Google is announcing plans for a Google operating system: Google Chrome OS:
Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.
Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are 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. It should just work.
Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. 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.
Watch out Microsoft. Free may be claiming its next victim.
I’m interested in how this one goes. I use a lot of Google products now. If the OS is smooth I think I might spring for a netbook and toss the laptop to my oldest who is (gulp) off to college in a couple of years.
I wonder when people are going to realize that Google represents one of the greatest monopoly threats in corporate history.
Well its clash of the Titans right now, Freddie. It’s not like Microsoft is free of guilt in terms of monopoly. Then again, one has to wonder what sort of monopoly one is talking about. Windows has provided a platform for thousands and thousands of other software developers even though it was, indeed, a monopoly in regards to PC OS’s. Google is a search engine monopoly, to be sure, but I fail to see that there is much anyone can do about it short of providing a better alternative.
I think you need to think this through a little bit more, Erik– consider all the pies Google has a finger in. One thing that I think people need to understand is that even if users try to avoid Google entirely, they can’t– Google just controls too much server power, which means that even people actively trying to keep their information out of Google’s hands can’t.
The very thought of an OS that crashes as often as Google does has me salivating…
Sorry, Freddie!
FWIW For OS’s there are several versions of Linux that are as good or better then windows.