Chrome OS won't dual-boot Windows
Google has confirmed the new Google Chrome operating system won't dual-boot Windows, or any other operating system.
Computers running the new Google Chrome operating system won't also allow you to run Windows, or any other operating system, Google has confirmed.
Chrome is designed to be a lightweight, online-focused operating system. It'll allow you to whip out your laptop and look stuff up on the Web or quickly access your files, as you would with a smart phone. You'll get the speed and always-on convenience of a phone, with the big screen and keyboard of a laptop.
The problem is that sometimes you need more grunt from your computer. Google could be shooting itself in the foot by ruling out the flexibility of dual-booting -- choosing between different operating systems at startup.
Some of the current crop of tablets powered by Google's mobile OS, Android, can dual-boot into Windows too. That means the ViewSonic ViewPad 100, for instance, can be fired up in Android for basic tasks, but when things get more complicated you can launch Windows.
Even Apple computers, in most ways closed off like a walled garden, offer the option to run Windows with the Boot Camp dual-boot feature.
Android put a face on the concept of differing operating systems, so Chrome OS shouldn't be a hard sell to the general public -- as long as no-one's confused by the fact Google's browser and OS have the same name. The first hardware to showcase Chrome will be built by Acer and Samsung.
Will you go Chrome? Is the dual-boot question a dealbreaker for you? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.