MiiPC - Power to the Parents

[Warren Merkel]

The next generation Android PC for your family with a companion parental control mobile app.

http://kck.st/WQN6DH

I ran across this this morning and found this kickstarter interesting.  Runs Android on a Marvell SoC.  The kickstarter was fully funded in less than 24 hours!   This can run the Plex Client right out of the box.   Might actually be useful in it's original purpose, but possibly a hacker's delight as well.

Technical Specifications:

• Processor: Marvell New Armada Dual Core 1.2GHz SoC / Memory: 1GB RAM
• Storage: 4GB Internal Flash (expandable via SD Slot and USB port)
• Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Ethernet Port, and Bluetooth (4.0)
• I/O: 2 USB 2.0 Ports, Speaker & Microphone Jack, HDMI (1080p/720p) output 

Warren

[Watson, Keith]

For those who don't like clicking shortened URLs when they don't know where they point.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2102024857/miipc-power-to-the-parents

http://preview.tinyurl.com/cnwsnfz

keith

--

Keith R. Watson Georgia Institute of Technology
IT Support Professional Lead College of Computing
keith....@cc.gatech.edu 801 Atlantic Drive NW
(404) 385-7401 Atlanta, GA 30332-0280

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MUCH...@googlegroups.com [mailto:MUCH...@googlegroups.com] On
> Behalf Of Warren Merkel
> Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 13:30
> To: MUCH...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: [MUCH MythTV Users and Creators ..] MiiPC - Power to the Parents
>
> The next generation Android PC for your family with a companion parental
> control mobile app.
>
>
> http://kck.st/WQN6DH
>
>
> I ran across this this morning and found this kickstarter interesting.
> Runs Android on a Marvell SoC. The kickstarter was fully funded in less
> than 24 hours! This can run the Plex Client right out of the box.
> Might actually be useful in it's original purpose, but possibly a hacker's
> delight as well.
>
>
>
>
> Technical Specifications:
>

> * Processor: Marvell New Armada Dual Core 1.2GHz SoC / Memory: 1GB RAM
> * Storage: 4GB Internal Flash (expandable via SD Slot and USB port)
> * Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Ethernet Port, and Bluetooth
> (4.0)
> * I/O: 2 USB 2.0 Ports, Speaker & Microphone Jack, HDMI (1080p/720p)
> output
>
>
> Warren
>
>
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "MythTV Users and Creators of Howtos (MUCH)" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to MUCH_Atl+u...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
>
>

[H P Ladds]

Weird, seems like they developed the hardware to sell an app.

Then I read this: "We founded ZeroDesktop Inc. 3 years ago to bring
cloud computing and unified workspace to individual and families by
building up our sophisticated back-end infrastructure which becomes
the foundation of MiiPC infrastruture."

Ah! they want to be the sysadmin to families everywhere. These
machines are to be the "Frontend" of their service.

Cool hardware!

[Warren Merkel]

It seems they not going to charge for the Apps at this point.  However, since those Apps need to hit servers in the Cloud, it does stand to reason the MiiPC will be collecting usage data and accepting configuration changes from the Cloud.    Nothing new there.  Obviously the big selling point of this new puck device is the Parental Control gained by that data.   I think that is all they are describing.  

However, there must be some verbiage in the use agreement that describes how they can use the data as they please, and if you don't like it, "unplug it"    

I have a Nest thermostat that is happily collecting usage data on my HVAC system, and likely that could be sold to somebody.  TiVo has been doing it for years, probably selling it to Nielsen people.  It logs every button press on the remote, channel change and watch duration, and uploads it to TiVo every night  (that is unless you have a host record pointing their server's hostname to localhost :)

I'm glad I don't worry about all the data leakage that could be occurring with our Net connected devices.  I'd never get any sleep or carry a cell phone.  Opt-out if offered.

Did you notice that one of the founders is the founder of eMachines?