INTRODUCTION

What is Google Chrome OS? Google Chrome OS is an upcoming Linux-based, open source operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. Announced on July 7, 2009, Chrome OS is set to have a publicly available stable release during the second half of 2010. Chrome OS will not be available as a download to run and install. Instead, the operating system will only ship on specific hardware from Google's manufacturing partners. The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Chrome web browser. Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their time on the Internet. Google Chrome browser has been redesigned in underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work. Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips the software architecture is simple Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

What is cloud computing? Cloud Computing isInternet -basedcomputing, whereby shared resources,software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand,like theelectricity grid.Cloud computing is aparadigm shiftfollowing the shift frommainframeto client-server in the early 1980s. Details are abstracted from the users, who no longer haveneed for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud"that supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption,and delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, and it typically involvesover-the-Internetprovision of dynamicallyscalableand oftenvirtualizedresources. It is a byproduct and consequence o f the ease-of-access to remotecomputingsites provided by the Internet. The term "cloud" is used as ametaphor for the Internet, based on the clouddrawing used in the past to represent the telephone network, and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagramsas anabstractionof the underlyinginfrastructure it represents. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online that are accessed from another Web serviceor software like a Web browser , while thesoftwareanddataare stored onservers.Most cloud computing infrastructures consist of services delivered throughcommon centers and built on servers. Clouds often appear as single points of access for all consumers' computing needs. What is a Netbook? Netbooks (sometimes also called mini notebooks or ultra portables) are a branchof subnotebooks, a rapidly evolving category of small, lightweight, andinexpensivelaptop computerssuited for general computing and accessingWeb -based applications; they are often marketed as "companion devices", i.e.At their inception in late 2007 as smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and lowcost netbooks omitted certain features, featured smaller screens and keyboards,and offered reduced specification and computing power. Over the course of th eir evolution, netbooks have ranged in size from below 5" screen diagonal to over 11.6". A typical weight is 1 kg. Often significantly less expensive thanother laptops,by mid -2009, some wireless data carriers began to offer netbooks tousers "free of charge ", with an extended service contract purchase. Difference between Google Chrome OS and ChromiumOS Google Chrome OS is to Chromium OS what Google Chrome browser is toChromium. Chromium OS is the open source project, used primarily bydevelopers, with code that is available for anyone to checkout, modify and buildtheir own version with. Meanwhile, Google Chrome OS is the Google product thatOEMs will ship on Netbooks this year. Specifically, Google Chrome OS will runon specially optimized hardware in order

to get enhanced performance andsecurity. Chromium OS does not auto -update (so that we do not blow away anychanges you may have made to the code) while Google Chrome OS willseamlessly auto-update so that users have the latest and greatest features and fixes.Google Chrome OS will be supported by Google and our partners, whereasChromium OS is supported by the open source community, but they fundamentallyshare the same code base. Google Chrome OS also has some cool firmwarefeatures, verified boot and easy recovery, which require corresponding hardwarechanges and thus also don't work in Chromium OS builds. History Google developers began coding the operating system in 2009, inspired byhe growing popularity and lower power consumption of netbooks and the focus of these small laptopson Internet access. To ascertain marketing requirements for anoperating system focused on netbook Web transactions, the company did not dothe usual demographic research generally associated with a large softwaredevelopment project. Instea d, engineers have relied on more informal metrics,including monitoring the usage patterns of some 200 Chrome OS machines usedby Google employees. Developers also noted their own usage patterns. MatthewPapakipos, engineering director for the Chrome OS proje ct, put three machines inhis house and found himself logging in for brief sessions: to make a single searchquery or send a short email.On November 19, 2009, Google released Chrome OS'ssource codeastheChromium OSproject. As with other open source projects, developers aremodifying code from Chromium OS and building their own versions, whereasGoogle Chrome OS code will only be supported by Google and its partners, andwill only run on hardware designed for the purpose. Unlike Chromium OS,Chrome OS will be automatically updated to the latest version.InformationWeek reviewer Serdar Yegulalp wrote that Chrome OS will be aproduct, developed to "a level of polish and a degree of integration with its hosthardware that Chromium OS does not have by default," whereas Chromium OS isa project, "a common baseline from which the finished work is derived" as well asa pool for derivative works. The product and project will be developed in paralleland borrow from each other. In March 2010 Google indicated that consideration is b eing given to developingtwo versions of the operating system, a consumer version and an enterpriseversion. Software Architecture Chromium OS consists of three major components: The Chromium-based browser and the window manager System-level software and user-land services: the kernel, drivers, connectionmanager, and so on Firmware

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The firmware plays a key part to make booting the OS faster and more sec re To achieve this goal we are removing unnecessary components and adding support for verifying each step in the boot process We are also adding support for systemrecovery into the firmware itself. We can avoid the comple ity that's in most PCfirmware because w don't e have to be backwards compatible with a large amountof legacy hardware. For e ample we don't have to probe for floppy drives.


