Recently Baidu CEO, Robin Li, gave the keynote at BaiduWorld Beijing, a huge event for the mammoth Chinese search engine. Our CEO Mark Lee and CSO Cliff Miller were VIP attendees at the Beijing event. During his keynote he unveiled the concept of “Box Computing,” for the future of computing. In the image above you’ll see a laptop projected behind him showing instant Baidu search, powered by Splashtop, and will be launching on various major PC OEMs in China soon.

Robin’s full keynote speech is available in Chinese here.

We translated the last paragraphs of his keynote below as this really summarizes our shared vision of “Box Computing” well:

“….We believe that the future of the computer, or terminal — it may be mobile, it may be the Internet appliance, we believe that users no longer need to wait several minutes before the operating system boot up. When you press a power key to open the device, within a second a Box will appear. We have traditionally called this the search box, but now it is actually no longer a simple search box, and it becomes a more universal box. In fact, as long as there is such a Box, all your needs can be met, without needing the users to learn anything. Ask your questions, and we will do needs analysis and deliver the result.

Box Computing is what I want to share with you today. Thank you all.”

We are very excited about the vision of “instant-on Box Computing” that’s available before the OS is booted and the browser is even started. Instead of entering search terms, users can just type in any question, spoken naturally. As more and more intelligence is built behind the Box, we will deliver enhanced simplicity and convenience to the consumer. This universal “instant-on Box” will become the central component and starting point to our ever-connected world.

At Splashtop, we are continually looking at ways of improving people’s online experience, making it faster and simpler. We see continuing innovations in client-side distributed searches, vertical searches, real-time searches, and new input methods for search initiation. Instant-on Box Computing is just the beginning of the kind of innovation Splashtop will bring to the market.

I borrowed the headline from Technologizer, where Harry McCracken is running a poll to see how quickly people get online in the morning. At the time I voted and saw the results, 43% of respondents claimed to get online before they actually got up - they keep their computers or phones by the bed. For a full 78% of respondents, going online competes with or comes before getting breakfast or walking their dog. Despite millions of unhappy pooches, NY Times reports that waking up to check e-mail and Facebook or Twitter accounts is the new reality of the American morning.

As an enabler of instant-on web browsing, we love these trends. We think that everyone should be able to just turn on their PC and start browsing without waiting. And having the PC illuminating the room at night with its blinking lights is lame - it really should be completely off. With Splashtop, you can turn it on instantly any time you need it.

We also observe that browsing is no longer just one of the things you do on a computer. It is The thing that gets people up, it is the reason why the PC is by the bed, and why the dog gets less walking time. Most of the time, browsing is the only thing people do on a PC. With Splashtop, we turn the PC into an awesome browsing appliance that will be ready for you when… you are finally awake.