Sunday, Nov 13, 2005, 1:14 PM
USB HD w/ OS/Apps + FolderShare = Portable Computing?
If you could boot Windows Vista from a USB drive large enough for the OS and apps, like this version of Linux, and log into FolderShare for your data, you could use any computer that allowing booting from USB into a temporary terminal (although device drivers would be a challenge).
7 comments on this post
Sean McLellan:
Ooo.. nice idea thread. If you threw virtualization in there -- say, having Virtual PC be part of the OS -- when you connect your USB drive with a VPC/VHD on it, it automatically (security aside) boots your VPC and goes full screen?
Or perhaps if virtualization were more deeply baked into the OS, so that the OS itself is resting on a lower virtualized layer that takes care of the device drivers.. perhaps in flash bios... the OS, either on the HD or USB boots and uses the virtualized layer...
Top might be possible.. lower is a fundamental change in computing..
Or perhaps if virtualization were more deeply baked into the OS, so that the OS itself is resting on a lower virtualized layer that takes care of the device drivers.. perhaps in flash bios... the OS, either on the HD or USB boots and uses the virtualized layer...
Top might be possible.. lower is a fundamental change in computing..
Monday, Nov 14, 2005, 6:26 AM
Sean McLellan:
Thought of this in the shower.
The problem as you mention is device drivers -- if you're assured a homogenious environment, say a computer lab, then the USB flash thing works great. Problem is in the real world you aren't.
How do we solve this problem? Mentioned virtualization, but that might cause more problems that it solves, and breaks the model of having drivers a subsystem of the OS.
What about this:
Flash memory is relatively cheap these days -- what if there was a standardized way for hardware manufacturers to include a device driver in firmware as part of the hardware.
Eg. Chris buys a new video card. Throws it in his computer. On next reboot Vista says Hey! there's a new video card here. Check for drivers from DriverCache/Windows Update, Uhoh, couldn't find any. Hey wait, the video card itself is saying that it can provide some Vista x32 device drivers. Lets use those.
?
Monday, Nov 14, 2005, 7:01 AM
Charles Cooper:
Then you mess with the fundamental business practice of rushing hardware to the market with crap drivers and providing an update on the website.
Monday, Nov 14, 2005, 9:43 AM
Scott Hanselman:
Smells like Migo, except no one cares about Migo. Hm.
Tuesday, Nov 15, 2005, 2:23 PM
Chris Sells:
Migo looks like it has potential. Has anyone tried it?
Tuesday, Nov 15, 2005, 11:10 PM
Paul Crutcher:
Regarding Sean's post... IBM, Intel, and others have been working on such a virtualization layer for several years now. They call it hypervisor or virtual machine monitor. They spun off an open source project called Zen: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Research/SRG/netos/xen/
I think microsoft virtual server (not virtual PC) is moving in that direction, too.
I think microsoft virtual server (not virtual PC) is moving in that direction, too.
Thursday, Nov 17, 2005, 9:02 AM
Doug Knight:
I haven't tried this, but it looks pretty cool:
http://www.metropipe.net/ProductsPVPM.shtml
http://www.metropipe.net/ProductsPVPM.shtml
Wednesday, Dec 21, 2005, 11:41 PM