Our firmware will implement the following functionality

System recovery The recovery firmware can re -install Chromium OS in the eventthat the system has become corrupt or compromised. Verified boot: Each time the system boots Chromium OS verifies that thefirmware kernel, and system image have not been tampered with or becomecorrupt. This process starts in the firmware. Fast boot: We have improved boot performance by removing a lot of comple itythat is normally found in PC firmware.
  

From here we bring in the Linux kernel, drivers, and user -land daemons. Our kernel is mostly stock except for a handful of patches that we pull in to improveboot performance. On the user-land side of things we have streamlined the initprocess so that we're only running services that are critical. All of the user-landservices are managed by Upstart. By using Upstart we are able to start services inparallel, re-spawn jobs that crash, and defer services to make boot faster. Here's a quick list of things that we depend on: D-Bus: The browser uses D-Bus to interact with the rest of the system. Examplesof this include the battery meter and network picker.Connection Manager: Provides a common API for interacting with the network devices, provides a DNS proxy, and manages network services for 3G, wireless,and ethernet.WPA Supplicant: Used to connect to wireless networks.Autoupdate: Our autoupdate daemon silently installs new system images.Power Management: (ACPI on Intel) Handles power management events likeclosing the lid or pushing the power button.xscreensaver: Handles screen locking when the machine is idle.Standard Linux services: NTP, syslog, and cron.

The window manager is responsible for handling the user's interaction withmultiple client windows. It does this in a manner similar to that of other X windowmanagers, by controlling window placement, assigning the input focus, andexposing hotkeys that exist outside the scope of a single browser window. Parts of the ICCCM (Inter Client Communication Conventions Manual) and EWHM (Extended Window Manager Hints) specifications are used for communicationbetween clients and the window manager where possible.

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One of the Chrome s best features is that its booting time is minimum. It claims toboot in 7 seconds. Goals for the drive partitioning scheme are as follows: Speed - Support fast boot, where the boot loader is part of the firmware. Simplicity - Support autoupdate. obustness - Recover from failed updates or corrupt partitions.
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Openness - Allow developers to run operating systems other than Google Chrome OS. Goals for the boot process are as follows: Support readily available development platforms so that Chromium OSsoftware can be built and tested without waiting for finalhardware/firmware. Support a limited selection of off-the-shelf netbooks for internal trials of Chromium OS. Provide a secure and verifiable boot path for official Google Chrome OS devices.

