19 replies to this topic

[starfinances]

Google is expanding their Chrome browser into an operating system. They will probably distribute it on little netbooks first then move into desktops. I wish them well. I love to see the MS competition. Maybe this will help drive down the cost of windows OS's.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/07/08/google-operating-system236.html

[rvalkass]

I don't think Microsoft will reduce the price of their operating systems due to Google's OS. Microsoft have practically admitted that they charge as much as they can possibly get away with in each country, and Chrome OS is unlikely to have enough of an effect to make people really stop and think about it. Windows will still be installed on the vast majority of computers sold by retailers, even if Microsoft has to employ stronger tactics to make OEMs buy licences and install them.

However, if Google spent the cash to really work on the Chrome OS, to promote it, market it, make it polished and to get it installed by default on new PCs then Microsoft would have reason to be worried. Most people use Windows not through choice, but because it was there when they bought the PC. If Google can persuade manufacturers to install Chrome instead of Windows then Microsoft will have to seriously think about their options. The question is whether Google has any financial incentive to get Chrome installed by default on new PCs - how much cash will it generate for them?

[starscream]

Google chrome OS project was started to get into the idea of cloud computing. I don’t think they intended to create OS which is more useful for offline use. I mean what Google did here is tied their services with OS. How? Here is the one way to look at it. They’ll create OS which has all the features of cloud computing. They’ll ask developers and software companies to build services and software for this platform. They’ll earn from it. Plus they’ve their own online services which they’ll tie with chrome os. Even better they’ll create apps which are only used or meant to be used in chrome. This way their business model will be stick with their cloud computing platform and online services.

Is it comparable with Microsoft? No, i don’t think so. Microsoft still makes operating system which is usable for both online and offline use. They do plan to have cloud computing services with their new or future released operating system. So comparing Google chrome OS and Microsoft windows is not at equal basis. Both have different user groups targeted. Microsoft wants to target general users which turn out to be all-purpose OS. They can’t even increase price or reduce price because of competition with other operating systems. If they did any move in this price area, they’ll lose customers. Which are already reducing or switching to Mac & Linux cause of instability of windows OS.

Google will surely promote new OS without much effort. Many bloggers and os enthusiastic people will try chrome OS at least for few months. So release period of os will fetch them lot of business. Also applications which are only intended for chrome os will speak for the promotion of OS. More the features, better for the promotion. Chrome needs to come up with something which Microsoft and Linux variants are not launching into the market.

[HannahI]

I think it will be good.

[demlasjr]

I don't get it. They already have an Chrome OS. They one to make a new one ? :| They have one, is good but I prefer Debian. Is looking almost same with debian. They want to do a new one like Windows ?

The current Chrome OS:

http://googleblog.bl...-chrome-os.html

[starscream]

@demlasjr, that chrome os is called as google os by some people. So it's just misunderstanding. It's not another OS from them. Google OS or chrome os, it's just how people call it. It's not new from them. As per your link it's the chrome os that they are working on. If i'm not wrong then it is based on debian. I mean they did talked with ubuntu community about this. There were some talks with mark shuttleworth about this last year. So yes, Chrome OS is likely to be based on debian. Maybe debian will have more members in their community to seed changes and to work on their base.

[demlasjr]

I know is Debian, but is better the classical one Chrome OS and Ubuntu are a unstable version of Debian, upgraded for each 3rd part organization. I was wondering why this topic was posted now, after 1 year (I think) from Chrome/Google OS launch

[starscream]

Chrome OS and Ubuntu are a unstable version of Debian, upgraded for each 3rd part organization.

Not exactly, ubunutu is stable version of debian. Most of the ubuntu team members are also part of debian community. Unstable debian version is patched and results are committed back to debian tree by ubuntu. Check debian's role for ubuntu. Ubuntu being derivative of debian is much stable and release cycle's are of 6month. You can read more about discussion on ubuntu's stable version cycle in comparison to debian here.

I was wondering why this topic was posted now, after 1 year (I think) from Chrome/Google OS launch

Chrome OS is not officially launched. There are some developer beta leaked and screenshots are shown on lifehacker blog.There is announcement about ChromeOS being shipped with netbooks. But no official announcement and download site is up yet.

[HannahI]

I wonder when it will finally come out.

[HannahI]

I just found out that its also called Chromium.

[John Heinl]

Wow... Google chrome OS. I probably will never use this as I am very happy with the current OS I use, but this is just pretty cool to see that Google is extending their capabilities. It's also kind of scary

[avguste]

I would probably check out the Google OS.
Especially if it allows for better gaming. Also, I tend to like all the tools Google has released so far.

[ysNoi]

Downloading the beta...I'll try to install it as guest OS first...

I'll be back soon here for the comments.

[Ahsaniqbal111]

Google and Microsoft are both the big guns of the industry. A competition between them will surely result in the favor of the users.

[ysNoi]

Google and Microsoft are both the big guns of the industry. A competition between them will surely result in the favor of the users.

Yes indeed. The competition will be a prolonged activity.

They are both looking for a dominant positions in the internet and Google is expanding which gives MS to be more challenged.

