OStatic

Merely seconds after the doors opened at LinuxCon, the Linux Foundation announced its newest member -- the creators of the Splashtop instant-on platform, DeviceVM.

While Splashtop has been stealing hearts for nearly two years on roughly 200 models of laptops, motherboards, desktop systems and netbooks -- and DeviceVM already participates in the Moblin project in conjunction with kernel development efforts -- its Linux Foundation membership became official today.

I stumbled upon John Spencer's blog over at ComputerWorldUK. It seems he recently had a hand in deploying a few Eee Box desktops at a local school. Though these boxes run Windows, it doesn't mean they can't run a lot of powerful open source alternative applications along with any required proprietary ones, and he says, in some settings, this is the situation that works out best for everyone. As a Linux enthusiast, he was impressed with Splashtop, the Linux-based, instant-on option shipping with many netbooks.

But it's not only appearing on netbooks. And it's not only Linux enthusiasts who are impressed. I recently built a new computer for my husband and chose an ASUS motherboard. I didn't notice the Splashtop/ExpressGate feature when I ordered it (though I was aware that ASUS was planning to offer models with this feature). After the build, I installed and enabled the Splashtop instant-on mode, mainly for my curiosity. What's happened in the short time since gives pause to wonder.

Year of the Linux desktop? I don't know. Year of the instant-on Linux desktop? The Linux Foundation's Jim Zemlin is on to something.

The instant-on trend continues to gain momentum. We've covered DeviceVM and its Splashtop Linux-based miniature operating system that allows Asus systems to be turned on instantly, with no waiting for a long boot. Now, JKOnTheRun is covering a new $15 million Series C round of funding for DeviceVM. Meanwhile, Dell's new e3400 laptop also boots a mini Linux operating system so that you can quickly do e-mail, browsing or other tasks without waiting for Windows to load. Look for more instant-on offerings, coming up.