Gadgets for Cloud Computing

IDG News Service — A flood of simple computing devices is hitting the market, aimed at pushing the cloud outside of the enterprise. Samsung and Acer have announced Chromebooks, which are light laptops for users who rely on the Internet for most of their computing. Startup ITWin is offering a USB device that helps users access files on remote computers over the Internet. Panasonic has shown a Viera tablet for its TV sets, which the company hopes will jumpstart its cloud services business.

The masses through Chromebooks

Google is trying to push cloud computing to the masses through Chromebooks, which come with the Chrome OS, a thin version of Linux to run Web applications or light applications purchased from the Chrome Store.

Startup iTwin offers a gadget of the same name for users to access files on remote PCs over the Internet. Resembling a USB drive, the device has two pieces that can be used to create a secure peer-to-peer network over the Internet between two PCs to share files. One piece goes into the main computer, during the other half needs to be carried and activated on any computer with an Internet connection. Both PCs have to be online and users need to carry an ITwin piece to remotely access files.