Asus recently released the P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP@n, a mainboard for Intel CPUs that includes embedded Linux for Web access and Skype telephony and is capable of booting in a matter of seconds.

Under the hood, the Express Gate function for fast booting of an embedded Linux system is a proprietary Splashtop system by virtualization technology specialists Startup Device VM. Asus is one of Device VM's sponsors. Splashtop will be officially released in October; the splashtop.com site currently has a "Coming Soon" note.

Asus Express Gate

The Express Gate function gives users the ability to access the Web and use Skype without booting Windows or Linux.

According to Asus, users can boot Splashtop by pressing a keyboard shortcut as an alternative to the installed operating system. A modified Firefox browser and a Skype client give users access to the Web and VoIP. Device VM promises that the system will boot in just 5 seconds. Splashtop can be updated by downloading image files. Bookmarks and settings will be persistent.

Asus Splashtop

A drop-down menu gives users the ability to launch programs and access system controls.

The board with its Intel X38 chipset supports Intel Core2 Quad, Core Extreme, Core 2 Duo and Pentium Extreme CPUs. The RRP according to Asus is 309 euros for the P5E3 Deluxe Wifi-ap@N model. The 802.11n WLAN specification promises transfer rates of up to 300Mbps.

Asus recently released the P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP@n, a mainboard for Intel CPUs that includes embedded Linux for Web access and Skype telephony and is capable of booting in a matter of seconds.