Boot Linux in the blink of an eye
Granted, this was accomplished using Linux specifically tailored for particular embedded hardware, so it’s not something you’ll be able to do on your home PC or laptop (yet!). MontaVista Linux booted on Freescale Semiconductor MPC5121e hardware, which presented a specific controlled environment, so the Linux kernel could be tweaked to load only the drives necessary for the platform. Also, as sensational as this story is, it doesn’t make clear whether the one second boot loaded an entirely usable interface, or just for the kernel fully loaded into memory so that additional user space stuff could then kick off.
Regardless, fast boots from a cold start are really, really important for embedded systems. While I don’t mind waiting for a desktop or laptop to finish its boot sequence, I hate waiting for my handheld computing devices to come to life. I expect instant-on functionality from handheld computing devices, dammit!
Hat tip Internet News.