Google To Challenge Windows and Mac
Rumours that Google are working on a desktop operating system, to rival Windows and the Mac OS have been floating around the web for a while and they’ve generally been dismissed but now it’s official. Google Chrome OS is due to hit the streets some time in the second half of 2010. Whether or not the good folk at Microsoft and Apple will be quaking in their boots remains to be seen but on past experience Google certainly has the clout to make it happen and the Android OS for smart phones is already starting to have an impact.
Chrome OS is designed to run on standard x86 PC hardware, as well as ARM chips and the ever popular Intel Atom used in the majority of netbooks. It’s going to be based on a Linux kernel and according to Sundar Picha, the Google Engineering director who broke the news on his blog, key user-inspired features will include near-instant startup and email download no waiting for the whole OS to boot — no slowdown in performance, simplified configuration, freedom from constant updates, Google’s current crop of web-based applications will be heavily featured and needless to say, it will be free. There’s bound to be the odd catch and hiccup along the way but at this early stage it sounds very promising indeed; more news when we have it.
