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IBM Using iPod to boot Linux on PCs
Applejack writes "Looks like iPod fever has caught on to Big Blue. IBM has a yet unreleased iPod-based software for rescue, restore, and recovery of failed Windows PCs. I read this description of the software on Amit Singh's blog, whose group at IBM apparently created this stuff. If I understand this correctly (and I think I do), the iPod contains IBM's rescue software along with Linux. A crashed PC boots into Linux from the iPod, after which you get all kinds of rescue & restore functionality ... web browsing and all, even if the PC's drive is totally hosed. All this while the iPod keeps working normally as a music player as it would. The blog has pointers to further information, including a Windows Media demo of the thing. " Should be noted this is not iPod specific; USB devices will do.
when compared to say, a CD containing said rescue sw? Sounds to me a lot more like justifying the iPod purchase.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Seems to me that the developers are on the ball with this one. They get to requisition expensive iPods for, ahem, work. They also get media attention from slashdot. This is much sexier than burning knoppix.
Well, the nice thing is that it's designed to work on something that's commodity item and probably won't get lost as easily as rescue CDs. Plus, a lot of people still recover from floppy disks, and we all know what a pain that is with the very limited space and frequent bad blocks :P
Pinkypants -- my favorite!
Play back OOG or FLAC audio files? Oh i know, gapless MP3 playback? Hava a good EQ?
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I'm confused. Aren't USB thumb drives also a commodity item that probably won't get lost? Heck, you can stick one on your keychain and they cost less than an iPod.