World's First Bootable Smart Drive


Recommended Posts

World's First Bootable Smart Drive FingerGear Computer-On-a-Stick Now Available in Fry's Electronics Stores; FingerGear Products to Be Sold in All 32 Fry's Locations in Nine States

FingerGear's Computer-On-a-Stick is the first and only bootable USB Flash Drive on the market today. With onboard operating system, office suite, and more, users get $1,000 worth of Windows-equivalent software preinstalled on an ultra-fast bootable flash drive, starting at $99. (Graphic: Business Wire)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2005--FingerGear, the consumer brand of Bionopoly, announced today the immediate availability of its groundbreaking Computer-On-a-Stick in all Fry's outlets. The Computer-On-a-Stick (COS) is the first bootable USB flash drive with a complete preinstalled Desktop Environment. The COS bypasses the "Windows Wait" because the drive is completely self-contained with its own ultra-fast operating system. Startup takes less than 10 seconds and shutdown in 3. PC users are no longer required to go make a cup of coffee in the morning while they wait for their Windows® systems to finish booting.

Bundled elegantly with the device is the OpenOffice Productivity Suite which enables users to create, edit, and save Microsoft Office compatible, Word, Excel®, and PowerPoint® files with PDF printing integrated throughout. The Computer-On-a-Stick also features the popular Mozilla FireFox® web browser, Evolution Email, similar to Outlook®, and many of the most commonly used software applications including Zip compression tools, Telnet, and Instant Messenger.

The COS is ideal for mobile users who do not want to lug a laptop between home and office or through airport security. Parents may also find it ideal for their children since the drive is completely self-contained, requires no software installation, and leaves no trace on the host PC. Fry's offers the entry level Computer-On-a-Stick, which contains a 256MB flash drive and starts at only $99. The COS is also available in Fingerprint Editions which allow you to login securely using just your fingerprint.

The Computer-On-a-Stick's high level of security is attractive to corporate, educational and governmental institutions concerned about lost devices or leakage of confidential data. Users must login with their password before each session, and all data saved to the COS is encrypted seamlessly and automatically using industry standard 256-bit AES encryption.

The COS can be used as a regular USB flash drive on Windows®, Linux®, or Macintosh® systems. For non-sensitive data, users can save or transfer data among PCs using the drive's shared 'Public' folder -- without having to boot from the device. Moreover, the device is "Virus-Proof," claims FingerGear, because the operating system is both write-protected and encrypted, effectively blocking worms or malicious code.

"FingerGear is pleased that Fry's Electronics was quick to recognize the Computer-On-a-Stick as a significant advance in USB Smart Drive technology," says CEO Jon Louis. "Flash Drives aren't just for data anymore. Now you can Make Any PC Your PC." The Computer-On-a-Stick runs on any PC with an x86 processor, which includes nearly every Windows and Linux PC shipped over the past 5 years. FingerGear anticipates support for Macintosh computers when Apple transitions to the x86 processor next year.

About FingerGear

FingerGear is the consumer products division of Bionopoly LLC. Bionopoly is an innovator and leader in low-cost secure computing devices and biometrics. Bionopoly is a privately held company located in Mountain View, CA. To purchase FingerGear products, visit http://www.fingergear.com.

About Fry's Inc.

Fry's was founded as a Silicon Valley retail electronics store to provide a one-stop-shopping environment for the hi-tech professional. Fry's continues to keep hi-tech professionals supplied with products representing the latest technological trends and advances in the personal computer marketplace. Fry's retails over 50,000 electronic items within each store, now totaling 32. Fry's also provides customers with added shopping opportunities via its online center at Fry's Outpost.com.

Bionopoly LLC

Headquarters: Mountain View, CA

Website: http://www.bionopoly.com

CEO: Jon Louis

Employees: 15

Organization: Private

COMP ON A STICK PIX

Source: via Business Wire

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/389229-worlds-first-bootable-smart-drive/
Share on other sites

I've been booting Damn Small Linux off a 64 meg usb for like 2 years now.  How is this any different?

586718895[/snapback]

Not alot, but it's pretty hard (from my experience) to make a bootable usb drive with DSL on it. And if consumers are prepared to pay for it and it sells, then I say it's a good idea.

It's not ground breaking stuff, in fact it's old stuff, but I still see market stalls with people selling old amiga emulators, it's just like that.

I personally won't buy it as I use alot of computers with locked BIOS' (can't change boot sequence, and I don't feel like taking to pc apart as they're property of the school) and I sue alot of old computers which don't have usb ports, or don't have the ability to boot from USB.

