Gizmodo: boot

Phoenix's New Laptop BIOS Boots Windows 7 in 10 Seconds

Danny Allen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:20:00 EDT

That's Windows 7, not a mini-Linux OS like Splashtop. It's also from a powered-off state, not sleep mode. Pretty impressive. And much of that speed comes from turning on a laptop's devices (hard disk, ports, etc) in just 1 second.

Phoenix's Instant Boot BIOS is UEFI based, which means it can turn on those devices simultaneously to hit that roughly 1 second mark. Regular BIOS types—used by most current notebooks—turn on devices one at a time. That's why it takes up to 10 seconds before the operating system even gets the chance to load.

In this demo from the Intel Developer's Forum, a Lenovo T400s boots a usable Windows 7 desktop in about 10 seconds. It's also helped by a solid-state hard disk, a clean install without any crap-ware, and by not running fancy Aero graphics. Bottom line: Nice, but I'd like to see more of a real world scenario.

Phoenix says it can improve that time further with tweaks specific to individual laptops. It didn't say if any big names had signed the tech up, but I'm thinking some will. Waiting for your laptop to load is an inconvenience we've learned to live with, but I'd pay a little extra to make it a thing of the past. What about you? [LAPTOP Magazine and GottaBeMobile]

The Linux Boot Sequence, Visualized

Mark Wilson — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:40:00 EST

Most of us don't appreciate all the processes involved with our OS's boot sequence; we're far more interested in watching that status bar fill. In this visualization of the Linux boot sequence, each function is a node, and each line connecting the nodes represents a call, direct branch, or indirect branch. The image itself was created via logarithm interpreting the process as electrical signal, so if we're reading this correctly, it's almost as if you're looking at the brain pathways that boot Linux (oh you computer science junkies will have a field day with that analogy). [Perry Hung via MAKE]

Microwavable Boots Keep Your Feet Warm, and Your Microwave Stinky

Andrew Boatti — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:50:00 EST

Winter is almost upon us, and chilly feet can be a chronic issue. Thankfully humanity no longer has to suffer this unpleasantness with the introduction of CozyFeet microwavable boots. The modern-day equivalent of warming ones feet by the fire, these boots "contain a special blend of natural wheat grain and dried French lavender that, once heated, stay warm for up to two hours" after just two minutes of microwaving.

Wow, it makes all those electric heated-boots seem clunky and old fashioned because, hey, what's more modern than a microwave? They make no mention, however, of how this affects the taste of your food; I'd like my frozen pizza with a waft of foot-odor thanks! CozyFeet cost about $24. [Gadget Shop via Shiny Shiny]

Windows 7 Aiming for 15 Second Boot Times?

Mark Wilson — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:20:00 EDT

To be fair, Microsoft hasn't come out and said that their goal is to have Windows 7 boot in 15 seconds. But they have said this:

For Windows 7, a top goal is to significantly increase the number of systems that experience very good boot times. In the lab, a very good system is one that boots in under 15 seconds.

So it looks like 15 seconds may be an internal goal that Microsoft knows better than to announce just yet—for decent systems, at least. [Engineering Windows 7 via ZDnet]

Apple Bootcamp 1.2 Adds Vista Support, Other Things That Would Make This Headline Too Long If We Listed Them Here (Oops.)

Jason Chen — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 23:29:02 EDT

In what may very well be the last update to Boot Camp before Leopard is released, this version 1.2 of OS X's dual booting software gives Vista support to eager plaid jacket fans. For people who haven't updated to Vista yet (XP users), there's also:

• Better trackpad, audio, iSight, graphics, and modem drivers
• Apple Remote support in iTunes and WMP
• System tray icon for Boot Camp info
• Foreign language support
• Apple Software Update

We've been kind of holding out on loading Boot Camp because 1) we were happy running Vista elsewhere and didn't want to downgrade to XP, and 2) it sounded too much like physical exercise. Looks like it's time. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Apple]

Nintendo Wii First Startup + Surprise!

Jason Chen — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:13:26 EST

Here's what the Nintendo Wii looks like the first time you start it up. Enter in the time, date, name, and what language you speak (I had problems with that one). One cool detail is how the controller vibrates when you scrub over various clickable UI elements.

The surprise? Nintendo calls us to tell us they're coming with an ice cream truck full of Wiis! – Jason Chen

Blimey! A Boot Throwing Bot.

Brian Lam — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:24:16 EDT

Forget about droids that make breakfast or try to take over the World. In the UK, a team of scientists have constructed a robot to assist them in the eccentric and perverted-sounding British sport of Welly Wangling, which has nothing to do with masterbation. It's actually the sophisticated sport of hurling a boot as far as you can.

They've taken an engine from a concrete mixer, paired it with a gearbox from a Citroen sedan, and a 6-1/2 foot diameter shoe-chucking disc which rotates at up to 250 times per minute. The point? To build robots that work better in teams...we have no idea how tossing shoes translates into teamwork, but we're not qualified to question the eggheaded scientists. Next week, they'll get together with other boot-tossing robots to name the ultimate footwear throwing champ. For those who don't win, booter luck next time!– James Lee

Experts make robotic welly wanger [BBC]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/5279884.stm

Windows Vista Beta: Startup Shootout

Charlie White — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:16:17 EDT

Our esteemed frat brothers at Lifehacker first told us how to download, install and dual boot Windows Vista Beta 2 with Windows XP, and now they've gotten out the stopwatch for their first test, showing us how the startup time of the newest Microsoft operating system compares to that of its predecessor.

We had high hopes for the Vista Beta, entertaining fantasies of it booting up almost instantly, but it was not to be. Windows XP started 31% faster than Vista, taking 35.34 seconds to get to its usable state, while Windows Vista beta took 51.71 seconds. But after all, it's only a Beta; maybe the shipping version will boot faster. We're not betting on it. – Charlie White

Windows Vista Beta: The startup showdown [Lifehacker]