While the Internet age has our virtual lives up to warp speed, there remains a nagging speed bump.

We're talking about the time it takes to get your computer operating system up and running. It can be a couple of minutes or more, depending on the age of your computer and the applications it has.

Some might view the process as a necessary warm-up to a long, productive session. But as more people turn to their computers for quick snippets of news and information, a glance at their e-mail or to kill a few minutes browsing the Web, those minutes can seem interminable, like a stream of bad movie trailers before the feature film.

But take heart - computer manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell and local softwaremakers like DeviceVM and Phoenix Technologies are working on ways to get users running within seconds. The approaches so far don't speed up the booting-up process; instead, they take you to the equivalent of a mini-operating system streamlined for Web browsing, e-mail and media consumption.

DeviceVM of San Jose is one of the companies leading the way with its Splashtop software, which has been installed on computers from Asus and Lenovo and on the Envy 133, from Hewlett-Packard's Voodoo brand.

The software, which is marketed under different names by the manufacturer, takes people to a Linux-based environment that provides a Firefox-based browser, Skype, media and instant messaging, all within about 10 seconds.

"In the past when people weren't connected, they focused on tasks by themselves and getting up and going quickly wasn't such a requirement," said Sergei Krupenin, the executive director of marketing at DeviceVM. "Now we're looking at the computer as a communications tool with e-mail and instant messaging. We're comparing the computer to a telephone or TV, and with all those appliances, consumers expect them to be instant on and friendly."

One drawback: To access the regular operating system, users must close out and go through the regular booting-up process. DeviceVM is working on a way to have the operating system load in the background while Splashtop runs, but that option won't be available soon.

HP was one of the first to address the problem in 2004, when it offered a quick booting process on consumer notebooks, allowing people to get access to their media or play a DVD. Now the company is working on a quick-look function for some commercial notebooks that allows users to view their e-mail, contacts and calendar. It's also releasing a new HP Mini 1000 Mobile Internet Experience, a cheap ultra-portable laptop that does away with a traditional OS in favor of a quick-booting Linux system streamlined for e-mail, browsing and media.

Phil McKinney, chief technology officer for HP's personal systems group, said speeding up booting is a major focus for the company. A speedier boot-up, he said, can encourage consumers to turn to their computers more readily.

Rival Dell has developed its own solution called Latitude On, which will appear on two new Latitude notebooks this year. Dell's take on instant-on involves building a separate subsystem with its own processor that powers e-mail and Web browsing.

Dell's Margaret Franco, director of business notebooks, said the function saves battery life because users don't have to put their computers to sleep, which slowly drains the battery. She said the Latitude On environment also is thrifty with power, allowing users to keep their notebooks on for well over a day.

Microsoft is working on speeding up the booting process for Windows 7, its successor to Windows Vista. The task is complicated because it involves starting the central processing unit, initializing firmware, testing devices and hardware and handing over control to the operating system.

Jon Devaan, senior vice president of the Windows Core Operating System Division, told an audience last week at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference that Microsoft was working on loading parallel device drivers and making services start on demand during boot-up to speed the process.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy at research firm Jupitermedia, said the instant-on features will be more attractive on netbooks and ultra-portable notebooks, allowing them to be used quickly, like a smart phone.

"As more users migrate to laptops and want to be able to use them ubiquitously, waiting for it to boot or come out of hibernation can be frustrating," Gartenberg said. "That's why we're seeing these tactical solutions."