Wednesday, November 6, 2002
The Instant On Computer
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 08:30 AM
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,668870,00.asp
One of the biggest hassles of a computer is that unless you leave it on 24/7, it takes time to boot. A fast Windows XP machine can take 45 seconds from the time you hit the power until the time you can actually launch a program. Even resuming from a suspend is a 15 second ordeal and often a bit longer for all attached devices to work properly. This is why I think the Oqo will fail. It has the small screen of a PDA, a UI designed for a large screen and the boot/resume times of a slow PC.
John C. Dvorak has written an article on what changes would need to be make to a PC to make it an instant on device, just like a PDA. While it all sounds good, the cost of flash ROM necessary for XP would be prohibitive. Even if you just put the \system32 and subfolders and put them on flash ROM, that is a 700MB chip. It is an interesting concept and has lots of upside, and if done, could have staggering implications on limited devices like the Pocket PC when compared to their PC cousins. What do you think?
One of the biggest hassles of a computer is that unless you leave it on 24/7, it takes time to boot. A fast Windows XP machine can take 45 seconds from the time you hit the power until the time you can actually launch a program. Even resuming from a suspend is a 15 second ordeal and often a bit longer for all attached devices to work properly. This is why I think the Oqo will fail. It has the small screen of a PDA, a UI designed for a large screen and the boot/resume times of a slow PC.
John C. Dvorak has written an article on what changes would need to be make to a PC to make it an instant on device, just like a PDA. While it all sounds good, the cost of flash ROM necessary for XP would be prohibitive. Even if you just put the \system32 and subfolders and put them on flash ROM, that is a 700MB chip. It is an interesting concept and has lots of upside, and if done, could have staggering implications on limited devices like the Pocket PC when compared to their PC cousins. What do you think?
