I’m a bit of a tech junkie but one of my biggest tech financial regrets are all the streaming devices I have bought over the years. I have at least a half dozen Apple TV devices, half dozen Amazon Fire devices, Roku devices and more.
At the time, each device fit a purpose and was the most cost effective solution for streaming services such as Netflix or Sling but over the years I’ve pretty much given up on all of them and switched to carrying around a small mini PC like this one on Amazon.
The Mini PC
There are many reasons for dumping streaming devices and the primary one is that streaming devices tend to be fit for one purpose – streaming TV. The main problem I have with most streaming services is that they don’t work when you leave the U.S. The devices themselves function but you can’t stream U.S. Sling when you’re in Europe because of geo-fencing and dumb restrictions. I spent quite a bit of time overseas and I like to catch up on the news and CNBC when I’m away.
Over the years I worked out carrying an additional wifi router that could VPN back to a home in the U.S. and I would be able to stream services however that required I carry around a bunch of extra equipment. And while I do carry a laptop most of the time I travel, I use my laptop for work and personal activities so I can’t tie it up on streaming.
With the mini PC, I setup OpenVPN and connect back to my home and can stream all the services without any issues. Sometimes it gets glitchy or slow but overall it works great and I usually connect it to the hotel TV with HDMI without any issues. I carry a small wireless keyboard/mouse combo to do navigating around with it. It is also possible to use your iPhone with this app to control a PC or Mac.
The added benefit of the Mini PC is that I can play games on it, use it as a second computer to do work or other stuff. The mini PC is small enough to stuff in a suitcase or backpack and carry it around. They only cost about $100 when on sale so it’s not a huge loss if it gets stolen or lost in transit.
Bottom line, the Mini PCs (also called NUCs) are very versatile, compact and fairly cheap over a traditional streaming device.
Share The Wealth
Have you tried a NUC or Mini PC yet? Let me know in the comments below.
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