Feature Articles

All About the Google Chrome OS

By Aloysius Low - 23 Jan 2011

Ready to be Chromed?

Ready to be Chromed?

Its been over two years since Google Chrome browser was launched in September 2008. Eight versions later, the browser is still being worked on and improved, with builds constantly released. In fact the last time we checked, the Chrome team has been working on version 10, and that many versions in the space of just slightly over two years may seem like overkill. However, the Google team works on a different cycle compared to the other browser teams and bases the version numbers when a stable release with new features comes out instead of a fixed 6-month release cycle.

Version 8, the current stable release of the Chrome browser, features a new Web App store and you'll find the same app store on Chrome OS. Downloading and using web apps if you lack Internet access however, means that the Chrome OS users will have a less than satisfactory experience. While the Chrome OS does have an offline mode support for some apps, it's still logically a device that works best connected to the cloud.

A sneak peek of the Chrome OS in use with the web apps download page.

Even with a 'cloud' connection though, it some may find it hard to see the appeal behind a Chome OS powered device. This is especially so when you consider that netbooks with Windows 7 or a Linux OS (like Ubuntu) installed has the same features but has much more flexibility. Then again, Google is going with the view that these type of specialised devices are actually much more appealing for users who spend more time travelling around and for businesses who want a lower cost in maintaining machines. They may be right in this, but we'll see how retail units will turn out when they are released late this year.

Lastly, Google's other OS, Android, has been getting lots of kudos in the smartphone environment, and the latest version, Honeycomb, has been reworked for tablets. If you think about it, there seems to be plenty of similarities between a tablet-based OS and Chrome OS, to the point where Google even made a mock up of Chrome OS on a tablet. Google however, seems to want to keep Android for tablets and smaller devices while leaving Chrome OS for netbooks, notebooks and maybe desktops (though the latter doesn't make quite as much sense). Note though that Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has mentioned that both OSes are "likely to converge over time", though we're betting this won't be happening anytime soon.

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