ASRock's Instant Boot: 0 to Vista in 4 seconds

ASRock has a ploy to sell more of its motherboards: Instant Boot. The BIOS update for select MoBos promises to boot XP or Vista systems 10 times faster than standard PCs -- in other words, about 3 to 4 seconds from a full shutdown. ASRock achieves this minor of miracles through manipulation of the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface that Microsoft manipulates for its sleep and hibernate modes. At the risk of oversimplification, ASRock appears to add the processing baggage to the backend of the shutdown process, essentially rebooting the OS and then dropping it into a suspended state ready to instantly pop on the next time you hit the power button. Pretty smart actually. Here's the catch: the system you're using must be limited to a single user account without any password protection -- a definite no-no for corporate environments. See what happens when Hugo and George steal Dad's camcorder after the break.

[Thanks, Daniel]

engadget.com

Windows 7 Will Only Have One 'Ready' Sticker, Down From Vista's Four

After receiving endless flak for their silly tiered Vista Compatibility scheme, Microsoft has decided to issue a single "Windows 7 Capable" sticker for hardware that works with the new OS. That means no more "Windows Home Basic", "Windows Ready", "Certified for Windows" and "Windows Ready When You Are, Asshole" labels slapped on every piece of hardware in the computer aisle at Best Buy.

During the same conference in which this was announced, Microsoft demonstrated Windows 7 on a modestly spec'd Eee netbook, so it looks like Windows 7 compatibility might be taken for granted with most new PCs. Microsoft did tell the Register that there would be different stickers for touchscreen and media center devices. While the touchscreen sticker will be a convenient indicator that a device is touch-capable, what will media center sticker mean? That a computer has an HDMI output? That marketing asked for it? Also, one=three, apparently. [The Register]

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