Eee Keyboard Details Released 166
Details on the new Eee keyboard, previously held secret during the FCC filing, have now been made available. You can now take a look at the innards and a full spec sheet detailing exactly what is being promised. "Beneath the 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touch panel (with stylus) we'll be getting Windows XP Home running on an Intel Atom N270, 945GSE / ICH7-M chipset with Broadcom AV-VD905 video decoder, 1GB of DDR2 memory, either 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, 4-hour battery, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and VGA outputs, integrated stereo speakers and mic, 3x USB, headphone and mic jacks, and external WiFi / UWB antenna. The Eee Keyboard's on-board Ultra-Wideband (UWB) throws 720p content to your TV within a 5-meter range (10-meters for non-video transmissions) via a UWB receiver packing 2x USB ports, another mini-USB port, audio out, and HDMI."
It doesn't really require an HDTV, but... (Score:3, Informative)
My very first computer was a TRS-80 Color Computer 2. It was basically a computer in a keyboard that I connected to the TV.
Presumably an SDTV, over RF or composite cable.
Now, decades later, I will soon be able to buy a computer built into a keyboard that will display on my TV.
Perhaps your TV is an HDTV and will work with one of the video outputs (VGA, HDMI) on the computer. But a lot of the U.S. market still uses SDTV, and in order to connect the VGA output to an SDTV, you need a special $40 cable [sewelldirect.com] that I don't think is included.
10 meters for non-video transmission to a TV? (Score:3, Informative)
So, if it's not sending a video signal, I presume that I'm getting audio only? And this would be useful how...
Okay, I just RTFA. Unlike the "cool" option of actually transmitting low power ATSC on an (unused) channel, which would make this potentially useful, it requires a hardwired dongle (UWB receiver) at any TV you want to connect. So the "any TV" just turned into "any TV you decide you want to buy a dongle for and manually wire up to receive the proprietary signal." An, of course, that's where the 10m comes in, since the UWB receiver has USB ports on it (for those who are cool enough to have one of these, and so antiquated that the have a wired printer).
Been there, done that (Score:3, Informative)
Mac mini, bluetooth keyboard and mouse. It is small, doesn't look ugly under your TV, has a super quiet fan, and you can get plenty of video adapters for whatever TV you have. It also has a DVD drive, so you can toss your DVD player. You can even get an EyeTV USB-stick add-on for DVR capability and export capability to your iPod/PMP. If you really want, you can even run a long USB extension cable to your couch so you can plug in a joystick and play video games. Likewise, you can also set it up as a home media server and/or remote access gateway when you're out and about.
Basically, you can do just about anything with one box.
Re:XP? (Score:2, Informative)
Thanks, yes I realized that right after I hit "submit". If I try to ssh into a paypal server I might end up with a whole other set of problems... :)
I didn't see that here [slashdot.org], guess I'll go RTFA.
Re:Been there, done that (Score:3, Informative)
The only problem with the Mac Mini is that it's pricey. You can get a similarly-small ION-based dual-Atom box for $330 (including 2GB of memory, disk, and DVD drive), just over half the price of the Mac Mini.
Or, if you're even cheaper, you can build a full-size Pentium Dual-Core box for around $250, which has the added advantage of multiple SATA ports and plenty of room for extra disks (presumably you want your media box to be able to store media). Of course, it won't fit nicely under your TV.
Re:Why not Linux? (Score:4, Informative)
Well, there was that trade show where the CEO was singing the praises of the eeepc with linux in the morning, had lunch with some MS people, and then apologisedto the audience and press for selling pre-installed linux machines instead of XP. Whatever happened in that meeting was enough for a CEO to publicly embarrass himself so you can bet that it's a policy handed directly from the top to not have linux on these things for as long as whatever promises, threats or inducements hold.
It's a pity because while people complain about the distro (xandros) it was actually set up with a very good interface for people that are not very familiar with computers.
Re:Good choice going with SSD (Score:1, Informative)
Hey Mr Safetyhat RTFA! "either 16GB or 32GB of flash storage"