SplashTop: near instant web & Skype access without booting

We've seen plenty of (nearly) instant gratification applications in the past; things like the AVS partition on the Samsung Q1 for media access without booting into a full OS. How about Windows SideShow displays that offer PIM and appointment information even when the PC is off. But a web-browser or Skype client?

That's what SplashTop is offering thanks to a 512 MB embedded version of Linux; check this YouTube video demo to see it in action. It's slated for a specific Asus motherboard at the moment, but I'd expect this to quickly expand to other boards and OEMs. In five seconds or less after hitting the proper button, you'll have access to the web via a special version of Firefox and you'll also have the ability to send or receive Skype calls with SplashTop. It's not a true "instant on" solution, but it takes advantage of a lightweight, embedded solution for specific purposes and makes those minutes of boot-up time more bearable.

(via Boing Boing Gadgets)