HackNBlog @ Salamanteri Server

I believe most here have already read about Google starting up an operating system of their own, Chrome OS to compete with Windows as their next project. I’ll share some of my feelings about good, bad and the futile related to this hopefully neat project.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Google want’s to provide users with an OS that boots up lightning fast and ready for web in seconds from switching power on. They want the system not to clutter up but always run as fast as anew. They want to provide an OS where there is no fuss and fighting with new hardware, configuring the system (that usually needs knowledge below the average) and no updates that break things or change&confuse the user interface. This all sounds good - and it also already sound familiar.

Gathered not from Chrome OS official blog but from a zdnet blog entry, let’s check some known facts:

• It runs on top of Linux kernel.
• It will boot directly into the Chrome Web browser
• It will be aimed primarily at netbooks
• It will run on both x86 and ARM processors
• It will not be designed to have local storage; all data will be stored in the cloud
• Google will not entice developers to build software to run on the Chrome OS; instead, they want them to build Web apps that will run on any standards-based browser
• The three most important features will be “speed, simplicity and security”, according to Google
• Google will release the software to the open source community before the end of 2009
• Announced Chrome OS hardware partners: Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba.
• Netbooks running Chrome OS will be available in the second half of 2010

Now I can get to the point! Chrome web browser for Linux is what everyone is waiting for (and I will be tempted to port my favorite FF plugins and switch browser), however when it gets released do we not already have what google has to offer? Sure, getting google to promote Linux sounds like just the kind of marketing that we need, but from how it seems so far the fact that Chrome OS will actually be “yet-another-linux-distribution” might in worse case be hidden away from regular users eyes (when they should be calling it Chrome Linux OS).

So what exactly does this OS has to offer, technically, that makes it more than just another Linux distribution with others aiming to same already available? With several highly easy to use and install (and to run straight from CD or USB) light and ultra light distributions available I don’t see much that Chrome OS could offer - and when reading their goals it seems likely that Chrome OS won’t have much of software repository available while competing distributions will be able to do everything listed above (including running web apps naturally, as it’s done by the browser, not by the OS) and they also provide huge software repositories for those that DO wan’t to install additional software on the computer itself.

The good thing is that with hardware partners Chrome OS does not only have guaranteed support for good wide selection of hardware by the manufacturers themselves but as it’s really a Linux OS the support will spread to Linux in general (in cases where currently non-existing hardware support is provided via partnership). Also unless Linux will gain a huge share among regular users (or at least regular users with netbooks) Chrome OS might be able to provide a solution that “the average Joe” will feel more comfortable to try than the still unknown-to-most Linux, even though Chrome OS *is* Linux.

However for the rest of us this is just re-inventing the wheel. From what I have gathered, Chrome OS can provide nothing new at all for those of us who already know and love Linux. On top of everything while it’s advertised to run on both, x86 and ARM processors, to me this says that it can only be run on x86 or ARM processors (not big deal for what it’s meant though).

The biggest thing to criticize here though is when Chrome OS in promised to be available. Late half of 2010!?!? Talk about early advertising here… I would bet my hat that when Chrome web browser for linux finally arrives it won’t take a half year (most likely couple months) before a Linux distribution that delivers exactly what Chrome OS promisses will be available for dowload - hell, there already exists dozens of distributions that could be described to have 99.9% of qualities of those that Chrome OS will have in late half of 2010 without the exception of Chrome browser as it is not available for Linux yet.

So there, give me a comment! Are google doing anything more than recreating the wheel? And are their attempts on OS market totally futile? Should they put more emphasis on the fact that Chrome OS is really a Linux system? Anything else, come on, speak up your mind!

Author is a 29 years old linux zealot and hacker from Finland.

Tags: browsers, freedom, google, Linux/Unix, Linux/Unix Software, media, News, Open Source, plugins, rant, security, Windows

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 8:13 am and is filed under Hacker entertainment, Linux/Unix, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.