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Christopher Dawson

Google to create operating system called Chrome OS

By | July 8, 2009, 9:06am PDT

Rumors along these lines have been surfacing for years — now Google has officially announced their intentions to create a computer operating system. The new operating system, called “Google Chrome OS” will run on both x86 and ARM processors — which means it could technically work on anything from desktop computers to mobile devices.

When building the new open source operating system, they are going to bring it back to the basics, focusing on speed, reliability and security. In their blog post, Google says they want users to be on the internet within a couple seconds of pushing the power button.

Since Chrome OS basically uses the web as the platform — developers need only worry about creating web apps that at least run in Chrome. Applications written for this will naturally be multi-platform, as every mainstream operating system has modern browsers capable of consuming them.

Is it wise to make Google Chrome the backbone of an operating system though? This seems awfully familiar to what Microsoft did with IE and Windows — made the browser part of the operating system and found themselves in a heap of trouble with regulators. I’m not sure what kind of support there will be for crating physical applications on Chrome OS, but I would imagine it would be extremely difficult, or impossible, to install something like Firefox or IE.

There are no screenshots, or any indication of how far along they are with this project — but they have told us to keep our ears to the ground, and listen for new updates in the fall.

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Garett Rogers has always had a deep interest in computers and the Internet, which led him to a degree in Computer Information Systems. He is currently employed as a programmer for iQmetrix.

Disclosure

Garett Rogers

Garett Rogers is employed as a programmer for iQmetrix, which specializes in retail management software for the wireless industry. He has no other formal associations with any software or hardware companies.

Biography

Garett Rogers

Garett Rogers has always had a deep interest in computers and the Internet, which led him to a degree in Computer Information Systems. He is currently employed as a programmer for iQmetrix, which specializes in retail management software designed specifically for the cellular and electronics industry.

Garett's journey into Google started with his employer asking him to "get a better rank on Google." Diving into search engine optimization sparked his curiosity for how things work and led him to create a blog dedicated to what interests him most--Google.

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RE: Google to create operating system called Chrome OS
fake_user 11th Jul 2009
"but I would imagine it would be extremely difficult, or impossible, to install something like Firefox" WTF!! Did you even think before typing this? It will be open source and you will obviously be able to install firefox with ease.

The question is: will you want to? It is designed to be lighweight for netbooks and thats what chrome is best at.
but if that's what it takes for Google to be able to defend itself against the warchest and goings on at the FUD Factory I'm all for it.

If this helps Microsoft die, I'm REALLY for it.
0 Votes
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You want to swap Microsoft for Google?
googlewatcher 11th Jul 2009
Google is an advertising broker who now sells subscriptions to Google Apps
office suites running on it's cloud who is about to launch an OS to run it's
browser to run it's office apps. Microsoft had an OS to run it's office apps which
lauched a browser to stop other companies from using a browser office app to
eat it's office market share. Why would Google be any better for consumer
choice and free compitition when there OS+OfficeSuite+browser becomes
dominant. I would not bet an advertising broker would behave any better than
Microsoft when they are the biggest child in the corporate office playground...
Amen!!!!!
Just x86? Why not make a x64 version, considering that
almost all laptop processors are x64 now.
0 Votes
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RE: Google to create operating system called Chrome OS
krishnamurthi1930@... 9th Jul 2009
any service oriented offering creates a sense of doubt
in its efficacy. In spite of a price tag for the OS
marketed by Microsoft, World over, none has declined
to patronize the same. As such Google should actually
float the OS with a price tag of course much
attractive Krishnamurthi
0 Votes
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Charge? Why?
googlewatcher 11th Jul 2009
Why should they charge when they can give it away for free to large corporate
subscribers of Google cloud apps? They can then make it opensouce for
anyone that wants to install it on there hardware as that will just improve their
market share encouraging more companies to make an effort to test and fix
there sites on chrome. That in turn will make it possible for corporate clients of
google apps to run only chrome os for some users to save on costs and buy
more google cals.
Frameworks like zk show that you longer have to resort to flash to
write a desktop trading app which runs in the browser. Pure dhtml
can do the job if you use a high level framework that translates to
"low level" HTML constructs.

Offloading work to the browser helps but running lots of logic in
the browser leaves you worrying about testing on many browsers
and all currently in use versions of each browser. Google writing
chrome proves that doing such a thing is less economic than
writing and disrubuting your own browser to run your own
JavaScript ultra-heavy app.

Google will want companies who buy google app substription to
run them in a browser they can control. That is great for users like
the government of Western Austrailia who rolled out google apps
to 1m users on a commercial basis. A light weight single program
os to run chrome just says that they want to win more business by
having customers such as western austrailia uninstall windows for
it's users and run only google office apps and normal webapps on
there browser on there OS saving clients millions of dollars a year
on windows licences that they can spend with google. That is just
the old thin client strategy backed by googles cloud platform
offering.

GWT programmers beware: your using an approach which google
themselves know would fail unless they themselves control the
browser. Since zk runs the desktop app on the server and only
draws the skin as dhtl relying less on the capabilities of the
browser it can be browser agnostic.

Is this reminding anyone else of the Internet Explorer "browser
war" of agression by Microsoft only this time the agggressor is
Chrome and Google? Is the advertising broker showing it's true
colours claiming all in the name of innovation whilst pushing
chrome out to 1m+ userncorporate clients to run googles office
app from their cloud? Perhaps they will end up with anti-trust
suites against them with Mozilla and Microsoft sueing google to
give up a crushing Market share?
0 Votes
+ -
My smart phone is not 64bit yet and I don't think it will be for a
while. And who needs 64bit to run a browser?
"but I would imagine it would be extremely difficult, or impossible, to install something like Firefox" WTF!! Did you even think before typing this? It will be open source and you will obviously be able to install firefox with ease.

The question is: will you want to? It is designed to be lighweight for netbooks and thats what chrome is best at.

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