A computer science student at the University of Massachusetts claims to have built the world's smallest Web server from a 49-cent chip bought at an electronics store.
Beating out a dozen competing devices for the title of world's smallest, the iPic server is about the size of a match-head, according to its designer, graduate student Hariharasubrahmanian Shrikumar, fortunately known as Shri.
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"I think it will be very difficult to beat this one," he said. "It will be interesting to see what kind of things people come up with to better it."
The previous King of Tiny was Stanford professor Vaughan Pratt, whose Matchbox Server is about the size of a ... matchbox. Pratt couldn't be reached for comment.
At least 10 teams from top universities and corporate research centers have been trying to beat Pratt's record for the past few years, said Russ Nelson, president of Crynwr Software, who has closely followed the race for the tiniest server.
"It's an amazing thing if it's legitimate," he said.
However, Nelson said he'll remain skeptical of Shri's claims that the server is compliant with current standards until he has an opportunity to study the software.
"We need to see the source code to see how he did it," Nelson said. "Otherwise, we have no idea if there was skullduggery. I hope it is legitimate because it's a cool hack if it is."
Shri said he would be happy to let Nelson -- and anyone else who is interested -- see the source code. However, he said he was reluctant to release it on the Web because of pending patents.
Tiny Web servers have 1,001 uses, Shri said, but added he was especially excited by the prospect of connecting household appliances to the Net.
Internet-connected cookers, for example, could be controlled from any computer on the Internet -- a boon for forgetful travelers who can't relax until they've checked to see if they remembered to turn off the gas, Shri said.
Additionally, tiny, inexpensive Web servers make the vision of a totally computer-controlled house feasible, Shri said.
The iPic is connected to the Net through a serial port and doesn't require a keyboard or display: It can be controlled by any machine connected to the Web.
Shri said the iPic server has been online since the middle of July. It is currently serving the site Shri set up to publicize the invention, which has, he said, been accessed 45,000 times by 6,000 users in 56 countries.
