Instant-On Linux: Who Wins With It?
by Sam Dean - Oct. 01, 2009Comments (1)- Related Blog Posts
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This week, the news arrived that Dell is putting ARM processors alongside Intel Core Duo chips in high-end Windows-based laptops that can boot Linux for instant-on application usage. The company's Latitude Z notebooks run Windows on a Core Duo Intel processor, but will let you jump in and out of simple applications and browsers for on-the-fly tasks when you don't want to wait for Windows to boot.
The concept isn't new. The idea of instant-on computers has been around for more than 15 years, but Windows computers have mostly been diametrically opposed to the concept. We have written about DeviceVM's Linux-based SplashTop instant-on software a number of times, and I've used it. It's excellent for when you want to check on a quick bit of information without loading a bloated operating system. Still, who wins if this idea takes off on a widespread basis in portable computers?
Overall, Dell is doing an excellent job of providing leadership and innovation in the laptop and netbook arenas, and it's also showing unwavering support for Linux, despite its long-standing relationship with Microsoft. The company is the very first vendor to ship a Moblin version 2 netbook, and offers nicely designed Ubuntu-based portable systems as well. In addition to its new "Latitude On"Â instant-on Linux, the company's new Latitude Z notebook features wireless recharging.
I suspect that this new laptop, in Dell's popular Latitude line, will introduce a lot of users to the convenience of having Linux and Windows on the same machine. That could, in turn, encourage other manufacturers to include Linux-based, instant-on features in Windows portables.
The question, though, is whether it is good or not for Linux to be ghettoized--almost like a piece of utility software--alongside a robust version of Windows. In my view, one of Linux's best achievements is its flexibility in so many usage scenarios--embedded, desktop, server, instant-on, and much more. I don't doubt that if initially stripped-down versions of Linux that provide instant-on capabilities are a hit with Windows users, more robust versions of Linux for instant-on use could follow. Furthermore, many sophisticated users who don't run dual-boot Windows/Linux machines will see the logic in doing so. Linux can win from the instant-on trend.
It's also true that if Linux-based instant-on software takes off on a widespread basis, ARM could win big. ARM chips are widely used in smartphones, but could gain significant presence on laptops and netbooks through the instant-on trend.
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