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Handhelds Hardware IT

Curious Blend of VPN, PDA and USB Drive 84

Posted by michael from the if-you-build-it-they-will-come dept.
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.
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Curious Blend of VPN, PDA and USB Drive More

Curious Blend of VPN, PDA and USB Drive

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  • WiFi (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Daxx_61 ( 828017 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:07AM (#11372357) Homepage
    Why not use Wi-Fi? Why bother with USB at all?

    • Re:WiFi (Score:2, Informative)

      by thea64man ( 850041 )
      Well I would guess that probably because if they used Wi-Fi #1 some computers don't have Wi-Fi(although many do) #2 most computers have USB #3 USB is cheaper (i think) I like the concept but the actual product could use refinement.
    • Why not use Wi-Fi?
      IR, as used on many mobiles would make more sense if you are going to be talking to a laptop. If you are going to be using desktop machines USB makes a lot more sense.
    • PowerPC? Can it run Mac OS X?
      • Had to retype "slashdot" in the URL bar to make sure that nothing was wrong, seeing as that did not read "Can it run linux?"

        That being said, I would be suprized if it could, because OSX has very limited compatibility (seeing as there are only a few dozen Apple products it's supposed to run on.)
    • "Why not use Wi-Fi? Why bother with USB at all?"

      For the same reason that it's taking so long for ethernet to wipe out the floppy?

  • Too damn proprietory (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Kris_J ( 10111 ) * on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:11AM (#11372366) Homepage Journal
    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.

    Come to think of it, a couple of friends have a Sharp Zaurus and it's SSH-able when it's sitting in its cradle...

    • 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.

      Come to think of it, a couple of friends have a Sharp Zaurus and it's SSH-able when it's sitting in its cradle...

      The developers of OpenBSD [openbsd.org] is porting OpenBSD to Sharp Zaurus [openbsd.org]

    • attaches via an USB interface to any computer, takes over the Internet connection and creates a VPN connection via Terminal services to a proprietary backend system, the SOBA router. In this process, the MPS hibernates the host PC's operating system and takes over hardware components such as screen, graphics, keyboard and mouse.

      Sounds like demonic possession. Cue the creepy ring-tones! [geocities.com]

    • 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

  • Wank words (Score:2, Funny)

    by hool5400 ( 257022 )
    "It is a paradigm shift,"

    Jesus H Christ. I'm getting sick of this pointy haired bullshit.

  • Neat idea, but (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wcitechnologies ( 836709 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:14AM (#11372373)
    They need to find a way to lower the cost of production and the price they are selling it, or it will fail.

    It is a harsh truth, but I'd rather use VNC on my PocketPC than pay out the end for this kind of portability.

    • Re:Neat idea, but (Score:5, Informative)

      by Spy Hunter ( 317220 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @08:29AM (#11372520) Journal
      It's not for you, it's for large companies. Now that I understand what it is, I think it could actually be useful. The article didn't help much, but if you want to know what it really is:

      It is a USB hard drive + integrated computer running something like knoppix + fingerprint scanner, in a package not much larger than an iPod. You take it with you anywhere, then plug it into any computer you find. After scanning your fingerprint it automatically takes over that computer and brings up your suspended Linux desktop on the screen, just how you left it. It also sets up a VPN over the Internet to access your company's intranet so you can work just like you were in the office. When you're done you unplug it, which instantly suspends your session until you plug it in again.

      The central server is cool because it backs up all of the devices as they are being used, so if somebody loses theirs it's not a problem. You can just copy their backed-up image onto a new device and give it to them. You can also track usage and do security junk like that. I'm not a big fan of that feature, since it will probably lead to stupidly restrictive policies that are automatically enforced with an iron hand by the software. But that's a management problem, not a problem with the technology per se.

      • Re:Neat idea, but (Score:3, Informative)

        by Spy Hunter ( 317220 )
        Oh, I forgot to list the disadvantages. The way I see it, hardware compatibility will probably be spotty. Not only does it need to detect and have drivers for all types of PC graphics cards, network/wireless cards, sound cards, modems, and mice; it has to use them all through this weird USB connection, plus it has to dynamically switch to a completely different set without rebooting when it is plugged into a different PC. Even if it works this process can't be very fast, not to mention the fact that it n
      • Incidently,

        I did some consulting for a company building something quite like this. At least, this is essentially what I drew up in development. Everything was just application hosting via PDA.