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Design goals for Google Chrome OS's user interface include using minimal screenspace by combining applications and standard Web pages into a single tab strip,rather than separating the two. Designers are considering a reduced windowmanagement scheme that would operate only in full-screen mode. Secondary taskswould be handled with "panels": floating windows that dock to the bottom of thescreen for tasks like chat and music players. Split screens are also under consideration for viewing two pieces of content side-by-side. Google Chrome OSwill follow the Chrome browser's practice of leveragingHTML5's offline modes,background processing, and notifications. Designers propose using search andpinned tabs as a way to quickly locate and access applications.Remote application accessIn June 2010, Google software engineer Gary Ka mar k wrote that Chrome OSwill access remote applications through a technology unofficially called"Chromoting", which would resemble Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection. Remote application access In June 2010, Google software engineer Gary Ka mar k wrote that Chrome OSwill acce ss remote applications through a technology unofficially called"Chromoting", which would resemble Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection. Hard are support Google Chrome OS is initially intended for secondary devices like netbooks, not auser's primary PC, and will run on hardware incorporating anx86or ARM-basedprocessor. While Chrome OS will support hard disk drives, Google has requestedthat its hardware partners use solid-state drives due to their higher performance andreliability, as well as the lower capacity requirements inherent in an operatingsystem that accesses applications and
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most user data on remote servers. GoogleChrome OS consumes one -sixtieth as much drive space asWindows 7. Integrated media player Google will integrate amedia player into both Ch rome OS and the Chromebrowser; enabling users to play back MP3s, view JPEGs, and handle other multimedia files while offline. Printing Google plans to create a service called Google Cloud Print, which will help anyapplication on any device to print on any printer. This method of printing does notrequire any drivers and therefore will be suitable for printing from Google ChromeOS. Mike Jazayeri, Google group product manager, wrote that the service wasprompted by a paradox inherent in an operating system designed expressly for cloud computing. While the cloud provides virtually any connected device withinformation access, the task of "developing and maintaining print subsystems for every combination of hardware and operating system -from desktops to netbooksto mobile devices -- simply isn't feasible. The service would entail installing apiece of software, called a proxy, as part of Chrome OS. The proxy would register the printer with the service, manage the print jobs and give status alerts for eachjob. Link handling One unresolved design problem related to both Chrome OS and the Chromebrowser is the desired behavior for how Web applications handle specific link types. For example, if a JPEG is opened in Chrome or on a Chrome OS device,should a specific Web app lication be automatically opened to view it, and if so,which one? Similarly, if a user clicks on a .doc file, which website should open:Open Office, Gview, or a previewing utility? Project director Matthew Papakiposnoted that Windows developers have faced the same fundamental problem:"QuickTimeis fighting with Windows Media Player, which is fighting withChrome". As the number of Web applications increases, the same problem arises. Security In March 2010, Google software security engineer Will Drewry discussed ChromeOS security. Drewry described Chrome OS as a "hardened" operating systemfeaturing auto updating andsandboxfeatures that will reduce malware exposure.He said that Chrome OS netbooks will be shipped withTrusted Platform Module,and include bot h a "trusted bootpath" and a physical switch under the batterycompartment that actuates a developer mode. That mode drops some specializedsecurity functions but increases developer flexibility. Drewry also emphasized thatthe open source nature of the opera ting system will contribute greatly to its securityby allowing constant developer feedback.

Cros API Cros is set of APIs that is implemented on the Chromium OS side and exposed toChromium via dynamically linked libcros.so file. It has been designed a versioningsystem to make sure that Chromium OS will only boot up if we have the correctversion of libcros.so. If either the libcros.so version or the Chromium version is tooold, we catch that and disable login. Compatible Hardware Companies developing hardware for the operating system includeAcer ,Adobe,Toshiba,Intel,SamsungAustralia, andDell. In July 2010, Google CEOEric Schmidtaid a Google -branded Google OSnetbook was unlikely, despite Google's having previously negotiated with a coupleof hardware manufacturers to produce it. Schmidt has acknowledged that Chrome OS will be compatible with a smaller library of applications than conventional operating systems, like Windows, whichsupport both Web- and client-based applications. That limitation, coupled withChrome OS having no licensing fee, has caused speculation as to the retail price of Chrome OS devices. In April 2010, Schmidt indicated that he expected prices for Chrome OS netbooksto range from US$300 to $400, and thus be similar in cost to comparable devicesth at ship withclosed sourceoperating systems. He also confirmed that Google willsupply the operating system for free, but it will be up to hardware manufacturersand retailers to set their own prices for the devices. In April 2010, Schmidt indicated that he e xpected prices for Chrome OS netbooksto range from US$300 to $400, and thus be similar in cost to comparable devicesthat ship withclosed sourceoperating systems. He also confirmed that Google willsupply the operating system for free, but it will be up to h ardware manufacturersand retailers to set their own prices for the devices. arket Implications
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When Google announced theChrome browser in September 2008, it wasviewed as a continuation of the battle betweenGoogleandMicrosoft("the twogiants of thedigital revolution"). As of December 2009, Microsoft dominatestheusage share of desktop operating systemsand the software market inwordprocessingandspreadsheetapplications. The operating system dominance may bechallenged directly by Google Chrome OS, and the appli cation dominanceindirectly through a shift tocloud computing.According to an analysis byPC World , Google Chrome OS represents the next step in this battle. But Chrome OSengineering director Matthew Papakipos has noted that the two operating systemswill no t fully overlap in functionality.

