We're not sure who gave this update this "brilliant" name, but regardless of name it's here and the question is if wether you should update or not. 

We've verified our player is compatible with this update, but there's also no need what so ever to update your players if you don't want to. All the updates are basically related to Desktop use. 

Please note that this update is really consuming a lot of free space for the upgrade, so on Compute Sticks and similar devices there probably will not be enough free space. Again, another reason to ship your 32GB devices with a SD-card or USB memory stick with 16GB or preferably even 32GB if you can. Saves you a lot of trouble in the future! 

We get a lot of questions about the Compute Sticks from our clients, so here's a quick summary of our Best Practices: 

1. Make sure you get the original Intel Compute Stick - we see users asking shops for Compute Sticks and instead of the Intel one the shops will sell you whatever clone they might have in stock. The clones might work just fine, but some don't have autostart on power-loss for example. So our recommendation is that you get the original Intel one, there's little reason to by any of the others.
2. You probably should make sure you get the 2016 version and not the 2015 one - and also make sure it has Windows, not Android as the model names vary only slightly. The exact model number you're looking for is model number you're looking for is STK1AW32SC. The 2016 version has a slightly quicker processor, 14nm vs 22nm chip AND dual USB ports which is handy when connecting a mouse and keyboard. However, if you get a good deal on the 2015 versions, they still do the job nicely though. So get the 2015's if you really want to save as much as possible, but the 2016 is usually worth the extra cost.  
3. It's usually a smart thing to buy a 16GB MicroSD memory card (less than $10!) and insert it in the stick before you ship it. These sticks come with only 32 GB storage (limitation for free Windows license set by Microsoft), and an extra 16GBs will help a lot with future Windows updates etc if you download a lot of content on the device. Could save you a lot of hassle a couple of months/years up the road. 

The improved 2016 Compute Stick is finally here, so the question is: how does it compare to the original from last year?    ...short version is, there's not a big difference. 

It does have some improvements here and there, such as (finally!!) dual USB ports so you can connect both a mouse and a keyboard at the same time.  The Atom x5-Z8300 CPU is built on 14nm, and it has slightly better graphics for 3D and normal Windows usage.  Like the 2015 version it has 2GB memory which is a little bit quicker than last years version, but it DOES have better wifi, which some users complained about in the 2015 versions.

Please note that the current version is a little bit "new", for example if you upgrade to Windows 1511 November update it won't recognize your wifi anymore - you must manually install the Wifi drivers afterwards via a USB stick. An annoyance, but not a big problem. 

And as with the 2015 version, it's usually a good idea to add a 16GM MicroSD card to it before you ship it somewhere - just in case you need that space later. (And most likely, you will!)


Pros: 
- Small!
- Affordable
- Does it's job - the 2015 sticks we've seen deployed are doing well, we expect the same from this model
- Still by far the best Compute Stick out there - don't buy anything else.
- The best solution for generic Digital Signage?
 

Cons: 
- Not really that big a change from last year's version when it comes to performance
- Storage space limited by free Windows 10 license restrictions by Microsoft - should add a MicroSD card
- Small fan? Fans always exposed to dust-issues. When will we see a fan-less version? 



Some images of 2016 vs 2015 versions. If you want all the details, you can compare them on Intel Website: 

Today we're testing the Asus QM-1 Computestick - at first glance, just another Intel Compute Stick clone. 

However, this one is the first model to have the new 14nm Cherrytrail Atoms - not the standard Z3735Fs in most of the others. 

It behavies just like the other sticks, only slightly more powerful and using slightly less power. One big showstopper though - it doesn't autostart on powerloss. 

Pros: 
- Small, cheap, easilty available
- Newest Intel 14nm chips
- Better wifi than the Intel Compute stick 2015 version

Cons: 
- Only one USB-port (like most other sticks)
- Doesn't autostart on power failure!
- No real reason to buy this instead of the original Intel Compute stick 2016 version, which will have the same hardware AND dual USB inputs.  

We're seeing more and more of our users putting the Intel Compute Stick to good use in their setups, reception has been very well indeed. 

Now we're also seeing the slightly modified Compute Stick - new model number from Intel, but same hardware. Only difference is that they now ship with Windows 10 instead of Windows 8.1. Makes little difference, also saves you an upgrade from 8.1 to 10 if you want to run the latter. 

Now we're waiting for the rumoured 2016 compute stick, which has Cherry Trail 14 chip - will be exciting to test these two against each other! 

The Intel Compute Stick is here! :) How we have waited for this......

It brings great promise, affordable to buy, but perhaps even more importantly, more affordable to service and replace. Instead of doing an advanced installation with the player pc in another room, lots of cabling by an electrician etc, you can simply hide it behind the screen! This could easily save you far more than the savings in for the device itself. 

It does basic signage very well, full HD video is no problem, neither in landscape or portrait. It's has the (now pretty standard Atom Z3735F 4 core, 1,33 GHZ burstable to 1.83GHz CPU. Comes with Windows 8.1 Standard, no issues there. 

It only has one USB 2.0 slot though, limiting connectiity. However it also has a funny Remote app for managing the device through your mobile - not sure if this is great feature or a great security risk. 

We'll continue to test it more, but so far it looks very promising! 

Pros: 
- Small!
- Affordable to buy and service!
- Full Windows with Bing license - for free!
- Autostarts on powerloss by default - no messing with bios to enable it
- Draws power from your screen (but be careful - not all screens provide power during rebooting the stick)

Cons: 
- Doesn't to Multizone very well
- Not that much space on the drive (but you can add a MicroSD)
- Small fan could be prone to dust exposure? 
​- Only one USB port - some hassle to connect both a mouse and keyboard​


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Putting the Compute Sticks through our burn-in tests :)