Unless you’re a gamer, there’s no good reason to still use a desktop tower, with so many PCs now coming in compact form factors. How compact? So compact, they can mount behind the TV or monitor. So compact, they come as a dongle that can plug into an HDMI port. So compact, they look no bigger than the phone charger you have plugged on the wall outlet. At least, the latter’s the case with the Compute Plug.
Made by Taiwan-based OEM Quanta, it’s a literal wall wart that houses a full-fledged Windows 10 computer. Just plug it on a wall outlet, hook it up to a TV via HDMI, and you’re set, ready to launch Excel and do exciting spreadsheet work all night. Or something like that.
The Compute Plug has two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port, with the former likely to be used for adding extra storage or peripherals. It will come with both Bluetooth and WiFi for wireless connectivity, although little was given in terms of specs (given that it’s an OEM product, final specs will depend on the actual brands that commission them). Microsoft is envisioning it as a living room computer that’s controlled using Cortana via a Bluetooth remote or headset, although it should be possible to use as a standard desktop with a mouse and keyboard, too.
Microsoft VP Nick Parker introduced the Compute Plug in a demonstration during his keynote address at Computex 2015 in Taiwan.