14 DAY TRIAL // The miniaturization of computing systems is a very important issue nowadays, and that's why all the major manufacturers are trying to decrease the size of their devices as much as possible.
However, up until now, nobody had developed a computer the size of pen drive. Thus, the American company FingerGear launched an x86 bootable device that houses a Linux-based operating system and office software. There is even some space left to store data.
USB Flash drives pretty much have replaced floppy disk as storage devices to move data from one place to another. FingerGear, a consumer brand of biometry company Bionopoly, is the first to take this concept a step further to transform data on a stick to a computer on a stick, according to Tom's Hardware Guide.
According to a spokesperson, the drive is currently available as a 256 MB version, and runs the Linux 2.6.x series kernel and Gnome desktop. It includes an office suite, developed by OpenOffice.org, which is compatible with the most common Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, but also the Firefox browser, a PDF Viewer and creator, a data compression utility, and an instant messaging program compatible with Yahoo IM, MSN Messenger, AIM, and Napster.
The device's storage is divided into a "public" and a "private" partition. The "public" partition is accessible from Windows, Linux, and Macintosh PCs, making it easy to use the product as a standard flash drive for storing files. The "private" directory can only be accessed by booting from the device and after the user enters a login password, according to the Personal Tech Pipeline.
Software bundled on the Computer-On-a-Stick fit easily withing the device's 256 MB capacity, the currently available maximum. Higher capacities will be available later this quarter, according to a company press release.