I want one of these. Looks so interesting, and I've tried the AWS
virtual desktop as a service offer once and found it pretty compelling.

https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/27/aws_workspaces_thin_client/

AWS plays with Fire TV Cube, turns it into a thin client for cloudy
desktops 21 comment bubble on white
$195 a pop, delivered, pre-provisioned ready to stream desktops or apps

Simon Sharwood
Mon 27 Nov 2023 // 03:48 UTC

RE:INVENT Amazon Web Services has announced the WorkSpaces Thin Client
– a device dedicated to connecting to its WorkSpaces desktop-as-a
service offering and based on Amazon's own "Fire Cube" smart TV box.

The $195 machine has the same hardware as the Fire Cube: the eight-core
Arm-powered Amlogic POP1-G SoC, plus 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 10/100
ethernet, and a single USB-A 2.0 port. Bluetooth is included to connect
other peripherals. A second HDMI output can be added by acquiring an
$85 hub that also offers four more USB ports.

Like the Fire TV Cube, the Thin Client also runs a modified cut of
Android.

But there the similarities end. AWS created custom firmware and ripped
out anything remotely related to running a consumer device, replacing
it with software designed solely to create a secure connection between
the device and desktops running in the Amazonian cloud.

Amazon Business – the B2B version of Jeff Bezos's digital souk – will
ship the device to your door, and charge it to your AWS bill. At least
if you are in the USA. Europe will get the Thin Client in early 2024,
and it'll eventually migrate elsewhere.

AWS decided to base the box on the Fire Cube because, according to a
corporate blog post, AWS customers expressed a desire for cheaper and
easier-to-maintain client devices. As AWS execs searched for a
well-priced box, they considered the Fire TV Cube, found it fit the
bill and noted it was already being made at scale. Keeping things
in-house made sense, too.
--

Am 28.11.2023 um 19:58:55 Uhr schrieb Retrograde:

> I want one of these. Looks so interesting, and I've tried the AWS
> virtual desktop as a service offer once and found it pretty
> compelling.

In my opinion, that thing looks ugly. It looks bit like a bluetooth
battery speaker.

> For now, buyers will only be able to use Amazonian services.

For me, a no-go.

Am 28.11.2023 um 19:58:55 Uhr schrieb Retrograde:

> I want one of these. Looks so interesting, and I've tried the AWS
> virtual desktop as a service offer once and found it pretty
> compelling.

In my opinion, that thing looks ugly. It looks bit like a bluetooth
battery speaker.

> For now, buyers will only be able to use Amazonian services.

For me, a no-go.

On 11/29/23 01:58, Retrograde wrote:
> https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/27/aws_workspaces_thin_client/
>
> The $195 machine has the same hardware as the Fire Cube: the eight-core
> Arm-powered Amlogic POP1-G SoC, plus 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 10/100
> ethernet, and a single USB-A 2.0 port.

There's no reason a thin client should cost $195, especially with those
specifications, which are comparable to a Raspberry Pi 3 (currently
around $55), except for the processor, which is excessive for a thin client.

There are also very few reasons to rent a desktop from Amazon. In most
cases, it will be better to have your own hardware.

For the price, you can have a Raspberry Pi 5 - if you can get one. It
has twice or 4 times the RAM, gigabit ethernet, and a lot more ports. It
has no little cores, only 4 big cores (better ones); if you really need
more cores you can buy 2 of them and plastic cases for both and still
have spent less money.