User wrote:
> Dirk T. Verbeek wrote:
>> Max Power schreef:
>>> A Unix / Linux / BSD fix I would like to see in the next 6 months:
>>> universal support for installing to USB drives (Live CDs / DVDs) ...
>>>
>>> 1. The preference for installing to USB should be paramount. The risk
>>> of wiping one's XP or Vista drive for most users is not worth it.
>>> Most of the user interfaces practically force wiping your HD by
>>> default. It should take several prompts (where you have to agree) to
>>> do this. There are not enough prompts around for this dangerous
>>> operation.
>>
>> You have a point.
>>
>> But many (most) distributions already give the option to install to a
>> disk and partition of choice.
>>
>> Your claim 'force wiping your HD by default' is in my view only
>> applicable to Microsoft products.
>>
>> Having a multi-boot system with links to removable media has it's
>> challenges, it should not crash when the media is not present.
>>
>> A lot of problems could be avoided by fool proof installers but even
>> more could be gained by newbies reading TFM.
>> I know some people will see that as the typical reason that has held
>> back Linux on the Desktop for so many years, yet the world does not
>> need an other OS that is wide open to all kinds of abuse.
>
> With the price of flash memory dropping so fast I'm surprised that MB
> mfg's haven't already included a 4GB or 8GB flash-ram disk on the board.
> (maybe they have already?) This ramdisk could hold the base OS and
> additional drives could run OS's in VM's, or boot direct from the boot
> menu in the base OS. The board makers could even include their OS of
> choice, pre-configured and fine tuned for their own hardware. Just think
> of the possibilities.(...voice in the distance> TIME FOR BREAKFAST!!
> ...sorry, I must have been dreaming again....)

They're not that cheap, and in a number of ways they're not that reliable.
There are a few high-end laptops that use it, and it's a big improvement on
start-up and shut-down times if you have a BIOS that also knows how to be quick.