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Microsoft Considers "Instant On" Windows

Barence writes "In what might be a glimpse of things to come in Windows 7, Microsoft is asking customers whether they would be interested in a new 'Instant-on' version of Windows. 'We would like your feedback on a new concept,' the Microsoft survey states. 'The Instant On experience is different from "Full Windows" because it limits what activities you can do and what applications you can have access to.' Sounds interesting but hardly new: Asus and Dell have produced laptops that provide swift access to apps and data using Linux subsystems."

18 of 440 comments (clear)

  1. My opinion by harris+s+newman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In all honesty, I love the multiple minutes it takes to bring up windows now. Instant on would be a detriment.

    1. Re:My opinion by jollyreaper · · Score: 5, Funny

      In all honesty, I love the multiple minutes it takes to bring up windows now. Instant on would be a detriment.

      Oh my God, the fucking Comcast turtle posts to Slashdot.

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    2. Re:My opinion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Instant On" Would be the worst thing EVER!!!

      Windows is a great excuse to get up, get some coffee or tea, and spend the first 15 minutes of your day doing NOTHING.

  2. Yes because as we all know... by i_want_you_to_throw_ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ANYTHING that Windows wants to do to improve sucks and linux has already done it, done it better, cured cancer, etc.

    Seriously is there anyone on /. that isn't a "me too, me too" Microsoft sucks, Linux is good person?

    Jesus this is like Digg more and more everyday.

    OK bitches mod me down now.

  3. Instant on UI by rlp · · Score: 5, Funny

    The UI for the new "Instant-On Windows" is a black screen with the text "C:\>".

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    1. Re:Instant on UI by mangu · · Score: 5, Funny

      How cute, an emoticon of a frowning bald guy with a goatee! What does it mean?

  4. Nope. by geekoid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Instant on is useless if you can't do everything you want; which is what this is.

    How about an don't need to reboot version?

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  5. Re:Uptime... by thewils · · Score: 5, Funny

    System Up Time: 0 Days, 21 Hours, 32 Minutes, 58 Seconds

    Why does anybody turn their notebooks off?

    Windows Update :( Not "off" but restart.

    --
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  6. Re:Wow! What a novel idea! by butalearner · · Score: 5, Informative

    Right, because this was all about Microsoft claiming a new idea. Slashdot retards attack!!!

    I know this is Slashdot, but you could at least try to RTFA:

    We would like your feedback on a new concept...The concept is called 'Instant On'. 'Instant On' takes your computer from being completely powered down or 'turned off' to being usable for a few specific activities in a very short amount of time.

    Quick! Slashdot Microsoft apologists to the rescue!

  7. Re:What an original idea - NOT! by butalearner · · Score: 5, Informative

    No one said it was an original idea.

    Does it need to be an original idea for them to implement it? Are only original ideas worth adding to an OS?

    Nobody, that is, except Microsoft in the actual survey. From TFA:

    "We would like your feedback on a new concept," the Microsoft survey states, according to a leaked version sent to Engadget.

  8. Green for Windows Verde, then brown for ... by zooblethorpe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Presumably the box and ads would be green, too? Then maybe they could have a color-coded release scheme, instead of the letters and numbers used to date. A green campaign for Windows Verde, followed by a brown campaign for the upgrade to Windows Merde! :D

    Cheers,

    --
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    "A four-foot prune."
  9. Re:Uptime... by Jake73 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    System Up Time: 0 Days, 21 Hours, 32 Minutes, 58 Seconds

    Why does anybody turn their notebooks off?

    Windows Update :( Not "off" but restart.

    Hm. I run both Windows and Mac. I can't remember the last time I did any update to a Mac that didn't require a restart. It's really pretty annoying.

    Windows has gotten much better about not requiring restarts for updates. A huge change from its Windows 95/98 and NT days.

  10. Re:If you wanted an uptime contest... by butalearner · · Score: 5, Funny

    I see your FreeBSD and raise you, um . . . FreeBSD

    su-2.05$ uptime 10:57AM up 737 days, 1:11, 11 users, load averages: 0.01, 0.07, 0.07

    You guys are all weak. Windows Vista Ultimate:

    11:03:42 up 1010 days, 8:11, 1 user, load average: 0.99, 0.99, 0.99

    I'm almost completely booted up now!

  11. Re:If you wanted an uptime contest... by larry+bagina · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd tell you my OpenVMS uptime but it would be awkward and uncomfortable to see you cry.

    --
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  12. Re:Next Windows should be Windows Verde by Moridineas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I imagine in most cases it's the login rather than the boot itself that takes the time....

  13. Re:Hype and Power management failure. by dedazo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    After reading your journal entry, I'm a little confused on how you believe Microsoft "intentionally sabotaged" power management under Linux? Of all the evidence presented in the Iowa case, surely you have something more specific than an email that proves nothing at all other than Bill Gates' reluctance to release something for free?

    Also, if your claim that Microsoft somehow crippled ACPI (and/or APM) to hurt Linux... how come ACPI works as well (or as badly, depending on your hardware) as it does on Windows? Specifically, if Microsoft, *BSD and Linux all implement the same open standard, how is that intentional sabotage by "M$"?

    And, going back to your journal entry, I see you never did reply to any of the posts that challenge your interpretation of this problem. Why is that?

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  14. Re:Uptime... by paniq · · Score: 5, Informative

    I really love Ubuntu updates for that reason. Their update service is like that colonial england servant you dreamed of having but could never afford. Even if it updated the kernel, it humbly suggests a restart, serves earl grey and quietly retreats.

    --
    Do not trust this signature.
  15. Re:Easy Lazy Instant-On/Off... by DavidTC · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Of course, if Windows hibernation operated anything like Linux hibernation, it would work a lot better.

    For reference, Linux hibernation doesn't bother writing non-writable memory pages to the hibernation file. So the hibernation file is much smaller compared to Windows. (Which is why Linux can hibernate to a swap file.)

    But this is because Linux can 'swap' from the original executable file into memory. So when it unhibernates, it 'unswaps' most of the programs from their original location, only loading the data segments from the swap file.

    Of course, a good portion of the program is already in swap, so what actually happens is that all data segments not in the swap file are written to it, with as much executable segments overwritten as needed to fit those in. It is very very fast.

    As opposed to Windows, which sits down and writes out all of physical memory to another file, and then has to load it all back in.(It might even write out 'clean' memory pages that are already in the swap file and unchanged since they were loaded back in memory, but I bet MS is smarter than that.)

    Granted, Linux still has to, eventually, load all the programs into memory too, but it can load them in via 'swap', which is fairly invisible to the end user.

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