Users should be aware that Chrome OShosted on a netbook is not intended as a substitute for Microsoft Windowsrunningon a conventional laptop, which has the computational power to run a resource -intensive program likePhotoshop. Although, Google stated that it was looking to launch on netbooks at the end of 2010, it is clear that the internet giant could challenge Microsoft on laptops andPCs should it show its worth in the low-cost, small form-factor market.Microsoft has been overjoyed with the reaction to Windows 7 since it launched inlate October and will feel confident that its latest OS can defend against all-comers, but Google has both the financial might and popularity to potentiallyproduce something that is adopted by t he public. But Chrome OS is a seismic change from what people are expecting; and Google'sassertion that this is meant to be for secondary devices means that this is not meantto replace Windows - at least not yet. Assuming that the Chrome OS lives up toexpectations and provides a polished, capable experience, there is still a long way to go before a Web-centric OS can even begin to replace the traditional desktopoperating system. Bibliography 1. http: en.wikipedia.org wiki Chromium_OS 2. Pichai, Sundar (2009-07-07)."Introducing the Google ChromeOS".Official Google Blog. Google, Inc. http: googleblog.blogspot.com 2009 07 intr oducing-google-chrome-os.html 3. "The Chromium Projects: User Experience". Google.http: www.chromium.org chromium-os user-experience 4. Chrome OS Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia http: en.wikipedia.org wiki ChromeOS 5. Netbook - Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia http: en.wikipedia.org wiki Netbook 6. Cloud Computing - Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia http: en.wikipedia.org wiki Cloud Computing 7. Ten things to know about Google http: www.techradar.com news software operating-systems 10-things-toknow-about-google-chrome-os-614370?artc_pg=1 8. Chrome OS Strives to Replace Desktop Culture http: www.pcworld.com businesscenter blogs network.html
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Google Chrome OS Chrome OS is designed by Google based Linux kernel. The O pen source version of the Chrome OS is Chromium OS (www.chromium.org). Google is following an approach of collaborativedevelopment for Chrome OS by getting inputs from the Open source community through the Chromium OS project as well as by its own development team. Recent client operating systems including Microsoft Windows 7, Apple`s Snow Leopard OS and popular desktop Linux distributions are resource intensive and most of the computing happens on the client computer hardware. As a result of the dependency on hardware components, the performance of the Operating system is directly dependant on the client computer hardware. Chrome OS takes a whole new approach; it focuses on getting the user connected to the network after which most of the computing happens on the cloud .This reduces the dependency on the client computer hardware and its role will be limited to getting the user onto the cloud . Since the intent is to connect to the web from the word go, the user will need to have a constant web access from the time the system boots into Chrome OS. Essentially a major part of the operating system resides on the web. For facilitating a web access the operating system actually logs boots into a web browser. There are no other applications that the system needs to load at any point in time other than a browser. This ensures that the boot up time is brought down by having a minimalistic approach .With solid state HDD`s the Chrome OS is said to boot up in less than 7 seconds which is almost 7 -8 times faster than any other desktop operating system . Once the OS boots up into the browser based interface the user will need to enter his her user credentials to log into the OS .On the homepage there are a few tabs similar to the chromebrowser which are shortcuts to Gmail, Google Apps, and YouTube, as well as other applications, including Yahoo! Mail, Pandora, Hulu, Facebook, and Twitter etc. Chrome OS is aimed at providing a virus free, malware free usage .Updates will be very easy to apply and can happen without user intervention. By and large the OS is very responsive. By enabling a log in system similar to a browser based login Google can enable easy interoperability of all the applications within the chrome OS between other operating systems.On other operating systems than the chrome OS, the Chrome Browser can be used with a Google login there by enabling the users to the have the same interface and applications as in the chrome OS. There seems to be a good connection between the development of the Chrome Browser and the Chrome OS.
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Although connection to the web will be essential for a majority of the browser based applications, the usage of Google Gears in chrome OS cou ld allow some amount of offline usage also. nother Interesting point in the Chrome Browser which tends us to consider interoperability between the chrome browser and Chrome OS is the absence of a unique Network manager as opposed to a separate network manager in Mozilla Firefox or Opera .The Chrome Browsermakes use of the network manager of the Operating system itself, in both Linux and Windows versions. Since the Operating system is not resource intensive ,Google`s strategy could be to use Chrome OS for less powerful devices including netbooks and Touch Screen based MultimediaInternet Devices and carrying the same interface and applications on more powerful systems using the Chrome browser . Google has been a pioneer in moving most of the desktop applications to the web with products like Gmail,Spreadsheet ,Word Processor,Presentation,Contacts,Calendar,Youtube,Wave With this move into a cloud based OS, it all appears to fit well and well timed. In the wake of the world moving towards cloud computing, this is an amazing move by Google to capitalize the power of the web to the fullest.

