This is what an open ecosystem does best.
The Jetpack, by British PC developer Piixl, is a computer that can attach to the back of a TV. If your TV stands on its own, the Jetpack clings to the television's unused wall mount point. If you were intending to mount your TV on the wall, the PC can reside between the two. These are the user needs that can only be addressed by allowing organizations (large companies, small businesses, hobbyist groups, and individuals) to explore in the niches either to "scratch their own itch"or differentiate their product.
The computer is branded mostly for SteamOS but can also be installed with a full version of Windows or Linux (which you can then install a Steam Client on). It is looking more and more like Valve is successful in herding OEMs.
The internals of this computer are quite interesting. It looks like they are attaching a 2-wide videocard 90-degrees to a mini-ITX motherboard with the other components spaced out around those two parts. Their official media claims that they will support any GPU (I assume they are not considering ones with extra- thick coolers) which should make future upgrades easy.
I may never purchase a Steam machine but I am excited that they exist. The purpose for the PC ecosystem is that every user with any need can find or create a solution. That is why general purpose computation devices exist: perform whatever information storage or manipulation the user desires. I do not have many of the needs that these boxes satisfy… but some people do and there should be systems available for them.
The Verge claims that the Jetpack will be available in January. I can sense a theme for CES 2014.
This is an awesome idea! But
This is an awesome idea! But might not work with all TVs and i guess the heat will be an issue. So i’d rather buy:
http://www.origenae.co.kr/en/htpc_s16v.htm
Not to mention older LCDs and
Not to mention older LCDs and some still come with back-facing speakers.
* I would just mount it to
* I would just mount it to it’s own vesa mount.
Love the idea, but man I’d
Love the idea, but man I’d dread the days when it was time to tear it apart for cleaning. A downsized version for desktop use would be pretty sweet too.
I sure don’t want a 1U PSU
I sure don’t want a 1U PSU anywhere near my TV. 40mm fans just can’t be effective and quiet at the same time.
As freaking cool as this
As freaking cool as this design is I have to agree with Matman. I love the form-factor, but I think there may be noise/heat issues with any system with decent power.
I hope I am wrong, but I am not holding my breath.
Still though it is exciting to see how the SteamOS is enabling any OEM to become a console maker. Let’s see more!
The part that frustrates me
The part that frustrates me is that Microsoft was so close to this in ~2007. If they did not try to push "Gold Membership", cert in Games for Windows Live (Halo 2 Vista's mod tools were so neutered, it was impossible to make its own example map — I felt so bad for their community manager), and other nasty initiatives they could have Windows Media Center be the console hub like SteamOS and Steam Client could be.
Oh well, Valve took that abandonned idea and ran with it. Let's see if they make it work.