Virtual Desktops Brings Work Close to Home

The line between work and home keeps getting blurrier. Citrix and Intel are teaming to create a system that will make it easier for people to access work files from their personal laptops or home computers, the Miami Herald reports. The files wouldn't be on the personal computer's hard drive, but users could get to them via the company's "virtual desktop."

Such technology exists already, but the difference here is that the new product, called a Xen hypervisor, will be built into the personal computer. The development takes care of security concerns and reduces IT issues, the companies say. Eventually, people may be able to tap into work programs with devices such as Smartphones. “It's flexibility that you never really had before," says one industry analyst. “My computer is always going to follow me whereever I go in the world.''