The latest reports on the web indicate that ASUS' Eee Box needs about 35 seconds to get you to web surfing, from that button push that turns the machine on. Consequently, that means 11 seconds for the ExpressGate to load, and 25 seconds more to launch the FireFox browser. Some consider this is not as fast as expected, since ASUS said that the machine only needed 11 seconds to load up the mini-OS.
According to Engadget, a particular Eee PC 1000 proves to be a little faster at loading the "instant-on" OS named Express Gate. They say that
it takes only half a minute for the entire system to load. And the secret behind this is just an ultra-speedy 40GB SSD packed within the mobile machine.
Netbooks are ultra-portable machines and also expected to run fast, as they are not used for too many applications that could slow down their performance. This is why different operating systems have been developed for these mobile PCs as everybody is striving to make them more efficient. Voodoo Envy's IOS environment powered by Splashtop is one of them, and some consider it to provide the fastest load times in the area.
According to Laptopmag, Voodoo Envy needs about 17 seconds to fully load and access web. That is 19 seconds faster than ASUS' ExpressGate. The idea is that both technologies include the same apps, namely the browser, photo viewer, Pidgin chat or Skype, with only one difference, a music player only present on the Voodoo Envy. The loading times of these OS are quite impressive, if we were to compare them with Windows XP which needs 55 seconds to load on the same machine.
As we all know, the netbooks have a strong penetration on the mobile market. Some of the most known names are ASUS's Eee PC, MSI Wind, Dell's E series and more. The competition on the area is fierce, and each manufacturer struggles to gain the lion's share. That is why new models are announced almost daily, not to mention the race for better performance on hardware and software levels.
Here is a video that shows the loading time of Eee PC 1000.
This is a Big confusion.
Express Gate is different than the System OS. It reside in BIOS and is a mini OS with very few basic functions.
It's present on all new models of ASUS Mainboards, and perhaps could be on EEEPC, but it's the first time I hear about it's possible presence in this netbooks.
However it's not the MAIN system, so it's not installed on the HDD or SSD where resides the main OS.
Comment #1.1 by: arghire_i on 05 Aug 2008, 07:19 GMT
As stated in the article, this is about an "instant-OS", not the main OS. For this reason the words "different operating systems" were used, to stress on the fact that they are not similar to Windows or Linux, although they are Linux-based.
To clear things out, the video has been added to the article, and it shows that there is no confusion. Also, there are several other sites that published the info, and anyone can check with Engadged or Laptopmag for further confirmation.
