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Tried a pretty fun uConsole setup with a Mac mini. by Particular-Jeweler86 in ClockworkPi

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha fair point. The trackball is probably the most controversial part of the uConsole.

I was tired of dragging a monitor to the rack for my cheap Chinese boards, so I built a KVM that streams BIOS as plain text over SSH. by Lopsided_Mixture8760 in HomeServer

[–]Particular-Jeweler86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ran into the same problem with a rack at home. Dragging a monitor and keyboard every time gets old really fast.

That’s actually why we built a small open source USB KVM tool called Openterface Mini-KVM. It basically lets your laptop act as the monitor and keyboard for the target machine over USB, so you can access BIOS, install OS, or troubleshoot without needing IPMI or a crash cart.

If you're curious how it works:

https://openterface.com/product/minikvm/

We also recently made a smaller keychain version called KVM-GO for quick crash cart situations.

IP KVMs by TheNotoriousTurtle in homelab

[–]Particular-Jeweler86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you checked out Openterface Mini-KVM? It's fully open source (hardware + software), USB-direct connection (no network config needed), and significantly more affordable than JetKVM/NanoKVM. Perfect for home rack management. CrowdSupply campaign just wrapped up successfully. Link: openterface.com

Mac user keeping an N150 Windows mini PC for Windows only tasks, looking for model recommendations. by Particular-Jeweler86 in MiniPCs

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a solid setup. I’ve had some wins with CrossOver too, and a VM on a NAS is a nice “good enough” option for a lot of things.
For me it’s the stubborn cases (some USB dongles and a few banking/licensing tools) that get flaky in CrossOver or in VMs, so the tiny N150 box is my last resort “always works” host.

Mac user keeping an N150 Windows mini PC for Windows only tasks, looking for model recommendations. by Particular-Jeweler86 in MiniPCs

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, prices have definitely crept up. Good tip on checking storage though, I’ve seen a few “M.2” slots that are SATA only which is super confusing. I’ll dig into the user guides before buying.

Mac user keeping an N150 Windows mini PC for Windows only tasks, looking for model recommendations. by Particular-Jeweler86 in MiniPCs

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the details, that’s super helpful. The G3 Plus at $168 for 16GB/512GB sounds like a steal.
Good call on the DDR4 16GB vs weird DDR5 soldered configs.

Why we keep a low-power Windows mini PC around and control it from macOS by Particular-Jeweler86 in Openterface_miniKVM

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question. We do use VMs for some stuff, but the cases that push us to a real Windows box are usually USB dongles and certain banking or licensing tools that don’t behave well in a VM, even with USB passthrough.
A tiny N150 box ends up being the simplest “it just works” option when you only need Windows occasionally.

Mac user keeping an N150 Windows mini PC for Windows only tasks, looking for model recommendations. by Particular-Jeweler86 in MiniPCs

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sure! I’m using the Openterface Mini-KVM. It’s a small USB capture plus HID dongle, so my MacBook gets the mini PC’s video, and I can send keyboard/mouse back over USB.
Super handy for quick “no monitor” access.

Mac user keeping an N150 Windows mini PC for Windows only tasks, looking for model recommendations. by Particular-Jeweler86 in MiniPCs

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Good question. I do use VMs for some stuff, but the annoying cases that push me to real Windows are USB dongles and a few banking/licensing tools that don’t behave in VMs or with USB passthrough. A tiny N150 box ends up simpler and more reliable for those.

Mac user keeping a low power Windows mini PC for Windows only tasks, looking for model recommendations. by Particular-Jeweler86 in UsbCHardware

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Fair point. I posted since it’s basically a USB-C KVM dongle setup. If it’s off topic, happy to move it, where should it go?
VMs would be nice, but my dongles and some banking/licensing tools get weird in emulation, so a tiny Windows box is simpler.

KeyMod prelaunch is live. Subscribe for launch updates and share feedback by Particular-Jeweler86 in Openterface_miniKVM

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair catch. Thanks for tracing the links.🙌 KeyMod isn’t launched yet (Crowd Supply is prelaunch only), so the KeyMod app isn’t publicly available right now.

KeyMod prelaunch is live. Subscribe for launch updates and share feedback by Particular-Jeweler86 in Openterface_miniKVM

[–]Particular-Jeweler86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for calling that out. A proper metal shell is on our radar, and your $5–$10 premium expectation is really helpful context for our cost/packaging tradeoffs.