Over the past quarter-century, more than a billion PCs have been produced that use Basic Input Output System (BIOS) software from Phoenix Technologies Ltd. The BIOS provides a key interface between the hardware and the Windows operating system.

But with the BIOS business in a long-term decline, Phoenix is aiming for a rebirth as a vendor of application platform technology that instead of enabling Windows, starts to compete with it.

On Monday, the Milpitas, Calif. vendor unveiled a Linux-based virtualization platform called Hyperspace.

Based on the HyperCore hypervisor developed by Phoenix and embedded within its popular BIOS, Hyperspace provides a thin software layer upon which cut-down versions of popular open-source software can be loaded instantly without the need to boot up Windows, said Woody Hobbs, Phoenix's CEO, in a telephone interview.

"We call this embedded simplicity, or PC 3.0," Hobbs said. The goal is to allow faster access to applications such as Web browsers, e-mail programs, or video players on notebooks running Windows.

Such quick-launch capability is common in smart devices such as PDAs or smartphones, and some ultra-mobile devices offer similar functionality with features such as AVN Now. But currently Windows-running PCs must either go through a lengthy boot process or wake up from standby mode -- still a hiccupy feature in many laptops.

Be kind to batteries

Users can easily toggle back and forth between applications running in Windows and those in Hyperspace. The difference is that applications running in HyperSpace consume fewer system resources -- and, hence, battery power -- than those running under Windows, said Hobbs.

"Windows is quite consumptive of batteries," Hobbs said, citing complaints about Vista's power management. "So the more you can stay out of Windows, the more you can extend your battery life."

Hyperspace also delivers a more locked-down software platform than Windows, says Hobbs, who argues that secrecy will improve security.

"By putting software in a completely unpublished environment, you'll be able to eliminate the blue pills and rootkits," he said.

Read the rest of the article from ComputerWorld to find out more, here.