The world's shortest product demo?

I feel sorry for some of my QNX colleagues. They'll be at the Embedded Systems conference next week, shilling the QNX fastboot demo. The problem with the fastboot demo is that it, well, boots fast. You flip the button, and it turns on. End of story. If the person viewing the demo isn't paying attention, they miss the whole thing. Fortunately, the solution is simple: you just flip the button again.

The demo is pretty impressive, in its fleeting way. Historically, x86 systems (like the one on your desktop) use a BIOS to boot. Now, the BIOS is useful on a desktop or laptop system, but serves little purpose on an x86 embedded system -- aside from making it boot slower. QNX fastboot technology eliminates the BIOS, allowing systems based on the Intel Atom and other x86 chips to achieve "instant on".

For evidence, check out the YouTube video and fast forward to the 1:50 mark. You'll see how QNX fastboot technology reduces boot time from about 17 seconds to under a second. But, please, pay close attention. Or you'll miss the whole thing.