os

What Chrome OS has on Windows that Linux doesn't

Google's Chrome OS isn't the first operating system to challenge Microsoft Windows' commanding lead. But it's got an advantage that other rivals such as Linux lacked: the Web.

Any new operating system must attract the developers who produce the applications to make it useful. The trouble Windows challengers have had is matching the wide spectrum of software available for Windows already.

That software includes mainstream titles such as Microsoft Office, Quicken, Adobe Photoshop, games, but also innumerable programs for narrower niches such as genealogy. Although some people are happy if they have the handful applications they need, … Read more

ARM chip camp sees Google Chrome as opportunity

Texas Instruments and Qualcomm executives talked Wednesday about the opportunities they see for the just-announced Google Chrome operating system.

The Chrome operating system is "lightweight," a term that Google uses, meaning the OS runs fine on less hardware. Chrome will initially be targeted at Netbooks--essentially ultra-small laptops--that will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010, according to Google.

Both TI and Qualcomm believe the Google OS will provide more opportunity for new-fangled devices to gain wider acceptance. And both believe this is an opportunity for their respective ARM processors--which power many of the world's cell phones--to gain more ground.

Analysts see the makings of a broad realignment in the computer industry. "What Google is betting on with the Chrome OS (is a) shift in computing and consumer behavior," Charles King, president and principal analyst at Pund-IT, wrote in a research note on Wednesday. "If that scenario truly comes to pass, it could disrupt the efforts of virtually every vendor focused on personal computing."

Texas Instruments, which has been working with Google on the Chrome OS, expects big changes in the design of devices, according to Ramesh Iyer, TI's head of worldwide business development for mobile computing.

"Netbooks are really the tip of the iceberg. We need to fast forward into the future and think of things beyond the Netbook thanks to this initiative from Google," Iyer said in a phone interview. TI's OMAP ARM processor powers a number of cell phones and smartphones including the recently-announced Palm Pre.

"We see the future being cloud computing really. You are walking around with a simple tablet, that is probably no thicker than the thickness of your display. It may have a (physical) keyboard, it may have a soft keyboard.… Read more

Why Chrome OS? Google says, why not?

Apparently, organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful will require a new operating system.

Google has long worked on expanding its reach beyond mere Internet search. And as many had suspected, it confirmed late Tuesday night that it plans to develop a lightweight operating system based on Linux and Web standards for personal computers.

Why? Well, Google's standard response to any question about why it's working on something other than search is to declare that any product that helps people get on the Web, and enjoy their experience on the Web, benefits Google'… Read more

Google reveals its Chrome OS cohorts

Update: Google has since added Toshiba to the list of partners.

Though many PC makers were quiet about Chrome OS earlier Wednesday, Google has now named the companies it's working with to bring its operating system to Netbooks next year.

In a post to the Chrome blog Wednesday afternoon, Google vice president of product management Sundar Pichai said the company is working with a variety of PC and chipmakers, and another software company. Those include Acer, Adobe, Asus, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba.

CNET News reported earlier Wednesday that Asus and Lenovo were thought to be … Read more

PC makers mum about Chrome OS

Google is gearing up for an assault next year on Microsoft's dominance in PC operating systems, yet the companies that would have to be complicit in the battle have little to say about it.

Judging by their public reactions to Google's news, much of the top tier of consumer PC makers appear caught off guard by Google's announcement Tuesday of Chrome OS, an open-source operating system the company is preparing for launch in 2010. Google specifically noted in its announcement that its operating system would be lightweight enough to work on Netbooks, low-cost mini laptops that almost all PC makers have flocked to in the past year. According to a person familiar with the operating system, Google is talking to Asus, Lenovo, as well as other original equipment manufacturers, and chipset makers about using Chrome OS.

Neither Asus nor Lenovo responded to requests for comment.

It makes sense that Google would target Asus. It's the pioneer of the Netbook movement and dominates the market. But there are other potential partners too, whose names have not come up yet: Acer and MSI. Along with Asus, they've been happy to cut Microsoft at least partly out of the equation of building a computer. The three have led the charge in Netbooks, and while they have offered versions with Windows XP, they also were early to make Linux versions available. Adding Chrome OS as an option would make sense.

But both Hewlett-Packard and Dell, who account for 35 percent of computers sold worldwide, had mostly nothing to say about Chrome OS.

HP said that while it is "studying Chrome," it had no comment on whether it would incorporate it into forthcoming Netbook models, or any other HP computers.

