At the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in San Jose, Calif. this week, General Software demonstrated what it claims to be one of the world's fastest boot times for Windows Vista. The system used for the demonstration was equipped with a commercially available Via motherboard and a Samsung hybrid hard disk drive, and was accelerated by General Software's "embedded BIOS" firmware with "StrongFrame Technology," the company said.

According to General Software, Vista boot-up time in the demo -- "from power on to the desktop display" -- was a mere 24 seconds, compared to 72 seconds for "traditional one-size-fits-all" BIOSes. The demo also showed that Quickboot for Windows Vista cuts resume time after hibernation to just 11 seconds, the company said.

Quickboot for Windows Vista is immediately, according to the company. Pricing was not disclosed. For further details, visit the company's website.

For further information about licensing Vista for use in embedded applications, visit Microsoft's "Vista for Embedded Systems" web page.

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