Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


8

Google Launches Web-Based OS, Takes Aim at Windows

Fast-booting Chrome may push Vista out of the market

Share

(Newser) – Google has doubled down in its battle with Microsoft. The search giant announced it is bringing out an open-source operating system, named Google Chrome OS, that looks to go head-to-head with long-dominant Windows. Chrome OS is Google's biggest push yet onto traditional Microsoft turf, reports the Financial Times, following free web-based applications, mobile phone platforms, and email.

According to Nick Mediati of PC World, Chrome OS is an outgrowth of Google's lightweight web browser and is designed to boot in "a few seconds," far faster than Microsoft's snail-paced Vista. Third-party apps for Chrome OS will also work on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines, since the Google system is essentially a web-based platform. The new system won't launch until next year, but Mediati wonders if Google hasn't "just killed the operating system war."

Google co-founders Sergey Brin, left, and Larry Page, right, talking about the new Google Browser, Chrome, during a news conference in Mountain View, Calif.
Google co-founders Sergey Brin, left, and Larry Page, right, talking about the new Google Browser, Chrome, during a news conference in Mountain View, Calif.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Google Chrome is being expanded from a web browser to a full-fledged operating system.
Google Chrome is being expanded from a web browser to a full-fledged operating system.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, is seen during the Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Friday, June 26, 2009.
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, is seen during the Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Friday, June 26, 2009.   (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
11.19.09
Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention
8 comments
VIEWING:
 
2-bits
Jul 8, 09 7:12 AM CDT
I think this won't be as successful as they hope. I for one wouldn't do it; if the network goes down, I not only lose my ability to check my email, but also my ability to write that report? Bullshit. And what about vidjeo games? This boots in a few seconds claim is pretty dubious too. Of course its going to boot quickly if all you're doing is launching a VM for a client. That's would be an impressive claim if the final product were intended to be as feature rich as Windows or Linux or something, but I doubt it is. (Yes, I intentionally spelled "video" vidjeo.) Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
IN RESPONSE:
Fondue
Jul 8, 09 8:55 AM CDT
For pronunciation purposes of course.
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Jul 8, 09 9:20 AM CDT
The two articles say that the Chrome OS is based on the linux kernel, so it is a full-blown OS. The OS's main interface appears to be a browser. Chrome now works offline. I think "web-centric" will end up meaning a seamless integration with the web, but it will work when the web is down. Think mobile desktop here . . . Applications written for Chrome will be similar to plugins for Firefox now, though perhaps more powerful. They will work on any standards based browser, so the chicken-and-egg startup problem is avoided. Fast boot would boot into a limited OS (whether in BIOS or not I don't know) that would still support the same applications, though perhaps limited in some ways. .................... It all looks exciting to me.
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Citrixguy
Jul 8, 09 7:35 AM CDT
Also, Win7 is damn decent, maybe not quite as fast as XP, but 100% better than Vista. My POV is that Google Chrome OS is a pound short and a day late. This might be their "Bob". Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+1
IN RESPONSE:
mayo68
Jul 8, 09 8:48 AM CDT
I flushed something 100% times better than Vista this morning.
Vote up! Vote down!
0

View all 8 comments »

LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

46 Stories

David Pogue: SO LONG, VISTA

 Windows 7 Drops: 
 Microsoft Is Back 

Redmond can be proud of its new OS: Pogue

Oct 22, 09 7:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - At last, you can put your Vista woes behind you. Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7, which drops today, takes what's good about its predecessor—especially security and good looks—and eliminates the parts that drove users bonkers. Windows 7 isn't just substantially faster and more compatible with users' machines,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • Microsoft Vista • PCs • operating system • upgrades • David Pogue • Windows 7 • Windows 7 review

mossberg review

Windows 7: Finally an End to the Ordeal of Vista

It's even better than aging fallback Windows XP

Oct 8, 09 7:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - PC users who've suffered the agonies of Vista are finally about to get a reprieve, Walt Mossberg says: Windows 7, to be released Oct. 22, is "a faster and much better operating system than the little-loved Windows Vista, which did a lot to harm both the company's reputation, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • Walt Mossberg • Microsoft Vista • operating system • Windows 7 • Windows 7 review

tech showdown

 Pick an OS: 
 Uncool Robots 
 or Snooty Evangelists? 

New Microsoft ads go for Mac-esque buzz—and fail laughably

Sep 28, 09 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Anyone who wants a computer faces an unpleasant choice: Mac OS or Windows. Now, Windows is “awful”— buggy, at times barely functional. But one expert would rather assign himself to Microsoft purgatory than join the club of snooty, self-satisfied cooler-than-thou Mac users. “Stop showing me your iPhone,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • Mac OS X • operating system • computer • Windows 7

46 Stories


Technology  •  Business 
TwitterFollow @NewserTech on Twitter

 
technology • Google • Microsoft • computer programming • Windows • Microsoft Vista • operating system • computer • Google Chrome • Google Chrome OS

from our news partners