A new patent has come to light that indicates Microsoft’s plans on having a streaming operating system. The plans include the ability to stream an entire Windows operating system onto your computer in future versions of Windows. Could we be seeing something like this soon?
As shown in the above image (courtesy of ConceivableTech), the patent indicates how a virtual hard disk image can be streamed to a user’s computer and cached in its memory. Only a small amount of data really needs to be cached before a system can run, which makes the booting process faster.
Microsoft obviously is planning something greater than apps and media streaming to ensure the company makes an impact in the cloud arena. Whether this patent is for a future version of Windows or even an Xbox console, the idea is pretty neat and will make things easier for many. Our idea is that Microsoft wants to create an operating system that is purely cloud based, which would offer a much more integrated solution for a wide range of devices such as personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, tablet devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and distributed computing environments.
Not that long ago, we discussed an idea that would allow Windows 8 users to have a web-based installer. In a cloud-based age that we now live in, many consumers don’t care for a nicely packaged software box containing a CD/DVD. Instead, people want to download their software quickly and easily from an app store. Our idea would allow for a user to download a executable from an App Store and run it to validate a Windows install, enter a key, and stream the setup files directly from the cloud. Users could also download files for offline installation or create their own DVD. This idea would be a great step in the right direction when it comes to cloud computing.
