Chrome OS Video
Google forged ahead with its nascent PC operating system, Chrome OS, by releasing it as open source on November 19th. Officially known as the Chromium OS project, Google is looking to engage developers and the open source community before the OS is made available to consumers next year.
The open source project is a follow-up to Google's original Chrome OS announcement in July. Google describes Chrome OS as a natural extension to their Chrome Browser, and provides a fast, simple, secure computing experience for web services.
Although a year away from practical use, Chrome OS is already causing some controversy. If you haven't heard much about Google's efforts to re-think the PC operating system, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about.
From Google's perspective, people use their web browsers 90% of the time when on their computers. While this might be true for some, a lot of people still use traditional PC software for word processing, spreadsheets, email, calendaring, and especially business apps.
Google wants to change all that.
Their solution is to run all programs as web apps run over the Internet instead of installing apps on the PC. In fact, it appears Chrome OS will only run web apps. And this might be the biggest issue facing Chrome OS adoption.
Google believes that a computer that runs only web apps is a worthy trade-off for a fast, secure user experience. They might be right, but a lot has to happen before a Chrome OS computer can be viable product.
What will a Chrome OS computer look like?
Initially, Chrome OS will be targeted for smaller netbook devices, and eventually on larger notebooks and desk top devices. Chrome OS computers will have a hardened, predetermined architecture (think MacBook) with sold state storage instead of the spinning disk hard drives used by traditional PCs.
Chrome OS is essentially a browser built on top of Linux. Apps will run in separate tabs just like the Chrome browser. Chrome OS will have a fast boot time of only a few seconds instead of the several minutes.
Security is a primary goal of Chrome OS, which Google says will be built-in from the ground up. Data will be automatically encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. Other features like auto-update—quick incremental OS updates that are automatically downloaded and installed—will keep the OS secure.
We're a least a year away from a finished Chrome OS product. It should be interesting to see how Google will make their vision of future computing come to life.
For more information, visit Chromium OS and watch these videos on What is Google Chrome OS?, Chromium OS Security, and Chromium OS Fast Boot.
Comments