Google Introduction-

Google began as a research project in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were both PhD students at Stanford University. They thought that a search engine that could analyze the relationships between websites would product better results than other search engines. They called their new creation "BackRub", because it checked the backlinks to estimate a site's importance (by the way, this method is still used today in the infamous Google PageRank algorithm, which rates sites on a 1 to 10 basis based on backlinks, and several other variables, such as site layout, and keywords. Page and Brin would test their thesis as part of their studies at Stanford, and would later house their newly created engine at google.stanford.edu. The logo they had then was much different from today's logo, and the name was changed n September 7, 1998, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin bought the domain Google.com, and officially changed the name to Google - A play on the world Googol, (The number one followed by one -hundred zeros). Perhaps this was because Google has endless sites indexed (almost 800 trillion), or has endless possibilites to expand as it has into the internet dominating search engine and company. Today, Google is a publicly traded company that handles one of the most used search engines in the world, with a stock price that was originally the highest in its class. The company currently employs 8,000 employees, and is based in Mountain View, California. It also has several other headquarters in places like Seattle, Washington. Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Novell, is the new Google's CEO. Google was recently named a verb by two major dictionaries (Merriam Webster and Oxford), its meaning defined as "to use th e Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet". Almost 60% of the market in search engine usage is controlled by Google, and most analysts, and I myself, expect this to increase. But don't expect this increase to come easy, as Microsoft and Ask.com compete with Windows Live Search and Ask Search. Google offers many innovative services, such as Blogger, Orkut, and Gmail, and since its introduction in 1996, it offers a wide variety of services, not just search anymore. I use Gmail, Orkut, AND Blogger, and I run a tech blog and avideo blog using blogger. Google Chrome OS Google Chrome OS is a project by Google Inc. to develop a lightweight computer operating system devoted to using the World Wide Web.[1] Announced on July 7, 2009, it is based on Google's Chrome web browser and the Linux kernel. It will initially be targeted at netbooks,[2] and is set to be released during the second half of 2010.[3] It will run on systems with either x86 or ARM processors.[4] Google has stated that the Google Chrome OS project will be open source[5] by the end of 2009, and that it will use "a new windowing system",as opposed to the X Window System, which is the standard for Linux.

Design principles Google states that Chrome is being designed in a minimalist way, much like its Chrome web browser. In this way, the company hopes to move much of the user interface from the desktop environment to the World Wide Web. Cloud computing will be a large part of its design. It has stated that, for developers, "the web is the platform".The Chrome OS is being targeted at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet,and is designed to run on computers ranging from netbooks to desktop computers.Google has stated that the Chrome OS is separate from its Android opera ting system, which was designed primarily for use on smartphones. Also, Google announced that the Chrome OS will feature a novel security architecture.According to Google's official announcement, they will be "going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates". Partner companies One day after the official announcement of Chrome OS, Google announced several partners, who would be de veloping devices with Chrome OS or supply components. Among the listed companies were Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Asus, and Lenovo. Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Freescale, all makers of ARM-chips, were also named, as was Adobe, supposedly for support of Fla sh. Intel has been cited as a co-developer of the Linux kernel for netbooks According to Google, this was merely a preliminary list, and many more cooperations are being discussed at the moment. Noticeably absent from this list was Dell. arket implications
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According to analysis by PC World, Chrome OS represents the next step in the battle between Google and Microsoft ("the two giants of the digital revolution").As of 2009, Microsoft dominates the personal computer operating system market and the software market in word processing and spreadsheet applications. The operating system dominance may be challenged directly by Chrome OS, and the application dominance indirectly through a shift to cloud computing. Google's Chrome OS: what it means, why it matters Soon after we reported that Google was ready to announce the existence of a Chrome centered OS, the company went public with the news. Google's Chrome OS will start appearing on netbooks late in 2010. The announcement contained a thesis statement that is a bit more significant than it might appear at first: "It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be." That statement has both strategic and practical implications, which we'll consider in turn.

