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Wizpy - stupid name, very cool Linux toy
Wizpy, from Japan's Turbolinux, is a palm sized, Flash based, USB device, that allows you to plug into any USB 2.0 enabled PC, and run the Linux Operating System. Wizpy disguises itself as a USB CD-ROM drive which enables the Linux OS to boot without the user installing any actual components on the PC. How cool is that? Now you don't have to lug around your laptop, just access a PC and you're off in your own, comfortable desktop environment. And best of all, no one can see what you've done or where you've been because it leaves no trace of history data.
Wizpy kind of reminds me of borrowing someone's car and having everything just so, the mirrors in perfect placement, seat adjusted perfectly, with all your favorite tunes. Wizpy takes care of that aspect for you too, because it is also a digital audio player, has a FM radio, a voice recorder and a 1.7 inch screen for viewing e-books, pictures, movies and video files. But wait, there's more! Wizpy comes preloaded with TurboLinux Fuji OS, the Firefox Web browser, the Thunderbird e-mail client, Skype (VoIP) phone service and OpenOffice 2.1. It is sold in 2GB and 4GB versions. A Wizpy model is in the works with a SD card slot to be released in the future.
Currently, Wizpy has been just released in Japan and sells for about $254. It is slated to arrive worldwide in the coming months. Thanks to our friends at Engadget, you can click here to see the Wizpy up close and personal.
Zune. That doesn't sound too swift either, does it? Maybe we should have a vote for the king of the techno-moronic names.
Thanks to FF for this!
Comments
8
Subscribe to commentsLeeHFeb 28th 2007 10:53AM
Perhaps I'm missing something, but this sounds like the worst new product ever. I just bought a 4GB USB thumbdrive for about $60. Like all USB drives I can use it to boot Linux. So for an extra $200 you get a microscopic screen and an MP3 player? Its PALM-sized rather than thumb-sized? And there's no touch screen or keyboard so it doesn't work as a palm replacement? No thanks.
ZakFeb 28th 2007 12:01PM
Hmm, I don't what makes this device special, seems just like a packaged distribution, with the USB device-IDs changed to appear as a CD. You can do the same thing with most any USB storage device -- I have one in my pocket that works fine too. As long as the BIOS supports booting from USB you can take over the computer, mount NTFS drives, access NT passwords etc. without ever writing to the box's disc. Worst case with an old BIOS, just use a CD (or floppy even) to bootstrap onto the USB device.
xlemmingMar 1st 2007 10:46AM
The blackdog was a much cooler device. It is a 400MHz ppc computer that would attach as a cd that would autorun itself and then attach as a network card over which it would open up an x-windows terminal
ed barberMar 1st 2007 11:41AM
You dimbulb, that is the whole point of opensource naming, to make fun of the jobs/marketing hype bullshit.
ordMar 1st 2007 12:30PM
The reason why Linux tends to have such wily names is generally to avoid trademark disputes. When the Apple decided to trademark the word 'Numbers' they had to write out a big check and hire a couple of extra lawyers with intelligent haircuts.
sherl0kMar 1st 2007 2:10PM
For the record, "Gentoo" is a breed of Penguin ;)
Go4LinuxMar 1st 2007 1:24PM
What a ripoff. Damn Small Linux on a USB drive has been available from http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/usb.html for at least a year (US$65.) One can also download a DSL image and install it oneself (detailed instructions on-site.) For fun someone should try it on some inexpensive MP3 player.
natMar 1st 2007 7:39PM
The "USB device-IDs changed to appear as a CD" part seems to be the kicker, I have tried to boot many a device unsucessfully from a flash drive... How do you change the USB device-ID?