Google have announced their latest project, Google Chrome OS, an open-source platform for x86 and ARM based netbooks, notebooks and computers. Building on their existing Chrome browser, Google Chrome OS is tipped to load and be internet-ready in seconds, be inherently secure from viruses and malware, and present no issues with hardware or software updates. Chrome OS has at its heart a Linux kernel, with Chrome running within a new windowing system.
Google Chrome OS will first appear on netbooks in the second-half of 2010, with the search giant apparently already in talks with manufacturers regarding distribution. Prior to that, however, they will make Chrome OS open-source later on in 2009, allowing developers to get to grips with the platform.
Since most of the user experience will take place on the web, with users interacting with web-apps, developers will be able to use existing coding skills to create software that not only runs on Google Chrome OS but any standards-based cross-platform browser. As for Android, that remains a going concern for Google, with the company suggesting that “choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google” in the areas where the two platforms overlap.
