Operating systems - who needs them?
,----[ Quote ]
| It never ceases to amaze me how new ideas, like cicadas, can appear, breed,
| hibernate for a few years and then re-emerge in a metamorphosed form. Several
| years back, I remember meeting some guys from Phoenix Technologies, one of
| the major developers of PC firmware, who showed me one such idea whose
| rebirth is well overdue.
|
| [...]
|
| Two key components of PC 3.0 are Hypercore, a bare-metal hypervisor built
| into the Bios, and Hyperspace, a small Linux-based embedded operating system
| that can run entirely from Flash memory and is able to contain hardened
| applications for tasks such as media playback, web browsing and email.
| Hypercore also allows vendors to embed their own virtualised operating
| systems, all of which can run simultaneously alongside Windows while being
| totally isolated from it.
`----
http://www.whatpc.co.uk/itweek/comment/2203694/operating-systems-needs-3642444
Related:
Microsoft nonchalant about Phoenix assault on Windows
,----[ Quote ]
| BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies Ltd.'s plans to market a new application
| platform the company claims will solve a number of problems endemic to
| Microsoft's Windows platform might be taken as a provocative gesture at their
| longtime partner. But Redmond's immediate reaction was nonchalant.
|
| On Monday, the Milpitas, Calif. software maker announced Hyperspace, a
| Linux-based virtualization platform that will let OEMs bundle cut-down
| versions of popular open-source software that end users will be able to
| access instantly, even without booting Windows.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=software&articleId=9045662&taxonomyId=18&intsrc=kc_top
http://tinyurl.com/3depfj
Phoenix HyperSpace: Quick-Boot Your Laptop
,----[ Quote ]
| Phoenix Technologies' new HyperSpace is an instant-on environment for
| laptops, letting users launch a browser or other apps with booting into the
| OS.
|
| Today, Phoenix Technologies introduced a firmware product called HyperSpace,
| which allows PCs to run a number of applications separate from the operating
| system. What that means is that if you use a PC equipped with HyperSpace, you
| will be able to quick-boot your notebook into a secure Linux environment,
| where you can use Web browsers like FireFox and pre-loaded Web-aware apps
| like Google Earth, Picasa, and the like.
|
| [...]
|
| Also, since HyperSpace is a Linux-based platform, Windows viruses won't
| affect it.
`----
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2211507,00.asp
Dell Creating Consumer PCs Complete with Virtualization
,----[ Quote ]
| And in a similar fashion to what Parallels and VMware Fusion did for the
| Intel-based Mac community, this could give the Linux operating system a boost
| from consumers who want to use the open source software but don't want to
| lose out on what Microsoft's Windows platforms offer.
`----
http://weblog.infoworld.com/virtualization/archives/2007/08/dell_creating_c.html
Dell to stuff hypervisors in flash memory
,----[ Quote ]
| Dell CTO Kevin Kettler today confirmed these plans during a speech here at
| LinuxWorld, saying the company expects to see major performance and
| power-saving improvements by dumping a hypervisor in flash. Customers will
| basically "boot to a virtual machine-ready" state, he said.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/07/dell_hypervisor_flash/
Microsoft flip-flops on Vista virtualization
,----[ Quote ]
| Software like Parallels Desktop for the Mac or Microsoft's own Virtual
| PC for Windows allow multiple operating systems to run simultaneously.
| When it announced licensing rules for Vista last year, Microsoft said
| that only Vista Business and Vista Ultimate could run as guest
| operating systems. The company said virtualization presents inherent
| security risks and that it hoped by limiting which versions of the OS
| could act as virtual machines, only sophisticated users and businesses
| would employ the tactic.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6191787.html
Is need for control behind Microsoft's flip-flop?
,----[ Quote ]
| Meanwhile, Gartner analyst Michael Silver took Microsoft to task
| for its continued restrictions.
|
| "Microsoft's policies...come off as a way to gouge customers," Silver
| said in an e-mail, noting that customers are forced to pay for higher
| priced editions, even though they don't get many of the benefits, like
| the Aero user interface, which often won't work in a virtual machine.
|
| Silver argues that Microsoft is likely leaving money on the table.
| "Allowing use of lower priced (editions) could even be worth more
| money to Microsoft as it would likely increase the number of people
| that would legally run a Microsoft OS in a VM (like on a Mac),"
| Silver wrote. "Eventually they will have no choice but to make their
| peace with virtualization."
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9733433-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
ASUS add WiFi-N, quick-boot Linux to P5E3 motherboard
,----[ Quote ]
| hat last part is perhaps the most interesting; ASUS are calling it Express
| Gate, but it’s basically a fast-boot alternative that, in just five seconds,
| bypasses Windows and gives you a web-browser running in a custom Linux OS.
`----
http://www.slashgear.com/asus-add-wifi-n-quick-boot-linux-to-p5e3-motherboard-267643.php
Mach Boot: The live CD that supposedly boots in 10 seconds
,----[ Quote ]
| Mach Boot won't replace Knoppix, and it won't replace Puppy, DSL or NimbleX
| either. But it's a tool all its own, one that could be very useful with a
| little more development time.
`----
http://www.insidesocal.com/click/2007/09/the_live_cd_that_supposedly_bo.html
Tiny WiFi-enabled Linux box boots in 1.1 seconds
,----[ Quote ]
| Technologic continues to reduce the boot time, price, and size of
| its embedded boards and systems targeting remote sensing and other
| power-critical applications. Its new $100 ARM9-based TS-7400 board can
| boot Linux in 1.1 seconds, and is available as part of a tiny
| WiFi-enabled system.
`----
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6252722644.html
Flexible ARM9 SBC boots Linux in 1.69 seconds
,----[ Quote ]
| Technologic Systems is offering a freely downloadable, Debian-based Linux
| OS image said to boot from an SD card in less than two seconds, on the
| company's ARM9-based SBC (single-board computer).
`----
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8933335475.html
|
|
