Introducing Google Chrome OS Articles Prabhas Joshi prabhas@desdevpro.com http://www.desdevpro.com 13 August 2009 Google Chrome OS Article The Google Chrome Operating System is a project by Google to develop a light computer operating system devoted to using the World Wide Web. Announced on July 7, 2009, it is based on Google's Chrome web browser and the Linux kernel. It will initially be targeted at netbooks, and is set to be released during the second half of 2010. It will run on systems with either x86 or ARM processors. Technical Details OS family : Linux Source model : Open source Supported platforms : x86, ARM Kernel type : Monolithic kernel Google has stated that the Google Chrome OS project will be open source by the end of 2009. Although it is based on the Linux kernel, it will use "a new windowing system". Structural Design Google states that Chrome is being designed in a minimalist way, much like its Chrome web browser. In this way, the company hopes to move much of the user interface from the desktop environment to the World Wide Web. chrome_thumb.jpg Cloud computing will be a large part of its design. It has stated that, for developers, "the web is the platform". Google has stated that the Chrome OS is separate from its Google Android operating system, which was designed primarily for use on smartphones and set top boxes. The Chrome OS is being targeted at users who spend most of their time on the Internet, and is designed to run on computers ranging from netbooks to desktop computers. According to Google, 'For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform. Google has also announced that the Chrome OS will feature a novel security architecture. According to Google's official annoucement, they will be "going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates". Market Reaction The opinion of some industry pundits is that the Chrome OS represents the next step in the battle between Google and Microsoft ("the two giants of the digital revolution"). Microsoft dominates the operating system market -[dubious – discuss] - and it also dominates the software market in word processing and spreadsheet applications. The operating system dominance may be challenged directly by Chrome OS, and the application dominance indirectly through a shift to cloud computing. Hardware Support Dell on Friday said it would consider testing Google's upcoming Chrome operating system, but didn't commit to offering the Linux-based OS in future products. "Dell constantly assesses new technologies as part of managing our product development process and for consideration in future products," company spokesman David Frink said in an e-mail. Dell's absence was noticed in a list of PC makers that Google is working with to support the OS. The list included PC makers Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo and Asustek Computer. HP and Lenovo haven't yet committed to offering the product with future PCs. What's More :Google's Chrome OS could make cloud computing 'real' Neil McAllister writes that when people look back at Google's announcement of Chrome OS people will see it as "the moment when cloud computing finally became real." McAllister notes that this might be the beginning of what he dubs the "invisible PC" where computer users are not tied to a desktop or operating system and applications are instead based on the web. chrome_os.jpg It would appear that Chrome OS is truly the first operating system built with cloud computing in mind. When Google announced its new operating system this week the company said that it would begin by targeting the increasing netbook population - computers which have limited memory and are therefore much better suited for working in the cloud. On its official blog, Google seemed to point out how important the web will be to the new operating system, mentioning that users of Chrome OS will be able to be on "the web in a few seconds" after startup. Criticism Google has plenty of tech challenges ahead with Chrome OS, its Web browser-based operating system that it promises will ship next year. But Google -- and its partners -- also have a huge business challenge: Figuring out who the heck is going to buy a device that only runs Web apps. The most important, as far as whether Google's effort will result in business success or failure: The fact that there really is no large, obvious market for Chrome OS devices -- essentially, netbooks with even less power than today's netbooks.