From a strategic perspective, "what operating systems should be" clearly involves a heavy dose of Google-driven Web apps, from e-mail to spreadsheets. The entire OS will be focusedon getting users into a Web browser as quickly as possible; any other applications will be secondary and probably not provided by Google. Instead, once the browser launches, users can do their computing via online applications, saving their data in the cloud (think of all those "gDrive" rumors from the last few years). Google views this as computing nirvana for users, saying, "[Users] 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." But there are still a variety of applications that simply can't be replicated withi n a browser, and consumers have had a mixed reaction to Google's own apps, embracing Gmail but finding its presentation software to be severely limited compared to its desktop app counterparts. But the Chrome OS will be appearing first on netbooks, which c an't handle some of the more heavyweight desktop applications in the first place. And the new offering has the potential to drive users to rely on Google's online offerings, which certainly would further the company's goals. Of course, the cloud is only us eful if it's accessible, and staying online isn't always convenient or cheap at this stage. The new offline storage capabilities in the latest Web standards certainly limit the impact of temporary disconnection and, by controlling the whole software stack, Google has the opportunity to make sure its applications play nicely when the computer happens to be offline. From a technological perspective, there appear to be some interesting aspects to rethinking the operating system. For one, by having an extremely narrow focusbringing up a networking stack and browser as quickly as possibleChrome OS has the ability to cut down on the hassles related to restarting and hibernating computers. And, aside from the browser, all of the key applications will reside onlin e, security and other software updates won't happen on the computer itself, which should also improve the user experience. From a security perspective, Google claims that it will be "completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS" in a way that eliminates virus and malware worries. The sandboxing and process isolation that Google has built into the Chrome browser undoubtedly provide much of that security, so it's unclear what will have to happen at the OS level; it's possible that Goo gle will be looking at ways to extend this level of security to third party apps. More cryptically, Google also says that the users it views as its target market "don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardwa re." That problem has plagued all OS makers, and none of them have solved it to the satisfaction of all users. It's possible that Google thinks it can do so, but given its general

attitude (everyone should be happy with Web apps), it's equally possible tha t the company has decided that people simply don't need much in the way of peripherals. At the moment, the Linux port of Chrome is still in rough shape (although it's improving rapidly), so it's no surprise that the arrival of the OS is still a ways off. T he code itself will be released to the community later this year, and Google says the partners it has lined up won't release hardware to consumers until 2010. The intervening time may also be necessary for more sites to start adopting tags for embedding vi deo and audio content in a way that ensures that the Chrome OS can handle multimedia. One part of the announcement that may be causing a few grey hairs in Santa Clara: the Chrome OS will run on both x86 and ARM. Many manufacturers have been considering ARM in netbooks due to its exceptional power management capabilities, but the lack of a Windows port has undoubtedly held things back. A netbook -specific Linux with a highprofile corporation like Google backing it may change perceptions and help usher ARM into the space just above handheld hardware, where the architecture already dominates. Will all of this work? Apple spent a couple of years trying to convince developers that they should be happy with Web apps, but it's clear that the arrival of native appl ications has been a significant driver of the iPhone's popularity. Palm appears to be trying something closer to Google's vision with the Pre, but Palm is also offering a native SDK, and it's too early to tell how well its reliance on online services will work out for users. At this stage, it's not even clear if the netbook market will have staying power once the economy picks back up. All of that would tend to suggest a Chrome OS could wind up occupying a niche. But that may be perfectly fine from Google's perspective. At the moment, Chrome also occupies a relatively small niche, but it has helped change perceptions of what a browser should do in terms of sandboxing processes and isolating plugins. I f the Chrome OS can help changeconsumer perceptions about the utility of online applications and cloud storage, it could be a big success for Google, even without wide adoption.

