The £130 Windows PC that plugs into your TV

WE HAVE become used to the way a computer should look: it's either a laptop or it's a base unit hooked up to a screen, keyboard and mouse.
The Intel Compute Stick is a complete PC that plugs inte the back of a TV setThe Intel Compute Stick is a complete PC that plugs inte the back of a TV set
The Intel Compute Stick is a complete PC that plugs inte the back of a TV set

But it’s a convention that’s as out of date as a golfball typewriter. PCs were configured in that way in the Eighties and Nineties because, since we were still learning what they were for, we wanted them to be ready for anything.

But today, we no longer buy a computer for the simple joy of owning one; there has to be an end use in mind, whether it’s office work, homework or - increasingly - being put to use as a home entertainment centre. That means you can choose the configuration accordingly.

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There is now little point, for instance, in buying a separate computer monitor for a teenager’s bedroom in which a decent TV set is also installed: the same screen can serve both purposes.

Until recently, this was easier said than done, but most recent TVs have PC display modes and spare HDMI sockets round the back… and for around £130 you can buy a complete Windows PC that plugs straight into one.

Intel’s Compute Stick is at the low end of the PC spectrum - you’re never going to want to use it for video editing or photo manipulation - but for web surfing, word processing, video playback and a hundred other uses, it’s fine. Despite being only slightly bigger than a USB stick, it packs in an Atom processor, 2GB of memory and 32GB of storage, as well as a full copy of Windows 10. All you need to make it work is a miniature wireless keyboard and mouse unit.

When you’ve finished using it, you can leave it discretely plugged into the back of the TV or put it in your pocket and take it with you.

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Given that a standalone copy of Windows 10 alone can cost around £80, the Compute Stick is astonishingly good value - yet it’s by no means the only computer that breaks the mould. Intel itself sells a cheaper version, with half the memory, less storage, and the free operating system Linux instead of Windows, for around £87, and other manufacturers have piled into the same space.

Asus has a similarly-sized device called the Chromebit, running Google’s ChromeOS system instead of Windows, and selling for £90... and if you think that not having Windows is a disadvantage, just look at your phone - it works fine with either Android or Apple’s iOS system instead. Again, it depends on what you plan to use the device for.

In all cases, reusing an existing screen and an external keyboard means you’ll pay substantially less than the cost of an equivalent laptop, and you might also gain in portability.

Mini-PCs are not necessarily stick-shaped: some are cubes that can be bolted to the mounting holes on the back of a TV; others are slim boxes the size of a packet of cereal bars. These are just as cheap and, although they are less portable, they’re ideal for plugging into your main TV, as conduits to your music and video collections. Free software like Plex lets you index your titles and access them from the big screen, with an app on your phone serving as the remote control.

All of which means that the days of paying up to £1,000 for a general purpose PC are long gone. After all, why buy a compendium of games just to play snakes and ladders?