Instant On Linux Will Hammer Windows
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
The folks at ASUS have come up with something that I’m certain is going to go a long way in the downfall of Windows. The new P5E3 Deluxe motherboard has a Boot Rom that allows it to boot linux in an “Instant on” mode. This mode will take you from hitting the power switch to surfing the Internet in a Firefox browser in five, count ‘em, five seconds!
Oh, it’ll also be able to boot windows for whatever needs it, and this linux is burned into the boot ROM, configuration changes & such can be saved between sessions. It’s the kind of thing that will give linux a lot more exposure to mainstream users.
Picture this: Joe Sixpack needs to check in on his fave blogs and online news but he hasn’t got the time to wait for Windows to boot. He flips on his computer, five seconds later he’s got a browser running and is getting up to date while the guy next to him is still looking at the Windows logo, waiting for his machine to boot.
This is the kind of thing that’s going to help take some of the mystery out of linux for mainstream user types and put Windows farther and farther into the back seat.
This “Instant on” OS will probably be somewhat limited, but it’s also going to be a real safety advantage too… since the software is running from a read-only device, malware-laden sites won’t be able to do squat to the system.
Later, I would expect many more users to opt to have Linux as their main OS with Windows running in a Virtual Machine for the very few apps or games that still don’t run in Linux.
I know one thing for certain, the next time I go shopping for motherboards I’m going to be looking for this kind of feature! Way to go ASUS!
Technorati Tags: instant on, asus, operating system, windows, 5 seconds, motherboard, five seconds, boot rom, linux
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Stop screaming about them virtual machines dude… You can’t play games in a virtual machine, they don’t have direct hardware access, so any directx or similar is straight out impossible. Virtual Machines are not a solution for the linux community when it comes to the abysmal state of gaming.
Granted that VM isn’t going to work for everything, it does work for a lot of stuff from what I’ve seen on the Wine site.
and Yeah, the best solution is for Linux OS to become popular enough so that game publishers will go the extra mile and make linux versions of their games.
Just FYI: WINE is NOT a virtual machine system. WINE is an application layer that simulates a Windows environment on a Linux PC. Basically creating the native Windows instruction set on top of the linux kernel. WINE can run a large number of Windows games, because it does have direct access to hardware via the kernel.
Virtual Machines (VMWare, VirtualBox, etc) create an entirely new system with ghost hardware. This ghost hardware is the most simplistic version of hardware so that they can send signals through the VM to linux, which sees it as another system entirely.
“This ghost hardware is the most simplistic version of hardware so that they can send signals through the VM”
Ok, I wasn’t aware of that but then again, I haven’t had a lot of time to gain experience with VM’s. Wouldn’t it be possible for a VM to have virtual device drivers that can somehow mirror the actual hardware in the machine?
“since the software is running from a read-only device, malware-laden sites won’t be able to do squat to the system.”
Instant pron!
Instead of paying for an upgrade to accommodate the latest popular software, I decided to respect my budget and go for a frugal solution. I installed the free Ubuntu software from the web! After a few weeks getting used to the differences I was up and running with a much superior and mostly free system. All the operation manuals are free on the net, and the operations are very much the same as the old system I used to use. Monthly trips to the computer dealer to speed up the system are no longer necessary and I haven’t seen a blue screen of death’ yet. Ubuntu boots up very fast on my computer but I would really like a system that boots even faster. I will be buying a new laptop in the near future and this is one feature I will be looking for!
I’ve always loved the idea of free software and one of these days I’ll finally end up with at least one box that’s totally Microsoft free.