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Asus announced it will have a ROM boot chip for their ultar portable line of eeePC computer that instantly boots to Linux, bypassing the need to wait for Windows to load. You simply press the on button and you're instantly ready to browse the Internet, no waiting.
This development is important, since 90 percent of the time all a user wants to do is surf the Web... It's an extremely subversive ploy for a number of reasons. First of all, it gets people used to Linux, gives them a pain-free experience, and provides quick rewards. Second, it shows users that—most of the time—this is all they need. And finally, it makes Windows look like a subsystem not much different from a program that you run under Windows. The psychological effect of this is profound, and the results could be devastating for Microsoft.
The instant on Internet ability can be added to any motherboard, subverting the need for Windows and making cloud computing more viable. This is a major shift in the computer hardware industry that could affect the need for Microsoft Windows OS and has implications for the advancement of cloud computing and a surge in popularity of linux software.
No one knows where computer technology is headed.
I had a lecturer many years ago tell me Unix was way too big and needed too much processing power to ever run on anything but a mainframe...
...wonder what he makes of Vista?
