IBM's "SoulPad"

[Brian]

Imagine keeping your entire computing environment on a mobile device -your operating system, applications, files, and desktop settings. Then imagine that you could plug in your handheld device to any "host" computer to recreate your computer environment, using the host computer's keyboard, mouse, monitor and internet connection. You wouldn't be booting into the host computer's operating system, so you wouldn't have to worry about spyware/adware/viruses that could be infecting the host computer. Your host computer doesn't even need to have a hard drive at all.

That's the idea behind IBM's SoulPad. IBM researchers are working on this concept and you can watch a video here (14.4MB WMV file), where an iPod is used.

I wonder if a future version of the LifeDrive could be used some day as a SoulPad? They are both based on a similar concept...

[via jkontherun and engadget]

Brian
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[omarmd]

the idea is excellant, but i am thinking what a person like me would use it for,
the only work that i need to take with me outside my house is a powerpoint presentation for a medical subject. i have a 512MB thumbdrive attached to my keychain that i use to edit topics on my office at the hospital, what I always hoped for was a USB connection for the Zodiac, so i can attach my thumbdrive to it and work on those presentations in the Train, I know i can use Documents to go and a small pocket USB SD card reader, but that gets annoying.
but maybe you Brian can find something practical for me to do with this app, you always do.

[TheDylman]

you can put linux on a pen drive and boot from it on most pc's (bios needs boot to usb zip or usb hdd support).

One version is dam small linux at http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/


omarmd,
what about storing your file directly on the zod using usb with something like softick?

[omarmd]