Splashtop: boot into Linux in just five seconds

I thought you said it was mostly read-only? How do I get my music into Splashtop?

Well, remember that Splashtop is a full Linux system deep down, and that means you can read files straight to your hard drive if you want to. It also means it's got a fully featured networking stack – you can use ADSL, WPA2 Wi-Fi, or whatever else your hardware supports.

OK, presumably that means I can upload and download files as needed?

Sure, but you need to think a little bigger: because Splashtop gives you full access to the web, you actually don't need a hard drive at all. In fact, if your computer has a USB slot, you can kiss goodbye to your hard drive completely and store everything on a USB stick. The advantages are clear: extreme speed, extreme portability, and yet all the internet you want. What's not to like?

I'm sure I'll think of something. What about if I want to video-conference on the move, being the executive-type that I am?

I've already told you that Splashtop has Skype, and it's not some half-baked version of Skype, either – it's the full thing, including support for SkypeOut.

OK, you've almost convinced me to part with my cash. How do I go about buying this Splashtop?

Here's the really magic thing: because Splashtop is designed to be embedded, many motherboards are already shipping with it as standard. It's not something you buy and plug in, it's something you just get whether you know about it or not.

Whoa… so I could have Splashtop right now and not even know it?

Possibly, but it is fairly new, so it's unlikely. The leading manufacturer behind Splashtop is Asus, which originally put it on all its premium motherboards. But then the company announced it will put Splashtop on every motherboard it creates – and that's a lot of motherboards!

So millions of Windows users will have Linux pre-installed on their machines and won't even realise?

Precisely. Splashtop powers the single-greatest installfest in the history of Linux. Just like with the Eee PC and other netbooks, Splashtop puts a friendly face over Linux, and in reality makes it rather irrelevant that Linux is there at all. All people see is the web, which is all the way want to see – it could run Linux, Windows, or MikeOS behind the scenes, but they just don't care.

MikeOS has networking support now?

OK, that bit was hyperbole, but the point remains: Splashtop works because it lets Linux do its job and stay out of the way.

This is starting to sound like a huge victory for free software…

We don't think it will be long until people realise they don't need to boot Windows at all – Splashtop does everything they need for free, so they can finally step off the proprietary software treadmill.

That's really cool, and I'm definitely interested. Where can I read more?

The homepage for Splashtop is, unsurprisingly, www.splashtop.com; they have movies of Splashtop in action, as well as screenshots and FAQs. If you want to try Splashtop yourself, you can find more information about Asus laptops that ship with it pre-installed at http://tinyurl.com/splashtopasus – although Asus brands its Splashtop implementation as ExpressGate, just to make life more interesting.

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First published in Linux Format, Issue 113

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