Update via David in the comments:
"TI just introduced a $20 microcontroller development kit in a usb drive that's probably up to the task. Check out the TI site for more info:"
http://www.ti.com/ez430 
"It’s easy to rev up your application in minutes with the new eZ430-F2013, the world’s smallest complete development tool for only $20! The tool provides all hardware and software needed to evaluate the MSP430 MCU or complete an entire F20xx project. The F20xx combines 16 MIPS performance, less than 1 microamp standby current, with your choice of analog converters - from a comparator, fast 10-bit ADC to 16-bit sigma-delta with integrated PGA - all in a package as tiny as 4x4 mm. Designing with the world’s lowest power MCU just got even easier."
That's a mouth full, say it 10 times really fast. : ) So, what you are looking at is a 512M USB drive. No DSP. This post is about what it might be like if we had DSP based USB drives. So... I copied over
VSThost, a free VST Host app and a few soft synth dlls on my USB drive, and now I can take my soft synths on the road. This is kind of cool, but only kind of.
What would be really cool is if this were a DSP based drive so I could just plug it into a midi controller and play; with no PC, monitor or other. What would be even cooler is if my midi device automatically mapped it's controls according to the synth I was using. What would be even better? If soft synth developers and hardware manufacturers turned all of this into a standard.
Think of that. No OS dependencies that could mean the demise of most softsynths. For example, the Waldorf PPG Wave 2.v will not install on Windows XP. And... hardware based soft synths - you'd finally be able to run your soft synths like actual hardware synths. Another interesting thing is you'd have a wide variety of hardware controllers to chose from. Feel like a small portable device for the road or the couch, no problem, just plug in your USB device and go. MPC style controller, X0X, full weighted keys, knobs, sliders, you name it. You can't do that with hardware VAs.
Thanks goes to Doktor Future's and Jimmy's comments in
this post on the Terratec Area 61.
Title link takes you to videos and audio. It's in French. Enter ass for the username and assburg for the password. No I didn't come up with that. Courtesy of ex action figure on this VSE post.
"It’s easy to rev up your application in minutes with the new eZ430-F2013, the world’s smallest complete development tool for only $20! The tool provides all hardware and software needed to evaluate the MSP430 MCU or complete an entire F20xx project. The F20xx combines 16 MIPS performance, less than 1 microamp standby current, with your choice of analog converters - from a comparator, fast 10-bit ADC to 16-bit sigma-delta with integrated PGA - all in a package as tiny as 4x4 mm. Designing with the world’s lowest power MCU just got even easier."
That's a mouth full, say it 10 times really fast. : ) So, what you are looking at is a 512M USB drive. No DSP. This post is about what it might be like if we had DSP based USB drives. So... I copied over VSThost, a free VST Host app and a few soft synth dlls on my USB drive, and now I can take my soft synths on the road. This is kind of cool, but only kind of.
