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133 Comments
- netneutrality, on 10/30/2008, -1/+35This is the wonderful thing about open-source software. Innovation happens spontaneously and naturally when software is free to use and modify, when it's not locked up in lengthly legalese EULAs and CD keys, and when they don't have to wait for Microsoft to decide a feature is profitable before adding it. And the PC manufacturers like that they can add this feature to a system without paying royalties.
The danger here for Microsoft's profits is the small percentage of users who might decide that the simple instant-on environment actually does everything they want, and consequently abandon Windows in future purchases. - TheFounder, on 10/30/2008, -7/+40I'm all for Linux being the default OS for every machine shipped... that being said.. my Ubuntu Machine boots quick.. faster than most anything out there... but I generally don't use the words "instant" especially when it's that once a month auto disk scan when I am late to the office and have a conference call in 30 seconds.... and yes.. I know I can hit escape :)
- yetAnotherCroc, on 10/30/2008, -0/+21I think they are talking about specially built small linux systems on a flash disk built to boot in seconds. Usually paralell to the "regular" OS
- ChayD, on 10/30/2008, -0/+19I'm a great advocate of Linux, but this isn't really much more than using linux as a handy and unacknowledged utility. There will be no Tux logos, just some brand name splash screen with something like "Powered by(R) FastBoot(TM) Technology(R)". And yet again, linux is brushed under the rug, like its an embarrassment for the manufacturers to be using it. I bet the machines in question will be plastered with "Designed for Microsoft Windows Vista" and "Intel Inside" stickers, but of penguins, not a sign. Sorry to bitch, but if designers and manufacturers gave credit where its due instead of taking a great idea and hiding it under their own branding, Linux might actually have a more interesting future ahead of it.
- Knet88, on 10/30/2008, -2/+19It didn't even mention how much less electricity a laptop uses while in splashboot/latitude-on. A decent netbook would probably last days. That is what I think it going to be nice.
- aladrin, on 10/30/2008, -2/+19The summary is misleading. This is not a standard 'OS'. It's a flash-based OS that gets booted really quick, but doesn't have nearly the capability of a normal OS. Think 'Windows with just a web browser'. While neat, it hardly gets points for replacing Windows... Especially since most of those machines will also have Windows as well.
- StupotAce, on 10/30/2008, -1/+18Who else would you expect to report on linux successes? Microsoft?
- kolop1, on 10/30/2008, -6/+23Does anyone believe this? Anyone? I know I can trust a place called linux-foundation.org
- DickBreath, on 10/30/2008, -0/+14Instant on technology probably will become mainstream. Two ways:
1. build it into the boot rom.
2. like Dell on some new models, include a completely separate computer module with Linux.
Either way, you can instantly boot to a Linux desktop to play DVD's, check email, surf the web, or you can boot into your regular OS.
Please don't confuse instant on Linux with _replacing_ windows. - musters, on 10/30/2008, -1/+14One word:
Memristor - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor
It's not going to matter in a couple of years. Everything will be instant on. - DickBreath, on 10/30/2008, -1/+14My Eee PC in lame mode (er, sorry, I meant in Easy mode) boots up in 15 seconds to a working "desktop". That is, the lame tabbed interface of icons for grandma.
It takes 28 seconds to boot to the KDE desktop.
More importantly, expect to see Linux instant on appear in EVERY pc before too long. Linux: comming to every desktop soon. Even Windows desktops. Therefore the conclusion is that Linux will ship on MORE desktops than Windows. - TheWindBlows, on 10/30/2008, -2/+14Wait until 9.04 one of its goals is to boot even faster. Windows 7 boot is optimized and boots at about the same speed Ubuntu boots right now though as far as desktop loading goes I'm not sure that Windows wins in that.
- abbathdoom, on 10/30/2008, -0/+11My god. In all my years of reading Digg comments I've never seen so many by people who have clearly not even bothered to scan read the original article.
