Unexpected: OSX on a Polycom VVX-600

A Polycom VVX-600 is my primary desk phone. It has been since its launch demoted the VVX-500 to a lesser role. Both are great phones, but I find the larger touch screen of the 600 model better for both my eyes and fingers. One of the things that keeps the Polycom phone on my desk is its ability to conveniently record calls to a USB memory stick. It’s a capability that I’d find difficult to give up.

On the other hand, in my daily routine I find that I don’t use USB memory stick very often anymore. I have a couple hanging around, but not the little stash that once graced my computer bag. So, occasionally, when I’m in a hurry, I pull the SanDisk Cruzer that lives plugged into the back of the VVX and use it to sneakernet a few files from here to there.

I must’ve done that last week when I was taking some screen shots of the ZipDX web phone on my Mac Mini. I later returned the USB stick to the VVX-600 and thought nothing of it. Later in the day I looked up to find the VVX displaying a petite version of a Mac desktop. Talk about unexpected! I did a little mental double-take. How could that be?

It happens that I had left the Mac screen shot (a PNG file) on the USB stick. The VVX found the file and used it as a screen saver image. The leap in context was funny, and more than a little unexpected. After all, no-one  expects to see a dock on a desk phone screen!