At a show here Sept. 8 to demonstrate the upcoming HP Compaq dc7900 business desktop, HP also detailed what it calls the HP Firefox Virtual Browser. This Internet browser, which will be available on the Compaq dc7900 later in September, was co-developed with Mozilla and Symantec.

The HP Firefox Virtual Browser is essentially a virtualized application that sits within the individual desktop and is controlled by the user. Kirk Godkin, an HP senior product manager for business PCs, said because the browser resides on the individual client an IT department does not have to set up a virtual desktop infrastructure within the data center to take advantage of the virtual browser.

What HP and its partners have done is create a virtual layer that sits separate from the desktop's operating system but that still communicates with the operating system. The browser itself works within a virtualized run-time environment, which allows all the cookies and downloads to be sequestered in what Godkin calls the "sandbox."

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