It is not talking about Linux replacing Windows as the default OS on all computers, it is talking about all Windows computers beginning to ship with an instant on mode that uses Linux. His argument is that in a years time all new computers will have Linux on them whether you bought one with Windows or not. - DeathRay2K, on 10/30/2008, -1/+11It's called a hypervisor.
- inactive, on 10/30/2008, -1/+11Yes, yes it can.
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=a ... - JQP123, on 10/30/2008, -0/+10"... but this isn't really much more than using linux as a handy and unacknowledged utility."
If you look at the marketplace, this is really where Linux has been most successful --- in some sort of utility role where the OS is out of sight and out of mind as far the average user is concerned.
When you access a web site, most people don't really know or care if it is running on Linux.
When you buy a cellphone, most people don't really know or care if it is running on Linux. - php4me, on 10/30/2008, -4/+13It would be amazing to see this happen. However I am very skeptical of the claim.
I think Linux will make major inroads in 2009 but I don't think we'll see a major share of the market until 2012. It will take a few more years before it is seen as a de-facto option in major retail stores like Best Buy, Future Shop, etc. - Stonekeeper, on 10/30/2008, -2/+11Reading these comments it seems that less that 10% actually RTA. It's not on about linux as a windows replacement! Think "A BIOS with firefox".
- Krissam, on 10/30/2008, -1/+10Hmm, would it be possible (with dual core cpus being everywhere) to actually boot up to a fast booting linux distro, while the regular one boots in the background?
- adkenc, on 10/30/2008, -0/+8he can use it, but is there wifi on main street?
- DangerCollie, on 10/30/2008, -2/+10I'm not sure the time frame is as relevant as the fact we're having this conversation at all. That's the amazing part.
- netneutrality, on 10/30/2008, -3/+10Not really. Computers aren't magic. Windows wouldn't know or care about the instant-on environment and would try to initialize all hardware normally. To successfully run them both the two OSs would have to coordinate on who gets access to the lower 1MB of memory (which is *still* special, even in 64-bit environments), on programming the PIC and APIC to time their process switching and enable their respective CPUs, on who gets to handle what hardware interrupts and how, and how to arrange the page tables and the Global & Local Descriptor Tables etc., and who gets to control hardware like the network interfaces, and when.
Even if substantial motherboard modifications were programmed to facilitate the computer having this dual personality, it would be nigh-impossible to explain to Windows that some extra memory and an extra CPU and some other stuff suddenly turned up later because the other OS had now exited, and that the memory map reported to Windows by INT 15h, EAX=0xe820, and the number of CPUs reported by the APIC were total fibs. OSs are just not designed for this sort of thing, I'm afraid.
I dabbled last year in hobbyist OS development (unsuccessfully) which is how I discovered how complicated this sort of thing is. I don't think you could let OSs share hardware without massive modifications to hardware drivers and abstraction layers in both OSs. - chanop, on 10/30/2008, -1/+8I love my eeepc, even in lame mode. I only use it for surfing and IM. I keep it in my car for when I'm stuck anywhere and want to tap into an unsecure wireless to kill some time.
- sliksta, on 10/30/2008, -0/+7Instead of booting faster, your computer could spray knockout gas on you. Then when the computer is booted it sprays some wakeup gas and you wakeup thinking your computer booted instantly.
- cptshamrock, on 10/30/2008, -12/+18I dont see everyone at public places running linux, not gonna happen next year either.
- r00tus3r, on 10/30/2008, -0/+6It really is ridiculous. I guess that's what happens when you try to attract a larger and generally non techie crowd. The average user is just gonna have a knee jerk response, and won't bother to read (and even if they do may not understand) all the technical jargon in the article.
