Plug in for live demos

Gadgetizer profiled WebServUSB this week.  I love gadgets, this one though I think has a huge potential for software developers, web developers, and bloggie folks (like me).  Why? How many times have you needed to demo your new web-based application and the company's firewall got in the way?

I can't count how many times I've had web demos fail on me.  This little device could come in quite handy for developers.  Place the client site or web-app on it (this assumes that you're not running IIS here) ... bingo!  Nice live demo.  Me?  I'm thinking a blog and wiki.  The wiki would be for me, the blog for demos.

Here are some top line specs from the website:

WebServUSB features operational compatibility with almost all types of web content, including server side interactive CGI scripts, Perl, PHP, and a variety of multimedia formats such as Flash, RealMedia, and Windows Media. Essentially it can serve any web content.

WebServUSB is also a very handy tool for anyone who wants to learn how to set up a web server or develop websites beyond just the design stage. It allows you to see how your site will work on the web and includes several functions which permit site enhancements. As a local in-house server for debugging websites, it’s very useful and easy to manage. WebServUSB is also superb for carrying on the road, for use with a Laptop. It provides a great way to setup Intranet or Internet file sharing or distribution for projects where you may need to share documents with many people, such as for training.

WebServUSB is simple to configure. This tutorial is written from the point of view of a complete novice and includes step-by-step instructions to set up the basic server plus an example of how to include an additional function (in this case a PERL based message board). Since WebServUSB is compliant with most standards applied to high end web servers, almost any web server add-on or program will function with it. Simply refer to the manual for the software or service you are trying to install.

In use, WebServUSB functions much like a Unix/Linux based web server even though it operates on a Windows platform. In fact, that's one of its greater strengths because WebServUSB is not prone to the many security weaknesses that plague Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) WebServUSB even has a feature that you can enable to prevent it from broadcasting any information about itself in the HTTP header information, thus confusing potential hackers. Since no specific are published on the Internet about WebServUSB's internal workings, hackers have no points of reference to begin an attack. Unlike IIS, which is integrated into the Windows Operating System, WebServUSB has no connections to the host OS, thus preventing a wide variety of known Windows based security, virus, worm, and Trojan horse exploits.

WebServUSB runs the following Web programming and content tools:

• CGI /Perl

  • PHP /Python
  • MySQL
  • Java / JavaScript
  • Flash
  • RealAudio
  • Windows Media

Tags: WebServUSB