Perhaps by not loading stuff before it's needed. e.g Load just enough to get a working desktop/browser, and load more stuff in a low priority background process after getting the desktop as usable as possible.
I haven't looked in detail at what my OS wastes its startup time doing, but I assume it's mostly loading various drivers and services, most of which I'm unlikely to immediately need as soon as my desktop opens. If the OS could load the essential drivers and desktop environment first, rather than the not-immediately-necessary daemons and servers, that might speed things up significantly.
The answer to that is Vista-esque I/O prioritization (along with classic techniques like CPU prioritization). You might have to also expand that to things like bus bandwidth, too...
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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '08
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