Google Chrome OS - is it war?

[DaBees-Knees]

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=118766&

Google Chrome OS to take on Windows, Linux

Chrome operating system works on Arm, x86

Google today announced that later this year it will release an open-source operating system (OS) targeted at internet-centric PCs such as  netbooks. The Google Chrome OS should begin appearing on netbook computers in the second half of 2010, Google said in a blog post. Google is already talking to "multiple" companies about the Chrome OS project, it added. The Chrome OS will be available for computers based on the x86 architecture, which is used by Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and the Arm architecture.

Prototypes of Arm-based netbooks began appearing last month at the Computex show in Taiwan and Google's support for the architecture could give it a significant boost. Microsoft's mainstream Windows operating system doesn't run on Arm chips so many manufacturers were talking about using Linux or a version of the Google Android operating system. It's not immediately clear how much the two operating systems share in common code but Google said they are aimed at very different devices.

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"Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android," it said. "Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web." While Google is initially looking at the netbook segment of the market it might compete with Microsoft and Apple on larger, internet-centric machines.

Chrome OS is "being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems," said Google.

Within reason, the more operating systems the better as far as I am concerned. It will certainly keep the others on their toes. 

[']['affy]

I'd be quite interested to see this new o/s

[Trestor]

I'd be quite interested to see this new o/s

Me too. I hope they develop a version to work on ordinary PCs.

There are two things I would hope for: one would be an absence of everlasting cookies and other spyware that Google are said to attach to their products, and the second would be a different name to either their OS or their browser. Having two different products called Chrome is not a smart move; look at Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer.

My feeling is that developing an OS with a primary bias toward web work is going to be self limiting. Even if I spend most of my time on the web (as I do), I'd rather an OS that does everything well, so that I can do anything I want with the least inconvenience and time wasting. An OS that is really good at inter-netting but is only so-so at other things would not float my boat.

[Forested665]

Prototypes of Arm-based netbooks began appearing last month at the Computex show in Taiwan and Google's support for the architecture could give it a significant boost. Microsoft's mainstream Windows operating system doesn't run on Arm chips so many manufacturers were talking about using Linux or a version of the Google Android operating system. It's not immediately clear how much the two operating systems share in common code but Google said they are aimed at very different devices.

all i can say is BULLS*** arm based "ultra mobile" laptops and netbooks have been around since the early 90's. And if im not mistaken there was a version of windows 95 for these little buggers.

[White Stripes]

I'd rather an OS that does everything well, so that I can do anything I want with the least inconvenience and time wasting.

www.ubuntu.com

And if im not mistaken there was a version of windows 95 for these little buggers.

windows CE actually but the UIs looked very much the same at that point in time... (besides, dos doesnt run on arm)

[Forested665]

I hadnt read trestors reply and now i feel the need to express the following concerns.

I hope they develop a version to work on ordinary PCs.

What do you mean by this? It said it was going to be developed for x86 AND arm. It never said it was going to only target netbooks even those these are just subcompact version of 5 year old hardware. Yes i said it netbooks are as outdated as your old tower.

My feeling is that developing an OS with a primary bias toward web work is going to be self limiting. Even if I spend most of my time on the web (as I do), I'd rather an OS that does everything well, so that I can do anything I want with the least inconvenience and time wasting. An OS that is really good at inter-netting but is only so-so at other things would not float my boat

.

if you go back and look through my posts theres one about googles previous attempt at an OS but instead of installing it. it was a cloud that existed soley in your web browser and on their network. Allowing you to have YOUR os no matter what pc your on and standardizing the computational power of all deployed systems.

[Trestor]

Youch!

Forget everything I said.

I think I shall retire with dignity back to the pavilion.

[Forested665]

No offense was meant by my previous post trestor.

