I discovered an intriguing new technology gadget tonight thanks to the Google ads on my own site. It’s called GoPC and it’s a virtual operating system that provides a free service for accessing programs and data storage online.
It uses Suse Linux and provides a limited number of programs with the free service. These include Firefox, Gaim, Evolution, Open Office Writer and Digikam.
There are options to install the virtual computer on a PC or USB memory stick. I’m currently testing it with an installation on my laptop’s hard drive. I’m effectively running a Linux system in parallel with Windows XP and I’m able to switch easily between the two.
It all appears to be very new. I signed up for the free service and received a login code on my mobile phone. There are two web sites, the other being here and seemingly more pitched at a youth audience. Neither has a support forum. I can’t tell if it’s only available in Australia and New Zealand at this stage or not.
Technical details are a little sketchy and the best I could find are here.
The business model appears to involve enticing users to upgrade to commercial accounts with more programs and greater data storage.
The free account has 20MB online storage and 10MB email, which isn’t much compared with Gmail for example.
Linux and Mac versions are said to be under development and there is a web launcher version which I haven’t yet tried.
I have found it to be a nifty and interesting tool. The idea of a secure personal area for online data storage has some appeal as a way to backup documents and photos. The company says it’s secure; just got to hope they don’t collapse like Veridas and take your documents with them.
At this early stage I would say it’s a good alternative to running portable applications on a USB stick. It’s also a good way to introduce newbies to Linux and open source.
