Paperspace computer aims to resolve hardware distractions

A promotional video for Paperspace made its point quickly. A woman sitting at a computer sighed as she pressed down on the keys impatiently, as the straight-faced announcer noted computers can be such a pain. What if we told you there was a better way, he said, throwing her computer off the table and on to the floor. Paperspace. The difference between a regular computer and Paperspace is that the computer is a piece of hardware and the Paperspace computer is in the cloud. It's like cloud storage, but instead it's your whole computer.

Once you sign up for Paperspace, he said, you log into your web browser. That's it. All you require is a web browser and Internet access. Paperspace is able to run applications suitable for 3D CAD, rendering, simulations and photo and video editing. The team is offering Paperspace on two tiers. Basic is for web browsing, email and office. The Professional tier is for such work as high-end 3D CAD, Creative Suite, and GIS, they said. How fast does the user's internet need to be to access Paperspace? For the best experience they recommend >15Mbps download speed and less than 60 ms of latency. You can start using Paperspace for about ten bucks a month, said the video presenter. The woman in the earlier scene asked, "How am I supposed to use it when you threw my computer on the floor?" He held up a round object. "What if I told you this was your new computer?" Paperweight is a low-cost device—you need an internet connection, keyboard, mouse. The team has made it available on pre-order for $50. The paperweight comes with a power cable and an HDMI cable. As Sarah Perez wrote in TechCrunch, "the company is selling a small hardware device that plugs into any older desktop or laptop in order to provide you with the computing power you need on demand." Perez added, "The device is considered a 'zero client,' because unlike thin client technology, there's only a small microprocessor on the inside – all the processing is taking place on the cloud."

Is this the future of computing? "We believe the process of buying and managing computers is fundamentally broken," said the Paperspace site. "Computers are costly, complex and frustrating." The founders chose the name Paperspace from a term used in CAD to refer to the window into one's modeling environment. "It's a loose metaphor for the notion of a computer inside a computer." What they wrote on the startup platform AngelList: "Paperspace started with the idea that buying and managing computers is an unnecessarily painful and expensive process. Desktop computers are depreciating assets, have a high up-front cost, and are a long-term financial commitment. Worse still, they break down frequently and are constantly outdated. Though computers are necessary tools, they often end up being costly distractions from the things that matter. We think the current model is broken."

A number of tech sites reacted favorably to the concept. Chuong Nguyen in TechRadar made the point that the Paperspace idea was "not dissimilar to enterprise virtualization solutions... but Paperspace is targeting consumers, small businesses and enterprises." Nguyen said, "Where Paperspace shines is its simplicity. The solution doesn't require much technical knowledge, and consumers can plug a small Paperweight receiver with a microprocessor to a display, attach a keyboard and mouse, and connect to their Paperspace PC over the internet." David Nield of Gizmag said, "One of the key advantages is that your computer won't get laggy or slow down over time, thanks to the upgrades and optimization happening on the Paperspace side." Perez in TechCrunch pointed out that using a cloud computer such as Paperspace would offer not only access to processing power but also the ability to do things such as transfer large files instantly. What is more, she said, "a simple interface could mean schools could update outdated computer labs, and even enterprise customers may want to use its devices because they're cheaper than buying regular computers."

What about security? According to their site, "Your desktop is managed in a secure data center and we send you a fully-encrypted feed."

© 2015 Tech Xplore