Computer Hope
Other => Computer News => Topic started by: Geek-9pm on May 23, 2011, 04:23:04 PM
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Here is a photo:
(http://dvice.com/assets_c/2011/02/dreamPC-plug-1-thumb-550xauto-56722.jpg)
Yeah, it is an ARM with Linux embedded.
The trend to shrink the already miniaturized continues with the DreamPlug — a PC that is crammed inside of a plug that's even smaller than the tiny four-inch Xi3.
Globalscale Technologies claims their DreamPlug PC can save up to 96% on energy costs alone thanks to its five watts of power draw.
For $150, what do you get? A 1.2GHz Marvell Sheeva ARM processor, 512MB of DDR-2-800MHz RAM, 1GB of microSD storage for system files, two gigabit ethernet ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA 2.0 port, SD card slot, Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth and a headphone jack.
You might be satisfied with those specs, but just one thing: where is the GPU? The DreamPlug doesn't have one. Globalscale Technologies suggests the best use of the DreamPlug is for cloud computing, high end audio systems, home automation, network storage/monitoring and security/surveillance. So it looks like, unless your computing needs fall under a similar category, the DreamPlug is really just a dream PC.
http://dvice.com/archives/2011/02/tiny-dreamplug.php
I think it needs a night light so you will not trip over it in the dark in a crowded room. :rofl:
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will it play Crysis?
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http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/displaylink-release-three-new-usb-graphics-processors-and-linux-source-20090521/
Two years old. A good usb to usb data cable and a worthwhile hub would allow one to run Linux with a graphical interface.
One could place a such a setup in a small box for a project. Buy a portable monitor.
You could use use the plug for a server and a tablet as a client.
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Hey, that is cool! I want one right now!
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Bored ? ?
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No.
It is best to keep silent when you believe the answer was sarcastic.
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Really ? ?
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I won't stop you from exercising your natural right to display your stupidity.
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I won't stop you from exercising your natural right to display your stupidity.
Here we go again, some people never learn ................or grow up !!
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He must think i'm B.C....
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The pint of this thread was a bout dubious devices,
not bored people. ::)
Here is yet another dubious Linux related gadget.
TI, Texas Instruments, has a new chip called OMAP 4 and it has been certified for HD video use. The recent announcement says the thing will work on Linux-based Android devices.
According to PC Mag, and many other sources, the surprise is that Netflix is going to get involved. Here is the quote:
July 5, 2011 02:36pm EST
Netflix and Texas Instruments said Tuesday that Netflix has granted TI's OMAP 4 platform Netflix HD certification, meaning that OMAP 4-based phones will ship with the capability to stream high-definition Netflix movies.
Those phones should include the LG Thrill 4G, and LG Optimus 3D; the upcoming Droid 3 supposedly includes an OMAP 4 chip, although that has yet to be confirmed. (The original Motorola Droid included an OMAP 3 chip, meaning that Motorola and TI have already forged a relationship.)
Officially, TI would say only that "devices with the OMAP 4 processor-driven Netflix application pre-installed will be launched in the near future." The OMAP 4 platform supports up to Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" today.
more.. .http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388090,00.asp
Sigh, my android tablet is 1.7, too late to expect an update to HD.
How do you watch HD on a tiny screen ???
And what is a "Gingerbread" ?
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The pint of this thread was a bout dubious devices,
How is a device "dubious"? Unreliable? In what way? Some very early Wall-wart machines were known to have heat dissipation problems, but those issues have since been worked out. If you mean of dubious value, well, you might not think they are useful, but clearly some people do, otherwise there would be no market for them.
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How is a device "dubious"? Unreliable? In what way? Some very early Wall-wart machines were known to have heat dissipation problems, but those issues have since been worked out. If you mean of dubious value, well, you might not think they are useful, but clearly some people do, otherwise there would be no market for them.
Yes, dubious value is more correct. I do not doubt that it works. I doubt is value.
