|
I agree the Chromeboxes could probably come in cheaper. Having said that, for me at least, the price wasn't too dear to pay.
Nice spec list above. That beats the existing Samsung box by having an SD slot, but I resolved that with a very cheap SD to USD adapter. I don't think having the card flush is as important on a desktop device as on a laptop. In fact, it might be a negative as you're more likely to be fishing around under your desk for it.
For the same reason, although having the 3mm audio socket on the front is unsightly, it makes more sense than the back for the Chromebox. You want to be able to plug headphones in and out easily. The box is so easy to tuck away, that I'd be surprised if many people wanted it to actually sit taking up space on their tabletop. (Mine's under the desk, sitting on top of my Windows tower case.)
No need, for the same reason, for built-in stereo. The box is small and would rarely be placed right in front of you on the table, so stereo separation would be minimal. The mono speaker in the Samsung is adequate. For better sound you'd need to drive satellite speakers. I do this currently running from the front audio output to a powered speaker set. I also have a Plantronics USB headset plugged in, which works very well.
I think VGA isn't really necessary, while DVI is (along with HDMI or DisplayPort). If you do have a much older monitor which only has VGA, a cheap adapter would solve the problem.
Graham
|