A web-based OS is a smart service that gives you the power to make every computer yours. All you need is an Internet connection and a Web browser, and you'll find all your files and software just as you had left them. Nivio is one of the very few players providing users with this relatively new concept and now they've come up with a thin client PC of their own. What looked like a box of milk chocolates at first runs on a 2 00 MHz processor, 128 ME SD RAM and comes with a stripped down version of Linux. Just plug in a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and the network cable and your PC is ready. If by now you're thinking that what on earth can one do with a processor this slow then here's the answer. The NivioCompanion has been designed to run well, Nivio. It's meant for people who just want to use basic productivity apps like Word, Excel, etc. or maybe use a computer to store Digital photographs and music but buying a complete PC is an expensive option for them and they are not even going to use the full potential of that PC in any case.

Nivio lets you get your personal Windows XP desktop without actually having it installed on the machine. All you need is an Internet connection and a Nivio account. And if you don't have an LCD/Plasma TV with aD-Sub socet, you'll also require a monitor. A Nivio account provides users with an operating system packed with the basic set of applications. You can add more applications from Microsoft or other third-party software to this operating system from the online store. Some of these being free to use and for others you have to pay a fixed amount per month. A 3 a-day trial for a few applications is also available. Nivio is a prepaid service therefore you have to buy ivio credits before you can go shop for these applications.

The device doesn't have a hard disk drive on board but you get 5 GBs of online storage with the account which can be increased latrat an added cost. An advantage of not having a local hard disk is that the device is virtually crash free. Backup of all the.data stored on your Nivio as is taken regularly at the datacenter level. You can attach a USB printer locally or the one on your network can also be accessed. But of course you can get everything out of this small device and something which you will not like so much about the product is thatit doesn't provide an option of customizing your desktop with wallpapers and managing your icons is not available, video streaming is obviously not that smooth. and gaming is not even possible except some tiny games which can run without the need of a Graphic card. To run the Nivio service smoothly a minimum 2 5 6 Kbps Internet connection is recommended but a higher speed connection would help improve the user experience and will reduce latency. Other than the required VGA and keyboard port the device has three USBs, a com¬pact flash slot, and a Speaker and Mic socket on it.