The VAR Guy

Iomega, of ZipDisk fame, is trying to write a new chapter in mobile computing. If you get really attached to your working environment, you might wish you could drag your PC with you, but that’s not always practical. VPN is nice, but not always available. And sometimes… even a laptop doesn’t meet your needs. You’re just looking for something easier. Iomega’s new vClone technology apparently lets you do a brain-transplant on whatever PC you wish. Bring your comfy computing environment anywhere by using a simple USB hard drive. Sound too good to be true? It almost is. Here’s the scoop:

When The VAR Guy’s phone rang Thursday night, a rather upbeat voice was on the other line. “This is going to be our year,” crowed Maria Battaglia, senior VP of marketing at OnForce, an online marketplace for contract service professionals. Why was Battaglia so upbeat about OnForce and its partner community? The answer involves the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

As Cisco Systems gears up to launch a range of consumer electronics for the home, some industry pundits think the networking giant’s consumer focus will fail miserably. GigaOm calls it a “misguided foray into the living room.” On the contrary, The VAR Guy thinks Cisco would be foolish to ignore consumers. Here’s why.