Asus Offers "Instant-On" Notebooks

The computer maker will introduce an "instant on" version of Linux on several of its laptops this summer, expanding soon to its entire range of notebooks.

Last month Asus announced it would include the flash chip Splashtop on all its motherboards, allowing for a virtual instant-on of a few applications including IM, Firefox and Skype.

Now it’s going one better by including an instant-on version of Linux, made by Device VM. The Splashtop distro will appear alongside Windows Vista on the Asus M70T, M50V, M51Vr and F8Va/Vr notebooks later this summer, and will eventually expand to the entire notebook range.

By complementing Windows, Splashtop will give users a choice of OS.

Henry Yeh, general manager of Asus’ notebook business unit, said:

"Asus is always committed to bring customers the most innovative solutions."