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Hardware for Webware: A motherboard with embedded Firefox

I just got a chance to try out a Webware PC: a computer built around the new P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP motherboard from Asus. What makes this motherboard be hardware for Webware is that it has a Firefox Web browser (running on an embedded Linux operating system) burned into ROM. It also has Skype. You turn it on, and in fifteen seconds (I timed it), you can be in Firefox and surfing the Web.

You can also boot it into Windows, or whatever OS you have installed on the hard disk. Boring.

This built-in browser has a lot of great things but some drawbacks too.

In the plus category: This alternate operating system, provided by DeviceVM to Asus, is fast and convenient. There's no giant OS to boot before you get into your browser, which is a slimmed-down version of Firefox, not some weird, quasibrowser that doesn't do what you want. There's a Flash plug-in installed so most modern sites render properly. Flash videos play just fine. The system saves all your settings (including bookmarks) in memory, so you don't have to start from scratch every time you fire it up.

The P5E3 motherboard has nearly everything built in that you'll need. Connecting to a network--wired or WiFi--is fast and easy. Skype has access to the board's audio in and out ports.

Because the DeviceVM platform doesn't have access to the hard disks connected to the motherboard, the system is very secure. So if, say, guests wants to use your PC to check their Web mail, you can boot them into the ExpressGate environment (that's what Asus calls it) and not worry about them junking up your PC. You might want to clear your private data from the Firefox cache first, though.

And this motherboard is "green," at least in theory. Many people leave their PCs on all the time, because launching a browser from a cold PC can take several minutes. With this setup, you can turn off the PC when you're done browsing, and when you need to get back online, you can be there in seconds.

If you work primarily online--using browser-based tools like Google Docs for productivity, Salesforce.com or Basecamp for business operations, Meebo for IM, and so on--this setup is just great.

Should you get one of these motherboards just for its ExpressGate feature, though?

… Read more

Mozilla aims Firefox at mobile devices

Another star is coming into alignment in the mobile Linux galaxy: Firefox.

Mozilla has set up a group to develop the Firefox Web browser for mobile devices, hiring new staff and elevating the priority of the work to the same level as desktop computers. Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla's vice president of engineering, announced the mobile Firefox move on his blog Tuesday evening.

"We are serious about bringing the Firefox experience and technology to mobile devices," he said. "Bringing Firefox add-ons, the Mozilla platform, open source, and a large and passionate community to the closed and fragmented mobile … Read more

NetWare and Linux cheek by jowl, courtesy Xen

For most of the world, Novell's NetWare operating system may have faded to footnote status, but Novell continues to grind away at its plan to modernize the software.

The new NetWare, called Open Enterprise Server, is an attempt to rebuild the operating system's services atop Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES). Version 1.0 essentially was a bundle that included both operating systems, but with OES 2.0, which Novell announced on Monday, the two operating systems got a lot closer.

The reason for the proximity: Xen virtualization software, which lets the same physical server run multiple … Read more

Google's OS dreams calling on Linux

Can Google's application development prowess be transformed into a next-generation mobile operating system?

It seems increasingly likely that Google, the ubiquitous tech company, is about to throw its hat into the race to develop the next big mobile device. Google's no gadget-maker, but it does develop quite a bit of software, and reports have been building that the company is relatively close to releasing the Gphone. (Our style department says we have to spell it that way.)

Most people who have wandered onto the Internet in the past couple of years are familiar with Google. The company's … Read more

Desktop Linux doubled in 2006

I already reported that the Mac is on a massive ramp, but what about Linux? Well, according to this note on Slashdot, desktop Linux nearly doubled in the past year (to 0.81%). Nothing to write home about, perhaps, but still significant.

Vista may be cruising, but when you have the Mac and Linux growing at torrid paces, there's serious cause for Microsoft alarm. The world doesn't seem to want its online presence, where most of the action is. Microsoft continues to churn out monopoly rents on Office and Windows, but as the world moves online and open … Read more

Survey finds people are in committed, destructive relationships with PCs

According to recent research, people spend more time with their computers than with their spouses/significant others (64%). 84% claim to be more dependent on their computers today than they were three years ago. 19% admitted to wanting to throw their computers out the nearest window when it gave them problems.

Given the above, it's shocking that 100% of the people surveyed didn't immediately dump their Windows machines to get something beautiful (Mac) or open (Linux). I mean, if you're going to spend a lot of time with someone, they might as well be good-looking (Mac) or … Read more

Is Linux right for your mother?

One of the advantages of Apple Macintosh computers is that simply by not being Windows, they are immune to the plague of malware (malicious software) that constantly strikes at Windows based machines. Linux has this advantage too, plus it's cheaper. A computer running Linux can cost around a fifth as much as a Mac (more on this later).

The classic knock on Linux, when compared to Windows and Macs, has always been that it was harder to use, and indeed it was. But release after release it kept getting easier. How easy is it, now, for a Windows user … Read more

Medison Celebrity laptop: From MIA to KIA

You were right. I was wrong.

You--various Crave readers, Dan Ackerman, assorted acquaintances--said I was a fool to think I'd actually get the $150 Swedish laptop I ordered back in July. When the six-week delivery window came and went, I decided to give it one more month before pulling the plug. (While I may be a fool, I would like to point out that I was never out any cash; 2Checkout.com assured me that I wouldn't be charged until it had proof from Medison that my order had shipped.) After waiting another month on the hope that … Read more