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Jumping From Computer To Computer

Posted by michael on from the wherever-you-go-there-you-are dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Imagine a world where computers become so ubiquitous that the idea of carrying a laptop will almost be laughable, a world where any computer could be your computer! According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, this is the goal of Intel Research Pittsburgh's Internet Suspend/Resume (ISR) project, a project that may one day let your work jump from computer to computer without interruption by using the Internet, distributed file systems, and virtual machines. When the non-proprietary technology becomes available, a user will suspend a task on the computer he's working on, and resume this work using another computer in another part of a city or several thousands of miles away. The second system will look identical to the first one, with the same files and applications opened. This technology would also ease OS upgrades or eliminate the pain coming from a hard disk failure. The project has even a feature named Rollback which would permit to go back in time, eliminating these pesky viruses. A pilot test will start this fall, so don't expect to be able to use ISR for a while. You'll find more details and references in this overview."

16 of 474 comments (clear)

  1. I love this quote... by CommanderData · · Score: 4, Insightful

    From the article:
    Despite their outward sameness, most computers are so personalized with desktop preferences and software that borrowing someone's computer can seem as creepy as borrowing their underwear.

    Does this mean that borrowing someone else's underwear could be made less creepy if it were made to look like your own? Will we laugh at people someday for actually travelling with luggage- Ha ha, fools- I just use the underwear that is laying around at the hotel?!

    Seriously, who would use this? How long will it be after introduction before someone comes up with a way to hack/hijack an Internet Suspend/Resume account and get all of your data?

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    1. Re:I love this quote... by cerberusss · · Score: 4, Insightful
      How long will it be after introduction before someone comes up with a way to hack/hijack an Internet Suspend/Resume account and get all of your data?

      Your shell account can also be hacked. But that doesn't stop people from using Screen, now does it?

      Instead of laughing about how noone will use this, try to come up with how you could make it secure and usable instead.

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      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
    2. Re:I love this quote... by Surlyboi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Instead of laughing about how noone will use this, try to come up with how you could make it secure and usable instead.

      Why? The parent has no stake in making this work and honestly, I don't see why anyone would want to do this. I like my laptop and the way I've configured it and customized it. PersonaIization is what makes a lot of peoples' machines what they are. don't want to have to resort to using some random public terminal somewhere.

      Here's an slight corrolary, I ran out of the house without my cellphone yesterday. I needed to make a call, realized I'd forgotten my phone and then ran around for the next 10 minutes looking for a payphone that wasn't either broken or covered in mystery spooge. Rest assured that most of these public terms will probably suffer the same fate. At least in the larger cities.

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      Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine...
    3. Re:I love this quote... by randyest · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm with you on the yuckiness of public-shared computers. But when you say:

      I don't see why anyone would want to do this. I like my laptop and the way I've configured it and customized it. PersonaIization is what makes a lot of peoples' machines what they are. don't want to have to resort to using some random public terminal somewhere.

      ...you seem to have missed the point. From what I gather, this system would allow you to enjoy all those customizations (software, at least) wherever you are. You'd also be able to roll-back your system to any of an array of pre-saved states.

      Maybe you have PC at work, and a PC at home, and a laptop you rarely use in the car. Wherever you are, grab one (non-yucky, I hope), plug in, and get your environment exactly as you left it. I do this with screen and sometimes citrix, and it's handy.

      I, for one, don't like carrying a laptop (or much of anything, for that matter.)

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      everything in moderation
    4. Re:I love this quote... by NNKK · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There isn't a way to make it secure. Untrusted hardware is untrusted hardware, and there is no way around it. You have no way of knowing that terminal you just walked up to doesn't have a keystroke logger (or worse) attached to it.

  2. Um... by Raynach · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Running VNC or X remotely? Why is this so revolutionary?

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    1. Re:Um... by arth1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      XDMCP and remote X servers have been in use for ages.
      (In X, the server runs on the client, while the clients run on the server.)

      It always baffles me why people use VNC or convoluted scripts to copy over the settings when most of the time, remote X would do the job just fine. Possibly because the man pages for X in general and remote X in particular are not meant to be read by Normal People?

      Regards,
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    2. Re:Um... by Dr+Caleb · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Do real work in VNC/X/Remote Desktop over a 128 kbs DSL and you know the answer to that.

      Try using VNC over a 64k Frame line. (It's not so bad if you remember to set the desktop to 640X480 and 256 colours.) Now try driving 6 hours to get to the same machine. Which was a better use of your time?

      It might suck, but sometimes it is faster to VNC or Remote X in to a machine.

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      "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
  3. Umm.. Security? by leperkuhn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe the average Joe won't care but I would rather have everything stored on my laptop that I physically carry with me. Why would I trust a random computer? Boo these men.

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    1. Re:Umm.. Security? by Short+Circuit · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, you could use things like SSH tunnels and VNC. But that only prevents network-level interception. You'd still be susceptible to keyloggers, video cameras, and the oddball looking over your shoulder.

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  4. Rollback? by Biogenesis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    OK, so let my just think a little bit here. You get a virus that remains dormant for say, 6 months. Then sudennly it does something really bad to your computer so what do you do? Rollback 1 day and have it screw up the next day or rollback 6 months and lose 6 months work? I think a litte more thought has to be put into that feature....Or maybe I should RTFA.

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    ...just so Google finds it.
  5. Interesting concept by 59Bassman · · Score: 5, Insightful
    However the whole business model of the software industry would have to change. How would you manage licences for users across such a huge terminal system? I'd expect you'd have to pay for a monthly fee for access to your applications, something that a lot of folks would probably not look kindly upon.

    This would also make it very difficult for any non-standard OS (Linux, MacOS, BSD) to get a foothold once it gets going - I'd guess you would be pretty limited in just what you could have loaded in order to use this system.

    I dunno. It's an interesting concept, but I have my doubts. I actually like managing my own systems. I'd rather have the control than hand it over to a company who's going to do upgrades without my knowledge.

  6. Imagine that! by barcodez · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Don't really have to imagine anything Sunrays already do this - just they aren't widely deployed. Is it just my or is it getting boring having people think things don't exist just because Microsoft isn't doing it.

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  7. Issues by sdjunky · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are some issues involved with this.
    1. Where are the applications and data really going to be stored?
    2. Who has access to this information/hardware?
    3. Can I trust that a terminal doesn't have a keylogger (hardware/software) attached to it?
    4. How traceable will this be if somebody gains access to my "environment" without my permission.

  8. Oh... the "Thin Client" debate again... by Wizzy+Wig · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Every so often, another longwinded study pops up with an innovative "computers for the masses" tech that boils down, once again, to Thin Client.


    Fifteen years ago, I was one of the Thin Client evangelists trying to keep M$ Win off of the company desktops.


    Thin Client has its place, but so does public transportation... and some people, no matter what, want to "drive their own."

  9. Data logger by nuggz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So you have logged in, why can't the computer copy all your files or hijack the session while you're using it?