Google Chrome Operating System

[elle]

Google Offers Peek at Operating System, a Potential Challenge to
Windows


By MIGUEL HELFT
Published: November 19, 2009
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google began lifting the veil on its planned
Chrome operating system on Thursday, but it said that computers
powered by the software would not be available for a year.

The new operating system, which is closely tied to Google’s Web
browser, also named Chrome, is seen as a potential challenge to
Microsoft, whose Windows software powers the vast majority of personal
computers.

But with the Chrome operating system, Google is not trying to build a
better version of Windows. Instead, it is aiming to shift users toward
its vision of “cloud computing,” a model in which programs are not
installed on a PC but rather are used over the Internet and accessed
through a Web browser. In Google’s approach, a user’s data will also
reside on servers across the Internet, rather than on their PC.

Most PC users already rely on cloud computing, using their Internet
browsers to access things like e-mail, photo albums and digital maps.

“Hundreds of millions of users are living on the cloud,” said Sundar
Pichai, a vice president for product management at Google in charge of
Chrome. Every program that users enjoy on their PCs today, Mr. Pichai
said, will soon be available as a Web application. “The trend is very,
very clear,” he said.

While Microsoft and others say they believe that cloud-based programs
will coexist with traditional PC software, Google has often said that
Web applications will replace all desktop software, another area that
Microsoft dominates. Machines running the Chrome operating system,
which initially will be limited to lightweight, portable computers
known as netbooks, will not run any desktop applications other than
the Chrome browser.

But even Mr. Pichai said that devices on the Chrome operating system
were likely to be used, at least at first, as a complement to users’
more powerful computers at home.

Analysts said that the Chrome operating system could pose a challenge
to Microsoft over the long term but said that Microsoft was not
sitting still.

“Chrome OS moves the playing field to the cloud,” said Ray Valdes, an
analyst at Gartner. “But Microsoft is a multifaceted company. They
have a systematic effort to put a lot of their technology portfolio in
the cloud as well.”

In a statement, Microsoft said that the Chrome operating system was in
“early stages of development” and that “customers are already voicing
their approval of the way Windows 7 just works — across the Web and on
the desktop, and on all sizes and types of PCs.” Speaking to investors
at Microsoft’s headquarters, Steven A. Ballmer, the chief executive,
said that Windows 7 was outselling any previous version of Microsoft’s
operating system.

On Thursday, Google demonstrated an early version of the Chrome
operating system on a netbook during a news conference at its Mountain
View headquarters. Google also announced that it was releasing the
underlying programming code for the operating system to anyone who
wants to tinker with it under an open-source license.

Not surprisingly, the Chrome desktop looked similar to the Chrome
browser. It included a handful of smaller tabs that Google calls
application tabs, which are meant to run the programs people use most
often, like e-mail or calendar software.

The netbook using the operating system booted in seven seconds, and
Google said it was working to make the start-up time even faster.
Google declined to say which hardware makers were planning to build
machines that used the operating system, but said it would work
closely with manufacturers. It said it had been pushing them to make
netbooks that were slightly larger than today’s models and included
full-size keyboards.

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More information for those interested:

What is it?
Google Chrome OS is a new operating system for computers. At the
moment it’s aimed at netbooks - small ultra-portable laptops - but
it’s likely that it will be available for desktop PCs and full-size
laptops eventually.
Why is Google making an operating system?
Google believes that more and more computing services, such as email,
media players and file storage are moving into “the cloud”. That is,
instead of being stored on your local machine, these services will be
accessed via the internet. Google argues that most current operating
systems were built before the internet became so important to our
computing lives. Google wants to build an operating system that will
take advantage of advances in cloud computing.

Related Articles
Google Chrome OS: What the tech blogs say
Google Chrome OS out in 2010
When is it released?
Computers running Chrome OS are unlikely to be available for at least
a year.
What has Google announced this week?
This week’s announcement gives developers a chance to look at the
operating system in its early state. Google is making the underlying
code for Chrome OS available for developers to work with under an open-
source licence.
What are the alternatives?
At the moment the alternatives are all there is because Chrome OS is
still a year away. Microsoft’s Windows 7, released last month, is
their state-of-the-art operating system and has received a better
response than its predecessor, Vista. Microsoft says that not all
computing functions are in the cloud just yet and believe a more
heavyweight operating system will remain essential for the time being.
Meanwhile, Apple has recently updated its OS X browser to version
10.6, known as Snow Leopard. It makes the operating system faster,
more lightweight and what’s more it’s only £25.
For those who don’t mind digging a little deeper into their computer,
there are various versions of Linux, the open source operating system.
Linux is free but still remains relatively specialised. However,
Chrome OS itself is built on Linux foundations so many people could
find themselves using a version of Linux without knowing it.