MSI Winki: tiny instant-on operating system for MSI motherboards

MSI’s Winki is an instant-on Linux operating system on a special thumbdrive that plugs directly into select MSI motherboards. It’ll be similar to Splashtop and Hyperspace, though Engadget reports it’ll be more elaborate than those more tightly-designed examples.

This is cool, but more inspirational than must-have. I’d like to see something similar to this that works on any PC, simply by being plugged into the spare USB or SATA motherboard headers that practically every motherboard in the universe already has.

On the other hand, a tightly-integrated, vendor-specific hardware solution could mean that they’ve solved the core problem on instant-on operating systems: Windows can’t load “in the background” while the instant-on system runs, unless it’s being virtualized by it.

MSI Winki eyes-on: it’s an instant-on OS, but for desktops [Engadget]

1. [theawesomerobot]

   Yeah, SATA would be perfect – anyone with a decent motherboard typically has a free SATA slot, and may even have a few external slots.

2. [dculberson]

   Winky the safety cat??

   

   http://www.catnabbit.com/winky-the-safety-cat/

3. [Anonymous]

   http://ec.transcendusa.com/product/product_memory.asp?cid=64

   see the bottom for the pretty vertical ones

   works with any motherboard that supports boot from USB and a free header port.

   add your own linux or what have you and boom, no need to wait for MSI to start selling it. not quite “instant” unless you modify the distro to boot crazy fast, but still faster than a hard drive.

4. [pelrun]

   It’s kinda cute to see a USB flash drive that plugs straight into a standard motherboard USB header.

   I think I’m going to have to mod my USB flash drive boot disk to mount this way

5. [Rodney]

   @ #6: Vid or you’re a fanboy.

6. [muteboy]

   …when I was growing up, “winky” was a word for what little boys have but little girls don’t.

7. [snej]

   I don’t understand this “instant-on” thing. My MacBook Pro is on and ready within maybe two seconds of opening it, and I don’t need some funky special stripped-down OS to do it. Mac laptops have always been like that.

   Is instant-on just a response to sleep mode being so unreliable in Windows and Linux?

8. [dculberson]

   Snej, you’re talking about waking up from sleep mode, not booting from power off. Sleep mode does still use power.

   I use a Windows laptop and use sleep mode all the time – same experience as you with your MacBook Pro. It’s on and ready to use in seconds. Well, once I enter my password.

9. [Anonymous]

   i think SNEJ @6 is confusing instant on with waking up from sleep. Instant on being a boot from cold state whereas sleep is more a warm state boot.

10. [muteboy]

    Unfortunate name.