So if all Windows apps could theoretically be run using this, tell me again why I need Windows?
Phoenix HyperSpace Bypasses Windows With Fast-Boot Technology
There’s absolutely no reason you should be waiting the three-plus minutes it takes your computer to boot up Windows, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies. And indeed, if Hobbs has his way, you may not have to endure those waits much longer.
Phoenix says its new technology, HyperSpace, will offer mobile PC users the ability to instantly fire up their most used apps — things like e-mail, web browsers and various media players — without using Windows, simply by pressing the F4 button.
“As Windows gets more and more complex, we’ve seen startup times get longer and longer,” says Hobbs. “If I go to the airport and try to connect to a Wi-Fi network, I’m waiting for five minutes just to connect. That’s ridiculous — people usually just give up and use their cell phones or PDAs.”
Microsoft regards HyperSpace as “outside their sphere of influence,” and is not too happy with Phoenix’s offering, which adds yet another voice to the already loud chorus of voices complaining about operating-system bloat.
A student-aimed laptop, for instance, could come with apps like word processing, e-mail and IM preloaded into HyperSpace. Companies could even start releasing HyperSpace versions of applications specifically for the embedded platform, he says.
I’ll be curious to see what underhand, illegal or other wise dirty tricks the scumbags at M$ will use to derail this product.
Well, the problem I see is, if the preloaded code is buggy, can it be upgraded or altered? And if so, can it be done without upsetting the other apps? If I break a WIndows app, I can always reload it, or at the worst reinstall the OS and apps. But how often do embedded systems get altered and “bricked”? All it takes is once, man.
Embedded systems are fine on cheap, one-trick-pony devices like those throw away cell phones. But on expensive devices like iPhones or motherboards? I dunno, sounds nice on paper maybe, but I won’t risk money on it until I see stuff on the market for awhile.
I really think the problem with OS and not just Windows is the OS tries to load too much on boot. Maybe we just want the internet browser but instead way to many programs want to load and default this way. It’s suppose to help us after the boot by speeding up programs starting up.
Trouble is we may not even use that program. I think OS and programs should go back to minimal settings and allow the user to select what is needed. However, I do believe a option is missing here. Many user’s simply put their computer in hibernation so as to not have to boot.
This solves the boot process delays.
3,
Its like having a PDA in your computer…HIT the key and only the MSALL app is run. BEFORE windows can do anything.
4, CORRECT…
Windows STILL isnt dynamic…
It has to load EVERYTHING to Run ANYTHING.
there have been FEW OS’s that were Dynamic, they would load the Drivers and such Needed for the APP to run, THEN when you turn off the APP, they would go away. MS has ALWAYS had memory leaks and a BAD MMU, memory management unit/utility..
But it also comes down to MS wants to do Everything with software. There have been some neet advances Pushed to the side, because MS wouldnt back/support them.
Like:
Smart video and audio cards that have ALL the drivers loaded, and can be FLASHED to add new/better ones. Even installed at STARTUP, would make MS faster. Let the card do the work.
Direct access to HD and ram from the CARD..Tell the Video card the DATA is THERE, and it plays it, with little or no CPU use.
Even DirectX is a means to take OVER the need of game makers MAKING GREAT drivers for GREAt programs.
This, or something like it, is the future. When I’m mobile I want exactly one application, a web browser. I could care less about an OS, or even a hard drive. That hypothetical $100 laptop, when it arrives, should have nothing but a web browser and IP protocol stack in flash memory.
Speculation about Microsoft cutting Windows down to size is interesting, but it won’t happen. Sure they’ll demo a “concept car” version but it will go nowhere.
Are people booting their computers that often? There’s a little thing called Hibernate and another called Stand By. Problem solved.
“There’s absolutely no reason you should be waiting the three-plus minutes it takes your computer to boot up Windows, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies.”
If your PC is taking more than 90 seconds to boot up, you need to do a boot time defrag:
“rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
What ProcessIdleTasks does is update the Layout.ini in the prefetch folder with the .pf entries that are in the folder, then runs the command line Defrag command with the -b switch set. This is a subset of the full defrag and repositions only the boot time modules so they’re more efficiently read at boot time. It reads the Layout.ini file to determine the correct disk placements.
Now here’s the catch: if your like me, your PC is never truly idle, so the ProcessIdleTasks never gets run. My home PC is never idle. The PC has to be idle for about 30 minutes before that task gets run by the Scheduler. I’ve confirmed this on my PC at work – the task gets run while I’m at lunch.
The workaround for that is simple: Once every three days, I manually run the “rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks” from Start\Run. Then I follow that up with a full defrag because moving all those files around fragments a bunch of other files.
Make sure you use Microsofts defrag, most of the 3rd party Defragmenters don’t honor the placements in the Layout.ini file. There is one or two, but they’re expensive – unless you
have the $s and know which utilities I’m talking about, then use those. Nortons SpeedDisk is not one of them.”
Source: PC World
A great step back to applications in ROM. Sometimes the current state of affiars gets so loaded up with features and junk that a step backwards is a good thing.
