Dell's Project Ophelia: Chromecast-like HDMI dongle w/cloud services + virtualization

[Crono]

Dell's Project Ophelia is something along the lines of an Android-on-a-stick dongle or Chromecast-style HDMI output device, but with cloud services and virtualization of operating systems.

Not exactly familiar with Project Ophelia? Let’s flash back to CES 2013 when Dell showed it off for the first time — long story short, you plug Ophelia into your TV (any other display with an HDMI input) and Android 4.0 fires up so you can mess around on the web and download apps from the Google Play Store. Of course, that concept isn’t exactly new: Countless tiny Android devices that plug straight into your television have popped up on crowdfunding sites and Chinese bulk ordering sites for what feels like ages now.

Ophelia’s big differentiator, though, is its support for Dell’s Wyse cloud computing tech, which allows users to (among other things) remotely access files stored on PCs or servers and connect to Citrix or VMware-powered virtual machines. The company’s eagerness to show off Ophelia’s enterprise chops could go a long way in justifying the device’s roughly $100 price tag, but what’s even more interesting is the very fact that a huge PC manufacturer is moving to embrace such a strange little segment of the market.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/28/de...er-to-release-as-testers-receive-early-units/

This interests me a lot more than the Chromecast, though this will be more expensive at $100. But in theory it could be capable of far more out of the box and is probably the cheapest you can get a thin client or "cloud client" (for lack of a better term) outside of putting together your own system using a Raspberry Pi or other mini kit computer, which is of course an option for those of us with a little time and know how.

Does anyone else see the potential of a device like this?
For me, I think it could be a great way to have more than just streamed content on whatever display I'm using (be it computer monitor or television screen), but access to all my media and programs across platforms. It would be a great way to remote in to my home desktop whenever I'm traveling, too, rather than needing to hook up a laptop.

Definitely need to hear more about specs and the control mechanism(s) before spending money when it comes out this fall. But I'm at least interested in seeing what Dell does beyond traditional desktops.

 

[tfinch2]

It is an interesting concept, but I do not have much faith in Dell, even less for Dell software.

 

[bearxor]

This is, IMO, the future of personal computing. Every device we have, desktop, tablet, or phone, will be nothing more than a dumb terminal, streaming the user interface from a cloud-based system. This will let you access all of your files and applications from any device you're using.

 

[Ravynmagi]

It is an interesting concept, but I do not have much faith in Dell, even less for Dell software.

Dell has acquired quite a few software companies in the last few years.

 

[Red Storm]

It's Android on a stick. I have one (not this one, but another stick device), it's a chore to navigate but otherwise works okay. I suspect Dell will mess it up in some way.

 

[Mopetar]

This is, IMO, the future of personal computing. Every device we have, desktop, tablet, or phone, will be nothing more than a dumb terminal, streaming the user interface from a cloud-based system. This will let you access all of your files and applications from any device you're using.

Which sounds great until the network or the backend goes down and you have nothing. Anyone who's had to work with thin clients before will tell you why it's an awful idea.

Having cloud backups available is great, but most people will want to have their data with them as well.

 

[bearxor]

Which sounds great until the network or the backend goes down and you have nothing. Anyone who's had to work with thin clients before will tell you why it's an awful idea.

Having cloud backups available is great, but most people will want to have their data with them as well.

I'm talking well in to the future. At least another 10 years. I wouldn't expect this to be happening in the next year or so.

 

[TheStu]

They'll release it, it will be underwhelming, and then it will just sort of disappear. Hell, even on the products that they have that do impress, they still let them die off.

 

[lothar]

I don't put much faith in Dell.
Just like HP fumbled the TouchPad, I expect Dell to fumble this one as well.