"HP wants to understand all the OS choices in the marketplace that may be used by its competitors, and remains open to considering various approaches to meet its own customer needs," company spokeswoman Marlene Somsak said in a statement Wednesday.

Dell was equally noncommittal. "Dell constantly assesses new technologies as part of managing our product development process and for consideration in future products," said spokeswoman Anne Camden.

Of course they do. But a Google OS could completely change the long-established process of putting together a consumer PC and would totally change how it is priced. Yet neither of the two giants of the industry have a comment. Acer, which is the fastest-growing PC maker right now, said it "had no answer" yet.

Reading between the lines, it appears the top three hardware vendors have little or no relationship with the search and online advertising giant. But if Google plans to make inroads into Netbooks and eventually notebooks, that will have to change very soon. Every consumer desktop and notebook, and most Netbooks today (excluding computers from Apple) are designed to run Windows. Microsoft has deep hooks in the manufacturers' design and engineering processes, and the hardware companies' marketing and product launch cycles always take Microsoft's plans into account. … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: Google takes on the operating system

Reporter Tom Krazit joins the podcast today to talk about what Google's upcoming operating system means for users and the industry. Also in this podcast: a new music royalty deal could save Web radio stations, the SEC continues to look into the way Apple's board handled disclosures about CEO Steve Jobs' health, Microsoft is in talks to wrap up antitrust negotiations with the EU, and more.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Google plans Chrome-based Web operating system

What Google's Chrome OS means for Netbooks, and why Microsoft shouldn't worry...yet

Mr. Schmidt, step down from that board… Read more

What will Google's Chrome OS watch you do?

Google has a long history of tracking user activity, and the introduction of its Chrome operating system later this year is sure to follow suit. While we know that it's being built off of Linux, one big thing we don't know is how its terms of service will differ from those found in other Google products, and what kinds of user data it will be collecting. Based on the company's track record of watching and monetizing user data, it could be anything from which applications you're using, to all the information that's coming in and out of your computer.

To provide a better picture on what to expect, let's take a look at some of the ways Google is currently monitoring user activity in a handful of its products and how that may trickle down into the OS:

Google personalized Web search--Google's bread and butter business is its search engine, and its personalized search is a way to put a face on the data. When you're signed in with your Google account you can opt in to having your Web history tracked; Google archives all of the sites you've clicked on from search results, as well as what time of day you clicked on them.

For those who are not signed in, the company uses identifiers like cookies and IP addresses. But when you're signed in it can actually aggregate that data no matter what computer you're on. With a system-level log-in, it could theoretically do this no matter what browser you're using, giving Google a far richer set of data.

Chrome browser--When Chrome was first released, Google got in some hot water over its terms of service, which stated that Google had the rights to license any content that went through the browser. It quickly backtracked on the claim, citing that the terms heavily borrowed from other Google products and that it didn't make sense for Chrome. This would have given Google licensing control over things like user photos, videos, and words.

The one area where Google's Chrome can still access some of that information is with its reports system. This is an opt-in program for users to provide Google with crash reports and detailed information about what features they're using. Google has said this does not include any information from form fields, or from users' Google accounts. However, it does track what sites and search terms you've entered into the address bar.

Gmail--Google's Web mail service was one of the first Web mail services to provide contextual advertising, meaning it actually goes through your e-mail messages to give you advertisements that match up with a conversation you're having. Did you mention skiing in that last e-mail? Don't be surprised if you start seeing ads for local lift tickets or a new pair of ski boots.

Gmail also tracks what features users are using, including… Read more

Does Google's OS decrease or increase security risks?

Wednesday's two big technology stories--Google's Chrome-based operating system and cyberattacks against U.S. and South Korean government Web sites are oddly related. The stories are connected because if Google does well at gaining market share for its browser, we could see fewer successful attacks. Or maybe we'll see more attacks.

The reason hackers succeeded in launching denial-of-service attacks against government computers in the U.S. and South Korea is because they were able to enlist an army of "zombie" computers to carry out the attack. And what do those computers likely have in common? … Read more

Google's Linux fork may not trouble Microsoft

It was just a matter of time before Google stopped pretending it doesn't compete with Microsoft and introduce its own operating system to go head-to-head against Microsoft. As reported by CNET, Google has now lifted the covers on its Google Chrome OS, "an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks."

That's funny. We already have several of those, each of them running the same code powering Chrome OS, as Glyn Moody reminds us. They're called Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, Moblin, and...you get the point.

More specifically, while Google claims Chrome OS … Read more