FingerGear unveils first Computer

[LK.]

Sun, 24 Jul 2005 05:32:00 GMT

FingerGear, a subsidiary of the biometrics company Bionopoly LLC, are claiming that they have launched the world's first Computer-On-a-Stick Flash Drive.FingerGear, a subsidiary of the biometrics company Bionopoly LLC, are claiming that they have launched the world's first Computer-On-a-Stick Flash Drive.

FingerGear have also managed to load an operating system onto the drive. The device is a bootable USB 2.0 Flash Drive and also has a Linux-based OpenOffice Productivity Suite. FingerGear have also announced in the press release that the device is capable of executing many of the commonly used desktop as well as Internet applications. It was further stated that the Computer-On-a-Stick is a device that can be taken wherever you choose to go. It is bootable on any PC that uses an x86 processor.

The device is bootable on any system regardless of whether it runs on Windows or Linux-based software. The device can also store bookmarks, address book, emails, and important office documents and does not leave behind any trace on the PC. It is password-protected in the sense that users will have to separately login for each session.

The office suit has been developed by OpenOffice.org and works in conjunction with almost all Microsoft Office products including Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Outlook. Taking into account the increasing popularity of Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser, the Computer-On-a-Stick has been incorporated with it. The device has also got an in-built PDF Viewer and Creator and data compression utility. Most importantly, the Computer-On-a-Stick is equipped with an Instant Messenger that can work in tandem with Yahoo IM, MSN Messenger, AIM, and Napster. The storage capacity is an impressive 256MB.

Also keeping in mind the security requirements, as innumerable systems are falling prey to malicious hackers, the Computer-On-a-Stick is divided in a public and private divisions. The public division can be accessed seamlessly on any Windows, Linux or Macintosh PC. But the private division can be accessed after booting the device and entering a password.

Commenting on the path-breaking product, Bionopoly CEO Jon Louis said, "Our goal was to combine a trusted operating system with the most commonly used software applications, all within a single secure USB Flash Drive. The Computer-On-a-Stick USB Flash Drive offers the perfect combination of security and portability." He added that device would be upgraded later in this quarter. Te device is available in White, Blue and Silver finish and is priced at $149.99.

For more details, visit, http://www.fingergear.com

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/3621.html

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

whoa... weird... but you need a computer to use it? :huh:

[LK.]

Yes :ninja: :yes:

Operation

Insert the mini CD into your PC or Laptop?s CD-ROM drive.

Insert the Bio COS into any available USB Port.

[rollinup]

Me and Anthony Timberlake had that in our podcast yesterday, I think it's really weird

[markwolfe Veteran]

I saw this just yesterday. The title is extremely misleading, as this is no different than any other of numerous Live distros that can be installed on USB (like DamnSmallLinux).

[strekship]

How is this new?

[Louis]

yesterdays news, OS-ON-A-STICK

[Some Looser]

The title is extremely misleading, as this is no different than any other of numerous Live distros that can be installed on USB (like DamnSmallLinux).

586264323[/snapback]

My thoughts exactly, better yet, Damn Small Linux will work on any usb stick drive (probably).

[gigapixels Veteran]

Wow... This has been done before :rolleyes:

[bdsams Veteran]

this is a huge security risk...what stops me from plugging this into a computer at work and compramising the system?

[iron2000]

So it makes their claim false?

[gigapixels Veteran]

So it makes their claim false?

586268707[/snapback]

As far as I know, there are Linux distros that can easily be fit onto a thumbdrive, along with other software. In any case, their claim is false because it's not a whole computer on a thumbdrive, it's just a bootable USB thumbdrive that uses the rest of the hardware from the computer you connect it to.

[markwolfe Veteran]

this is a huge security risk...what stops me from plugging this into a computer at work and compramising the system?

586268715[/snapback]

No different then booting a Linux LiveCD or a Windows CD and taking control of the local PC.

[Japlabot]

I think that $149 is a tad high for the cost of distributing this GPL software.

[Colin-uk Veteran]

so this is just an os on a usb drive :s thats not new :wacko:

[ScottieG]

yea, not new at all, there are a number of distros, that if you already own a flash drive will fit and boot on it, such as feather linux, Damn small linux, etc. If you got a big enought drive you can put knoppix. This really shouldn't be news.. this is more of an advertisement IMO. Plus there has already been a company selling this exact thing before