FingerGear (of Bionopoly) announced the new Computer-on-a-stick (COS), the first bootable USB flash drive with a complete desktop environment. Pre-loaded with its own fast operating system, the startup of the COS takes as little as 10 seconds, while shutdown takes around 3 seconds.

A computer is not really useful without a productivity suite like Office. No fret, the COS comes installed with OpenOffice that can work with MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Mozilla Firefox, Evolution, IM and other must-have tools are included as well. The COS is also available in a Fingerprint Edition with biometric security features allowing users to login using their fingerprint.

Data saved in a session is encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption, so you don't have worries on the security front. When attached to a regular desktop PC, the COS acts as any other USB flash drive allowing you to transfer files to the drive's shared Public folder.

A 256MB version of COS costs $99 and is available from Fry's as well as FingerGear's website.