[ñòóKýçrÕôK]

My understanding from what I've seen on our handhelds where I work WinCE is just a stirpped XP like fundimentals. It looks like Win95 - ME, Win2K - XP(in classic view) because it's not bloated with all the windows themes, screnesavers, font smoothing, cacheing, you name it. And Trestor never said it would be soully for web use, only biased to it which in my opinion also means they'll put too much attention into web security in it and not enough into OS security or stability itself. I wouldn't want a web-biased operating system either. AND also, most any pc hardware you buy today is "old news" as it has probably been around for at least 5 years sitting in some storage container waiting for some sucker to come along looking for "the most up to date" hardware. You never buy "new" pc hardware. By the time hardware sees the general public it has been being built for at least a year prior to it's public release and has been tried and tested for probably at least a year prior to *being mass produced. So all pc crap is just that, "old stuff". *As for "is it war?" I'm afraid it wouldn't be much of a war. People fuss and complain about windows operating systems all the time but when it comes down to it when they buy or build a new pc the first thing they do is go buy a copy of windows to install on it or they download it or they get their good friends copy and install it vs. using linux which is open source and free. By popularity I'd have to say the order goes as #1 Windows OS, #2 random linux releases, #3 and up, everything else. So if there is to be a war you can safely predict that even for all the hassle and frustration windows will likely win it hands down. Just my opinion but I believe it's true.

[Forested665]

Theres is a seperate version of XP
see this page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xp_embedded#Windows_XP_Embedded

Windows XP Embedded, commonly abbreviated "XPe", is a componentized version of the Professional edition of Windows XP. An original equipment manufacturer is free to choose only the components needed thereby reducing operating system footprint and also reducing attack area as compared with XP Professional. Unlike Windows CE, Microsoft's operating system for portable devices and consumer electronics, XP Embedded provides the full Windows API, and support for the full range of applications and device drivers written for Microsoft Windows. The system requirements state that XPe can run on devices with at least 32MB Compact Flash, 32MB RAM and a P-200 microprocessor. XPe was released on November 28, 2001. As of October 2008, the newest release is Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 3.

This little bugger provided it can run n regular hardware could be the answer to performance woes.

and for windows CE see : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_CE

But as stated above the core of windows CE is nothing like tis counterparts simply because the original kernel for the larger OS only run on x86 based hardware afaik CE supports mips arm x86 superH ppc alpha AND sparc

[Mr.Snicky]

Prototypes of Arm-based netbooks began appearing last month at the Computex show in Taiwan and Google's support for the architecture could give it a significant boost. Microsoft's mainstream Windows operating system doesn't run on Arm chips so many manufacturers were talking about using Linux or a version of the Google Android operating system. It's not immediately clear how much the two operating systems share in common code but Google said they are aimed at very different devices.

all i can say is BULLS*** arm based "ultra mobile" laptops and netbooks have been around since the early 90's. And if im not mistaken there was a version of windows 95 for these little buggers.

erm... if you've ever used the Windows XP (no matter what version) on any "small pc" you will notice that it sucks. And I'm not talking about testing how it "performs;" I'm talking about actually USING it.

With that being said, you will see that Microsoft lacks in the department with old PCs, and Netbooks, or "new-old" hardware as you seem to put it after XP hit. Do you think Vista and 7 can be optimized well enough to perform on an Asus? Because I've used an Asus with XP on it, and it was horrible after awhile. Of course the main hard drive was SSD, but it still did not perform well.

If you want even more logical proof that Netbooks need an OS as such as Google is doing, look around you - How many devices are running *nix kernels? Coffee pots, Microwaves, Ovens, TVs, Remotes, Watches, hell probably even advanced hi-tech guns...... the list goes on. Then look at how many tiny and large devices as well are using Windows kernels.

it doesn't matter if there was an XPe for these machines in the past - It matters that now Microsoft lacks in it.

The ratio is a huge difference, and that to me, says praise Google for making an OS that counts to these little laptops.

Microsoft needs to worry about their Windows 7 - The Netbook or... "little laptop" world is already wrapped up.

[Forested665]

can you say bloated windows mobile?