Google Chrome OS

Following the release of the mobile operating system Android, Google announced in July 2009 that it was producing another operating system, Google Chrome OS. Whereas Android targeted the growing Smartphone market, Chrome OS is designed with netbooks and laptops in mind, as well as tablet PCs, a medium which is expected to grow in popularity after the release of Apple's iPad. The aim was to design an operating system to match what people expect from these products – fast and simple completion of tasks, easy internet browsing and media playback.

Chrome OS attempts to reinvent the way in which a personal computer functions. The entire operating system is based around the use of a web-browser and web-apps – there is no desktop, and applications are all run in tabs on the browser, rather than in separate windows. Central to the use of Chrome OS is an applications page which shows icons for email, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and any other apps the user has downloaded, as well as a link to the Google Apps store.

The reliance on web-apps also leads to a shift towards cloud computing, and away from using the machine’s hard drive. Programmes are run from the internet, such as Google Docs, and files are saved in the cloud too. You can read more about cloud computing and Google Docs in our previous article here. Chrome OS will also rely on the cloud for printing services, and you can read about Google Cloud Print in another of our articles here.

The above screen shows the application page open over the main browser page.

Despite the inevitable comparisons to Windows - currently by far the most popular operating system worldwide - Google have been keen to downplay the rivalry, suggesting that Chrome OS will not be in direct competition with Windows as the functions provided by the two do not fully overlap. Machines running Chrome OS will not be able to perform the more demanding tasks available on Windows machines, such as running Photoshop, or software development. A Chrome OS device will not completely replace a Windows machine as the main computer in a home, but will provide an alternative in certain situations.

The aim of Chrome OS is to perform simple web-based tasks far more quickly and easily than on Windows or any other operating system. At a conference in November 2009, a machine running Google Chrome OS was shown to load up in 7 seconds, and Chrome OS is reported to use just one sixtieth of the memory used to run Windows.

Chrome OS is scheduled for release later in 2010, however its reception amongst technology experts and bloggers has been mixed. While some have welcomed an open-source alternative to Microsoft’s Windows monopoly, others claim that the operating system does not add anything new to the market, and apart from its fast load time, it offers no advantages over a traditional larger operating system.

With the borders between personal computers and mobile devices continually becoming more blurred with the development of Smartphones, tablets and netbooks, and the future popularity of each device unclear, it seems entirely plausible that Chrome OS could either take the market by storm, or fail to make any impact whatsoever. Much could depend on the growth in popularity of tablet PCs; perhaps Chrome OS could end up finding more success challenging Apple’s iPad than it does in challenging Windows in the netbook and laptop markets.

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