 |
Using software created by an Alberta company, you can get a second computer in your house this holiday season free. In fact, the software is capable of splitting your PC into 10, saving you money and saving the environment at the same time.
Digital Journal -- Canadian company Userful is now giving away its Desktop Multiplier software to anyone who wants an extra PC free.
The software turns one computer into many, allowing a single computer box to support multiple users at the same time. All you need to do is connect an extra monitor, USB keyboard and mouse to your run-of-the-mill computer box, and the Desktop Multiplier software will make it possible for two people to work on the same PC at the same time.
The reason Userful is giving away its software is to prove an environmental point and show just how much "un-tapped value lies hidden in today's desktop PCs," as their company press release reads.
In an email interview with DigitalJournal.com, Userful's marketing and PR manager, Sean Rousseau, said, "Desktop multiplier works so efficiently because it only copies the necessary portions of the operating system while sharing the rest between each user. However from a user's perspective it appears that both have their own independent PC since their actions and files are completely private and separate from each other."
As for the legality of splitting the operating system to work with multiple users, Rousseau also noted Userful's Desktop Multiplier runs on the open source Linux operating system, so turning one computer into two is perfectly legal.
In fact, Userful's software will allow you to create up to 10 independent workstations from a single physical computer tower. The software is currently used around the world in schools, libraries, hotels, and other businesses. The software manages up to 10 PCs through a central Web portal. For a detailed diagram of how it works, click here.
"Most of what happens in an office -- word processing, internet, spreadsheets, etc. --- uses very little of the computing power of modern PC's," said Rousseau. "We figured there must be a more efficient way to use our computers and so we developed the technology to have up to 10 of our employees working from a single computer simultaneously. It worked so well that we decided to share it with the world."
The company was founded in 1999 and is currently privately held. Userful was named Alberta's 10th fastest growing company earning under $20 million in revenue.
Userful says its software has led to "huge savings" for businesses and individuals by reducing the number of PCs one needs to purchase. The company says turning one computer into 10 can cut as much as 70 per cent from a business's hardware investment.
The company says: "Over a 3-year lifecycle on a 100-user deployment, Userful's Desktop Multiplier approach can save as much as $90,000 in hardware acquisition; $90,000 on software acquisition; and $100,000 to $200,000 per year in reduced software support and maintenance costs."
The idea of splitting a computer between multiple people certainly sounds great for IT departments everywhere, so we wondered if the system would be bogged down by up to 10 people using a single computer's processing power.
"How much it slows down your computer depends largely on how fast your computer is and what you plan on using the computer for," said Rousseau. "For an example of what you can do we recently tried overloading one of our 10 user stations just to see if we could. All 10 had office programs and email open, they each had multiple YouTube videos playing, and six of them were playing RuneScape all at the same time without any slowdowns at all."
In addition to cost savings, Userful is also finding an innovative way to be green in the PC market. It says 10 monitors, mice and keyboards on a single computer reduces CO2 emissions by up to 15 tones per year per system. According to the company, in the last year their software has saved more than 13,250 tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of taking 2,300 cars off the road.
In addition, it also saves you money because using one physical computer (rather than two) cuts down on your electricity bill, and it reduces hardware and support cost.
A group of kids laugh and pose for a photo beside a network that employs Userful software, allowing one computer to be turned into 10.
Userful is also helping out in another green space, as its software cuts back on computer waste: With an estimated 20 million PCs becoming obsolete in the U.S. each year, Userful says e-waste contains lead, mercury, cadmium, and many other toxic and bio-accumulative compounds that can compromise water and air quality. By sharing the same box, Desktop Multiplier reduces electronic waste by up to 80 per cent.
The current promotion comes with free two-user licences, so all you need is an extra video card (or a card that enables two monitors to be plugged in), a USB keyboard and a mouse. The company says the download will not affect any software on your hard disk.
So why is the company giving its software away for free? Rousseau told DigitalJournal.com: "We are giving this software away for personal use only because it is our hope that people will realise what an amazing product it is and recommended the commercial version to their workplace. It is free forever, enjoy!"
To download the software free, visit Userful's website.
-
Wow! I'm impressed! What a great idea. The operating system and energy costs could drop dramatically. Do all the computers have the same ISP address, or different ones? Great find.
-
This is intriguing news and the potential in places where one computer is all that can be afforded is exciting.
-
I'm guessing they use NAT. They would have to share one external IP address but internally could each have an IP.
-
I have got into the habit of putting two and two together, but this sounds like a computer revolution to me. What a fascinating idea. ~ Great article!
-
This is great for Linux on the desktop. Not so great for Windows though, as you can't use it with Windows. Chris, do you know if this software allows you to use multiple computers together to power a bank of systems or is it only system per installation?
-
@ atroxodisse
This is great for Linux on the desktop. Not so great for Windows though, as you can't use it with Windows. Chris, do you know if this software allows you to use multiple computers together to power a bank of systems or is it only system per installation?
