Intel Labs is prototyping a potentially revolutionary new “personal server” that runs on embedded Linux.

The tiny device — smaller than a PDA — comprises a hard disk, BlueTooth, a Web-DAV enabled HTTP daemon, and other technologies enabling the user to access and modify their files from any enabled PC within their “Personal Area Network.” In theory, this would allow the worker to access their own data — essentially to have their own PC — at any suitable workstation as long as their personal server was nearby.

This article by Intel principal engineer and senior researcher Roy Want provides background on the personal server concept, explains how the device will enable a truly mobile experience, discusses the basic technologies involved, and provides an architectural block diagram of the prototype, which is based on an XScale Processor running at 400MHz running an embedded Linux OS.

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