        It is or at least was the next big suite thing. They don't want to carry around a laptop anymore... or maybe is was just technological jewelry.

        In any event, I don't know their implementation, but it shouldn't be uncommon at this point.
      • there could only be ONE thing this box could do. It must provide security without giving the laptop access to your key. Otherwise I could do what I am doing now.

        Have my ssh key putty and VNC on a flash drive.

  • This is the first (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ZSpade ( 812879 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:18AM (#11372379) Homepage
    and last time we'll ever see this piece of technology. Guy 1: Yeah, let me give you my business address. Guy 2: Hold on I'll put it on my MPS... Guy 2: Uhh, You wouldn't happen to have a computer on you, would you?

  • Overkill (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lachlan76 ( 770870 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:22AM (#11372386)
    How exactly does this do the job better than a Knoppix CD and VNC/X over SSH/rdesktop?

    • Re:Overkill (Score:3, Interesting)

      by isometrick ( 817436 )
      I'm still trying to figure out HOW it "takes over the machine", but it says that it maintains state on the host machine as well as itself. Hmmm...

      • Re:Overkill (Score:4, Informative)

        by lachlan76 ( 770870 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:25AM (#11372395)
        My guess would be that it puts it into hibernation and then boots from USB.
        • I've never seen a PC capable of doing this. The BIOS knows it's been hibernated and resumes immediately. So, without knowing how to clear the BIOS's flag (good luck getting this from BIOS vendors), this is not likely. Additionally, some machines cannot boot from USB. And "any computer" includes things that aren't x86 PC's.

          However, it's a good theory.
          • The BIOS knows it's been hibernated and resumes immediately

            Not on mine. On mine (when I had windows) if I put it into hibernation, it just saved all its memory onto disk, and then at next boot it just reloaded it.
    • I suppose the added value of this thing is that it is one piece instead of two and nobody has to set up the persistent config and home directories? Yeah, yeah. That's sure hard -- but people do pay for the smallest conveniences.

    • How exactly does this do the job better than a Knoppix CD and VNC/X over SSH/rdesktop?

      It's not slow and unresponsive preventing you from working?

      I'm not knocking Knoppix or VNC specifically, but my experience with Terminal Services has always shown them to be nothing at all like using an actual computer and everything but the LAN environment. If the host you connect to is on the same LAN as you, great, it's just like your sitting there.

      However, if you're using just about anything connected over the int

  • For a $10,000 server... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by djsmiley ( 752149 ) <djsmiley2k@gmail.com> on Saturday January 15, 2005 @07:23AM (#11372387) Homepage Journal
    "MPS devices will be available from $195. While we could imagine Realms technology to also be attractive for home users, the necessary SOBA router may be out of reach for most households: Pricing ranges from $10,000 to $40,000, depending on the amount of users."

    its not even a server, its an over the top router!

  • I think (Score:5, Interesting)

    by nahdude812 ( 88157 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @08:07AM (#11372478) Homepage
    I think that this is probably targeted at roaming corporate users. I split my time up between three corporate offices, a day here, a day there. Since I only have a cubicle in one of the three, I'm always having to use someone else's computer who's out for the day (it's a big company, there's always someone out). Each of the other guys in my group are in the same scenario.

    Our roaming profiles give us access to our documents when signed on to someone else's computer, but they don't give us access to our developer tools. We've thought about external USB / Firewire drives, but not all of the tools we use can work running right off a detachible device.

    This sounds like it might offer a better solution.
    • Why don't your roaming profiles give you access to your development tools?
      • Because a roaming profile only set's up your profile, it won't install apps that aren't already on the pc. Profile = shortcuts, drive mappings, application configs, etc.
          • ...
          • drive mappings...

          And you're not a system administrator either, are you? The applications don't have to be installed on the local PC; they need only be accessible from the PC. Now, there are some bad applications that need registry entries and/or local configuration(s) on the host machine (eg. Exceed), but that's workable from a logon script. I've been places where I could logon any machine in the network and go to work -- both with Windows (TM) PC's and UNIX (tm) systems. (It's easier with UNIX (tm),

    • This is just an expensive thin-client system.

      You could make up the same thing with a terminal server, or just a linux box with a RAID array and a shitload of RAM over ssh.
      • It's using the host PC as a thin client, and running the storage and CPU on the portable box, using the USB instead of an Ethernet.

