Travel-light: a model for dynamic assembly of mega machines

Computers go to extremes. Some designs are becoming larger and larger, while others continue to shrink in size. A larger computer provides users with a large high-resolution screen. However, it is impractical to carry it if the user travels. Although a small one is easy to carry, it has drawbacks, such as a small screen, and lack of applications. In this dissertation, a new ubiquitous computing model called Travel-light is proposed to combine the advantages of lightweight small devices and large screen computers. In the Travel-light model, service computers form a computing infrastructure that allows a small mobile device such as a PDA or a smart phone to organize as many service computers as needed to form a mega machine. The mega machine will be powerful and able to provide a user with a familiar computing environment regardless of the user's location. A user carries a PDA for travel. At the destination, the PDA combines with a large screen computer. The PDA provides the source of the data files. It is assumed that the FDA stores a virtual directory that contains the links of all the user's working files which may be scattered among different computers. The computers that physically store the data files are called storage hosts. The data files are shown on the large screen computer, which is therefore referred to as a display host. The large screen computer is responsible for locating applications to open the files. The application may be located on another computer across the network if it does not exist on the large screen computer. The computer that provides the application is called the application provider. The PDA, the display host, the storage hosts, and the application providers aggregate into a mega machine. This dissertation will study the architecture, protocols, and implementation approaches of the mega machine based on the Travel-light model. The mega machine has many applications. It enables users to travel light with a PDA and perform presentations away from home. It is able to provide a user with a familiar working platform on a visiting site. Moreover, it enables users to collaborate through a communal computer.