Iomega Active Disk: take your software to go
posted March 22nd 2005 4:01AM
Those of us who work on multiple computers frequently will appreciate the idea behind Iomega's Active Disk technology, which allows you to run applications directly from portable media devices without having to install them on the host machine. A number of apps have been written or modified to launch from Active Disk compatible devices, which include ye olde Zip drives, Iomega Rev drives (not terribly convenient to be carting around your Rev drive while you're at it, though, is it), external Iomega FireWire and USB drives, and Iomega Mini flash drives. All the software as well as files you create live on the portable device before and after a work session. All well and good, but seeing as how we long ago jettisoned our Zip disks, no one we know has a Rev drive, and most external hard drives will run software out of the box already, this leaves the USB thumb drive to be of any interest with this software. And even then, we'd really rather just use the growing number of applications designed to work on any USB drive instead of being forced into adopting yet another proprietary standard.
Iomega? Didn't know they were still in business/
dunno why they haven't been able to come up with anything useful (and not half-baked with a thick layer of cheap marketing bullshit) since zip disks were eclipsed by cd burners; i think i've tried active disk once, that was 3 years ago, and it just proved utterly useless because it didn't exactly work as promised (surprise, surprise).
Active Disk is not new. Been around a while. they had it on Zips back in the day. Iomega now has pretty much stopped being a innovator and started just churning out drive....some that were not even made by them but simply rebranded if I remember right.
Hehehe. Not to start another PC vs Mac war... but any Mac app that doesn't require having a serial number file on the host computer can run off of any sort of removable media, and has been able to do so for yeeeeears. I carry around a number of OS X utilities on my USB thumb drive for maintenance on my client's computers. Mwahaha.
This is the third instance of something being refered to as "ye olde"..... I read on this page just this morning. Is the Renaissance fair around the corner or something?
"Run applications directly from portable media devices"? Shouldn't you always be able to do this? The only exception I can think of is Windows applications that require the crappy regsitry.
1
paper shredder
paper cutter
pencil shredder
CD shredder
CD destroyer
reed relay
reed switch
magnet relay
switch
2
circuit breaker
contactor
switch power supply
limiting switch
micro switch
universal changeover switch
distribution box
magnetic starter
thermal relay
plug socket
wall switch
3
warning lamp
halogen lamp
energy saving lamp
illumination lamp
fluorescent lamp
H.R.C.fuse
limited fuse,
cylindrical fuse
capacitor
panel meter
I find this 'run applications directly from the storage device' idea very amusing. It is a serious weakness of Microsoft's system design that applications are "supposed" to use the registry and to install DLLs on drive C etc.
*nix systems would never have had these problems, unless people were so dimwitted as to only be able to access programmes from desktop icons. The latest Linux hotplugging allows the execution of arbitrary scripts when inserting devices, so even that shortcoming is easily overcome.
I really think people should be asking how we have ended up with such an arcane and clumsy method of running desktop computers.
Hello,
I'm a graduate student doing research on the USB mini flash drive market and looking for some "insider" insight.
I'm particularly interested in who the major players are in the industry and who will emerge as the dominant marketer and producer of these storage devices. I'm also trying to learn why this has yet to eclipse CD storage technology.
All insight and thoughts are welcome.
Thanks in advance for your two cents!