Posted on 07/08/2009 12:42:01 PM PDT by dennisw
It will be fast and less memory-intensive, enabling users to access the Web in a few seconds, Google said. The new operating system is based on open-source Linux code, which allows third-party developers to design compatible applications.
"The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web," Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management at Google, said in the blog post. The Chrome operating system is "our attempt to rethink
what operating systems should be."
Google said the operating system was a new project, separate from its Android mobile operating software found in some smartphones. Acer Inc, the world's No. 3 PC brand, has already agreed to sell netbooks that run on Android to be released this quarter.
The new system is designed to work with ARM and x86 chips, the main chip architectures in use in the market. Microsoft has previously said it would not support PCs running on ARM chips, allowing Google an opportunity to infiltrate that segment.
Charlene Li, partner at consulting company Altimeter Group, said Google's new system could initially appeal to consumers looking for a netbook-like device for Web surfing, rather than people who use desktop PCs for gaming or high-powered applications.
But eventually, the Google operating system has the potential to scale up to larger, more powerful PCs, especially if it proves to run faster than Windows, she said.
Microsoft declines to say how much it charges PC brands for Windows, but most analysts estimate about $20 for the older XP system and at least $150 for the current Vista system.---
Altimeter's Li added: "A benefit to the consumer is that the cost saving is passed on, not having to pay for an OS. It's clearly positioned as a shot across the bow of Microsoft."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
At least the third thread. It’s not a new platform. It’s being built on the Linux kernel. It’ll be just another flavor of Linux.
I like Linux and I think it may start a little competition.
“At least the third thread. It’s not a new platform. It’s being built on the Linux kernel. It’ll be just another flavor of Linux.”
Thanks. Good to note. The difference might be Google’s influence. I mean, if Google threw themselves behind Ubuntu, it might become a major force as well...
This is aimed at netbooks, and thus is not in competition with MS (other than it may take a chunk out of MS’s netbook market for Windows). Windows is a full-featured OS; this is exclusively just for internet use.
It is just Linux with another wrapper — which will be Google-intense of course.
No one has lower regard for Microsoft (and it’s total devotion to lack of quality) than I.
However, Google expects me to place virtually all of my computer’s ability to operate somewhere “else” - reachable only by the famously insecure internet?
Do you think I’m as dumb as a liberal?
How exciting, another Unix Implementation.
Wal Mart had a lot of success with their product.
any speed benefits will be countered by all the Google tracking software they install.
Yawn... Just another Linux muck job....
I did a search and found nothing
Competition? How many flavors of Linux are there out there now? The problem with Linux isn't the competition in OS builds, it's the lack of interest from mainline Windows based software companies to provide versions (can we say Quicken) suitable for the Linux OS.
No big deal. Here's one, and my post #12 has a link to another...
Not necessarily. Currently, the only things that Linux excels at are servers and embedded devices. It pretty much sucks as a desktop OS. But Google could change that. They are one of only a handful of companies with the resources to bring Linux into a decent desktop environment. They can impose some discipline and better standards for application development, which is desperately needed amid the chaos of Linux.
...any speed benefits will be countered by all the Google tracking software they install.
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It is really all about marketing. My netbook will continue to use Ubuntu without being a platform for Google’s money pursuits.
The question will be whether an easy-to-use application market (like the one for iPhone or Android) pops up -- either run by Google or someone else.
If that happens, then the lines will start to be blurred: this OS will provide more than just internet access.
“Windows is a full-featured OS”
Not just that, it supports a vast array of hardware devices (various CPUs, motherboards, chipsets, video cards, etc), which as many can tell you can be the weak point of Linux in a desktop environment. Not everyone has the desire (me) or ability (a lot of people) to go through some complex and arcane procedure to make their desktop OS work. Still, for netbooks, webtops, etc, this could well be a good product. With time and development money it could even become a real competitor for Windows in the desktop market (as the various Linuxes already are in the server market). It would, in many ways, be nice to start fresh with a clean-sheet desktop OS rather than the bloated thing that has to support so many legacy products that Windows is.
Go ahead and use it if you like spyware/tracking software on your computer. Be my guest.
Google, Apple (via Quick Time and iTunes) and AOL put so much spyware/tracking software on your computer in order for you to use their products that you might as well not be running any firewalls or anti virus/spyware programs at all. Just today my antivirus software has blocked Google from accessing my phone number, soc. security number, debit and credit card numbers, telephone number and address and that is just from the crap that they put on websites with their ads (which I will not click on, sorry).
I don’t think you understand what spyware is.
Spyware, which is malware, is prevalent on Microsoft Windows because Windows was designed to work in a networked environment before the Internet came to be. All the malware and spyware exploits are just using the old network vulnerabilities which Microsoft can only patch, never fully clean because then it would screw up compatibility with Windows software.
There is no possible way for ‘Google’ to access your phone number, Soc. Security number, debit, and credit card numbers, telephone number and address. All Google does is want to present ads to you based on your web habits. So if you go to Free Republic, Google would put up conservative ads.
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