1. An instant-on environment for a computer comprising a boot ROM and a mass storage device, wherein the mass storage can be either hard disk or flash memory, said instant-on environment comprising: a loader that is integrated into said boot ROM, based on an embedded OS, and that functions to load other instant-on environment components; an EPG1 interface element comprising a first user screen that appears on a computer display within seconds after power-on, and from which a user can choose to launch one of a plurality of instant-on environment applications or launch a primary OS; an EPG2 interface element that is launched if said user chooses to launch an instant-on environment application, wherein said EPG2 interface element comprises a desktop environment that said user enters once an application is selected from said EPG1 interface element; and wherein said instant-on environment comprises any or all of said loader, EPG1, and EPG2, and resides in any one or all of said (boot ROM and mass storage.