Instant ON internet OS
How much time does it take you to check your e-mail? I mean from the moment you Power ON your system. 1 minute? 2 minutes? Or if you are a Windows user then may be the number is the largest two digit prime number multiplied by smallest three digit number (don’t doubt my quantitative abilities, it’s just that I’m too lazy to find the number).
There are 3 different ways of power management. Stand-by (sleep mode), hibernate & shut down. Stand-by is the fastest way to reach to your desktop, but your PC should be powered up continuously, which is not feasible every time. Hibernate is supposed to be faster than shut down option but I don’t think there is noticeable difference in timing (at least for Windows OS). Besides, hibernate takes up your system drive space & almost all programs in all OS accumulate junk in RAM – some temporary files, some programs fully remove themselves only on reboot, patches etc. Hence, shut-downs (reboots) are needed from time-to-time.
Current OS boot-up timings are quite frustrating for frequent net users. I personally use Windows & have a decent Sony Viao laptop with decent hardware. On an average it takes me about 5 minutes to reach my Gmail a/c from Power ON button. Mostly, we don’t need full functionality in cases when we are looking only for internet access. A browser, USB/CD/DVD access & one or two additional features are enough.
One of the first instant OS launched is named ‘Good OS’, which worked seamlessly with Google Apps. The other instant OS is Jolicloud, a tweaked version of Linux to run on small netbooks with limited functionality. But both failed to catch any limelight. Google, also, has been talking about its Chrome OS since my birth, but no signs of its ‘delivery’ yet (besides Google might release its Beta version).
So, who better than the man, who has $575m worth of fortune by his mid-twenties after selling Thwate to Verisign, Mark Shuttleworth, would come up with solution to the problem? Mark Shuttleworth is a founder of Ubuntu Project & in its six years of existence the company made Ubuntu the world’s most popular Linux OS. Recently in his blog Mark talked about Ubuntu Light, the most promising instant ON internet OS so far. Mark claims that boo-up period for Light is 10 seconds. Yeah, 10 seconds!
Ubuntu Light is not similar to Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which is specifically designed for small screen netbook with modest processor speed & limited storage space. It is specifically designed by keeping in mind that quick access to internet does not need to load all applications. Ubuntu Light with its quick start up & touch-screen support is not only for netbook, but also for all portables & even desktop PCs. So you, I mean, the laptop can boot with full functionality or with limited functionalities for quick start-up according to user’s need.
Even Ubuntu Light’s GUI is tweaked for internet surfing. Since vertical space is critical for browser to show as much of web page content in screen as possible, the docking panel (taskbar) has been moved to the left of screen. Also, the most used icons of dock panel & desktop would appear bigger than the lesser used ones to make them easier to locate. However, the Ubuntu Light will not be available for retail sell. The OS would be specially customized for specific hardware & would only be available with that PC / laptop. Currently according the news, it will be available with HP & Dell. Hopefully the list grows by the time Ubuntu Light is launched.
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