I've been booting Damn Small Linux off a 64 meg usb for like 2 years now.  How is this any different?

586718895[/snapback]

its not. there just trying to hype thier product.

its not new, and it certainly isnt the only one in the world.

This has been posted before, back in September and back in July.

Not exactly a "current event", but as long as there is discussion here, I'll leave the thread open, as it is likely to be new to a few people...

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Microsoft is making Windows 11's context menus faster, simpler, and configurable by Taras Buria Five years ago, Windows 11 introduced redesigned context menus, offering users a simpler, more modern design. However, customers quickly discovered that the new menus leave a lot to be desired. Many are unhappy with performance (they are really slow), while others dislike the double-layed design, where many options are hidden behind the "Show more options" button. In addition, over the years, menus became cluttered and overloaded. While Microsoft has already fixed plenty of pain points across Windows 11, context menus remain mostly unchanged. Fortunately, Microsoft is finally listening. Marcus Ash, Design and Research Lead for Windows at Microsoft, responded to a tweet on X, confirming that the company is working on fixing Windows 11's context menus. Reworked context menus are supposed to be faster, simpler by default, and "configurable to what you use most." What the latter means is unknown, just like whether Microsoft plans to keep the classic menu alongside the modern one, but according to Marcus, the wait should finally be over soon, as he promised to "share our approach soon." Improved context menus will most likely appear first in Windows 11 preview builds in the Experimental Channel. While we wait for Microsoft to release them, you can try fixing context menus on your PC with a simple tool called Windows 11 Context Menu Manager. It lets you disable entries you do not need, not only cleaning up context menus, but also making them significantly faster. Microsoft has already improved Windows 11's Start menu and taskbar, so hopefully it will address user criticism of the context menu as well. Stay tuned for new Windows 11 preview builds, which usually arrive every Friday.
    • If the drive/memory is soldered to the board, which it probably is, then it's a no from me
    • Driver Genius 25.0.0.143 by Razvan Serea Driver Genius is a professional driver management tool features both driver management and hardware diagnostics. Driver Genius provides such practical functions as driver backup, restoration, update and removal for computer users. If you often reinstall your operating system, you may not forget such painful experiences of searching all around for all kinds of drivers. If unfortunately you have lost your driver CD, the search will be more troublesome and time-consuming. Driver Genius can automatically find drivers for a device when the system can't find a driver for it. It can recognize the name and vendor's information of the device, and directly provide download URL for the required driver. Driver Genius also supports online updates for drivers of existing hardware devices. Driver Genius customers can obtain information for latest drivers by Driver Genius's LiveUpdate program, which can synchronize to the database on Driver Genius site. Features at a glance: Find the latest drivers for your computer. One click to update all drivers silently. Automatically install driver updates silently. Make your drivers are always up to date. New rollback driver design for safer driver update. Free to backup all drivers now! Package all drivers to an executable auto installer. One click to restore all drivers. Remove invalid or useless drivers/devices, improve system performance and stability. New system information tool. Detailed hardware inventory. Hardware temperature monitor. Protect your CPU, GPU and HDD. New system transfer assistant. Upgrade/degrade your windows system easily. New SSD Speeder. Improve your disk performance and reliability. New System booster provides over 90 optimization options that make your computer run faster and smoother. New System Cleanup can help you to clean up the temporary files and cache files or other junk files in system. Driver Genius 25.0.0.143 changelog: Enhanced detection for Windows Runtime components. Update the hardware detection component to support more new hardware. Update the compression component to address security issues. Download: Driver Genius 25.0.0.143 | 20.7 MB (Shareware) View: Driver Genius Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • We do it all the time on our IT Service desk mailbox to add a reference, in the subject line, once it's been logged and then it's filed into the appropriate sub-folder. Other companies probably do the same thing.
    • "No. The "New Outlook for Windows" does not support non-cloud mailboxes (such as on-premises Exchange servers). Furthermore, because the New Outlook effectively functions as a web-based client, it requires all connected accounts—even standard IMAP or POP accounts—to route and cache data through Microsoft's cloud servers. You can verify the accepted account setups using the Microsoft Supported Account Types Guide." Built to fail "New" Outlook is basically just webmail in a window wrapper and it's usefulness reflects that.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      Carru_123 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Dr Jared Dental Studio earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      RG INVESTMENT GROUP earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Very Popular
      The Norwegian Drone Pilot earned a badge
      Very Popular
    • Very Popular
      s0nic69 earned a badge
      Very Popular
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      472
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      250
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      79
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      67
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      60
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!