Another example:
dubious: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com
IN BRIEF: Causing or feeling doubt or uncertainty; questionable in value, quality or origin. Jim was feeling dubious about his ability to pass the science exam.
www.answers.com/topic/dubious
Information form answers.com may be in doubt.
But what about a Android that can do HD from Netflix because it has a new TI chip? Please explain to me the great or small value and why a number of rags are making it a headline. Slow news day?
Are you waiting for a cell phone with the OMAP 4 processor? Anybody?
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Yes, dubious value is more correct. I do not doubt that it works. I doubt is value.
fair enough. To me it wouldn't be very useful. I've heard them being used successfully as file servers when space is at a premium though, so they do have some use.
But what about a Android that can do HD from Netflix because it has a new TI chip? Please explain to me the great or small value and why a number of rags are making it a headline. Slow news day?
I cannot debate the values and/or merits of a given chip that will predominantly be used for cellphones - or more precisely, smartphones- because I haven't yet decided for myself whether smartphones themselves aren't of dubious value. From what I can tell, smartphones seem to cater to lazy people who are usually ill-prepared when they leave the house, or don't have the ability to think ahead to determine what type of information they will need later. "golly I don't know where I'm going" well you should have figured that out beforehand, when you were at home, or, here's a concept- keep a map in your glove compartment, like any sane person ought to. The advantage of a paper map is it doesn't need batteries or a signal. Of course you will need to figure out the complications of actually getting from point A to point B yourself without driving across peoples backyards, but if that is beyond somebody's ability I would hope they aren't driving anyway.
Are you waiting for a cell phone with the OMAP 4 processor? Anybody?
No. I don't care for mobile devices, for the most part. The only mobile devices I own is a 3 year old MP3 player and a digital camera. The MP3 Player uses some sort of ARM processor, but I really don't care what processor any of my mobile devices would use, as long as they work. I don't need some super does-it-all device. And the only time I've had to use a smartphone(to do something for somebody else) I basically gave up on it's actual interface and just plugged the mini-SD card into a USB adapter and managed the content that way.
In any case, that's sort of my point; personally, I don't feel the value of a smart-phone or anything of that nature is dubious. Clearly, the world disagrees with me for the most part; a vast majority of people clearly feel their value isn't dubious. That's basically what I mean with the Wall wart. One cannot declare with certainty that they aren't of any value; Surely they have some use to some people, otherwise they wouldn't still be being made.
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Thank you BC.
So n you are saying that the Wall Wart might be of more value that the smart phone then plays Net-fix on an undersized screen? [ I try to say Netflix and it turns it into Net-Fix. Maybe it means the same thing.]
Actually, the Wall Wart would be more valuable if it could have more Ethernet pots. Even having just two would increase the possibilities. In has no GPU. but has a headphone jack. Just the thing for blind administers. Now if it could have a composite video out, you could watch movies on a standard TV set.
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if it could have a composite video out, you could watch movies on a standard TV set.
You can get that a lot cheaper. 15.99 UK pounds (25.63 USD)
Dimensions: 79x58x15.5 mm. For people still in the Middle Ages, that's 3.11 inches across x 2.28 inches high x 0.6 inches thick. As one of the many happy reviews says, "it's smaller than a box of 20 cigarettes!".
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/badoit/MiniMediaPlayer.jpg)
Product Description
The mini media player is a multimedia device which can read Flash Drives, External Hard Drives and SD/MMC/MS cards, decode the content included, and then output it via HDMI or Composite (AV) on to your TV or monitor.
Decode videos with 480p/576p and upscale resolution to 1080i and 720p via HDMI
plug and play support for USB storage and MMC/SD/MS/SDHC card;
standalone file edit without a pc: copy, delete, rename, etc
Supported Files:
Video: MPEG-1 (AVI, MPG, DAT), MPEG-2 (AVI, VOB), MPEG-4 (AVI, DivX, XviD)
Audio: Wave, AAC, WMA, MP3
Picture: BMP, TIFF, PNG,GIF, JPEG
Subtitle: SRT, SMI, SSA
Input Interfaces:
USB HOST: USB 2.0 high speed; Support FAT32 & NTFS file system
Card Slot: SD / MMC / MS / SDHC
Video Output: HDMI 1.1, Composite Video
Audio Output: Dual Channel Stereo
Power Supply:
Input: AC100-240V 50/60HZ
Output: DC 5.6V, 2A
Dimensions: 79x58x15.5 mm.
