The "chore" was really just the idiot Gizmodo reviewer not knowing what he was doing. Just the fact that he was surprised that it didn't come with a keyboard and mouse and made a big fuss out of fixing that "major" issue shows how much of an idiot he is. There are so many single receiver solutions out there designed for HTPC use, it is really stupid to make a huge fuss out of needing to use one. If you are going to use this for media streaming, HTPC use, then getting a K400 or one of those mini Keyboard/trackpad combos is a no brainer.
Quite possibly, but it doesn't negate:
Every device I connected suffered from high input latency and a flighty connection, translating to laggy mouse input and an infuriating keyboard delay. It took other Sean a solid hour to sort out the problem: the Compute Stick uses a single chip for both WiFi and Bluetooth communications, and it’s terribleat multitasking. The only way to fix it is to disable WiFi. Seriously?
That's a problem no matter what.
And the bluetooth performance really doesn't matter. Bluetooth isn't worth using anyway. The range isn't good enough. Sure, it is fine if you have it plugged in to your desk and the keyboard is right next to the thing, but if you have it plugged into the back of your TV, bluetooth isn't going to reach to your couch reliably.
That's just not true in my home at all, my bluetooth keyboard easily gets 15 feet from the computer I'm currently typing it on (I just checked, since it's not a regular use case as you mentioned), and I routinely get 20 feet on my iPad to bluetooth speakers in my kitchen (it's clear and unobstructed, but it's pretty obvious when the sound drops out that it's too far (about 25 feet away). I don't sit far enough from my TV for 15 feet to not be good enough.
And what other devices don't have these problems? The Chromecast you mentioned? Yeah, the Compute Stick Requires a $15 mini-keyboard to control, how terrible. The Chromecast requires a $300 phone, or a several hundred dollar computer. Yeah, those are much better choices...
And neither one of those are in home media streaming devices...
I never mentioned a Chromecast. Not once.
I've used Plex plus a Roku to stream local media from a local PC, as well as an Apple TV via iTunes (and as I understand it, you can use a fire stick to do so as well, there's a website covering side loading Fire TV, but it's not something I'm personally familiar with). In home even.
As far as cost, they all require some additional cost, since if you're streaming local media you probably have to store it somewhere, and if you have enough of it you're ponying for a NAS anyway, and if it's important to you, a backup for said data. The problem isn't just cost, it's that the damn thing doesn't work as it's designed, particularly the WLAN for streaming, as the Anandtech review noted
The unit doesn't come with any wired networking facilities. It is essential that the Wi-Fi solution be top-notch. Unfortunately, a single-band 1x1 802.11n solution just doesn't cut it - particularly for scenarios involving video streaming.
It's just not good enough as designed, "idiot" Gizmodo reviewer or no.