"Hewlett-Packard made news last June when it announced it would start a Southeast Asia rollout of its Multi-user 441 Desktop, a low-cost Linux-based computing setup that allows up to four users to share one computer, each with his own monitor, keyboard, mouse, and piece of the CPU. But Userful, a computing services company in Alberta, Canada, has been selling its own multi-user Linux, called 1-Box, for two years already. The system makes it possible for up to 10 users at a time to maximize the efficiency of one computer.
"HP positions its multi-user Linux product as a solution for emerging markets in the education sector in Third World countries. But Userful is going for North American as well as international business by marketing 1-Box to public libraries, enterprise resellers, and OEMs. According to Userful president Tim Griffin, the company has been working on the software application since 2000..."
