Ersei, the developer behind this so-called Cloud Native Computer, says the project was primarily a “silly” pursuit. There is also a problem with booting from Google Drive currently being very slow. However, the dev also boasts that “the possibilities are endless” and would welcome any companies or individuals who wish to get in contact and discuss commercializing this project or something related to it.
Soo, booting your computer from someone else’s computer?
I mean we’ve had thin clients and PXE for ages?
And bootp before that, and tftp before that. So I think roughly… 35 years?
More being able to use cloud storage and not need a full physical secondary computer. In theory the cloud can be accessed anywhere, even if a portion is down, not the same for a single physical PC.
The cloud is many computers with a redundancy, you putting multiple PCs in remote locations so you can access when one goes down….?
One requires two physical computers, while one requires one and the cloud. Not a hard concept here or anything people.
Do thin clients and PXE require a server specifically configured to serve a boot image? (Genuinely asking.)
I’m not sure whether this project is doing something new by just accessing network resources that are nothing more than shared files, without any specific software running on the server (beyond just a server serving files).
Yes, they do. The novel thing here is serving the files out of Google Drive.
There are existing PXE servers that run over the Internet, like boot.netboot.xyz, so that you don’t have to run your own (assuming you trust everyone involved in that connection). Those are far more practical.
Good luck booting when Google nukes your account
Interesting experiment, but I’d rather have a personal machine that isnt completely useless when/if the internet goes out. Also would be nice not to depend on a centralized service that could easily revoke access.
Seems like it’s better suited for company work computers.
when/if the internet goes out.
Or worse, when it basically sends a different image…
So we’re back to PXI PXE? Everything old is new again.
Neat technical problem to solve though just for fun
I set up a PXE image for the Arch installer and scripted the whole installation. The idea was to switch the boot order and have it auto-reimage, such as for a IOT device deploy.
Once I built it, I never used it again. But it was a fun afternoon.
Maybe in larger orgs. I’m guessing it’s also used in public computers like in city and university libraries, as well as quick imaging of corporate computers at larger companies.
Was gonna say. Has no-one heard of diskless boot (PXE on x86).
I’ve done it in the past with OpenBSD: https://man.openbsd.org/diskless
y tho
Yeah, but it then goes on saying
“However, the dev also boasts that “the possibilities are endless” and would welcome any companies or individuals who wish to get in contact and discuss commercializing this project or something related to it.”
And that’s what I’m saying “y tho” to.
