We’ve already heard from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Chrome OS, and it looks like Bill Gates has now had his say on the upstart operating system as well. Speaking with CNET News, Gates more or less described Chrome OS as just another Linux distribution, saying that “there’s many, many forms of Linux operating systems out there and packaged in different ways and booted in different ways,” adding that, “in some ways I am surprised people are acting like there’s something new. I mean, you’ve got Android running on Netbooks. It’s got a browser in it.” Gates further went on to get another dig in at Google by saying that “the more vague they are, the more interesting it is,” before getting a little philosophical by asking: “What’s a browser? What’s not a browser?” His answer? “In large part, it’s more an abuse of terminology than a real change.”
You just knew Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would have some choice words about Google’s Chrome OS at today’s Windows Partner Conference, and he didn’t disappoint, saying that while he finds the project “highly interesting,” the late-2010 ship date and existence of Android have him wondering exactly what it’s supposed to be. “I don’t know if they can’t make up their mind or what the problem is over there, but the last time I checked, you don’t need two client operating systems. It’s good to have one.” Snap. Of course, Microsoft is shipping six different Windows 7 SKUs, can’t quite get rid of XP, and sells Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and Zune in the handheld space, but the man’s got a point — the real question is whether he’s smiling or just baring his teeth in rage.
Well, here we go again — another set of unverified, likely-fake Google Chrome OS screenshots has just landed in our inbox. Our tipster claims that while most apps are online, Picasa runs locally for photo and movie viewing, and the “System” tab displays the contents of SD cards and digital cameras. Do we believe it? Well, no — all of this is just too easily mocked up — but it’s certainly interesting stuff, and there’s something about that super-nasty blue scroll bar that we find oddly intriguing, even though it’s mysteriously missing some pixels at the top. We’ll leave it up to you to decide if this is real — hit the gallery and let us know what you think.
The podcast is a little late this week, but for good reason — special guest Michael Gartenberg joins Josh, Paul, and Nilay this week as they sort through the Google-dominated week in news. We’ve got Chrome OS, the myTouch 3G, some more HTC Hero hands-on time (as well as a Magic flashed with the Hero ROM), and the leaked Sony Ericsson Rachael on tap — oh, and to top it all off, Sony backtracked huge and released its first true netbook, the VAIO W. It’s a bit of a wild one, we won’t lie — buckle up.
Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Guest: Michael Gartenberg Producer: Trent Wolbe Song:No Rain
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So as it turns out, Intel isn’t just casually accepting of Google’s new OS initiative, it’s actually been privy to the project for some time now, according to a spokesperson for the chipmaker. The two have apparently also worked together (and are potentially still working together) on portions of Chrome OS, he says, which really makes it all the more curious that the company isn’t mentioned among Google’s first partners while Qualcomm, Freescale, and Texas Instruments are. Then again, said inclusion might make the Moblin team more than a little bit upset, and either way, let’s not forget that Atom chips will be sold regardless of which OS is on the system — it’s really kind of a win-win situation that we reckon the hardware division isn’t complaining about.
While Chrome OS is still a pretty rough sketch in our mind’s eye, the Google boys have hosted a press conference to answer a few burning questions. Among the myriad revelations, it turns out Eric Schmidt wasn’t stoked on building a browser when Sergey Brin and Larry Page brought it up about six years ago, given the fact that Google was still relatively small, and the browser wars were still fresh in everyone’s minds. After he saw an early build of Chrome, however, he changed his tune. He says Chrome and Chrome OS are “game-changers,” and Larry describes Chrome OS as the “anti-operating system” and indistinguishable from a browser.
Luckily, they also hinted at some native development possibility (hopefully) outside of the browser, stating that Microsoft is free to build a version of Internet Explorer for Chrome OS if they’d like, and that it’s an open source project. According to Eric: “Even if we had an evil moment, we would be unsuccessful.” He also mentioned there were plenty of “commonalities” between Chrome OS and Android, and that the two might grow even closer over time. Interesting. As for his role on Apple board, Eric will be working out with those folks as to when he needs to recuse himself from OS talk like he already does with iPhone talk. Most of the rest of the talk was spent making old person digs at Schmidt, Mr. BlackBerry himself.
Google. Chrome. OS. Just reading that makes my pants tingle. But, uh, what is it exactly?
