fit-PC as a Development Server

Passing the time with StumbleUpon, I came across a reference to the fit-PC. This computer is a very small form-factor (about the size of a paperback novel, according to the website) PC that comes pre-loaded with Linux.

This PC has a 500 MHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, and a 40 GB hard drive. Also, it's fanless (the case acts as a heatsink) and draws just 5 watts of power when under load (3 when it's idling).

Now, this box isn't going to win any performance records at this point, but it occurs to me where it could find a niche: a development server. Think about it: right now, I use virtual machines (with VirtualBox) to run guest OSes with whatever server code I need running on them. My life would be simpler (and better-performing) if I had this router-sized box sitting on my desk, running that code without slowing down my laptop. Give me a KVM switch (or even just ssh), and this thing would be my best friend.

All your data on hand

The BBC has an article about storing data by manipulating a carbon crystal (a diamond, specifically) at the nanoscale level. As the article states, "One gram of this substance could store 10 to the power 21 bytes (887,808 petabytes.)" Now, the article goes on to discuss whether it's even ethical to save this much information, as only 10 petabytes would be enough to save a year's worth of continuous audio and video. A person's entire life could be recorded in a minuscule amount of space. We could, as a race, lose the ability to forget. Trying to remember someone's name? Just load the video for the last time you saw them, and there it is.

Anyhow, what most interested me was the potential for mobile computing environments. I know some of the more recent trends seem to be going the way of storing everything online (Google Apps, anyone?), but imagine if you could store all the data you ever accumulate in the jewel you (maybe) already wear everywhere you go, anyway? Build a computer with a flash chip for the OS, and a diamond reader, and no hard drive. Give it a couple of readers, put a ring on each hand, and voile, RAID 1 mirroring.

Forget PortableApps; install every program you've ever needed or ever will need on the crystal.

Worried about security? What if you get mugged? Not only did you lose a ring of some value, all of your data is completely possessed by someone else. But, what if there was a way to lock or unlock the data store based on biometric data read by sensors in the ring?

I think I was born in the wrong century.