How the Google Chrome OS Works

34 Computer Hardware Image Gallery

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Google's Chrome OS aims to eliminate most local data storage and push you to spend even more time online. See morecomputer hardware pictures. The Internet has become a central part of the computer experience. Before the Web caught fire in the late 1990s, home computing was largely a singular experience. Computer users created documents on a PC and saved those files to a hard or floppy disk, and maybe worked within a local area network at the office. File sharing usually meant walking a disk to another machine. These days, computing is a Web-centric experience, and you perform many of your Internet tasks through software called a Web browser. That browser, which may be a program such as Firefox or Internet Explorer, helps you retrieve information from the Internet multiple times per day, integrate it with other online documents and share data galore with people all over the planet. Google is trying to reshape the computer experience by using its understanding of the Web to create the new Chrome operating system (OS). Traditional operating systems, such as Windows, require a lot of hard drive space and demand some work on your part. You have to install the programs you want individually, manage OS and security updates and manage device drivers, too. Google's Chrome OS aims to overhaul that paradigm. With Chrome, the browser actually is the OS -- in this case, the Chrome OS builds on the Google browser of the same name. In total, the Chrome OS is built on an open-source version of Linux and integrated with the Chrome browser, a simple media player...and that's it. Google embraced the concept of an ultra-simple, Web-centric OS in large part due to the huge recent success ofnetbooks. Netbooks are small laptop computers that are designed to let users access the Web, and not much more; they're inexpensive and feature-limited hardware, and they aren't built for high-powered applications like Photoshop, for example. Unlike Windows, Chrome won't be available as a download. It'll be pre-installed by netbook manufacturers who adhere to Google's hardware specifications. Chrome is designed to run best on solid-state storage systems as opposed to traditional spinning hard drives, in part because solid-state drives are less prone to failure, but also because they're less spacious -- remember, Google wants you to store your data online. And because the OS uses Web-based applications, you don't need local storage for software, either.
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Fact or Fiction: Google 10 Useful Google Tools How Operating Systems Work

It's no accident that Google stresses the online aspects of Chrome. The entire Chrome project revolves around the cloud computing model. That fancy term simply means that all of your data and applications are stored online, in the "cloud," so that you can access them from any computer, anywhere. The company says this model will help it develop a better overall OS experience and focus on building an OS with improved speed, security and simplicity. By hacking out all of the non-Web related functions of a traditional OS, Google indicates these goals should be easier to achieve. And the company isn't doing the design work alone. Because this is an open-source project (under the name Chromium OS), Google gets feedback from savvy software developers all over the world. It's important to remember that Google doesn't intend for Chrome OS to be your primary computer's operating system. Instead, the company sees a Chrome OS netbook as a secondary computer that you use once you're done with the heavy-duty applications you use on a more powerful office computer. Like most Google products, Chrome OS is free. That fact, along with the power of Google's marketing and distribution, should grab your attention. Keep reading to see how Chrome might alter the landscape of computing as you know it.

How the Google Chrome OS Works

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Chrome OS Design and Operation

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The Chrome OS is designed to run on small, lightweight netbooks that have little storage capacity. Chrome is a seriously stripped-down, fast OS. Because Chrome supports only Web capabilities, it can do away with much of the bulk and unnecessary system checks that slow a traditional OS. For example, during start up the OS firmware doesn't have to search for floppy disk drives or other hardware that few current computers continue to use -- a task that other operating systems still perform. Thus, Chrome is a much smaller OS that consumes almost no disk space, especially when compared to Windows. Windows 7, for example, requires about 60 times more disk space than Chrome (source: Mearian). One nice result of these differences is speed. A fairly fast Windows machine might finish booting in around 45 seconds. In contrast,Google wants Chrome netbooks to be up and running in 7 seconds or less (source: Tweney). Google works closely with computer makers to ensure that Chrome systems are equipped with hardware that lets the OS run optimally. Chrome runs on x86-based computers, as well as those with ARM processors. Unsurprisingly, the Chrome OS user interface looks much like the Chrome browser. Beyond this browser-like OS, these netbooks will have no pre-installed software. There's an integrated media player that lets you watch movies, play music and view photos when you're offline. Adobe Flash is already integrated into the Chrome browser, so you can view all Flash Web sites, too. Because there's almost no on-board storage, you won't even have to worry about installing or uninstalling other programs. When you want to write a report, for example, you just access a Web-based word processing application. Of course, data bandwidth challenges prohibit certain types of work. Video editing, for instance, won't be happening on a Chrome system anytime soon. For more basic computing tasks, though, you should be able to find applications that suit your needs, using Google's Chrome Web Store. Similar to Apple's App Store and the Android Market, the Chrome Web Store will offer applications for a huge variety of tasks.

There are other major differences between Chrome and established operating systems. In a traditional OS, it's vital that you install device drivers that let your computer work with other hardware. If you use Chrome, Google reasons that the primary third-party device you need is a printer -- but the company doesn't want you to have to install drivers. Instead, you'll use Google's Cloud Print service, which lets you print from any computer to any printer that's connected to the Internet. Unlike other operating systems, Chrome doesn't bombard you with an endless series of OS update alerts. When you connect your netbook to the Internet, Google updates Chrome for you automatically. The whole idea is to make your computing experience easier and more secure, with less fuss and frustration.