Package Included
1pc Mini HDMI Media Player PDM05H
1pc Remote control
1pc DC adapter
1pc A/V cable
1pc User Manual
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Wow! That is a great Wall Wart thing! Where do I get one? Do they take Bill Me Later?
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Where do I get one?
It's called a Xenta HDMI Media Player, they sell them in Europe at Ebuyer and I have seen them at Amazon.
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...they sell them in Europe at Ebuyer and I have seen them at Amazon.
Are you sure that you have the price correct on that item?
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Are you sure that you have the price correct on that item?
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225049
They actually do a "value" one with less features that is 14.63 UK pounds that they claim is "cheapest in UK".
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/badoit/2MiniMediaPlayer.jpg)
They do other similar stuff...
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/badoit/3MiniMediaPlayer.jpg)
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They aren't the only suppliers of cheap media players. But they do seem to be very cheap. I had a Canon laser printer from them for 45 UK pounds, and last week a 32 GB pen drive for 22 pounds.
Maplin actually have stores (they are like Best Buy)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/badoit/4MiniMediaPlayer.jpg)
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If they were using them as file servers they should be able to function as a LAN printer server, can't they?
<edit> I'm referring to the one at the top of the page, not the other ones. </edit>
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An open public apology to Geek-9pm. Forgive me for making assumptions and not thinking.
Anyway, since ARM is a more efficient processor, why has it not made more headway into the Desktop market?
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An open public apology to Geek-9pm. Forgive me for making assumptions and not thinking.
Thank you
Anyway, since ARM is a more efficient processor, why has it not made more headway into the Desktop market?
ARN is a type of RISC CPU. It is a lot different from the Pentium CPU made by Intel. Porting it to Desktops would be a huge chore. Because so much software was already written in the Intel code.
But ARM is very popular in is field. Aside for servers and Desktops and most laptops, the ARM CPU may be the most widely used CPU in automation. The programs are very specific to a given task. Actually, the development can be on a Desktop using emulation to test a ARM program.
The Linux based gadgets considered here have to be low power and fast. Linux source is in C and free, so it is ported to the ARM for a specific use. Only a part of the Linux stuff is really needed to make the thing work. So the developers build a custom version that is low-cost and very efficient. And you can have the company help you if it is a big order.
ARM is a leader in microprocessor Intellectual Property. ARM designs and licenses fast, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals and ...
http://www.arm.com/
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They aren't the only suppliers of cheap media players. But they do seem to be very cheap. I had a Canon laser printer from them for 45 UK pounds, and last week a 32 GB pen drive for 22 pounds.
Maplin actually have stores (they are like Best Buy)
(http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p29/badoit/4MiniMediaPlayer.jpg)
You got a 32GB flash drive from Maplins? !!! What make... out of curiosity...
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You misread my post.
They [ebuyer, who I mentioned in my previous post] aren't the only suppliers of cheap media players. [...] Maplin actually have stores [unlike ebuyer who are web only]
I got the 32 GB flash drive from Ebuyer. It's not on offer any more, its back at £29.45. It's a Verbatim Pinstripe. However Maplin are selling 32 GB flash drives at a whopping £20 more - £49.99 at the moment - they use this illustration although they say "design may vary" so I think what you get depends what they manage to pick up cheap from week to week.
(http://images.maplin.co.uk/300/zr82d_2006.jpg)
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£30 is still cheap for a 32GB drive, unless its USB 1.0 ?
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£30 is still cheap for a 32GB drive, unless its USB 1.0 ?
It's 2.0