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Google releases Chrome OS information & source code

Sam Symons
19 November 2009 - 20:15
135 Comments
Liked this (9)

Google's Chrome OS has been a rather interesting project for many people as of late; it was said to be an operating system that was based in the "cloud", stored mostly online, though nobody knew any exact details. Today, Google has explained more about the OS, clearing things up.

As posted on the official Google blog, Chrome OS is "all about the web." As such, it is web-based, and as Google states, "The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications. This means users do not have to deal with installing, managing and updating programs." Whilst this sounds handy, keep in mind that it won't run on any old hardware, but rather it will be given a specific hardware reference. This means, according to Engadget, that regular hard drives are out of the question; Chrome OS is an SSD only deal. It will also support both x86 and ARM hardware. While this sounds bad, keep in mind the project is open source as of this very moment, so it'll no doubt show up on a range of other computers.

Google understands that you'll be concerned about the security of the project as a general, so they posted an entirely separate YouTube video explaining how they're handling that, which we've included below. Another benefit to Chrome OS is the speed. Google has said that the current version boots in 7 seconds, which is pretty nippy compared to most operating systems out there.

Though there is still a lot of work to be done, the project will apparently become available to consumers at this time next year, so keep an eye for that when it happens. We've included videos of the Chrome OS introduction and the OS UI concepts straight from Google, in addition to the security information, which can be found below the screenshots from Mashable.

Comments (135)

  1. Elessar - 19 November 2009 - 20:21

    Looks promising, especially for netbooks. Very interested.

  2. GetUsed2It - 19 November 2009 - 21:16

    i'd soooo like to have a build to try it .. fingers crossed for an installable leak

  3. Tanshin - 19 November 2009 - 22:14

    GetUsed2It said,
    i'd soooo like to have a build to try it .. fingers crossed for an installable leak

    One the Chromium OS site it does mention how to modify Ubuntu with their source code, haven't fully looked into it yet though.
    http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os

  4. cekicen - 20 November 2009 - 08:42

    GetUsed2It said,
    i'd soooo like to have a build to try it .. fingers crossed for an installable leak

    http://www.wuala.com/chromeos/download/

  5. Neoauld - 19 November 2009 - 20:23

    I love how everything is on the same tab bar, i think thats good lookin
    However it then sort of removes the space saved on the taskbar by tabbed browsing, so why not a sub bar within each taskbar tab, similar to the super bar. If this is meant for netbooks itll run out space quickly.


    Either way this looks promising!

  6. GetUsed2It - 19 November 2009 - 21:17

    +1 from me for both your pros and cons

  7. +Shadrack - 19 November 2009 - 22:17

    The irony of this, is before Internet Explorer (or web browser for that matter) had tabs, all the opened web pages were on the task bar with the other apps. Nobody seemed to like it, thus tabs were put in IE.

    Am I the only one who thinks this is ironic?

  8. Simon - 19 November 2009 - 22:54

    The reason for tabs is really a) for quick access within the window you're working in and b) because opening up a bunch of windows got really slow, really fast.

  9. +DonC - 19 November 2009 - 23:38

    Shadrack said,
    The irony of this, is before Internet Explorer (or web browser for that matter) had tabs, all the opened web pages were on the task bar with the other apps. Nobody seemed to like it, thus tabs were put in IE.

    Am I the only one who thinks this is ironic?

    No you're not the only one. I worked just fine for years with this arrangement and, with TaskSwitchXP running, I had live previews of each web page with hot key just.. like.. oh.

  10. +Northgrove - 20 November 2009 - 07:51

    Shadrack said,
    The irony of this, is before Internet Explorer (or web browser for that matter) had tabs, all the opened web pages were on the task bar with the other apps. Nobody seemed to like it, thus tabs were put in IE.

    Am I the only one who thinks this is ironic?


    Yes, it's ironic and a bit funny. I think Windows 7 currently has the best approach though, by again integrating tabs with the IE icon (and in turn, the superbar), while at the same time using a concept that consumes far less space than in the days with tabless browsers and old operating systems.

  11. ccoltmanm - 19 November 2009 - 20:23

    Boot times boot times boot times... I set my computer to sleep, so it comes back up in 1-2 seconds. Really, that shouldn't be an issue anymore.

    This product looks interesting, and obviously very targeted with its hardware limitations. However, although limited, it provides a glimpse of future OS's and their integration with the internet.

    This version of an OS, looks TOO limited.

  12. GetUsed2It - 19 November 2009 - 21:18

    exactly, i never shut down my netbook, it's always on sleep, and as i lift the lid up, it's instantly ready for work. Win7ULTIMATE on a lenovo s10.

    though i like the idea of this OS, dunno exactly why

  13. bdsams - 19 November 2009 - 20:24

    what if you have no internet connection?

  14. Arkose - 19 November 2009 - 20:26

    This OS is internet-centric and will be all but non-functional without it (barring the offline functionality of some apps); those without the internet should use some other OS.

  15. Vista - 19 November 2009 - 20:27

    They should give people the opportunity to store files locally in case the user loses his internet connection. Otherwise this is a really stupid idea.

  16. GP007 - 19 November 2009 - 21:00

    Storing files locally is just one thing, the apps it uses are all web based, or so it looks like. Unless you can start installing linux apps as well, but then that's just making it another linux distro

    So why not just run a linux distro anyways? Heh.

  17. Max1978 - 19 November 2009 - 21:09

    GP007 said,
    Storing files locally is just one thing, the apps it uses are all web based, or so it looks like. Unless you can start installing linux apps as well, but then that's just making it another linux distro

    So why not just run a linux distro anyways? Heh.

    Great question.

  18. leojei - 20 November 2009 - 03:47

    +1 for just run the linux distro. Although the concept of Web-centric is good, it does not change the fact that some people would like to use their laptops on the road (without Internet). We'll just have to wait to see mobile Internet to get popular to see this type of OS to shine.

  19. PGHammer - 20 November 2009 - 04:23

    GP007 said,
    Storing files locally is just one thing, the apps it uses are all web based, or so it looks like. Unless you can start installing linux apps as well, but then that's just making it another linux distro

    So why not just run a linux distro anyways? Heh.


    What if the applications are all HTML-based?

    Not exactly a stretch, as a lot of Office is HTML-based (and OWA is entirely HTML-based).

    Doable; however, what is the performance like compared to traditional apps?

  20. +Northgrove - 20 November 2009 - 07:54

    Vista said,
    They should give people the opportunity to store files locally in case the user loses his internet connection. Otherwise this is a really stupid idea.

    Well, Google Chrome already supports offline storage in its current incarnation. Yes, the Google Chrome available for regular use. This is actually pretty darn awesome, since it is far more powerful than cookies.

    So all web services that Google Chrome OS access can assume the OS behind the browser will be able to store persistent data this way, at the very least.

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