New Trends in Hardware

FingerGear Computer-on-a-Stick Review
Go, Go, Gadget Linux
Eric Grevstad

USB flash drives having already replaced floppy disks for storing documents and files and moving them from one PC to another, we're starting to see flash gadgets as application platforms. Migo lets you carry not only your data files but your Windows wallpaper, Internet Explorer favorites, and Outlook e-mail, calendar, and contacts for use on any Windows PC with Microsoft Office installed. Later this year, vendors under the U3 banner promise to deliver programs ranging from Mozilla Firefox and Skype to McAfee VirusScan on plug-and-play USB "smart drives."

And now FingerGear has put not just data, not just applications, but a whole operating system on a keychain. The $149 Computer-on-a-Stick is a bootable USB flash drive that carries a modified Debian Linux 2.6 OS and Gnome 2.8 desktop along with the Microsoft Office-compatible OpenOffice.org suite, Firefox browser, GAIM instant-messaging client, and other programs.

The idea is that you plug it into almost any x86 system, reboot, and enjoy the same work environment no matter what is or isn't installed on the PC. When you're done, you shut down and put the Stick back in your pocket, leaving no files, bookmarks, cookies, or browsing history on the host machine. The only part of the device accessible by the host is a "public" folder, which works like any other flash drive to transfer files to and from other PCs.

Reference:http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardwarecentral/reviews/5962/1/

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