Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft
Will Microsoft add an "Instant On" feature for Windows
by Brad Linder Oct 15th 2008 at 11:00AM
No.
Companies like Splashtop have already developed software that lets you boot up a stripped down, Linux-based operating system that will let you launch a handful of applications just a few seconds after hitting the power button, without waiting for Windows, Ubuntu, or whatever full OS you're using to boot up. Now it looks like Microsoft could be working on something similar. Or at least considering it.
Engadget reports that Microsoft is sending out surveys to some people seeking opinions about an "Instant On" feature. Much like Splashtop, Instant On would apparently let users run certain programs without loading a full operating system. The survey asks users what kind of programs they would expect to use in an Instant On environment, ranging from chat applications to DVD players. My favorite option? "Full use of everything in Windows." Because that's clearly possible. Wait, no it's not.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
this-is-me said 11:38AM on 10-15-2008
Where is this survey? Please provide a link! I definitely want to tell microsoft to add this feature! I NEED a webbrowser in 8 seconds!
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Brian said 12:03PM on 10-15-2008
You'll get it in a email maybe...
Racetrack_Owner said 12:02PM on 10-15-2008
Resume from sleep is damned near instantaneous on my laptop -- grabbing the WiFi connection is the only appreciable delay, not really anything MS can do about that. Resume from hibernation is pretty quick -- the great majority of the delay is hardware, not software. I'd rather see more emphasis on faster-starting hardware for ALL scenarios, rather than some mickey-mouse half-assed mini-OS.
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James said 12:24PM on 10-15-2008
One other thing to investigate is "Hibernate Once, Resume Many" (HORM), a concept that kind of accidentally emerged from XP Embedded's support for read-only file systems. If you hibernate the system, then turn on write-protect for the OS drive, the hibernate file can't be deleted, so every power-on is treated as a resume-from-hibernate. There's already mechanisms in place to bypass resume (in case you need a "full" reboot for some reason), but there's no reason resume can't be the default load state, instead of a "real" boot.
Also, as others are saying, sleep in place of rebooting is becoming more and more feasible, as new versions of Windows carry better uptime. You could never do it on a Win98 box, but with Vista, you pretty much only have to reboot to install (some) new drivers.
brain.rettie said 12:03PM on 10-15-2008
From pressing the power button to my desktop with everything loaded takes about 6 secounds.
I'll keep that kthxbai.
p.s oh yeah, I'm running vista btw. Strip everything from starting up, that means useless services and programs and your pc can boot up to your desktop much quicker.
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timothy.brazer said 11:50AM on 10-15-2008
Instant on already exists. It's called Sleep. When I put my Windows notebook to sleep it takes maximum 4 seconds. When I need to resume it takes about 3 seconds, and that is with the ability to use all programs.
I do see what Microsoft is going for here. It's a great idea.
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Unknown said 2:10PM on 10-15-2008
you do know the computer consume energy while in sleep mode right
Erik Sagen said 11:51AM on 10-15-2008
I like this idea, alot.
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Jash Sayani said 3:35PM on 10-15-2008
How can you remotely turn-on a computer when the power is off...?
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mvp said 5:18PM on 10-15-2008
Allow me instant on to gaming like any console and ill be a happy camper.
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Unregistered said 7:45AM on 10-16-2008
Wasn't that the dirty trick they tried to pull off on Vista users?
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Quikboy said 7:45AM on 10-16-2008
Why not have Instant On immeadiately allow you to access your favorite apps first, while slowly loading the rest of the system in the background?
Sounds better than either waiting for the start-up of the entire system, or having near-instant access to only a handful of programs. It just makes more sense this way.
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Jon said 7:52AM on 10-17-2008
Yes it obvious that there are many impatient people out in the world. I guess some want faster access to the internet they cant live without their porn.do people really use the internet for anything else? i don't see the point in this my PC is fast and doesn't take long to boot and load my OS
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