OS on a chip

  • Thread starter Thread starter Terry
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Terry

You can buy a 1G thumb drive today for 20 bucks.

I am I the only one that thinks that adding a socket on the mother
board for something similar to flash the OS to would be a good idea?
 
Terry said:
You can buy a 1G thumb drive today for 20 bucks.

I am I the only one that thinks that adding a socket on the mother
board for something similar to flash the OS to would be a good idea?
Click to expand...

Yes, no, and maybe.

For distribution of XP in place of an installation CD, perhaps. But
the cost would be higher and therefore Microsoft (and the OEMs) would
be reluctant to do so unless there was some competetive advantage in
doing so that would offset the higher costs.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
Yes, this is how Windows CE is distributed: it is actually
burned in the system. Like other pocket PCs, PDAs, smartphones.

--PA
 
I don't have a need for a PDA or such. Do they use reprogrammable
memory? Can you update the information on the chip?

I would think having the information on a chip instead of a disk would
be noticeably faster booting.

I would think it would also be harder for some third party to be able
to screw up the OS if they did not have direct control over it.
 
A few issues come to mind, the OS would be a large portion of the
motherboard cost. Updating/hotfixes would be problematic. Booting times
are primarily a function of intitializing hardware and loading "3rd
party add-ons". With that in mind what will be the benefit?
 
My mobo cost about 100$ I assume that if a 1G thumb drive can be
purchased for 20 bucks that you could also add the same function to a
mobo for the same price.

I would think that anyone buying a machine with a PCIe slot would be
willing to pay for advantage of booting from ram instead of a hard
drive.

I would think that boot times from a chip would be much faster than
from a hard drive. I would also think having the OS in area out of
reach to third party stuff would prevent some of the problems XP now
has.

I also realize that machines bought at best buy or walmart would not
add such a feature, but I believe there would be a market for it.

Of course since no one so far has come out with it, I could be wrong
again. (boy, that is a surprise)
 
Inline
My mobo cost about 100$ I assume that if a 1G thumb drive can be
purchased for 20 bucks that you could also add the same function to a
mobo for the same price.
Click to expand...

Still a 20% price increase for a "dubious" feature.

I would think that anyone buying a machine with a PCIe slot would be
willing to pay for advantage of booting from ram instead of a hard
drive.
Click to expand...

What is the "advantage"? The time a unit spends booting up is a small
fraction of the operating time of the PC.
I would think that boot times from a chip would be much faster than
from a hard drive.
Click to expand...

Actually the "new" harddrives with a flash memory cache will do that.
And as pointed out earlier, 3rd party software and hardware
initializaton are the time wasters.
I would also think having the OS in area out of
reach to third party stuff would prevent some of the problems XP now
has.
Click to expand...

Still accessable, remember the OS has to get on there somehow and still
can be subverted.

I also realize that machines bought at best buy or walmart would not
add such a feature, but I believe there would be a market for it.
Click to expand...

Limited marketing feature?
Of course since no one so far has come out with it, I could be wrong
again. (boy, that is a surprise)
Click to expand...

Boils down to no particular advantage and increases the cost.
 
Terry said:
My mobo cost about 100$ I assume that if a 1G thumb drive can be
purchased for 20 bucks that you could also add the same function to a
mobo for the same price.
Click to expand...


It would add the cost of the chip, the supporting changes to the
motherboard and the cost of the OS itself. Figure at least $100 for a
Microsoft OS.
I would think that anyone buying a machine with a PCIe slot would be
willing to pay for advantage of booting from ram instead of a hard
drive.
Click to expand...
And what would you do if you wanted to upgrade the OS to a new version
or change it entirely, say from Windows XP to Linux? The only time I
could see this as an advantage would be with office computers that were
bought to be installed and replaced when it came time to upgrade the
operating system.

I would think that boot times from a chip would be much faster than
from a hard drive. I would also think having the OS in area out of
reach to third party stuff would prevent some of the problems XP now
has.
Click to expand...

Again this would be an advantage more for computers that were not
expected to be changed during their lifetime.
 
You can buy a 1G thumb drive today for 20 bucks.

I am I the only one that thinks that adding a socket on the mother
board for something similar to flash the OS to would be a good idea?
Click to expand...

Another thought I am having out loud is if you had the OS on a chip,
then you could change / upgrade hard drives without worrying about
effecting the OS.

The chip could be rewritable but only with a user permission kind of
deal. I really think most software could be written without infecting
the OS.

I quit using Symantic products for this reason.
 
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