My experience is that virus scan is the single greatest stealer of PC preformance, at boot and run time.
#2….I am a Microsoft developer, I’ll have to email my contact on this.
#6 Stand by and Hibernate are both shit. Most of the time it takes longer for the computer to come out of stand by then it does to cold boot, thats if it the computer even wakes up. Some times it doesn’t.
OK, remember having to dial in the hex code from the console to boot your ‘mainframe’? I agree with #9 however… These OS’s are getting too big and are trying to do to much stuff all at once. Maybe it will be back to the future on this stuff…
Anybody have a copy of MS/DOS? and Wordstar?
ha!
LOL
Agree with Les. This goes right back to the Color Computer and ROM Pack.
I don’t want to ‘hibernate’, or ‘boot’, or ‘standby’, or ‘defragment’ anything. I don’t even want an OS or a hard drive. What I want is to push an On button and have a web browser pop up, and run on batteries for about 4 hours. I will get this from Microsoft about the same time I get an electric car from GM – i.e on the 5th of Never.
#13, I have both a copy of MS-DOS and WordStar. Not to mention WordPerfect, MS Word for DOS 6.0, Professional Write 2.0. Sometimes I miss the old DOS prompt.
the main problem comes with HOW BIG does windows NEED to be?
does it NEED all this to be SAFE??
If not, WHY is Windows SO BIG, and so much a HOG.
I know Many of you can remember writing letter and doing spreed sheets on the C64…Even making Sound effects and doing music, playing games and so forth.
Why do we need ALL this?? Just to type a letter?
WE DONT.
There is only 1 reason for THIS MUCH power or programming… And REALLY you dont need THAT much programming….Is GAMES.
AND I dont SEE Vista doing THAT much with games..
Opps, make that I agree with #8
3 minutes for your computer to start up? How many start up apps are being run? I run WinXP on a computer a couple years old and I am up and running within a minute.
#2 – I’ll be curious to see what underhand, illegal or other wise dirty tricks the scumbags at M$ will use to derail this product.
Do you just cut and paste this crap?
#11 – Stand by and Hibernate are both shit.
The rare gem… You said something true… Although since you say everything is shit, it was bound to happen… just like a broken clock being right twice a day.
—–
Who here has a PC that takes 5 minutes to boot?
The only PCs I’ve ever seen that took 5 minutes to boot were owned by people who simply weren’t tech savvy at all. I recognize the need to make technology accessible to everyone, and I realize that the “geek” demographic is the minority in the area of electronic sales… But every attempt to make tech simpler, faster, more toaster-like has lead to problems for folks like me and many of us in the form of more obstacles to navigate around.
>>If your PC is taking more than 90 seconds to boot up, you
>>need to do a boot time defrag:
>>“rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
Does that work with Vista? I’ve seen a lot of suggestions for using that trick with XP, but the only things I’ve seen wrt boot time and Vista have been bitter complaints about how long it takes.
And I have NEVER heard of anyone booting Vista in 90 seconds.
just like a broken clock being right twice a day.
Thats funny. I bet you spent all morning thinking of that dig on me. Whats the matter, run out clan analogies?
#21 – Yes… I did… Because I have nothing else to do on a Monday morning than to brainstorm Oscar Wilde caliber retorts for you…
And I apologized for that analogy… though the point was valid. You just hate Microsoft just to be hating Microsoft. And I cannot take your “conservatism” seriously when you use M$ as a dig… Shouldn’t you be trashing a Starbucks right about now?
#22 as far as trashing micro$oft goes, history speaks for itself. This bunch of thieves has achieved market dominance, not be making a really good product, but by manipulating, bribing and monopolizing their way into a position that makes it extremely difficult for most to break free of the Windows cartel. So yes, I don’t like MS and will use every opportunity to make that known. Enjoy sticking that M$ needle into your arm on a daily basis.
#23 – I do enjoy that needle… Because it works and I don’t even have to write my own software.
You just described how businesses work. Why is MS bad and Apple good? Apple stole from Xerox.
Its one thing to be objectively critical of Microsoft business practices, and there is plenty to be critical about. It’s another to write off such an extensive catalog of proven software products with “it all sucks” when that so obviously isn’t true.
(except for Vista… until they fix the sound, Vista sucks) 🙂
#24 Funny, I didn’t mention Apple.
#25 – And?
It isn’t like there are that many options. You have Linux for dateless freaks in their mother’s basements, Windows for people who need to get work done (or game), and Apple for people who want a computer to go with their iPod.
What do you think about Apple?
Hey, I have my own apartment and I even own a car!
#27 – It’s cute that your mother calls the basement an “Apartment” 🙂
Obviously, that was joking. Clearly Linux is an important player in the OS market, and plenty of people, like Kevin Rose and Chris Pirillo, are able to get dates.
M$ Will eventually buy them out and close them.
#29 – Now don’t you start…
If you can’t say something delightfully perverse or scandalous, then just don’t say anything at all… 🙂