Chrome OS Running Off Thumbdrive Looks Fast
Posted 11/25/09 at 03:14:03 PM by Pulkit Chandna
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Limiting the time it takes to reach the desktop from the moment the PC is turned on (no pun intended) may not be the holy grail of personal computing but it is something that merits attention. Google is just not chasing distant dreams in the “cloud” with its Chrome OS. It is also trying to address – or exploit - the growing mass resentment of slow boot times. In fact, the focal point of most reports about Google's operating system in the mainstream media has been its ability to boot in just 7 seconds. Not that tech-savvy people don't like quick boot times, but this is wonderful publicity as it is simple enough to stoke the curiosity of tech greenhorns, the majority.
A bloke only identified by his Twitter id “Hexxeh” was able to boot Chromium OS (open source version of Chrome OS) natively from a USB key. He has uploaded the image file of the operating system so others can burn it to a USB Key and begin toying with Chromium themselves. According to our friends over at Engadget, the USB version takes less time to boot than its virtualized counterpart. It took them few seconds to hit the ground running on a Dell Mini 9. Hexxeh has created a website for distributing the bootable image besides a simple set of instructions for Windows, Mac, and Linux users.
interesting, but...
Submitted by cjrlauve on Fri, 11/27/2009 - 8:31am
It boots up fast, but doesn't really do anything. Drivers for wireless? anything but browser? it will be better when it actually does something.
Submitted by aviaggio on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 7:10pm
It would have been nice to know in advance I needed a 4+ GB drive for this. I don't have one that large lying around. Hmmm, maybe I can turn it into a bootable DVD...
Yeah, that kinda put me
Submitted by Quakindude on Thu, 11/26/2009 - 10:37am
Yeah, that kinda put me off too. 4Gb? Sheesh. Still, it's pretty cool if you want to be super secure in your web browsing at someone else's house. Just get their computer set to boot off of USB first, HDD second, and you can be assured that your web browsing and banking habits will still be yours when you leave.
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***The views I express are my own and do not represent the views of MaximumPC Magazine or Future US.***
Submitted by aviaggio on Fri, 11/27/2009 - 5:49pm
True, but couldn't you do the same thing with an Ubunto DVD? I guess maybe this would be faster to get up and running and into the browser. I'm gonna try making a bootable DVD of this. I like the idea of being able to have it on a thumb drive, but I'm too poor right now to buy one :(
Submitted by bathtbgin on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 11:17pm
I didnt pay attention to the full size of the OS the first time around, seeing that its 4GB makes me even less enthusiastic about the "OS" now. Google has created a 4GB browser, but it boots in 7 seconds so its okay /sarcasm.
Submitted by bathtbgin on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 4:49pm
so the OS boots in 7 seconds, did they forget to mention that the only thing that the OS runs is the browser? I tried it in a VM a few days ago and could not think of a single instance in which i'd actually want to use it.
Submitted by Quakindude on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 4:21pm
I'll be trying this right here shortly!
MaximumPC Moderator
***The views I express are my own and do not represent the views of MaximumPC Magazine or Future US.***
cant wait until i can
Submitted by nsk chaos on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 3:49pm
cant wait until i can install it on my laptop :-)
"No pun intended" That
Submitted by matthew.ickstadt on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 3:47pm
"No pun intended"
That just made me sad.
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