- abbathdoom, on 10/30/2008, -0/+6Did you even read the article? It is talking about future computers shipping with instant on technologies that use Linux, not "everyone at public places running linux"
- XVampireX, on 10/30/2008, -3/+8My ubuntu system also boots up pretty fast :)
- bg2500, on 10/30/2008, -1/+6I think Linux is a great operating system. I do not currently run it but have in the past for many years actually. I even got into recompiling and building them from scratch. I am thinking about setting up a duel boot config on one of my systems though. I use AIX UNIX everyday at work so I am still fluent in using *nix operating systems.
I did go through the "i hate Windows" thing about 5 years ago. I am over that now and I think Microsoft does put out some good stuff. I run everything from Windows 95 to 2000 Professional to XP and Vista and they when maintained properly are good systems. (I am forced by work to deal with some of these)
I am as comfortable on a UNIX command prompt as I am working in Vista or XP. Just take a little time to learn the system you are dealing with and you should not have too many problems.
I am happy to hear though that Linux is doing well. It is a great OS and deserves to be recognized. - freeridstylee, on 10/30/2008, -2/+7The article is talking about instant on linux on new pcs (that will probably load windows in the back round). Not selling Ubuntu on new pcs.
- pendrachken, on 10/30/2008, -0/+5@AmaDaden:
if you have a 20 MINUTE boot time it well past time to upgrade that 286..... I hear you can even get a pentium1 for cheap these days....! - Slade605, on 10/30/2008, -1/+5And then goes back to Best Buy to see how much Windows costs.
- falafelkiosken, on 10/30/2008, -1/+5This year + 1 will be the year of desktop Linux!
- motang, on 10/30/2008, -0/+4Yep and with that you can really say could computing is coming together. Where there will a light weight OS on the machines that boots up in seconds, lasts days on the battery life and the user can still do what they want via the Internet.
- DBeta, on 10/30/2008, -2/+6In the case of Dell, it's only a matter of time before their Utility Partition that comes on every machine they ship becomes Linux based, with Firefox and a basic file browser included. This would be great for people wanting to recover from a Windows crash. There are a few good tools for managing Windows partitions on Linux, but if you add to that what Dell already has, you will have a very good Utility Partition with a quickbooting environment. When someone's Windows dies, they might just decide to use that Utility Partition for their web browsing, and next thing you know, they start to love the quick booting Linux, and don't feel a need for Windows anymore. Sure, it wont happen for everyone, but some people might see it that way, and pushing it as a quickbooting option will get more people to try it out of the box.
- DangerCollie, on 10/30/2008, -0/+4I'm not a gamer but the those I do know, a lot of them are running games on Linux. Not simply because they but for performance reasons.
- mithrasinvictus, on 10/30/2008, -0/+3I agree, counting motherboards shipping with instant on linux is as disingenuous as saying vista is a success because millions of customers had no choice.
- TVarmy, on 10/30/2008, -0/+3I don't want to be negative, but the article focuses on a distro meant to boot up quickly to provide basic web browsing and email under 30 seconds, which is provided in addition to Windows.
- aethralis, on 10/30/2008, -0/+3http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/10/22/asus_ceo_s ...
Please read this: Asus CEO Jerry Shen has denied claims that consumers are sending back more Linux netbooks than they're returning Windows-based models. - AmaDaden, on 10/30/2008, -0/+3DeathRay2K is right. They have been working on it and it's the basis for parallels and alot of other VM software these days. It does involve hardware changes as you have said so it's only possible on newer computers. Basically you have the OS of OSes (the hypervisor) and then you have all the other OSes. The hypervisor handles all the contention issues you brought up and the OSes are never told it's even there. They all think they have the full computer to them self but in reality they are sharing it and being switched off the CPU when ever they are not using it.
As for the CPU thing they do that for super computers. Sometimes one CPU out of one hundred will stop working so the OS is designed to work around it and at the same time request that someone hotswap it out and fix it. 0 down time.
