Splashtop OS: Quick Boot Operating system for Web Surfing

Splashtop OS is an operating system which boots instantly, specially developed for the OEM market and for accessing Web services in no time and lets you enter online world without entering Windows.

There are few manufacturers who provide this feature inbuilt into their products but now it is no more restricted to OEMs but even you can try it on your machine for free.

Splashtop OS is a light weight operating system which boots quickly and lets you connect to Internet quickly. Its simple and light weight because only thing it carries is web browser just like Google Chrome OS which is required to connect to Internet.

For whom is it?

It is suitable for netbooks or travellers who just want to check with emails or surf web instantly. Not limited to these but it is suitable for cyber cafes, friend or relative who understands little about Computers.

Installation is quite easy: You need Windows > Download a 2 MB Online installer which downloads complete OS (nearly 220 MB) and after complete installation, restart to boot Splashtop.

The full boot takes about 20 seconds, if you count the time from when the computer’s power button was pressed. If we consider just the operating system, the boot is done in about eight seconds.

The trick behind quick loading is to launch a custom Linux kernel that loads only the essentials so that the user can navigate through the Chromium web browser.

Use of the Splashtop OS is very simple. Despite that the base is Linux, you will have access to a full graphical environment like KDE. One of the few programs which can interact with the web browser open full screen by default, configured to use Bing search engine and Flash Player 10 installed.

For downloads, storage and new themes for the browser, USB flash memory will be needed, since the user has limited permissions to access the disk. When connected, the memory is automatically recognized. The system has a very simple file manager so that the user can view, copy, move or delete files on the USB disk.

Blogsolute Verdict about Splashtop OS

Despite being still in beta, Splashtop OS is an operating system stable and well developed, which did not show any fault during our tests. Although it is a bit limited, Splashtop OS seems to be a good choice for netbooks and other similar devices, as a quick alternative to surf the internet.

The startup time is impressive: after pressing the Power button takes 20 seconds for the system is ready for use.

Integration with Bing may be a problem for some users, but it is possible to configure Chromium Google or other search engine.

The configuration tools of Splashtop OS is easy to use and self explanatory, taking only the essentials to eliminate distractions or confusion by the user. The downside is the import feature of Mozilla Firefox bookmarks, did not work during our tests.