PC-on-a-stick

PC on a Stick, "Stick-Style PC", or "Stick PC" refers to a computing device that is shaped in a small elongated casing thus resembling a small stick or usb thumb flash drive. The term "PC on a Stick" may have been first used to describe a mobile workspace, a device for securely booting and running an operating system from a USB stick, however as of at least 2012 the term PC on a Stick now more generally refers to the shape of a compact USB thumb drive shaped computing device.

The term as used to refer to the more general description of a small computing device with an elongated USB-flash drive like casing contemplates that the device is not a passive storage device as was the IronClad™ product (see below) which contained only stored instructions or an operating system to be run on the host device's CPU or processing chips. As used by the public the term Stick PC, Stick-style PC, or PC on a Stick refers to devices which have independent CPU or processing chips contained within the device which does not rely on another or host device for any processing to function as an independent computer. Thus, these devices as known to the public can turn a non-computer host into a peripheral device to produce visual or audio output such as a TV or Kiosk display.