        I haven't figured out what actual functions the central server provides - probably a VPN tunnel server and some authentication, and maybe also file serving for people who need more than the remote device provides, but to me it looks basically like a license server to extract cash from the customer in return for cheap remote boxes.

    • I think this is exactly the use case they are looking at.

      However, I'm not sure I see the advantage over smart cards. Sun, supposedly, has it set up so that no one has an assigned office. You sit down where you want to, swipe your card, and your computer is set up the way it was the day before.

      I suppose, because it's got dual Power PC processors, some of the work gets done locally, but I think that's true with Sun's system as well. Maybe it's just a reflection of the fact that most PCs don't have a smar
    • If you're able to run in a Macintosh environment, carry around a Mac Mini and just plug into their monitor, keyboard, mouse, and LAN connection, rather than rebooting their computer.

      Or run some kind of terminal server environment on your main development machine, and then run X windows or a VNC client on the roaming platform.

  • Still doesn't beat Zaurus (Score:3, Interesting)

    by zoum ( 231577 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @08:07AM (#11372479)
    I don't think such device is decent enough compared to Sharp Zaurus Cxx model.

    Zaurus can be also connected to any PC via USB or WiFi connection...and you can control Zaurus via ssh or vnc, etc...Moreover, Zaurus itself functions as a mobile computing device with superb display in terms of size and resolution, and many other great features...

  • gah! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by torpor ( 458 ) <ibisum AT gmail DOT com> on Saturday January 15, 2005 @08:21AM (#11372503) Homepage Journal
    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?

  • Similar to the Intel Personal Server (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Jacco de Leeuw ( 4646 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @08:25AM (#11372512) Homepage
    I see some resemblance with the Intel Personal Server [intel.com].

    Don't know about the security. There is no keyboard on the thing so a (hardware) keylogger on the host PC would be disastrous.

  • Red alert, shields up! Close the USB ports!

    I read the article title as, "attacking via USB".. Once if by LAN, twice if by USB?

  • all those ads (like this one that say) "connects to any computer" and then goes on to talk about microsoft-specific technology.

    Ahh yes.. I'll buy one for my Linux box and my commodore 64 then.

  • Has its place (Score:3, Insightful)

    by iamacat ( 583406 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @10:01AM (#11372738)
    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 [maconlinux.org] when I have to use other people's computers.

  • What does this offer (Score:3, Informative)

    by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Saturday January 15, 2005 @11:33AM (#11373073)
    What does this offer over using a Linux live CD and a usb hard drive. If you just had computers that would boot off the usb hard drive, you wouldn't even need the Linux Live CD. Why does it need processors if it has to take over another PC to use it?

  • that's right (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    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.
  • So, for a $10,000 central server, a $1000 PC, and a $195 device, you can have the computing power of: a $1000 PC.

    True story: While working at DHL Systems in Burlingame (is it still there? dunno) I walked into the office of my boss, John. He had a stack of high performance Sun modules on his desk all wired together running a Windows emulation.

    I asked him how much the whole setup cost and he said, "Oh, about $50,000." (this was around 1994). I looked over his shoulder and saw he was playing Solitaire.

    I
  • I'd be interested in getting ahold of one of these $195 MPS systems just to take it apart.

    However, as a system on the whole, how is this any different from the long standing (we're talking *decades* here) practice of terminal servers? Citrix has been doing this for many, many years... Citrix WinFrame, Citrix MetaFrame. Cheap ICA terminals ("winterms") have been around for years, for more than just Windows (tm). And the wire protocol is encrypted. The only difference is how many cables one needs to move
  • What benefit is there in taking over the local PC vs. just borrowing its KB, mouse, NW and screen? What does this added complexity bring to the table?

  • The company's solutions [realmsys.com] page is pretty devoid of detail. Especially since the link to their whitepaper is broken. If anyone knows a few details of how the MPS works, it would be interesting.

    They claim platform independence. This seems pretty doubtful. Assume this was a boot-only solution, ie. no hot plugging into a running computer. Also assume its x86 only. Then only modern PCs could be used (older PCs cannot boot from USB). Apple machines could not be booted with the same boot image as an x86 so

  • I worked for a large corporation in the remote access department. I can definitely see how the basic concept of this device would be attractive to corporations with large numbers of traveling users. Our company was constantly seeking ways to eliminate laptops (support costs for laptops are astronomical) and ways to make connecting back to the office easier. Since this device eliminates the laptop and automates the process of connecting to the home office, the $10,000 server cost would be viewed as peanuts,

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