JUMP START

The history of Linux includes many attempts to address the long Linux boot process. This comes as no surprise, as a long boot marathon will annoy all but the most patient of users. The legacy Unix System V boot design was once revolutionary, but has turned out to be a millstone around the necks of many distributions.

Although several tricks for speeding up the process have appeared through the years, most boot reforms have turned out to be unworkable in practice, and many of the turbo loaders employed by gurus are inaccessible to regular users. A new tool, Upstart, takes a fresh approach to speeding up Linux boot.