The rise of media tablets has inadvertently overshadowed the trusty notebook we have all come to fondly know and rely upon for our daily computing needs. The launch of the iPad a year ago has taken the media limelight, end-user mindshare and even wallet share away from notebooks. But, that does not mean notebooks are out of the picture as yet.
Though Google is pitching it as an operating system for netbooks and lightweight notebooks, Chrome OS is essentially the Chrome Web browser bolted on top of a bare minimum version of Linux. The following extensions can improve the user experience of Chrome (OS or browser) to give you some of the functionality found in a traditional operating system.
Computers and their software today are too complicated, and users are increasingly looking at iPads and cloud-based services such as Google Docs to handle the basics that most of us stick to: document editing, photo management, emailing, Web browsing, and the like. Running Office on a PC or Mac is beyond overkill for most people. Google proposes we do away with the PC altogether, at least part of the time, and replace it with Google's cloud-based laptop -- an appliance in which the Chrome browser serves as operating system. With the Chrome OS, all actions occur in the browser and the cloud.
Google's prototype Chrome OS laptops do not yet support Java, and support for Flash Player 10.1 is being called a "work in progress."
Google's Chrome OS is moving closer to reality, but does Google's new operating system pose any threat to Windows?
It's been a year since Google first said it would deliver a browser-only operating system for laptops called Chrome OS. Today, Google previewed the real thing at a time the iPad slate concept has already gained remarkable traction by businesses and users alike. (InfoWorld.com is covering this event live. Return to this story to get the latest updates.)
Google opened its Web application store for Chrome browser users on Tuesday, offering highly interactive, graphically rich applications from a variety of sources, including National Public Radio, Amazon.com, Electronic Arts and Sports Illustrated.
Google is being somewhat circumspect about whether Android or Chrome will run on future tablet computers, with two top executives hinting recently at different possible directions. Analysts also disagree in their predictions.
The latest beta of Chrome 6 is out, and its menus have been optimized for touch--complete with buttons for copying, pasting, as well as zooming in on a page. Could this be a taste of what the rumored Chrome OS tablet will be like? Maybe.
Well, there's little doubt that tablets running Google's Chrome operating system are coming soon--the only question is when.
Talks are under way between Google and Dell to bring Chrome OS, the search giant's cloud-centric operating system, to Dell's computer lineup, according to a Dell executive.
Google is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the Chrome OS--expected to hit the streets as a netbook operating system before the holidays. A new feature dubbed "chromoting" hopes to bridge the divide between Chrome and Windows, but the sketchy details thus far don't make it sound all that compelling.
Remember Chrome OS, Google's stripped-to-the-browser operating system? It's reportedly ready for prime time, with Chrome OS devices from Acer leading the way.
The already intense Google-Microsoft rivalry heated up considerably last month with the long-expected release of Google's Chrome operating system to the open-source community.
Acer may be the first manufacturer out of the gate with a Google Chrome OS netbook in the second half of next year, according to the latest Internet rumors. JT Wang, the computer manufacturer's chairman recently told DigiTimes that he was confident his company would be "the first vendor to launch [a] Chrome-based netbook" by next year.
