Multi-Operating System

Abstract

A mobile computing device with a mobile operating system and desktop operating system running concurrently and independently on a shared kernel without virtualization. The mobile operating system provides a user experience for the mobile computing device that suits the mobile environment. The desktop operating system provides a full desktop user experience when the mobile computing device is docked to a secondary terminal environment. The mobile computing device may be a smartphone running the Android mobile OS and a full desktop Linux distribution on a modified Android kernel.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computing system, comprising:
 a computing device, comprising:   a mobile operating system running in a first execution environment on a shared kernel, the mobile operating system having a first application framework supporting a first application; and   a desktop operating system running concurrently with the mobile operating system in a second execution environment on the shared kernel, the desktop operating system having a second application framework supporting a second application, wherein the second application is incompatible with the first application framework.   
     
     
         2 . The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the mobile operating system includes a first set of user libraries in the first execution environment, and wherein the second application is incompatible with the first set of user libraries. 
     
     
         3 . The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the shared kernel is running on a mobile processor of the computing device. 
     
     
         4 . The computing system of  claim 1 , further including a secondary terminal environment, wherein the desktop operating system is associated with the secondary terminal environment. 
     
     
         5 . The computing system of  claim 1 , further including a secondary terminal environment, wherein the computing device and the secondary terminal environment are connected with a single dock connector that includes a display interface and serial communications interface. 
     
     
         6 . The computing system of  claim 1 , the computing device further including a physical memory device, wherein the mobile operating system is associated with a first frame buffer in the physical memory device and the desktop operating system is associated with a second frame buffer in the physical memory device. 
     
     
         7 . The computing system of  claim 6 , wherein the computing device further includes a first display device, and wherein the first frame buffer is associated with the first display device. 
     
     
         8 . The computing system of  claim 7 , further including a secondary terminal environment, wherein the secondary terminal environment includes a second display device, and wherein the second frame buffer is associated with the second display device. 
     
     
         9 . The computing system of  claim 8 , wherein the second application is displayed on the second display device through the second frame buffer. 
     
     
         10 . The computing system of  claim 1 , the computing device further including a physical storage device, wherein the second execution environment is logically isolated from the first execution environment on the physical storage device. 
     
     
         11 . The computing system of  claim 1 , further including an input device connected to the computing device, wherein input commands from the input device are available to the mobile operating system in the first execution environment and to the desktop operating system in the second execution environment. 
     
     
         12 . The computing system of  claim 11 , wherein the desktop operating system accesses input commands from the input device through the shared kernel. 
     
     
         13 . The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is configured using a boot process that includes the steps of:
 starting, in response to a power on event, a boot loader;   establishing, by the boot loader, the first execution environment;   starting, by the boot loader, the shared kernel;   initializing, by the shared kernel, the mobile operating system;   starting, by the shared kernel, the first application framework;   starting, in the mobile operating system, a desktop monitor service;   establishing, by the desktop monitor service, a second execution environment within the first execution environment; and   starting, by the desktop monitor service, the second application framework.   
     
     
         14 . A method of providing multiple operating systems on a single physical processor of a mobile computing device, the method comprising:
 running a first application on a mobile operating system, the first operating system running on a shared kernel and having a first application framework; and   running a second application on a desktop operating system, the desktop operating system running concurrently with the first operating system on the shared kernel and having a second application framework, wherein the second application is incompatible with the first application framework.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 allocating, by the shared kernel, a first frame buffer memory associated with the mobile operating system; and   allocating, by the shared kernel, a second frame buffer memory associated with the desktop operating system.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 rendering, by the mobile operating system, the first application in the first frame buffer memory through the shared kernel; and   rendering, by the desktop operating system, the second application in the second frame buffer memory through the shared kernel.   
     
     
         17 . A computing device including a computer-readable medium storing instructions for a physical processor, the instructions, when executed, causing the processor to perform steps comprising:
 running a mobile operating system in a first execution environment on a shared kernel, the mobile operating system having a first application framework supporting a first application; and   running a desktop operating system concurrently with the mobile operating system in a second execution environment on the shared kernel, the second operating system having a second application framework supporting a second application, wherein the second application is incompatible with the first application framework.   
     
     
         18 . The computing device of  claim 17 , wherein the second execution environment comprises a chrooted environment. 
     
     
         19 . The computing device of  claim 17 , further comprising mobile telephony capabilities. 
     
     
         20 . The computing device of  claim 17 , wherein the computing device comprises a smartphone.