This isn't the first time I've addressed the topic of operating systems in this column, and I suspect it won't be the last. It's not that I'm particularly obsessed with the topic; rather, our industry as a whole seems to keep looking at operating systems as the next big thing.

It's as though we somehow believe a new operating system will make our lives better. A new operating system will increase efficiency, increase productivity, increase application availability—heck, it might even wash our cars and walk our dogs. (Astro: Please note I'm not talking about you here. I will of course continue to walk you myself.)

As proof that the obsession over operating systems is an industry phenomenon and not a personal character defect, let me introduce you to two operating systems that have begun to garner attention in the marketplace: Splashtop and Haiku.

Hot: An OS by Any Other Name . . .

To be perfectly fair, I must say that DeviceVM—the company that created Splashtop— is careful not to refer to Splashtop as an operating system. I suspect this is a well-reasoned marketing strategy to keep it out of Microsoft's crosshairs.

And yet, what else can we call a software product based on Linux that boots up and includes applications for web browsing, media (music/photo) playing, Skype, and instant messaging? You could argue that because it resides partly in ROM and partly on storage, it isn't really an operating system. But I don't buy that. You could argue that it can't be an operating system, because it boots in seconds, not minutes. But I don't buy that.

What I do buy is that Splashtop solves a real problem. We're tired of turning on our laptops and waiting for the operating system to load (or wake up). We want instant access to a core set of functions (especially web browsing). If we want to do real work (e.g., word processing, presentation creation, or spreadsheet calculating), we can boot a full operating system and wait . . . and wait . . . and wait for it to be ready to do our bidding.

If you've never heard of Splashtop before, don't be surprised. DeviceVM's go-to-market strategy has been through OEM partners such as HP, Lenovo, ASUS, and Sony. These partners have come up with different names for Splashtop (e.g., HP packages it as an "Instant-on Operating System"—IOS). As a result, the term "Splashtop" has a fairly low profile in the market.

Splashtop may not wash your car or walk your dog, but it's "hot" in my eyes. If you want to learn more about it, check out splashtop.com.

Not Hot: An OS That Won't Die

The other operating system I want to talk about is an "oldie but goodie." You may remember that in the early 1990s, a company named Be Inc. tried to challenge Microsoft Windows with a personal operating system called BeOS. From a purely intellectual perspective, BeOS had a lot of advantages over Windows. Unfortunately for Be Inc., BeOS failed to materialize as a viable commercial operating system, and ultimately the company was acquired by Palm and then faded into obscurity.

But BeOS lived on. Most recently it became an open-source project under the name Haiku, and an alpha version of the project is available for download and testing.

On the one hand, I have to declare that Haiku is "not hot" because I just don't believe the world needs another heavyweight personal operating system. After all, we already have Windows, OS X, and Linux. On the other hand, BeOS is fun to play with! If you happen to have any desktop virtualization technology at your fingertips—including Sun's free VirtualBox offering (virtualbox.org)—I encourage you to download Haiku and play with it for a few minutes. Check out haiku-os.org for download directions and more details.

Sean Chandler is a computer and network consultant with more than 30 years of field experience. Astro, a border collie with more than 40 dog years of data processing experience, provides technical support to his master, Sean.

Astro's Pick of the Litter

My master always loved his original PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld unit, but he did have two problems with it. First, it was too big to neatly pack in his laptop case along with all his other required accoutrements. Second, he was never a big fan of the Sony Universal Media Disc (UMD) format. Fortunately for him, the newest PSP model—the PSP Go—addresses both these issues. It is much, much smaller, and games are purchased and downloaded over WiFi instead of delivered on UMD. Needless to say, my master was one of the first in line to trade in his old PSP and stack of UMDs for a new PSP Go. Is he happy with the results? It's hard to say right now. I haven't been able to tug him away from playing Rock Band on it long enough to get an answer!

—Astro