You're right Atrox -- it's Linux only.
As for your question about clustering: The software is scalable so you can create as many 10-bank computer clusters as you like and manage them from one single point.
Does that make sense? -
And one point of clarification about using this with Windows. From the company's FAQ:
----------------
Q: Is Desktop Multiplier compatible with Microsoft Windows?
A: Yes. All Userful multi-station Linux products are capable of accessing Windows applications through virtual desktop technologies including win4lin, vmware, wine, and RDP. For Desktop Multiplier, specific compatibility depends on the Linux distribution on which Userful's Desktop Multiplier software is installed.
Userful's Desktop Multiplier software also includes application software that supports industry-standard file formats, including Microsoft Office. For example, OpenOffice.org applications can open MS Office applications and save in MS format, including common applications like MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel. -
Userful's multiplier is one of Linux's leading apps for a while now. A streamlining conduit that has proven its usefulness.
-
Doesn't say a lot for the normal configuration, does it?
I've always been a bit surprised how little actual hardware is in a tower.
Also doesn't add much to the ideas that existing processors are tottering off to the grave.
If this thing can run 10 workstations with the same performance, it means that doing it one at a time is as inefficient as this is efficient.
Therefore the processors on single workstations are also handling data loads badly, if they can operate as well on a 10 computer set. Otherwise, where's the spare capacity?
This could well be the most embarrassing thing that's happened to the computer industry since.. well, Vista.
-
@ Paul Wallis (Wanderlaugh)
This could well be the most embarrassing thing that's happened to the computer industry since.. well, Vista.
What is embarassing -- this Linux software, or the fact computers are inefficient? -
The OLPC can adopt this technology, so people can donate old computers and with this Userful they can have multiple computers at one place. It is similar like Network, most of the cases people need internet connections and access programs over the internet.
-
Nothing special, Linux has been able to do this out of the box for years, its called virtual terminals and multiple X sessions. All this company has done is put it in a package. In fact, if I recall correctly there are already Linux distributions that do this out of the box when you install. Oh, Wanderlaugh, that is because Linux is designed to be a multitasker, its not inefficient, it just means it is built to handle that much of a load. The CPU speed limits how much it can do in a set time frame, by using idle time in programs to do operations in other programs it allows many users to do many things
-
In fact, if I recall correctly there are already Linux distributions that do this out of the box when you install.
Yeah, it's called Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP). It's an free linux program that lets many different people log into the same computer, all from different terminals. There's a middle school in town using LTSP to provide computer access to all their students. LTSP lets them all run off the same computer. This is good because the principal can limit what websites are visited and the principal can provide computer access to every student simultaneously even if his school can't afford a computer for every student. -
As techinal architect here are my considerations:
The monitor cable length is the biggest limitation.
Because of this all the stations must stay within 2 meters or so from the PC
10 Pc on the same table are far too much for an office but could be good idea for an internet cafe or a school... or even a table on an office with up to 4 working terminal.
USB has got a physical limit between 3 and 5 meters (depends on the speed), keep this in mind when planning keyboard and mouse connection.
My 2 cents design would be:
1 single powerful PC running Linux with this software AND a virtualization software such as vmware.
On a virtual machine you then install 2003 server (if you really need windows)
Now the sessions get a linux login screen, but you can use the user login script to initiate an rdp connection
to the windows server running on the VM.
bottom line on this product:
I haven't tried it yet, but I think this is an awesome idea as brings the console
connection infrastructure to the end users just with a single installation CD.
Clever and smart, none then less.
-
BTW, I think LTSP is rather different as (AFAIK) it work with thin clients only. You will still need an external computer, even very slow, but a full working PC. So add motherboards, RAM, network cards and so on for each workstation.
Here instead you need just 1 monitor, 1 mouse and 1 keyboard, + a video card installed on the central PC.
Each session on Linux is then using monitor/mouse/keyboard as I/O device.
LTSP is a very good package but it doesn't reduce the HW requirement as much as this product does. I would consider them different as LTSP uses the network to communicate and each thin client can be placed virtually anywhere, even on remote sites.
-
This is a very definite bad development. Our economy will suffer if we do not allow computer manufacturer's to sell as much hardware as possible, and allow software vendors to sell individual licenses for each unit of hardware sold. Please think of the larger picture. We need to keep our economy strong by buying more, not less.
-
@ rennieball
This is a very definite bad development. Our economy will suffer if we do not allow computer manufacturer's to sell as much hardware as possible, and allow software vendors to sell individual licenses for each unit of hardware sold. Please think of the larger picture. We need to keep our economy strong by buying more, not less.
What hardware manufacturer do you work for? =) -
@ bellocarico
As techinal architect here are my considerations:
The monitor cable length is the biggest limitation.
Because of this all the stations must stay within 2 meters or so from the PC
10 Pc on the same table are far too much for an office but could be good idea for an internet cafe or a school... or even a table on an office with up to 4 working terminal.