[labstuffs]

Design goals and direction

User interface

Design goals for Google Chrome OS's user interface include using minimal screen space by combining applications and standard Web pages into a single tab strip, rather than separating the two. Designers are considering a reduced window management scheme that would operate only in full-screen mode. Secondary tasks would be handled with "panels": floating windows that dock to the bottom of the screen for tasks like chat and music players. Split screens are also under consideration for viewing two pieces of content side-by-side. Google Chrome OS will follow the Chrome browser's practice of leveraging HTML5's offline modes, background processing, and notifications. Designers propose using search and pinned tabs as a way to quickly locate and access applications.[39]
[edit] Architecture

In preliminary design documents for the Chromium OS open source project, Google describes a three-tier architecture: firmware, browser and window manager, and system-level software and userland services.[40]

* The firmware contributes to fast boot time by not probing for hardware, such as floppy disk drives, that are no longer common on computers, especially netbooks. The firmware also contributes to security by verifying each step in the boot process and incorporating system recovery.[40]
* System-level software includes the Linux kernel that has been patched to improve boot performance. Userland software has been trimmed to essentials, with management by Upstart, which can launch services in parallel, re-spawn crashed jobs, and defer services in the interest of faster booting.[40]
* The window manager handles user interaction with multiple client windows much like other X window managers.[40]

[edit] Remote application access

In June 2010, Google software engineer Gary Kačmarčík wrote that Chrome OS will access remote applications through a technology unofficially called "Chromoting", which would resemble Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection.[41] The name has since been changed to "remoting," and is "probably closer to running an application via Terminal Services or by first connecting to a host machine by using RDP or VNC."[42]
[edit] Hardware support

Google Chrome OS is initially intended for secondary devices like netbooks, not as a user's primary PC,[19] and will run on hardware incorporating an x86 or ARM-based processor.[9] While Chrome OS will support hard disk drives, Google has requested that its hardware partners use solid-state drives "for performance and reliability reasons",[17] as well as the lower capacity requirements inherent in an operating system that accesses applications and most user data on remote servers. Google Chrome OS consumes one-sixtieth as much drive space as Windows 7.[43]
[edit] Integrated media player

Google will integrate a media player into both Chrome OS and the Chrome browser, enabling users to play back MP3s, view JPEGs, and handle other multimedia files while offline.[41]
[edit] Printing

Google plans to create a service called Google Cloud Print, which will help any application on any device to print on any printer. While the cloud provides virtually any connected device with information access, the task of "developing and maintaining print subsystems for every combination of hardware and operating system-- from desktops to netbooks to mobile devices -- simply isn't feasible."[44][45] However, the cloud service would entail installing a piece of software, called a proxy, as part of Chrome OS. The proxy would register the printer with the service, manage the print jobs, provide the printer driver functionality, and give status alerts for each job.[46]
[edit] Link handling

One unresolved design problem related to both Chrome OS and the Chrome browser is the desired behavior for how Web applications handle specific link types. For example, if a JPEG is opened in Chrome or on a Chrome OS device, should a specific Web application be automatically opened to view it, and if so, which one? Similarly, if a user clicks on a .doc file, which website should open: Office Live, Gview, or a previewing utility? The project director at that time, Matthew Papakipos, noted that Windows developers have faced the same fundamental problem: "Quicktime is fighting with Windows Media Player, which is fighting with Chrome". As the number of Web applications increases, the same problem arises.[8]
[edit] Security

In March 2010, Google software security engineer Will Drewry discussed Chrome OS security. Drewry described Chrome OS as a "hardened" operating system featuring auto-updating and sandbox features that will reduce malware exposure. He said that Chrome OS netbooks will be shipped with Trusted Platform Module, and include both a "trusted bootpath" and a physical switch under the battery compartment that actuates a developer mode. That mode drops some specialized security functions but increases developer flexibility. Drewry also emphasized that the open source nature of the operating system will contribute greatly to its security by allowing constant developer feedback.[25]

At a December 2010 press conference, Google claimed that Chrome OS would be the most secure consumer operating system due in part to a verified boot capability, in which the initial boot code, stored in read-only memory, checks for system compromises.[15]
[edit] Linux shell access

Chrome OS includes a Bash-like shell with minimal functionality called the Chrome Shell or "crosh".[47] In developer mode, a Linux command prompt offering a more complete set of instructions can be opened via VT-2, with a slightly smaller instruction set available via crosh. [47

[labstuffs]

Compatible hardware

Companies working with Google to develop hardware for the operating system include Acer, Adobe, Asus, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Toshiba,[48] Intel,[49] Samsung,[50][51] and Dell.[52]

In July 2010, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said a Google-branded Google OS netbook was unlikely, despite Google's having previously negotiated with a couple of hardware manufacturers to produce it, and despite an earlier Google-branded device, the Nexus One Android phone. "Let's see how well those partners do first. My guess is we won't need to. The PC industry is different from the phone industry. The PC industry is used to working with Microsoft, whereas the mobile industry was not used to working with software".[53]

In December 2010 Google showed off a development Google Chrome OS laptop that replaced the Caps Lock key with a dedicated search key

[Xarex]

I tried a pre-released version of it which was made into something else. Didn't care for it at all. Maybe I just couldn't figure it out, but I thought it would auto-connect to the Internet, and it did not, and it seemed to lack an area to work on such things. But this was an Linux OS that was ready-made off the CD.

You could find it here:
http://sites.google....slinux/download
or here:
http://www.makeuseof...-real-computer/


I hate the fact that it basically eliminates some PC-productivity. But then again.. if it supplied some offline support, and basics like a notepad, calculator, etc. Than it wouldn't be so bad.

Guess I just couldn't live without some type of OS platform that doesn't really need the Internet to be sustained. Doubt it's going to really be the next best thing. It might be bought by Google fans though.

[manuleka]

I just found out that its also called Chromium.

Chromium OS is the downloadable-to-compile version where as Chrome OS comes on specific Hardware from Google's hardware manufacturing partners

Not in version one yet...