This time around, I want to talk about turning an extra or lightly utilized television into a computer intended for internet access, email, remote learning, and similar functions. Let me be clear, none of the devices I will describe is intended for gaming, CADD, CAM, photo editing, or video editing. These devices (computers) are designed to get you internet-based content, display videos (even movies), and provide a portal for video conferencing (the basis for much of current distance learning).How does this work? Miniaturization of computers has come a long way and you can cram everything you need to make a good computing device into a 4″ stick with an HDMI connector built into one end of it (see a picture of just one such device below). To run Windows 10, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage are sufficient, though I recommend 4GB of RAM and 32GB or even 64GB of storage, and devices configured this way are available and inexpensive.What is needed to complete the package? I recommend you start with the stick device which Amazon (among other sources) sells for under $150. (brands like Intel, Azulle, Terryza, AWOW). Add wireless keyboard and mouse combination (using a combination or set makes it easy to add wireless keyboard and mouse with one USB dongle) at $30 or less from a variety of manufacturers including Logitech. Finally, add a camera (conferencing implies that you can send video or photos) at $30-$50 along with a simple multi-outlet extension cord $10 ish and $220 or thereabouts gets you a complete kit to turn any HDMI TV into a computer.What can I expect such a computer to be able to do? Well, it will be plenty powerful enough to run Microsoft Office or Apache Office (free), store numerous documents, photos, even a few videos (setting up a cloud connection can greatly increase this ability). It will do quite nicely browsing the web, accessing your email, streaming videos (HD or UHD available in some devices and a few tv’s) and will come with Windows 10 pre-installed or ChromeOS if you so choose. And yes, it should be able to smoothly handle video conferencing and other remote school functions.
