GM's new CIO plans big desktop changes (to include using portable applications)

The GM CIO said he's also interested in exploring other emerging IT approaches, including what is sometimes called a "PC on a stick" -- a USB drive that is loaded with the user's desktop. The drive can recreate that desktop on multiple machines.

The "PC on a stick" technology can "enable my home PC to do everything that I want to do at GM," said Kline. The drive is encrypted, so a misplaced drive would result simply in the loss of a $15 device, he said. "It's something I'm pushing really hard with my technology guys - that's got my eye," he said.

VMware makes a USB tool it calls the Assured Computing Environment, which contains a virtualized machine running an operating system and applications and storing files. Even if it is loaded on a PC infected with a virus, the drive operates in its own protected bubble, said Raj Mallempati, director desktop product marketing at VMware. The downside is that the small USB drives are prone to be lost by their owners, he added.

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