One obvious use...
I have a 32" LCD HDTV. Like most of them, it has a VGA port. I download and/or stream a lot of video, a lot of which can be viewed at the HDTV's native resolution - 1024x768p. I also have an extensive music collection, some of which is also with accompanying videos, and all stored on an external HDD attached to my main PC that's shared over the network as a sort of "mini server".
I've tried streaming through the Xbox 360 via WMP11/TVersity/Winamp Remote, and it's variable in quality to say the least. I've been considering getting an old Xbox, soft-modding it to XBMC and using that; no VGA option, though, so it'd be at SCART quality at best (there is a component YPbPr cable for the old Xbox, but it takes up so much processing power to use it pretty much makes it useless). The Wii, although it can do net access via Opera (and therefore access Winamp Remote/TVersity) and can output at HD, does so at 480p, which to be frank looks awful.
Now this... this is a low-cost, low-power (it uses less power than my 360 in standby!) PC I can connect via a DVI-HDMI cable to get an awesome picture and stream it all effostlessly off the network. Basically, it's a full-PC Slingbox...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
