Instant-on Operating System
First of all, we need to know the
definition of instant-on operating system. According to Wikipedia, “In computers, instant on is the ability to boot
nearly instantly, so one can get online or use a specific application without waiting
for a PC's traditional operating system to launch.”
It is much faster then traditional
OS while boot, consume less power and allow for diskless computers. You can run
the application immediately while the instant-on OS is ready; the computer can
use in a longer time; it will be lighter while the computer haven’t install any
hard disks. Also, it is less attackable from malicious software because most of
the system memory is read-only.
Live USB can be one of the examples for instant-on
system; an OS can be store in a USB external hard disk drive or USB flash
drive. The OS stored in USB can be booted while connect to computer. It can use
in embedded systems for system administration, data recovery; but it wouldn’t commit
to a permanent installation on the local hard disk drive. When using live USB,
all program are carry in the mobile device, it is easy to share one system
between multiple users.
The very common instant-on OS are Splashtop,
Google Chrome OS and Phoenix HyperSpace. Instant-on OS is simple and fast. It is facing all users who are using computers even mobile computers, for personal use and commercial use.
Splashtop OS
Nowadays, many
instant-on OS are based on the development of Splashtop, then, what is Splashtop?
It is a
commercial Linux distribution for PC motherboards and other computer equipment
manufacturers. Different with the other Linux system, it was designed to be integrate
on a read-only device with the shipment, rather than installed by the user. The
user can install any other operating systems such as Window for dual booting.
However, only either one operating system can be used in one time. A pre-boot
menu will be created for those with non-integrated hardware. Served as a
companion to the Windows operating system, user can boot to original Windows or
Splashtop. Splashtop is suitable for the user who would like to do web
browsing, instant messaging, photo browsing, etc. Splashtop can be booted in 5
seconds. Thus, it is also called the Instant-On Operating System.
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| ASUS's Splashtop implement - Express Gate |
Nowadays, a lot
of PC products come with Splashtop preinstalled with a lot of different brand
name such as Asus Express Gate, Lenovo Quick Start and HP Quick Web. Usually,
Splashtop can be used to power up the notebooks and netbooks. Without
sacrificing the desktop performance of Windows, It provides a lot of advantages
include FAST, EASY, SAFE, SIMPLE and PERSONAL. First, Splashtop can get the
user on the web in seconds. Second, as it is a read-only system, there are very
less security vulnerabilities. Third, it is easy to use with a user-friendly
UI. Fourth, the Adobe Flash Player is installed. Last, it has a lot of web
apps, extension and themes.
Splashtop can
work with a 512MB flash memory embedded on the PC motherboard. When the BIOS
boot up, a proprietary core engine start up too. It load a specialized Linux
distribution VAE which the user can start a VA such as Skype.
Google
Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS is based on cloud system
similar to “terminal” we used before. The client computer does not need too
good and too much hard disk storage space; most of the information with the
traditional operating system “software” is all pass to
the Google server to process. Google Chrome OS operating system is
"browser" as the core; the entire computer can do mainly browse the
web, send and receive email, instant messaging, watch videos, play online games,
which are very close with the NetBook users. Basically, the Google Chrome OS
operating system with general Windows, Mac
OS X, something is
not the same thing.
Google Chrome
OS can be boots within 10 seconds.
Its goal may be to hope that more people
can connect to the Internet; the
more people use Google's search and Google services.
May be some of people will this not play GAME,
not installed software and other applications operating system lacks interested. However, such a market position should also meet the needs of
heavy users of a
large group of Google services and network.
Looking to the future, expect to have a day our home appliances are able to install such
a system; on the refrigerator, on the wall or ceiling. We can
Netsurfing in anywhere rather than holding a mobile phone.
This video can give you a clear idea about Google Chrome OS.
Integrate with cloud computing
Instant-on OS will be more and more popular since people can mostly
do everything on the web. It can be nicely integrated with the cloud computing.
With cloud computing, everything are in the cloud
(WWW). That means no personal data or files in the computer – just store
the OS. Thus allow a low capacity storage, even no secondary storage; a
diskless computer means reduce the weight. People can share their computer to
others and they don’t need to care about privacy. In addition, they can continue
works on different computers without transferring files.
These days, people always concern about speed and efficiency.
Instant-on OS is much faster than traditional OS that reduce the waiting time. The
cloud computation is much powerful than personal computer; with cloud
computing, the complex computation can pass to the powerful cloud and it
returns result to the user. It is faster than compute it on computer itself.
The processor on the computer may not powerful but it can handle complex
calculation logically.
Because of no secondary storage and lighter processor, the use of
power can reduce. In other words, it has a longer battery life.
The following are questions about the instant-on operating system.
The following are questions about the instant-on operating system.
Q: Why I need this system?
A: It is very useful when you need to boot a computer in a short time, to do simple jobs.
e.g. Check e-mail, read news, check weather, play games, Facebook...
Q: What is the strength point on this system?
A: Much faster boot, longer battery life, lighter, allow no secondary storage, less vulnerable to malware.
Q: And...what is the weak point?
A: It may have a set of shortcuts for user, who need to remember these shortcuts to work efficiently, and it can not handle complicated calculations. Also it can not run all Windows or Linux software because it is a completely different OS.
Q: Can I just install a instant-on OS - no Windows or Linux?
A: Yes you can, but you can not run many powerful software such as Eclipse, MATLAB, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc... We recommend you install instant-on OS and traditional OS for different use.
A: It is very useful when you need to boot a computer in a short time, to do simple jobs.
e.g. Check e-mail, read news, check weather, play games, Facebook...
Q: What is the strength point on this system?
A: Much faster boot, longer battery life, lighter, allow no secondary storage, less vulnerable to malware.
Q: And...what is the weak point?
A: It may have a set of shortcuts for user, who need to remember these shortcuts to work efficiently, and it can not handle complicated calculations. Also it can not run all Windows or Linux software because it is a completely different OS.
Q: Can I just install a instant-on OS - no Windows or Linux?
A: Yes you can, but you can not run many powerful software such as Eclipse, MATLAB, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, etc... We recommend you install instant-on OS and traditional OS for different use.
