 4 please

[Motown_Johnny]

11. I suspect that smart phones are about to get a whole lot smarter

[Poll_Blind]

12. I want one of these like a second tweeter.

PB

[hunter]

13. That's the kind of "desktop" computer I've been looking for.

Buy a box of 'em and string 'em up on the wall behind my desk as a supercomputer.

[kentauros]

14. That's an idea I've had for a long time.

This is certainly on the way to a wall-mounted computer, and fully upgradeable for ages (instead of mere months) :D

[Initech]

15. Now that's a portable computer!

[Gold Metal Flake]

16. Oh, this will make aftermarket fuel injection tuning easier.

Running a serial bus adapter through the USB and a 7" auto DVD screen I could install this permanently in a car using my old Megasquirt 1.0 controller. I don't need to keep my ancient Compac laptop any longer! This will greatly simplify the tuning of my next engine build!

[uponit7771]

19. They say anything about heat, that's been the thing holding us back from VSSI today. this is the ish

...no doubt

[KittyWampus]

20. so you'd have to buy the screen and keyboard and mouse?

Just asking.

[joshcryer]

24. Keyboard and mouse is around $10 total.

The monitor, if it is a TV that you already have, is effectively 'free.' If you don't have a TV then that would be a problem of course. Best case is about $50 for a screen, imo, just by looking at budget LCD screens that are floating around.

LCD prices should drop dramatically in the next few years, so yeah...

[progressoid]

21. coolio!

[blondeatlast]

22. Want. nt

[joshcryer]

23. Soon no reason for despotic countries to deny people a computer.

It needs composite-out, though, too many TVs are incompatible!

[Azooz]

26. SixthSense technology was waiting for this

SixthSense technology plays with basic the concepts of hardware (keyboard, mouse and screen etc) - so the next USB stick will not need any extra hardware:

TED Talk: Pranav Mistry - The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtANPtnhyg

The machine he demonstrates is in a big fat backpack, that USB stick is just what needs.