Miniature OSes let you perform tasks without booting your PC

by Brad Linder Nov 6th 2007

Unless you've got a blazing fast computer, it probably takes you a while to boot up your system. And even with the latest technology and the latest versions of Windows, OS X, or your favorite Linux distribution, odds are that your PC isn't ready for web surfing or watching movies until a few minutes after you press the power button.

But why do you need to load your complete operating system if all you want to do is watch a movie? Several companies are developing systems that let you perform tasks on a PC without booting up. What makes the magic happen is a tiny little operating system built right into the motherboard.

Phoenix Technologies is working on a miniature operating system called HyperSpace that loads in just 4 seconds. And we're not just talking about a firmware trick that lets you load DVD playing software. HyperSpace is a complete, but tiny operating system. It lets you launch Firefox and other full blown desktop applications. And it runs while your computer is loading. In other words, you can start surfing the web just a few seconds after turning your computer on, while Windows XP or Vista loads in the background.

Meanwhile, Asus seems to have similar goals in mind with its Linux-based SplashTop platform.

[via Engadget]

Tags: HyperSpace, quick-boot, SplashTop

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Peter said 9:00PM on 11-06-2007

Why not just put the machine into sleep or hibernate? I can resume from hibernate in 30-60 seconds and sleep in about 10 seconds and have access to the whole machine and all my applications. Sure it's not 4 seconds, but when do you need to do something with that level of urgency where 30 seconds is going to make a difference?

Fred Thompson said 9:00PM on 11-06-2007

Yup, this seems like a very short-lived idea. There is a lot of work now for mixed format hard drives for laptops that will have flash memory for exactly this sort of thing. Put the computer into hibernate and restart from the flash memory. Simple.

datter said 9:02PM on 11-06-2007

I never turn my machine off, so this is a neat idea... of little practical use. For me anyway.

Pepe Gonzalez said 9:02PM on 11-06-2007

As far as I know, the ASUS motherboard is for Desktop PCs. As such, I think it's pretty useless.
For laptops, I think it's a great idea. Many times I have to turn on the computer just to check one little thing on the internet. (I don't like suspending very much, because it uses up battery. And booting from a hibernated state takes almost as much as booting up from the beginning, so I always turn off my laptop).
My computer comes with "InstantOn" installed, which is a program that lets me browse my hard drive to see pictures, play music, and (most importantly) watch DVDs. I use it when I watch a DVD on the computer, because it uses less battery.

littleubuntu said 9:12PM on 11-06-2007

i agree just leave your system running 24/7 :D

http://www.freelancerforums.org

lilpunk1302 said 12:38AM on 11-07-2007

I just have one question... While browsing Firefox and doing stuff in your 4 second OS is very dandy, do your setting and stuff carry over for when windows boots, would this thing be capable of detecting when Windows boots 100%(and I mean 100% to an easily operable rate) Would it be able to automatically launch Firefox or the default DVD app, and either seamlessly(or close enough) transfer everything over?

'Cuz I wouldn't want to be in the middle of a DVD (my new computers faster, but my old one used to take literally 15 mins to boot) would it be able to send that data over and not make me start my movie from the beginning?

Food for thought right there.

kris said 6:23AM on 11-07-2007

this is a nice feature, but isn't a new idea -- ye olde Amiga worked on a similar principle, allowing you to run videos/music/games and many other apps without booting up the full OS (which only took around 5-10seconds anyway). I'm sure Linux would be capable of a similar setup.

Microsoft will probably find ways to block this effort however, since it reinforces that fact that the Windows monolith takes an eternity to boot (under typical conditions).

Leaving your PC on 24/7 isn't a terribly responsible alternative, and indicates you probably aren't the one paying for your electricity.

Microsoft's options are either Sleep or Hibernate, both of which leave PCs in a semi-drowsy state upon reawakening, (thus needing the computer to be restarted and negating any time saved).

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