Here’s what Google says: “Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks” and “most of the user experience takes place on the web.” That is, it’s “Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel” with the web as the platform. It runs on x86 processors (like your standard Core 2 Duo) and ARM processors (like inside every mobile smartphone). Underneath lies security architecture that’s completely redesigned to be virus-resistant and easy to update. Okay, that tells us, um, not much.
After all, Google’s Android is a mobile OS that runs on top of a Linux kernel. But Chrome OS is different! Android is designed to work on phones and set-top boxes and other random gadgets. Chrome OS is “designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems” for “people who spend most of their time on the web.” Hey wait, they both run on netbooks? Hmm!
Since the official blog post is all Google has said about Chrome OS and it doesn’t say much, let’s do something I learned in college, turning tiny paragraphs into pages of “deep reading.”
It seems like there are two possibilities for what Chrome OS is, on a general level. The more mundane—and frankly uninspired—possibility is that it’s essentially a Linux distro with a custom user interface running the Chrome browser. As someone quipped on Twitter (sorry I don’t remember who), if you uninstall everything but Firefox 3.5 on Ubuntu, would that be the Firefox OS? What’s the difference between Chrome OS and a version of Chrome with Google Gears on Intel’s pretty Moblin OS?
The other possibility is more interesting. Look at this closely: “Most of the user experience takes place on the web.” The software architecture is simply “Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.” That sounds familiar. A lot like Mike Arrington’s CrunchPad, actually, which boots directly into the WebKit browser running on top of Linux.
Meaning? The entire experience of the CrunchPad takes place on the internet, and the web is its “platform” as well, essentially. Chrome is WebKit-based as well. (I’m surprised Arrington didn’t mention this in his post, actually.) If I had to guess, I’d say Chrome OS is somewhere in between an entirely browser-based OS and a generic Linux distro, though leaning toward the former.
You can already use Gmail offline. I think that will be really indicative of other app experiences in a totally web-oriented Chrome OS with Google Gears. The same goes for Google Docs in offline mode, an option some people have been using for over a year. It’s no coincidence that Google pulled “Beta” off of its web apps the day it announced Chrome OS.
Another reason it might work is Palm’s WebOS on the Pre, where most of the apps, like Pandora, are written simply using web languages. (It, too, is running WebKit on top of Linux kernel.) As Harry McCracken notes, it seems like a prime opportunity for Google’s long rumored GDrive online storage to finally rear its head, picking up on the line “people want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files.” That could make Chrome OS wildly more compelling. And don’t get me started on all the app-like possibilities from HTML5 by the time Chrome OS launches in the second half of 2010.
Actually, the more minimal it is, the more I think Chrome OS could be better, in some ways, than Android. Google half-assed a lot of Android at launch (UI inconsistencies, missing video player, etc.). If Chrome OS really is just a glorified browser, Google can afford to be that lethargic—all they have to do is maintain the browser, and everyone else will take care of the web apps. Which developers will code, because they’ll run on any OS with a browser—Windows, OS X, whatever—and because the web as a platform is the way things are going. Even Microsoft knows this, deep down, as their Gazelle browser project shows.
How will you sync an iPod, manage printers and network drives, or yank photos and videos from your camera? We don’t know. Some things may be impossible. Will there be an uproar, like there was with iPhone 1.0, about the limitations of web apps? Surely someone will bitch.
But I can almost see a day where phones run Chrome OS, too, when wireless internet is truly ubiquitous. It seems obvious, now, that this is Google’s long-haul play—not Android, even. Either way, Microsoft doesn’t have to be scared today. But they might be in about a year.
Still something you wanna know? Send questions about web tablets, web apps, the wicked webs Google weaves and anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with “Giz Explains” in the subject line. Top image by Cobra Commander, from our totally insaney Google Chrome comic Photoshop contest.
We can’t believe it’s actually here, but after hearing whispers of a Google OS for what seems like ages now, the company’s now gone official with its plans. According to the official developer blog, it’ll be an open source, lightweight platform that can “power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems,” and will be capable of running on x86 (that includes Intel Atom) and ARM chips. Addressing potential overlap with Android-based netbooks, the official line is that “choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google” — a pretty wild statement to make, but hey, it’s still all Google. A large portion of its fresh out of beta Google Apps suite already supports an offline mode, so we guess the groundwork’s laid out. The company says it’s currently working with a number of OEM manufacturers and that it’ll initially appear on a number of netbooks coming to market sometime in the second half of 2010. Excited? We are.
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Google. Chrome. OS. Just reading that makes my pants tingle. But, uh, what is it exactly?
