Instant-On Computing
Sometimes you want to send a quick e-mail or look something up online but don’t feel like waiting for your computer to boot up. With Splashtop, you can be surfing the Web in seconds. Built into a computer’s basic input-output system–the software that sets up the operating system–Splashtop gives you a choice at startup: you can either boot up normally or load a stripped-down operating system that runs just a few common applications. Circuit boards featuring the system are on the market now; they should turn up in computers within months.
Splashtop’s browser is based on Firefox and comes with Flash preinstalled so that users can watch videos and animations on the Web. Multiple programs can run simultaneously, as we see here: Skype and the Web browser are both open.
Credit: DeviceVM
Product: Splashtop instant-on desktop
Cost: Circuit board manufacturers generally pay less than $5 per software license, depending on volume and configuration
Source: www.splashtop.com
Company: DeviceVM
Keep Reading
Most Popular
A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook?
Robot vacuum companies say your images are safe, but a sprawling global supply chain for data from our devices creates risk.
A startup says it’s begun releasing particles into the atmosphere, in an effort to tweak the climate
Make Sunsets is already attempting to earn revenue for geoengineering, a move likely to provoke widespread criticism.
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023
These exclusive satellite images show that Saudi Arabia’s sci-fi megacity is well underway
Weirdly, any recent work on The Line doesn’t show up on Google Maps. But we got the images anyway.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.