Stan Beer
Monday, 19 May 2008 17:15
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
The simplicity of it is awesome to behold. If you don't
need your full-blown Windows or Linux OS, then you don't have to use it
with one of these Asus motherboards - although you can.
If you just want to surf or chat, instead of
booting up your normal OS just turn on Express Gate, which loads
almost instantly. What you get is a neat little GUI that comes pre-installed
with Firefox and Skype. If you happen to be a Web-based mail, calendar
and documents user, then you also have access to an office productivity
system.
The fact that you can be up and running but haven't even booted your
main OS is amazing enough. However, Splashtop, developed by privately
held Silicon Valley startup DeviceVM, is also touted by its developers
to offer a secure Web surfing environment, allowing users to "surf the
Web while staying immune to many of the attacks that plague Windows."
Let's face it, if you don't have your main OS loaded and you're not
using your hard drive, there's not damage you can do to your computer.
Thinking about Asus and DeviceVM are doing here, it seems to be exactly
the opposite of what Microsoft Windows and even the traditional Linux
desktop distros try to do. Instead of trying to integrate the online
experience with the desktop using a bloated full service OS, the new
Asus motherboards will separate going online from the mainstream
desktop computing experience using an ultra-thin version of Linux.
The big question remains whether Asus and Splashtop will properly promote this feature to users, and whether users, once they know about it, will actually use it.
In addition, will it be possible to easily upgrade Splashtop Linux instant-on environment to a new version, or to upgrade the versions of Skype, Firefox and other things within? Or are they stuck in time, slowly becoming more and more out of date - something that is worrying for Skype users wanting the better voice quality new versions offer, or new features only found in upgraded versions of Firefox?
If Splashtop can be upgraded, despite its embedded status, does this introduce any security risks? How easy might it be to hack the Splashtop and cause a watery mess? Or is it all locked down, safe and sound, but stuck forever in time?
CONTINUED
