Filed under: OS
Google Chrome OS under development
Google just announced they are indeed developing the long-rumored Chrome OS.Expected to be web-focused with a minimal user interface, the lightweight open source operating system will appear initially on netbooks running either x86 or ARM processors. Expansion to the desktop and full-powered laptops will most likely follow. According the Official Google Blog, Chrome OS will be available to consumers in the second half of next year.
"Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS," wrote . "We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds."
Not surprisingly, the OS will be based on a Linux kernel and should run all current and future web-based applications.
Google admits that there may be some overlap between its operating system for mobile devices, Android, and the newly introduced Chrome OS. The blog announcement explains, "Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems."
What does this mean for the Mac community? Sound off in the comments!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Nate said 2:50AM on 7-08-2009
It really depends on what innovative features Google brings to the market. Google Gears allows for offline use of all of their apps which includes calendar, docs, gmail. So in theory you could use this Chrome Web OS offline but that won't matter if the web apps don't have some API access or something to talk to the machines directly.
We have all seen what happened to the iPhone that only had web apps...
Mac OS is the best OS on the market beyond a doubt and with the improvements in Snow Leopard it will continue to be the best. But unfortunately Mac OS only runs on Apple hardware and Apple hasn't shown any interest in the netbook field which is where the Chrome OS is starting off.
But I will say that I will run Chrome OS on a netbook before I succumb to running a lousy Microsoft OS.
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Khakionion said 2:52AM on 7-08-2009
Yeah, I've been running a Hackintosh up until now, this will probably be the primary operating system on my Mini 9. Regardless of whether it's better than Mac OS, it'll clobber Win7 on a netbook.
Thanh Nguyen said 7:36AM on 7-08-2009
The Mac "netbook" IS the MacBook Air. That's the closest you'll ever get.
Stan-O said 9:38AM on 7-08-2009
I don't think Chrome OS will only allow to run web-based apps. They've had a buzzword ("Chrome is used by over 30 million users") and decided to cash in on it.
Do they have funds and talent to develop an open-source OS which will be easy to develop for? Absolutely. Will it be better than Mac OS X or Windows or Linux -- it might be, but it will need a few tiers of apps to become popular/suitable for many mass-markets.
Khakionion said 2:50AM on 7-08-2009
The Chrome OS is "long-rumored?" How "long" are we talking about here? Chrome is only 9 months old, and the web browser itself was kinda out of left field, no?
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Nate said 2:58AM on 7-08-2009
But a Google OS has been in the rumor mill for ages.
Khakionion said 3:01AM on 7-08-2009
Right, and I guess what I'm saying is that if I had said back during that spat of postulating "it'll be based around a Google-built, WebKit-based browser," I'd sound like I escaped from the looney bin.
This isn't some internal OS that's seen mucho use within Google. It's another platform development initiative, like Android. Wholly different from prior rumors.
Richard said 4:01AM on 7-08-2009
At least since 24th Mar 2005, "A Google OS by 2010" see:
http://www.osnews.com/story/10096/A_Google_OS_by_2010_
Even got the date right!
Christina Warren said 1:58PM on 7-08-2009
Weirdly, as far back as 2007, there were rumors of a WebKit based Google OS. That was what made the Chrome surprise so interesting, it fit with what had been rumored (and dismissed, because as you said, it sounded crazy).
Elliot said 2:57AM on 7-08-2009
Seems to me that this is potentially big news. For Google to release an OS that runs on something other than a phone at all is pretty much what Microsoft has been fearing for years. Don't know how Apple would feel about it. Maybe they aren't intending this to be for anything beyond low power netbooks, but they kind of just said it would run on desktops too. Interesting.
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Nate said 3:07AM on 7-08-2009
It really depends on the extensibility of the OS through APIs. Having an operating system based on the browser makes machine power virtually useless. No one will put an OS on their desktop if it can't utilize the machines power. Even cheap netbooks have the hardware to render pages quickly in a web browser.
Unless you believe that we will start adopting web apps left and right over traditional applications. In which case we will all be buying cheap hardware from now on... as long as my screen stays around the 11-13 inch range I'll be happy. Go web apps!
Hawkman said 6:39AM on 7-08-2009
I can't see that Microsoft have anything to fear. If OS X, a polished, fast, largely compatible-with-Windows operating system with a mature stable of applications hasn't made serious inroads into Windows, what chance does a glorified web browser stand?
It may make ground on netbooks, but a lot of the consumer enthusiasm for those seems to be going away. Can't really bring myself to expect much from this.
Anthony said 3:40AM on 7-08-2009
As long as this contributes to a decrease in Windows share and Apple keeps increasing its share of the market it can only great things for all concerned.
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Joanna D said 4:36AM on 7-08-2009
Why is that a good thing? A segmented market is difficult for peripheral manufacturers, difficult for software developers and leads to more expensive products for consumers.
JAQ said 8:37AM on 7-08-2009
Joanna, you're right about two out of three. Yes, a market with several popular OS platforms would pose more of a challenge to hardware and software producers. But it would not increase the overall cost to consumers, because the increased competition between the platform developers would put pressure on them to keep the cost of the platform itself down. Windows is way overpriced for an operating system, and OS X isn't exactly a bargain either. Chrome OS, if offered at typical Google prices, could bring those consumer prices down.
bioadam said 9:36AM on 7-08-2009
Market dominance can sometimes lead to pro-competitive benefits such as the efficiencies of manufacturing and programming standards you mentioned. Generally, though, I believe competition is good for consumers. The big loser here will be the particularly Google friendly gOS (a Linux distro that I really liked).
J. Adam said 10:55AM on 7-08-2009
Joanna, this is linux-based, so actually most hardware is already supported by the community. This is actually pretty similar to how OS X came to be...it was built atop an already-existing operating system, so the groundwork for lots of things was already laid.
Matthieu said 3:56AM on 7-08-2009
Seems like utter shite. Google are turning into Microsoft; they're completely unable to innovate (although they'll probably do a much better job at playing copycat).
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Matthew W. said 11:20AM on 7-08-2009
And what's Apple's latest innovation? Charging 30 bucks for a patch? The world's first phone that doubles as an oven?
Martin said 10:14AM on 7-08-2009
You're an idiot.