Mobile Computing Technologies: an Overview - Mobile USB and Virtualization
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A final set of technologies allows you to recreate an environment or workspace with the use of USB thumb drives or similar storage devices. This offers the ability to take your software applications with you to any available machine.
Many software titles now offer “portable” versions that can be run directly from a USB drive with little or no need for installation. This method of portability allows you to run your own applications on any PC without a need to have preinstalled software. Most portable applications are lightweight, re-written programs that do not rely on registry access and therefore do not require standard installation. Sites like Portableapps.com offer dozens of common software titles ready for use.
USB Virtualization is a similar concept that takes things a step further by eliminating the limitations of portable applications. With USB Virtualization, a software program recreates a user environment, complete with a registry, that allows you to run a much wider range of software applications—even those that require standard installation. Some of these solutions, such as Sandisk’s U3 Technology, require both the host software as well as supporting hardware, while others, like Ceedo, can be used on any USB-enabled device.
In many cases, USB Virtualization can be deployed for the cost of the storage media alone and offer you the ability to take most any program with you and run it on virtually any machine that offers USB support. You also have the added convenience of an extremely small footprint, since most USB devices can be held in the palm of your hand. Essentially, this mobile computing solution allows you to carry your computing experience very easily in your pocket.
As you have seen, there are several different kinds of mobile computing technology in use today. This article is by no means comprehensive; it is only intended to give an overview of the most common methods and act as an introduction to my upcoming article series. Since USB Virtualization is the newest of these technologies, and offers an extremely low-cost solution, I’ve begun a series that showcases this technology in all of its flavors. Keep your eye out for upcoming software reviews, tutorials, and how-to articles on the subject.
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