USB has got a physical limit between 3 and 5 meters (depends on the speed), keep this in mind when planning keyboard and mouse connection.
Not to just start arguments, however both VGA and DVI can go about 10 meters without a repeater before signal degradation is seen. You're right about the USB limits, however powered hubs/repeaters jump that signal another 5 meters or so. It would be possible to have a central computer with stations all around the outside of a room, granted you will spend a good deal of money in signal repeaters. -
This solution is not a kind of virtual machine, as some seem to think it is. It is just a software package which enables users to share the same hardware, running one instance of the operating system with the user processes running side by side on the same computer. The software enables configuration of multiple keyboards, mice, and monitors connected to the same computer. Each users applications is displayed at the monitor where the user is seated, event though the applications from multiple users run side-by-side on the same computer. Technically this is not very different from running multiple applications on the same computer as a single user.
Technically there is nothing stopping someone from implementing this solution on Windows. Just start up task manager and have a look at how most of the time the CPU is idling at a few percent. Personally I am happily running Linux, but my Windows CPU stats from back when I still had the Windows partition was similar to my Linux stats.
The reason for why you see this solution on Linux and not on Windows is due to the open nature of Linux. Anyone can implement whatever they like, without asking a single company for permission, and without paying huge amounts of money. The big companies like to tell us all that they are the one driving innovation, but they really are not. They are the one holding back. If somebody comes up with a innovative solution you often hear they the big companies saying they are killing the economy. The big companies are the one killing the economy. Being too fixated on profit they are strangling the economy. There needs to be a balance between being innovative and being conservative for the economy to remain healthy.
rennieball: I do not agree with you when you say this is a bad development and that the economy will suffer. Maybe some of the richest companies in the world will earn a little less for some time, but I do not see this as bad. It will however force those companies to stop sitting on their ass collecting money and start doing some real work. I am confident that most of these companies will be able to restructure and continue to earn money in the future.
-
Oh, wow.
So someone makes a simple time-sharing program and it's big news?
Now, I feel old saying this, but back when only universities, hospitals and the gov't could afford computers, time-sharing, (terminal access), was pretty much the standard way to use a computer.
Nice move of them to make it free-ware though; most of the open-source time-sharing programs out there are a bit dated, buggy, or both.
-
Just an update for everyone who read about this and still wants to get in on the action. Userful announced today they are continuing this promotion. Here is their press release:
---------------
Calgary, Alberta (Feb. 5, 2007) - Need an extra PC around the house?
Userful is giving away its innovative software that gives you a
second computer for free. They had such a warm response to their
holiday giveaway that they have decided to continue giving away the
software. It is the perfect way to reduce line-ups for the computer
as spouses, parents, and children battle for a turn.
Userful's Desktop Multiplier software turns one computer into many,
enabling a single computer box to support multiple users at the same
time. Simply connect an extra monitor, USB keyboard, and mouse to
your standard computer box and this software makes it possible for
two users to work on the same PC at the same time.
"The free two-user giveaway doubles the utility and value of your
existing computer with minimal cost," says Tim Griffin, President of
Userful. "In fact, if you already have an extra monitor and keyboard,
it's like getting a free computer.
Userful is giving away its eco-friendly software to show how much
un-tapped value lies hidden in today's Desktop PCs. "Environmental
responsibility is increasingly on all our minds," says Griffin.
"Maintaining an extra PC is a lot of work, and not everyone can
afford a second home PC. We had such a warm response to our holiday
giveaway that we decided to continue giving away our software.
Everybody likes something free, and it doesn't get much better than a
free PC with zero environmental footprint. The opportunity to help
make a difference is very satisfying. We're hoping that people will
see how well this software works at home and start recommending it to
their workplace or school as a way to save the environment and save on
IT costs. We've also added a live CD meaning you can carry it with you
and transform virtually any PC into a two user computer."
Userful's Desktop Multiplier software can create up to 10 independent
workstations from a single standard PC box. This software is being
used around the world in schools, libraries, hotels, and other
businesses and has provided huge savings on desktop computing costs
by reducing the number of computer boxes that need to be purchased
and maintained. Userful is quickly becoming the standard for green
computing worldwide. Attaching 10 monitors, mice and keyboards to a
single computer reduces CO2 emissions by up to 15 tons per year per
system and reduces electronic waste by up to 80%. Userful recently
stated that in the last year their software has saved over 13,250
tons of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of taking 2,300 cars off the
road.
The free two-user licenses distributed under this promotion enable
users with an extra video card (or a dual-head video card) to add an
extra workstation by simply plugging in a spare monitor, USB keyboard
and mouse. Thousands of users have obtained free two-user licenses and
information about the promotion from
http://userful.com/products/free-2-user . There are two free
downloads available: a Live CD, which allows you to turn your PC into
2 independent workstations without affecting any of the software on
your hard-disk, and one for users already running Linux.Add a Comment
|
 |
|
|
Email
Print
Share
Canadian Software Lets You Turn One Computer Into Two, Completely Free
