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Curious Blend of VPN, PDA and USB Drive
An anonymous reader writes "Realm Systems has developed a cellphone-sized mobile device that takes advantage of the hardware of a another PC by attaching via USB. It requires an Internet connection to connect to a backend system, but acts as a fully functional PC with dual PowerPC processors, a 20 GB drive and all your applications - if you can find someone who lets you connect to their PC. An interesting option especially for a price of $195 for the mobile device." So, for a $10,000 central server, a $1000 PC, and a $195 device, you can have the computing power of: a $1000 PC. It seems like there might be cheaper ways.
It is a harsh truth, but I'd rather use VNC on my PocketPC than pay out the end for this kind of portability.
Electrons are free; it is moving them that becomes expensive.
How exactly does this do the job better than a Knoppix CD and VNC/X over SSH/rdesktop?
how about a knoppix install on a USB external harddrive, that can be plugged in to any PC, that gives the user their own OS & /home directory with their saved settings and a place to store and share documents and any other data...
doesn't someone else sell a similar device with mandrake pre-installed on a USB harddrive???
and how big is a USB harddrive? (about the size of a dagwood sandwich?)
its awful, really .. to think that this whole thing is rendered useless by a USB-fob and a freebie operating system 'from those commies' ..
..
but, what bothers me most about this is that we are *forever and perpetually* trying to build better client/server computing systems. we want power, but we don't want to be near the computer
over and over, the same ol' problem. why don't we just make better, smaller, nicer, more comfy computers, and give up this whole 'beigebox' mentality?
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
I don't think your USB virtual privacy machine 1. comes with 20GB of storage, 2. Runs apps as fast as dual PPC, 3. prevents malware on the host from just formatting its hard drive, 4. can be pulled out for instant suspend or 5. comes with a commercially supported server for VPN, backup and centralized administration.
This is actually perfect for universities. Work from home or any lab, don't worry about hacked or infected public PCs (passwords can be entered with on-screen keyboard), for(;;) fork(); will not kill some central public server.
The only curious thing is the choice of non-Intel CPU. I wonder what kind applications they run on this thing - Mozilla and OpenOffice? I know what I would run when I have to use other people's computers.
And it looks like it wants to more or less shut down the host PC. It's be more interesting if it was accessible via a terminal services, VNC or X window itself.
I think it does use a terminal services client... most likely VNC. Look at the quote from the article below:
By using a Terminal Server, an application that is available ob virtually any platform, Realm's technology does not depend on the operating system of the host system, but rather takes over the components it needs for data entry.
Earlier in the article they said something like "Plug it into the USB port and it hibernates the host PC" or something similar. I have a strong feeling that was simply colorful language and does not literaly mean it sends the other PC into hibernate mode. If it did that it would have to:
1) Boot the host off an image stored on the MPS that allows the host PC to be used as a hardware interface.
2) Hope the host graphics and network systems are supported by this image.
3) Hope the host was using DHCP, cause you don't know their network settings anymore.
Where as if the Host PC was left running in Windows, Linux, or MacOS (as the article seems to suggest) plugging in the MPS would:
1) Pop up a new drive on the system, such as plugging in a USB Keychain drive would.
2) Autoload the appropriate VNC client for the host OS auto configured to log into the MPS.
3) Autoload software appropriate for the OS to gain bridged network access using the existing configured network settings.
I think it's far more probable that that the host PC is continusouly running, but there's a Terminal Services Client of sorts running always on top so you simply don't see the client OS. All you see is your MPS.
yes michael, in the mission-critical business world we don't have a problem with spending $10,000 on a server if it reliably provides greater than $10,000 worth of value over time to us. We don't tend to cobble together free software systems with bubble-gum and bailing wire that might work if you hold your mouth just right, that tends to make Sr. VPs and CTOs nervous.