The notorious Windows boot time can be an onerous necessity when all you want to do is check e-mail or hit up your favorite magazine (like Blast) for a quick hit of news.
Phoenix Technologies latest product, debuting at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, is called HyperSpace. It’s a slick, compact Linux based platform that circumvents the Windows load time by booting straight from BIOS. It installs alongside Windows, and allows the user to switch between the stripped down but aesthetically pleasing HyperSpace interface — which boasts instant web connectivity — and the hard drive based Windows platform at will.
Think of it as a 3G phone version of your laptop.
The boot time for HyperSpace from total shutdown is comparable to bringing a Windows machine out of sleep mode, which is a few seconds. Because the program boots from BIOS, it doesn’t require a spinning hard drive, which saves on battery power by up to 30 percent, according to Phoenix.
HyperSpace boasts a robust security system administered by Phoenix Technologies, disallowing any downloads not cleared by the Phoenix Technology auditing system. For more advanced users, such electronic handholding might not be ideal, but it comes with the package. Time will tell if it’s a winner, but from early glimpses of the system it appears to be a nice solution for those wanting to save on battery power and circumvent hard drive based apps by living online.
The HyperSpace platform starts at $39 for the basic system which runs on single core processors and $59 for the hybrid option which runs on dual core processors.
People turn off their computers? Why?