If you don’t know what the Steam Link is, it is a little box that lets you stream your computer screen to your TV, primarily focused on gaming, but suitable for streaming anything. We use ours all the time and love it.
The device is actually a small linux based computer skinned for the specific purpose of streaming another device’s content. It has 4GB of internal storage, 512MB ram, 3 USB ports, an ethernet port, an HDMI port, bluetooth, wifi, and an RF chip all built in.
it really is a steal for $2.50, even if you don’t plan to use it for it’s intended purpose. They can be easily hacked and modded for other purposes. I just bought one that I plan to use with the stock software, but I am going to pair it with an old laptop keyboard and monitor to have a “streaming laptop” that I can use anywhere in my house.
I’d love to see a Hive competition where different people/groups had a modding competition to see who could come up with the most creative use for one.
Steam sale ends July 5th, so after that the price will probably go back up to the normal $50 (though it is regularly on sale for $20).
At $2.50 it's got to be good for something. Is there enough demand and organization for a group buy? I'd go in for one or four and share shipping with others also interested in Kevin's proposed competition. Brad, is it too late to bump up your order?
I tried to purchase two last night, I couldn’t find anywhere where you could change the quantity of the item you’re purchasing so ended up paying shipping for both. ( ¯_(ツ)_/¯ )
Not sure how much of a value-added email this is, but figured it was a good time to chime in.
Have you seen any mods involving replacement of the stock OS? None have appeared during my brief Googling on the topic. Without that capability, these boxes remain a one-trick device.
I ordered one, as I have need of that one trick. I’ve been using Splashtop for display streaming thus far and long for better performance. But as this can also reportedly be done with the Parsec Gaming client on a Raspberry Pi, I’d possibly caution people against making a bulk buy with no clear use case in mind.
I’m all for having a “streaming Saturday” or similar when the Steam Links arrive. I can think of a few useful tricks with the unmodified machines.
