When famed game company Valve announced the introduction of the open source linux based “Steam OS” earlier this year to compliment their new line of Steam Machines, they made it clear that they have every intention of bringing PC gaming to the living room in a way never thought possible.

While nobody who’s ever glanced at their success record would ever doubt Valve’s ability to accomplish this goal, the lack of specifics on the subject at the time of announcement left some questioning just how they’d accomplish such a herculean effort within the industry.

Since then, however, the unveiling of a few Steam Machine prototypes to go along with some additional details regarding the OS, have cleared up the picture somewhat and rightfully raised expectations.

However no prototype has personally intrigued me more than the recently announced Jetpack PC from PiixL.

Described as a slimline PC, the Jetpack is capable of sliding into your TV frame whether it is mounted or propped up on a stand. Once installed it allows you to instantly start using your TV as a PC that can support either Windows or Steam OS. While the specs are not currently available, PiixL has said the Jetpack has universal GPU compatibility and looks to be more or less as customizable as a standard desktop (though some parts like power supplies are likely not interchangeable).

Starting at a $1,000, the practicality of the Jetpack as a gaming PC solution is going to depend largely on whether or not on the built in specs and exactly how customizable and accessible it is.

Regardless of the specifics though, the Jetpack is an amazing example of the creativity inspired by Valve’s big move into the living room. If this is only an early example of the technology that will be fueling that move, then the coming years should be very interesting for the PC gaming revolution.

If I were to tell you that a creative and reasonably priced item with a unique, yet practical, solution to a common modern day need was coming out, you wouldn’t be blamed for looking for the obligatory Kickstarter link, and start wondering how much the minimum contribution is.

That’s because while that site is heavily flawed (for instance, some developers exceed their requested amount by almost a $100,000 and still blow all the money, not release the product, and fail to have any reasonable plans for a refund in sight), it’s a consistently entertaining source of devices that make you go “Hmmm, interesting” possibly while smoking a pipe.

But this particular device actually comes not from Kickstarter, but from our friends at Google.

Called the Chromecast, it’s capable of broadcasting content from popular devices (be it iOS, Android, or computer) straight to your TV. Admittedly that’s a feature only impressive if you’ve never heard of HDMI, DVI, or VGA cables, but the Chromecast gains a leg up in that it’s not a cable at all, but rather an HDMI plug-in that can transmit the feed wirelessly from your selected device. All you have to do is find a compatible program, select a cast button, and you can view the feed from that program on your TV.

Of those programs, only the presence of Netflix seems to be superfluous, considering that anyone with an HDMI port on their TV likely has Netflix compatibility for it in one way or another. The other compatible programs like Youtube, Google Play, and Google Chrome are much more encouraging, with that last one really driving home the point that the Chromecast is aiming to turn almost any TV into something more resembling a “smart” TV for the mere cost of $35.

Even though I think the adding of the word smart before a device and calling it a day is a trend that needs to die a thousand deaths, the Chromecast is far and away the most exciting device of its kind I’ve ever seen, and with more program support (fingers crossed for Steam) can become an essential home device, though its base loadout justifies its meager $35 asking price already.

Plus, unlike Kickstarter campaigns, this one is actually supported by a legitimate company (rather than “some guys”) and is not only likely to properly function as advertised, but will also probably include a definitive release date, which are things that are becoming significantly more foreign in the world of intriguing and affordable devices than I tend to like.