Gadgetory

let's run down my favorite games pinochle tiddlywinks high-stakes baccarat and my new favorite hide the Roku box somewhere on me there is one it's actually not a box it's the new Roku streaming stick this is a Roku box in what is basically a slightly oversized thumb drive form factor however that's not a USB connector that is a new form of an HDMI connector new to most of us anyway MHL mobile high-definition link is what that means it is an HDMI shaped plug but it has additional connections in it to be able to power the device in this case a Roku box on a stick as well as allow remote control pass-through between this and the TV for example it's plugged into inside this guy is basically all the guts of a Roku box you've got all the technology for the video streaming you've got the Wi-Fi built in and of course the high-definition audio and video passing through the HDMI part of the MHL connector now this is being supported by several TV makers these ports are not on every television you're seeing right now but going forward you can expect to see it rather commonly this will be coming out second half of the year from roku place things not set yet but you know it's gonna map roughly to the boxes they have on the market right now the idea here is when you use this you don't have to plug in a wall wart somewhere to power the thing you're not running cables back and forth we're at the point now where the cables are actually bulkier than the Roku box so this kind of takes us sort of direction of elegance that make sense for the simpler cleaner living room that a lot of folks are interested right now and again power and remote control all integrated so second half we're singing here for the first time at CES 2012 i'm brian coulis with the Roku streaming stick you