In the previous how-to, we discussed multiple monitors as a great tool for increased efficiency. However, sometimes multiple displays just don’t work in a certain environment. Fortunately, there’s still a way to get some of the efficiency benefits of having multiple desktops without needing two displays: virtual desktops.
A New York-based startup, Neverware, hopes to breathe new life into old computers with its Juicebox a100 virtual desktop appliance, which can deliver Windows 7 virtual desktops to one hundred terminals as long as they all meet its lenient hardware requirements: a 500MHz processor, 128MB RAM and an Ethernet port. In case you are wondering, it requires absolutely no hard drive storage on the client side. Having put the technology through its paces in a couple of schools, Neverware's 25-year-old founder Jonathan Hefter is now working on a beta.
It is more than likely that you have heard of something similar in the past, but to Hefter's credit he managed to come up with this impressive technology from the garage of his parents' house sans any formal computer education. Described as “quite a mensch” by his mother in an interview with the New York Observer, Hefter has always been driven by a strong desire to bring about change. He wants schools, city governments and non-profits to free themselves from the need to upgrade every four or five years at a huge environmental and economic cost. However, there is no word on the price of the Juicebox a100.
Earlier this year, Super Talent Technology introduced the USB 3.0 Express RAM Cache range of flash drives. Featuring a DRAM caching system, the Express RAM Cache family supposedly offers exponential performance gains over USB 2.0 drives. According to a press release issued by the company back then, the addition of DRAM caching boosts small block random performance by “up to 110x over USB 2.0 speeds.”
“The introduction of USB 3.0 and DRAM cache has created a brand new breed of flash drives which are now outperforming the fastest of hard disk drives. Ceedo adds value to our product line by enabling customers to use flash storage in a whole new way,” SuperTalent COO CH Lee is quoted as having said in a release.
“It enables you to install and carry standard Windows applications for use on any PC. Armed with our new USB 3.0 Express RAM Cache, now any PC is your PC.”
maximumpc: This really should be offered as a service; we'd subscribe. Not that we actually need it, of course. http://t.co/G4uB3RFfX015 hours 29 min ago
maximumpc: MSI is showing off its Z87 motherboards too - we can't wait to test all these new boards. http://t.co/PkFNjbWNWE16 hours 31 min ago
maximumpc: RT @TheModZoo: @maximumpc @Guides4Games, the TUF is a great canvas for personalizing your Motherboard... http://t.co/9CpsJJLNAf17 hours 54 min ago
In the previous how-to, we discussed multiple monitors as a great tool for increased efficiency. However, sometimes multiple displays just don’t work in a certain environment. Fortunately, there’s still a way to get some of the efficiency benefits of having multiple desktops without needing two displays: virtual desktops.
