When Google (GOOG) launched Android, the open-source operating system designed to power mobile Internet devices, industry analysts were surprised to discover that PC manufacturers had begun to use it to power netbooks, the cheap, low-power laptops that have become among the biggest sellers in a dismal market. Now, Google has thrown itself fully into the netbook market with the release of Chrome OS, a new operating system based on its Web browser and designed to directly challenge Microsoft (MSFT) for the future of the personal computer.
The search giant had originally planned to announce the release today but bumped it up to yesterday after the New York Times got wind of it. In a blog post, Google Vice President of Product Management Sundar Pichai and engineering director Linus Upson wrote that Chrome OS will be specifically configured to directly connect to the Web as quickly as possible, without the operating system's interface slowing you down as it powers software on the computer. In short, it's designed to be a seamless way to use cloud-based computing, with all the relevant software and security systems operating from servers maintained by Google.
"We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds," Pichai and Upson wrote. "The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are 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. It should just work."
Times reporters Miguel Helft and Ashlee Vance point out that the new wave of netbooks have left Microsoft in an uncomfortable position. Many of the new laptops bypassed Windows and use Linux-based operating systems, forcing Microsoft to dust off the old Windows XP system and offer it at a major discount. Undoubtedly, said Silicon Valley investor Larry Augustin, Google noticed that Microsoft was vulnerable here and struck.
According to PC World, Google is already partnering with PC manufacturers in China and Taiwan to roll out Chrome-based machines and will announce the names of these partners in the next few days. For Microsoft, which has already stumbled with the low popularity of its Vista operating system, this is a serious challenge to its core business and one that they will not take lightly. In short, this is Google's Bing.
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