Slashdot ran an article this evening, USB FlashDrives The New PC?, linking to the AP article Flash Drives Make Any Computer ‘Personal’.  The idea behind the article?  Your flash drive is your PC.  Rather than lugging around a laptop, just carry the flash drive and plug it into any PC.  The flash drive contains your operating system and data, making a truly portable computer.

The idea isn’t new.  I mentioned the possibility in my Random Notes entry on August 29, 2003.  We have the flash drives and the ability to boot from them (although I don’t know if it’s possible to boot Windows from them).  What we don’t have is a large installed base of computers designed to be used in this manner.  It’s a great idea and I’d love to see it happen.  But I’m not going to hold my breath.  For now the idea will be limited to niches like colleges and some companies.  Somebody will have to make a compelling case for major hotel chains to implement this.