However i don't think that doing this two OS thing for speed makes much sence. We are not really at the point where a well kept system will have anything more then a 20 minute boot time. Extending that to something like 40 min so that you can get to a slimed downversion of an OS while you wait does not make much sence to me. Dual boot work make more sence. Either you go to the fast OS or you don't. - Adelie, on 10/30/2008, -0/+3There is a project called fastboot or something that basically puts most all of the init stuff into background at a lower priority and 'cheats' to get to the desktop faster. Looks great to me. My prob is with post and grub. I have a LOT of stuff inside my computer, and it takes almost 10 seconds to just get to the grub menu, and another 15 seconds to get to the desktop. The projects aim is to get those start up things that were put into background eventually started up before they are needed, but not before you are given any functionality over the desktop.
I look forward to it.
One of the questionable things is that networking support won't be up when you get to the desktop, that it will take almost another 5 seconds before it will be up. Soo, I see that as "If the first thing I want to do is jump on the Internet, start up time to web browsing will take almost as long as it previously took to boot. What is the down side here?
Now what I think would be cool is if an onboard Linux could boot up and be used right away, many claiming desktop / web support available within 2 seconds of hitting the power button. What if this could be used while your computer is booting in the same way you use a Live CD while the OS is installing. Then while doing whatever it was you wanted to do, a little message could pop up "Your desktop is ready, would you like to switch now?" This would absolutely rock, and I don't think it would be terribly difficult to integrate. - cptshamrock, on 10/30/2008, -3/+6The "nerd hangout" is not a representative sample of the general population.
- inactive, on 10/30/2008, -2/+4I've been living in the future since the year 2000. I've been running different versions of Linux exclusively since then on my desktop computers. The "Linux on the desktop" revolution came long ago and is slowly growing.
- Slade605, on 10/30/2008, -0/+2I always understood that as the idea of open source developed anything. Produced by the community, for the community.
I agree with everything else you've said. - inactive, on 10/30/2008, -0/+2I think it's truly a matter of what you actually do with your computer. Many simply cannot run linux as the software they need/want is not available, with no decent alternatives. Quicken, AutoCAD, certain games, etc.
I've found in the last 15 years that most of the major beneficial claims of Linux are pure myth anyway. Pick your favorite distro and insert here, is in many cases no more reliable than MS or Apple OS's. Not any faster, and even though there are thousands of free applications, most do not compare to their closed source counter part, or are available on the other platforms anyway. I've never had a virus, at work where I manage a ***** of workstations and servers, BSOD's rarely happen and if they do it is 100% hardware/driver related. I just don't see a reason to move to an environment of my own free will if there is nothing to be gained by doing so. Costs? Big deal. Most will pay more in a couple months for console games, then they ever will for an OS or productive software.
Just my opinion, your mileage may vary. - r00tus3r, on 10/30/2008, -1/+3It would be nice if at least some of you would RTFA. Oh how I long for the good old days when digg was actually a tech site.
- Guspaz, on 10/30/2008, -1/+3I don't see why Splashboot would use any less power than anything else. I mean, look at the four biggest power drains in a notebook; LCD backlight, CPU, GPU, and WiFi.
All of those are just as active in splashboot as they are when running a full OS (be it Linux or Windows). And I'd imagine that under splashboot, you're not running the latest proprietary drivers, and so may not get as effective power management for your GPU. - CalcProgrammer1, on 10/30/2008, -0/+2You're usin' a 286? Don't make me laugh, your Windows boots up in what? a day and a half?
- r00tus3r, on 10/30/2008, -1/+3Clearly all you read was the title. Why even post a comment if you're not gonna bother to read the featured article.
- Airjoe, on 10/30/2008, -2/+4"I am happy to say that next year Linux may actually ship on more desktops than Windows or the Mac"
They throw that "may" in there so that in a years time when nothing has changed, they can say "Well, we weren't -wrong-".
I'm not saying that Linux is bad. What I am saying is that it's not -better- than Windows XP. The only real thing you can beat it on is price, and lets face it, for the majority of diggers, we're not too worried about the "cost" of software. -
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