Zonbu

[#1]

I was reading up and browsing the Internet this afternoon and noticed an article which I thought was interesting and although you Linux lot will doubtless know all about it, I would be interested in opinions.
The OS is Zonbu and apparently you have a little box, connect it up to a monitor, keyboard and mouse then when you log on you go into your account and use cloud computing for all your stuff. This is a bit of an idea as to what it is about:
http://snipurl.com/nzzms
It would seem that you don't have to have the little box now and can install it on a normal computer but it has to have the whole hard drive. Apparently it is the perfect system for inexperienced computer users, which would be ideal if you find yourself having to spend a lot of time fixing friends' and relatives' machines.
Would love to try it but don't have a spare machine.

[#2]

It appears to be an emasculated Linux distro that you give somebody a fixed fee + a monthly fee for.
See http://www.zonbu.com/support/
They claim their pricing is based on the mobile phone model. So it's expensive.
Don't touch this with a bargepole.

[#3]

No, wouldn't bother with it personally - it was just of interest really as it seemed to be quite different.
I understand that now you don't need to have the account bit and can install as you wish, thus making it free I suppose. 

[#4]

Why can't I install applications?
"Preventing users from installing applications has a number of benefits. It protects them from unintentionally installing malicious software that allows a hacker to control the PC or steal personal information. If application can't be installed, viruses, spyware, and malware can't install themselves either - keeping your Zonbu safe and secure."

[#5]

For the uninitiated, there is no Linux malware, and if there was, the Linux user permissions system means it couldn't do very much. Linux is secure anyway, so what's the point of a service that just makes it impossible to install stuff? I note their "list of applications" link returns a 404 Page not found error. Maybe there are no applications What happens if your internet connection goes down, or is reduced to a crawl because its raining? You can't do any work because all your applications are on someone else's server!

[#6]

arnt you living in the Clouds then
Thought it was just me had that opinion

[#7]

Do you mean living in cloud-cuckoo land?
(Wikipedia says that is a reference to the play, "The Birds" by Aristophanes)

[#8]

Nope, firmly on the ground, me.