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GlobeTrotter: Mandrake-based 40GB Linux Mobile Desktop
joestar writes "Mandrakesoft & LaCie have just launched "GlobeTrotter", a ultra-compact 40 GB bootable USB hard-drive pre-loaded with Mandrakelinux 10.0 Official. It may be plugged to any available PC with a USB 1 or USB 2 port, automatically recognizes the host-PC's hardware, and then is ready to use. Multiple uses can be imagined, from the office/internet workstation to the multimedia jukebox! The concept is quite similar to Mandrakemove, excepted that it's way more powerful than a USB-key based system! And for $219 it's a credible alternative to a laptop."
Yea, I love supposedly 'password protected' XP/2000 user login directories are wide open for the viewing in linux. Thanks knoppix!
The drive comes with a mini-CD containing a bootloader and a recovery program. So if your hardware can at least boot off CD, it can use the LaCie drive.
The Ezine Directory
Perhaps it's a credible alternative to a remote login to your main computer. You are still going to need to find an existing computer to plug this thing into though.
'He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot.' - Douglas Adams
RTFA, you and everyone else who said this ... the drive also comes with a mini-CD that contains a bootloader and a recovery program. If your computer can boot off CD (much more than 5%) it can boot the to the LaCie drive.
The Ezine Directory
I've never NOT seen it among motherboards manufactured in the past 3 years. Even our server (Dual Athlon MP)motherboard has it.
USB 2 case (with keyboard power cable for those PC's with lame USB ports) $32 - Bascon Computers
Knoppix $0 - the web
Portability Priceless
Fits in your pocket, you can carry your system all the time. Most places are starting to care about USB drives so check before you plug in.
The nice thing is you always have your code, your custom toolchain, music, etc. Like you never left home.
(OK, so you have to set up Knoppix and that will take an hour or two, far less than it takes you to build that XP box from scratch) - ob Windows vs. Linux dig
Actually it's more convenient, because most machines are able to boot off a CD by default, so you don't have to mess with the BIOS. Furthermore, it's a mini-CD, so it's not like it takes up a lot of extra room.
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
drawfour says "Yes, you can reset the BIOS password, but it requires more than hitting the power button and plugging something in."
yes, all you need is a command prompt (msdos boot disk) then type:
DEBUG
and hit Enter. You'll see a dash (-) at the DEBUG prompt. Now type:
o 70 2e
which will show as -o 70 2e at the DEBUG prompt. Hit Enter. Then type:
o 71 ff
and hit Enter. Finally type:
Q
that is one of the ways, there are a few others. don't work in all situations, but will work in most i've had to deal with.
Be seeing you...
Myself, I gave up on modern "portables" some time back. Battery life sucks so bad, they always need to be plugged in. They heat up like a mo-fo. The keyboards invariably suck. And their hard drives are serious underperformers.
Since I need to plug in anyway, as a contractor, when I need to go on-site, I take my Shuttle XPC in a little cart, with a real buckling-spring UNICOMP keyboard. It's got 2GB of RAM and a fast CPU, can run VMWare handily so I can launch Winders from my Debian system as necessary.
I just use the monitor at whatever desk the client decides to assign me for the day.
If I carry a laptop any more it's a Tandy Model 102, and I just use it for editing text. Now that thing is portable... 20 hours on 4 AA batteries, passes the drop test, and has an excellent keyboard. I transfer files to/from via the serial port.
We're working on a memory/flash storage expansion for it at http://bitchin100.com/remem_project.html
-- John.
Yes. A lot of people have installed the Mac OS 10.4 beta onto their iPod to avoid having to partition their HD. That way, they can boot whichever OS they like by holding Option while turning on their computer (Option displays a list of bootable devices and lets you select one).
That doesn't work if the user is an Active Directory user. The local administrator cannot reset an AD user.