Boot Times, A Retrospective

Back in 2010 I did a post, In Depth And Highly Scientific Comparison Between Microsoft Windows And Ubuntu, which was a comparision of the boot-up times of Ubuntu 10.04 and Windows Vista:

I have had a number of regular (free) upgrades to the Ubuntu system and it now running 14.10 and booting up about the same time ... well, maybe a little lag in step 2 (see below).

I've not had a Microsoft Windows machine since Vista but we do have a WIndows 7 laptop in the so I might also compare it ... one day.

On to my HP Chromebook (v40.0) - here's the deal:

1. From boot to login: 8.5 seconds
2. From entering my password and loading my Gmail: 10 seconds
3. Logging out: 5 seconds
4. Re-enter password and back to Gmail again: 7 seconds
5. Restart (all the way back to the dual boot): n/a

How different 5 years can make; the biggest difference is in step 2, this from 5 years ago:

• Ubuntu 10.04: 2mins 30secs
• Windows Vista: 1min 5secs

Note that "loading my Gmail" on my Chromebook didn't need me to do anything as it just fired it up and there it was, thus taking away my "thinking and reaction time".

There are many reasons for the speedier times, there are many pros and cons for the technology shifts, but there's now getting away from the convenience that tech is now delivery at increasingly cheap rates ... a Brave New World or moving into the hands of Big Brother?