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EM-DESK – your portable desk on a flash drive and in your pocket !
Press information - Paris, 04 February 2008
EMTEC, n°1 USB selling brand in France and a European leader, has made the choice to develop an open source mobile office, a quality alternative application platform providing ease of use and mobility for all. EMTEC's open mobile office - EM-DESK – is initially pre-loaded with a dozen open source software which can be completed with any available portable application, including the ones users will develop themselves.
EM-DESK – The accessibility, freedom and creativity you need to revolutionize your working environment and your digital leisure activities every day !
 Based on its experience in storage media and its confidence in the maturity of open source software, EMTEC has developed its EM-DESK platform to offer a portable, personal, secure and confidential work and leisure environment you can take anywhere with you.
Available on the M200 and M400 USB ranges, from 1 to 16 GB and soon in 32 GB, this platform provides a complete, practical application package to turn your USB flash drive into a mobile desk or office, allowing you to transport your usual working environment and habits.
Just plug your USB key into any PC to access your data, programs, user interface, preferences etc. You can open and update the files you have stored on your flash drive, even play audio and video files. With EM-DESK, your flash drive is not only a storage device but an intelligent and totally personal working place.
EM-DESK default applications will allow users to surf the web, send and receive emails, protect data, work on any PC without the risk of virus contamination, manage photos, access personal files as if they were on their own computer.
Once you remove your key, your host computer bears no trace of your visit, thus ensuring a flexible and safe working place.
EM-DESK platform is entirely separate from the standard features of your USB flash drive – the mobile office uses about 600 MB, so you can store your files on the drive without using the platform.
EM-DESK – an efficient and intelligent working tool
The EM-DESK platform is multilingual (with a total of 7 languages) and very easy to use. As soon as the platform opens, a launcher appears in the taskbar, enabling you to rapidly access the shortcuts to the programs.
 The EM-DESK platform currently offers a dozen popular and useful open source applications :
- Office suite - Open office: a complete suite compatible with Microsoft Office, including the equivalent of Excel (Calc), Word (Writer), PowerPoint (Impress), etc. If your computer is not equipped with a standard office suite, Open Office will enable you to work efficiently and for free! The suite also enables you to convert these formats into PDF with a simple click.
- Internet – Firefox 2 and email client Thunderbird, award-winning software applications developed by Mozilla, are included on the EM-DESK platform
- Multimedia – Sumatra PDF viewer, VLC audio / video player
- Utilities and security tools - Sunbird calendar, 7-zip data compression, photo viewing with Cornice, antivirus and data encryption with ClamWin and TrueCrypt, virtual keyboard with On-screen keyboard and screen magnification with Virtual-magnifying Glass.
In line with open source spirit, EM-DESK keys are not locked and application formats are not proprietary. Pre-loaded applications can be updated, modified or deleted, other applications can be added, including application developed by users themselves. Any portable application can be copied on the flash drive. A dedicated website will also be launched mid-February, providing source codes and enabling users to modify interface and applications and share their creations. Applications updates will also be reported and available on www.em-desk.com.
Recommended Retail Price: from €9.90 to €179.90 including VAT, for capacities of 1 to 32 GB
Availability: 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 GB immediately – 32 GB: April
Warranty: 5 years
What is a digital mobile office ?
A digital office is a group of applications and files accessible through a graphical user interface very much like a computer desk. As on any desk, icons launch applications and open files. Working files and personal parameters can be stored directly on the flash drive. A mobile office works on any PC, directly via a digital support such as a flash drive.
Concretely, you just need to plug the key into any PC to access your personal working place : interface, applications, files, parameters and personal pofiles (passwords, bookmarks, preferences, personalizations etc). And you just need to unplug the key to transport your digital environment in your pocket.
A digital mobile office offers the possibility to access your personal environment at any time, on any computer, whatever its configuration and whatever the rights the user has on the computer.
What is an Open Source or Free Software ?
The term applies to programs with an open source code that all users can access, study, use, copy, modify and diffuse, freely and legally, according to the terms of the General Public Licence. Open Source software today represent a stable and economical alternative solution. An economic ecosystem is strongly developing around these products, both in companies an in administrations. A social ecosystem made of contributors and users already exists for several years.
About EMTEC:
Distributed in over 23 countries, EMTEC prides itself on a 70-year
old history of innovative products that embody our spirit: increasing
the potential for capturing, protecting and sharing the most important
moments of your life. Whatever the technology or the media, we are committed
to providing simple, reliable, accessible and stylish solutions that
make technology easier for you and serve your memories, ideas and emotions.
This is what we sum up in our brand signature: “l’émotion
technologique” – technological emotion.
EMTEC offers a large range of IT solutions for the wider public, from
high-tech products for everyday use (USB keys, HDD, CD, DVD) to the
most innovative technological products (DTTV, wireless transmission,
etc.). Alongside this core business activity, EMTEC also sells printing
consumables (photo paper, inkjet cartridges) and office accessories.
If you would like to receive more specific information (images, to request samples, product information sheet), please contact Companycare Communications:
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