Presentation, Bundle and Manual
Presentation and Bundle
TriGem's cool and clean design for the KLOSS extends to the presentation and bundle, too.
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A white box with blue detailing stays clean and to the point, a small sticker giving you the lowdown on the specifications of the KL-I915A.
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Predictable for a media-focussed PC these days, the KLOSS comes with a remote control.
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Small, but quite weighty, the design of the remote is more sympathetic to style than usability. Square, flat remotes aren't the most comfortable to hold and operate and in that respect it's not too great, but it is a remote you'd expect to find with a device like KLOSS, if that makes sense. Style is important for TriGem and it shows there.
The remote can control the bundled media player software, Cyberlink's PowerCinema, and a few Windows functions, after you've installed a simple driver for the receiver and the remote. It can toggle maximised and minimised state for foreground windows, switch between running applications, control volume and run the system screensaver. It can also power down and hibernate the KLOSS; useful for when it's in your living room as a media center PC and it needs to be switched off at night.
Manual and Software
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The manuals, one for the mainboard and one for the product in general, including all the setup instructions you'll need, are easy to read and navigate. I say that time and time again with recent products so it's fair to say that almost everyone bringing a PC-related product to market is focussing on instruction for the end-user, but it's always important to mention it.
The software comes on a single CD and contains everything you need to get going with KLOSS during and after OS install. Windows is the only supported OS for the KLOSS in terms of support for the remote and the audio controlls, but it will boot Linux just fine if that's your weapon of choice.
With exam of the internals, externals and the presentation, bundle, manuals and software, we've established that the KLOSS KL-I915A is a product well worth anyone's attention from the looks and ease of setup, but as we've seen in the past, that can all fall apart if performance and usability isn't up to scratch or other niggles get in the way of an otherwise great product. Let's examine the remote software and performance.
