I lost where this particular thread came in, especially since I posted a 
message titled "Boot Linux Faster". So at the risk of being repetitive here 
it is again, since the article seems to address some of the concerns being 
raised here:

Date: 
24/08/2003 3:06 pm

Hello,

I don't know if any one else saw this article but it seemed very good to me. 

http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-boot.html

A chap at IBM Hursley, in the UK, has come up with a way to make Linux boot 
faster using make. I have not got around to trying it out. However, given the 
speed that XP now starts up compared to most Linux setups I would think 
anything to get the boot times down must be good. I responded to this e-mail 
asking why everything needs to be started at boot time. For example it takes 
a huge amount of time to get CUPS up and running. Why not defer this until 
the first print job is required ? It appears that extension of his idea could 
be to work out which services really need to be started at boot time and 
which might be deferred.

Anyway, food for thought,
Owen

I was suggesting that CUPS and the like should be started when the first 
attempt to print, or whatever, is made. I don't know if that is actually 
possible but it seems to me to be somewhat more elegant than just waiting for 
60 seconds. What happens if a print request IS made during that 60s, does it 
just vanish into the ether ?

A follow up post on this thread suggested that XP was spoofing by clever use 
of changing eye candy. Although this does play a small role XP IS a lot 
faster at getting to the desktop. Since Linux is making a play for the 
desktop it cannot be under estimated how important this speed, perceived or 
otherwise, is with the average punter. I generally find that Window$ users 
are generally not a forgiving lot, especially when their mental picture / 
world order is under threat !!! 

The idea of using any kind of suspend does not address the key issue, neither 
does the argument that Linux is not designed as a reboot OS. Linux is going 
to get rebooted and all the more often as it starts to make inroads onto the 
desktop. Linux is still legal, despite the best efforts of large vested 
interests and monopolies and their pet US government ! We need to give users 
a better user experience than M$, or anyone else, and that includes bootup 
and shutdown. I find it unacceptable to wait 4 minutes, even on my PIII 500.

Thanks again,
Owen

On Friday 31 Oct 2003 3:33 am, Jos wrote:
> On Thursday 30 Oct 2003 23:06, guran wrote:
> > Is it possible to use swsusp as a regular "halt-susp"
> > to get around the need of everyone who thinks that the next second is
> > important.
> > Otherwise I think that Linux or Unix has other walues than a fast start.
> > regards
> > guran
>
> Well... about the fact swsusp is even existing in Mandrake 9.2 I got my own
> not so very positive ideas. Of course I tested it, and as expected it
> didn't work well. Swsusp is far from mature on linux -and will never be in
> 2.4 kernels-. Swsusp is a nice way to prevent a laptop from loosing it's
> data when the battery runs out, not a way to reboot a system day in day
> out.
>
> Sorry, but I've had it with the guys who say "Mandrake works fine with me,
> so anyone stating otherwise should shut up", and unfortunately there are
> far too many of them on this list...
>
> Jos


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