Online in seconds flat: Quick-starting operating systems

By Sven Appel May 9, 2010, 11:44 GMT

Hamburg - No-one wants to wait forever for a computer to boot up. Yet that's exactly what many Windows users have to suffer each day. But slow-booting computers don't have to be the rule. There are actually operating systems out there that boot up in no time flat.

Christian Loebering from Germany's PC-Welt magazine names two good reasons for using a quick starting operating system. 'For one,' he says, no doubt echoing the sentiments of many, 'I don't want to wait around forever for the computer to boot up just to download a couple of email messages.'

Second, he notes, many of the quicker operating systems, which tend to run on Linux, are less exposed to attacks than Windows, and hence fundamentally somewhat more secure. That last statement has lost some of its punch with the advent of Windows 7, however, which is better than its predecessors in this regard.

One of those rapid-boot systems is known as Moblin. It is open source and can be modified or redistributed without restriction. The Linux-based operating system can be downloaded as an image file from http://moblin.org. At only 754 megabytes in total, it fits comfortably onto a USB stick. It can even boot right from that stick. The process takes only 30 seconds or so on a current laptop, c't magazine found after running tests.

Android has recently enjoyed its breakthrough as an OS for mobile phones. The Google software also runs on traditional computers. 'LiveAndroid' is the variant for this and can boot directly from a CD or USB stick. The best part is that you can try it out without having to modify your computer at all. That practice is common to many Linux versions and Android is in fact based on the free operating system.

Acer's Aspire One D250 netbook comes with both Windows XP and Android. The system requires only 20 seconds or so from the moment the device is turned on to operational readiness, much faster than Windows. After a short acclimation period, the user interface is intuitive to use.

Samsung also includes another quick-starting system parallel to Windows on its machines. It's known as HyperSpace, was created by Bios developer Phoenix and is also based on Linux. Its interface is strongly reminiscent of that of a smartphone: the program icons are arranged in an orderly manner, with widgets for minor tasks like weather forecasts. Another prominently placed feature is Google Mail. HyperSpace has recently been unavailable for download, but version 2.0 has already been announced on the website.

Splashtop comes pre-installed on netbooks from Asus. It's a mini- OS with a browser, music player, image viewer, chat software and Skype.

The range bundled with Presto is similar. Firefox is used here instead of an in-house browser. And unlike Splashtop, Presto is available without a laptop for download from the provider's website. A seven day trial is free, but costs 20 dollars thereafter.

Whichever system is used, they all start quicker than Windows. 'Boot times of 10 seconds are realistic,' says Loebering. The speed compared with Windows or even full-featured Linux distributions like Ubuntu comes through the slimness of the OS. Only the most crucial applications are there. 'The core component is the browser,' Loebering notes.

If that's too lean for your taste, then a thin-but-less-thin Linux variant like EasyPeasy or TinyCore can help. They include more applications yet still start faster than Windows. The system works quickest if installed on the computer's internal hard drive. The speeds are still quite good when booted from a USB stick or CD-ROM, though.