It was late on Tuesday night when the announcement came on Google’s website, just after a couple of online news sites had already broken the news. Google is working on a new operating system which will be based on Googles browser Chrome and it is “our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be” said Google.
“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds” says the statement on the blog.
“And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, Malware and security updates. It should just work.”
Was that a dig at Microsoft? Probably!
The Chrome based operating system is being designed for Netbooks initially, which represents quite a big challenge for Google as computer giant Microsoft’s operating system already dominates the netbook industry.
It isn’t the first time that Google and Microsoft are up against each other; Google has already created an online suite of software programmes as alternatives to Microsoft Office.
Google dominates the search engine market but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from doing all it can to grab a share.
Oh and did I mention that Google also managed to steal away some of Microsoft’s top employees?
Now Google is fronting up to Microsoft with potentially its biggest blow yet, a new operating system to rival Windows.
What about Android? Many are bound to ask this question as we’ve been hearing quite a bit about Android on Netbooks over recent months.
“Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks” says Google.
“Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google”.
That’s all we want really isn’t it, to have some choice.
Google expects the new Chrome operating system to start appearing in computers towards the end of next year.
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wow.. i can’t wait any longer to “taste” the chrome OS…
I will say that Google stands a good chance of knocking Microsoft on its butt when it releases the Chrome OS. I like Microsoft, but I don’t always like the Windows OS with all of updates and packets, so if Google can turn out a product that’s more efficient, then Bill better be ready to start biting his fingers.
No way Google can beat Microsoft with Chrome OS. I think Microsoft is too powerful in that niche.