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It looks like HP is continuing its operating system buying streak. A few months ago the company announced plans to purchase Palm and use the company’s WebOS software on a wide range of devices. And now InfoWorld reports that HP will purchase HyperSpace for about $12 million.

HyperSpace is a quick boot operating system developed by Phoenix Technologies. It’s based on Linux, and allows you to start running apps including a web browser and Skype about 10 seconds after hitting the power button on most computers, without waiting for Windows to boot.

Clearly, the HyperSpace deal is costing HP a lot less than the $1.2 billion the company is expected to pay for Palm. But while Palm WebOS will likely power future HP smartphones, tablets, and maybe even web-connected printers, I can envision a future where every HP computer ships with some sort of quick-boot software based on HyperSpace.

One interesting side note is the fact that the HP Mini 210 netbook already ships with a quick-boot environment based on DeviceVM’s Splashtop software, which competes with HyperSpace. I can’t help but wonder if HP might have approached DeviceVM as well as Phoenix. Either way, I doubt that future netbooks from HP will continue to ship with Splashtop installed.

It should also be interesting to see if HP continues to license Hyperspace to other PC makers such as Samsung that already use the software on their notebooks.