A look at some of Chrome OS's latest bits of polish

The release of Chrome OS looms ever closer, but still there are a number of enhancements and changes being rolled in that should make for a somewhat nicer experience, and TechCrunch has highlighted a few. Perhaps most major among those changes is the ability to browse the internet without signing in, but if you want to update your bookmarks or save any form data you'll still need a Google account. There's a new side bar that appears to give access to other apps, replacing tabs on top, and it also adds in battery and WiFi strength indicators. There's also something of a debate going on regarding whether Chrome OS should have support for compressed archives (.zip and .rar files and the like). Right now the OS has no support for those files, which, as one contributor points out, is rather unfortunate given that Gmail itself generates zip files when you click "download all attachments." Let's hope someone at the Googs finds time to add that in so that future users aren't locked out of the joys of extraction.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/25/a-look-at-some-of-chrome-oss-latest-bits-of-polish/

Will Chrome OS Run Mac, Windows Apps ?

We all recall Steve Ballmer’s famed ‘Monkeyboy’ chant as he ran round a stage yelling, “Developers, developers, developers,” and despite leaving himself open for a lifetime of ridicule with the move, he was right.

A platform is nothing without a strong developer community. And that’s why Google’s Chrome OS will let you run your old Windows and Mac desktop apps from your shiny new Chrome laptop, at least, that’s what people are saying…

These rumors began with The Register. That august journal first told us about a process called Chromoting, citing an email from Google software engineer Gary Kacmarcík.

In a posting on a third party Chrome OS-dedicated mailing list, the engineer promised that the new capability means “Chrome OS will not only be [a] great platform for running modern web apps, but will also enable you to access legacy PC applications right within the browser.”

The engineer described Chromoting as working a little like Remote Desktop Connection, a Microsoft solution which lets you access and use PCs remotely via the internet. He didn’t confirm any Mac support, but it is no great stretch to imagine Google may take such a step.

Why this makes absolute sense, of course, is that when the Chrome OS does eventually ship, even a company as big as Google won’t be able to deliver every application users need, nor will it be able to guarantee those applications it does provide will fully service user needs.

Google will also need time to build a developer community, though we can expect next year’s Google I/O event to be an even bigger party than it was this year.

So what’s a search engine giant gonna do when trying to get into an all-new market and blow apart the existing OS trifecta (Mac, Windows, Linux)?

Why, invent a way to run applications built on other operating systems, of course! After all, applications like LogMeIn and GoToMyPC have offered this sort of thing for years.

Chrome OS is essentially Google’s Chrome web browser running on top of a version of Linux. Applications are accessed from within the browser. The OS is expected to appear at the end of 2010, making its debut on netbooks.

What is interesting is the Google engineer’s use of the phrase “legacy PC applications” — especially in light of Apple CEO Steve Jobs recent comments that,

“The times they are a changing, and some traditional PC folks feel like their world is slipping away. It is.”

A move from traditional desktop computing toward a truly mobile solution makes a lot of sense — after all, this is what we’re seeing in the iPhone (now iOS) ecosystem…

Could Google’s new Chrome feature be part of this prevailing change?

http://www.techi.com/2010/06/will-google’s-chrome-os-run-mac-windows-apps-maybe/

Dell Is Working On Google Chrome OS

A Dell executive all but came out today and confirmed that the company is in the process of developing netbooks based off Google’s cloud centric Chrome OS.

Dell’s president for Greater China and South Asia, Amit Midha spoke with Reuters and said:

“with Chrome or Android or anything like that we want to be one of the leaders.”

It’s safe to say that in order to be a leader you need to already be working with Google in the area of Chrome OS as various other companies are already doing.

Midha continued:

“There are going to be unique innovations coming up in the marketplace in two, three years, with a new form of computing,” adding “[and] we want to be on that forefront.”

With Dell already offering the Dell Mini 3 (AT&T Aero) with Google Android, it makes sense that they would take this next logical step.

The price for Google Chrome OS netbooks are expected to sit around $300 to $400 and release this fall, no word yet if Dell will be part of that initial launch, but I’m pointing to yes.

http://www.inquisitr.com/76499/dell-is-working-on-google-chrome-os-netbooks-almost-confirmed/

Google Chrome beta review

Google Chrome beta review

by Richard Ibbotson

Google recently set loose a working version of its new Chrome operating system, due for public release in late 2010. Already there is much interest from a large crowd of international developers. Much is promised from Google, which feels sure that it has the right marketing strategy for its network-based operating system. We take a look at Chrome OS to find out what it offers…

What is Google Chrome? It’s really only a web browser that downloads web applications over the internet. Using Google Chrome you can connect to and use YouTube or an online email application. Google docs or similar online office suites can be accessed. Online calendars and photo albums can also be used. Most things that you can do with a real operating system can be done. In an operating system such as Ubuntu or openSUSE, your data is stored on your hard disk, in the Google operating system, everything is stored somewhere out there on the internet. Chrome is not like other operating systems and is being aimed at netbooks. The early netbooks, such as the Eee PC 701, did not arrive with a great deal of RAM or disk space, however, more recent netbooks have something like 64GB or 160GB of disk space and at least 1 or 2GB of RAM. You can install a full version of GNU/Linux into any of these.
Some design goals for the Google Chrome OS user interface include using minimal screen space by combining applications and standard webpages into a single tab rather than separating the two. Google Chrome will follow the Chrome browser’s practice of pushing forward the HTML5 web standard in offline mode.

So how does it work? On top of the GNU/Linux kernel, which is used in so many places around the world in the present day, sit the X-windows and graphics libraries
(see Fig  1, on page 90). Alongside these are the system libraries. Above this there is the Chrome OS and the GNU/Linux window manager that Google has introduced to make things look pretty. There is a strong reliance on GNOME or GTK+ libraries and themes here, and signs of the IceWM or XFCE or LXDE in places. This is a good thing because the present GNOME 2.xx desktop is very stable and reliable. Above this sit the web apps, website and extensions for various functional uses as well as cosmetic effect. The firmware helps to maintain a fast boot time by not probing for hardware. A complete lack of floppy drives on the netbook speed this process along the way and the firmware adds to security by verifying each step in the boot process, and system recovery if it is required. The Linux kernel has been patched to improve boot performance. Userland software has been trimmed to essentials with the inclusion of upstart which can launch services in parallel and re-spawn crashed jobs and defer services in the interests of a shorter boot time. The window manager handles user interaction with multiple client windows, much like other X clients do.

http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/opinion/google-chrome-beta-review/

Open Source Eee PCs in October, Chrome OS Netbooks Coming

Awesome news from Engadget about the open source future of the next generation of Eee PCs. Their 'spies' have uncovered information that the first Moblin-running Eee netbooks will be in stores come October. Asus, the Eee PC manufacturer, is apparently considering making open source OSes an option for all their netbooks in the future
Read more: http://www.i4u.com/article26266.html