July 21st, 2008 
admin 
Cloud computing is basically a farmed out OS and underlying software. We can argue all the intricacies about it, but that’s the nuts and bolts. It’s like a dumb terminal, except of having the server in house you are connecting through “the cloud” to your OS. CherryPal has announced that they are coming out with a personal cloud computer. It’s a facinating idea, but would you use it?
Playing on the success of Asus’ EEE box lines, Max Seybold, the creator is banking a lot on this idea. And the idea is a big one in a small box. The CherryPal has the following specs:
- Freescale’s MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800 MIPS (400 MHz) of processing
- 256 MB of DDR2 DRAM
- 4GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive
- WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
- Two USB 2.0 ports
- One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack
- One GA DB-15 display out jack
- Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5mm jack
- 9vDC 2.5mm 10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply
- Weighs 10 ounces
- 1.3” high, 5.8” x 4.2” wide
The box consumes 2 Watts of energy. But the big plus for a lot of users is going to be the maintenance. Users wouldn’t have to do updates or security fixes. They wouldn’t have to worry about viruses or malware. And backups, one of the banes of computer usage, happen automatically. Now, for a vast majority of non-technical users, that will probably sound like a utopian scenario. But for experienced users, obviously, that sounds like big hand cuffs. But, for $249, the price is right. And the market seems poised for something like this.
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