Dumitrache.net

The fear that inspired Microsoft in the recent years has come true. Google, initially only the largest search engine in the world, now plans to take on the market of operating systems dominated by Microsoft since the release of the first version of Windows.

If the release of the first online alternative to Microsoft Office – Google Docs gave Microsoft the shivers, surely Google’s announcement that it will be launching an operating system in 2010 caused sleeping difficulties to Microsoft’s representatives.

Google describes the “Chrome OS” as an extension to their already popular browser – Google Chrome, which was introduced in September, 2008. Most of the applications will run on the internet inside the integrated browser. You will use Picassa for managing your images, GTalk for instant messaging and Google Docs for your office needs. Basically, Chrome OS will be a web browser that requires no operating system. You will start your computer and it will boot directly into the Chrome web browser.

Chrome OS is said to bring consistent improvements in security and reliability. The OS will run on two partitions, one of the two being mounted as read-only, where essential system files will be stored, thus reducing the risks of a virus attack. And if that ain’t enough, the boot loader will also check the integrity of the OS before booting up to identify unusual modifications in the code. Chrome is based on a Monolithic Linux Kernel optimized for faster boot times by eliminating hardware checks for devices that are no longer present in many of today’s computers (such as floppy disk drives). The entire user experience will take place inside the browser window.

Chrome OS will be free and it will be integrated into your Google Account. Basically, along with unlimited e-mail storage and countless free services, you will also have access to your free copy of Chrome OS. Does it look like history repeating itself? It looks to me.

A few decades ago, when PC’s did not exist, there were “terminals” – dumb computers with no processing power of their own which used to send their tasks via a network to a server where the required calculations would be performed and the results returned to the terminals. The terminals used the resources of one big server, or of a group of servers to do their jobs. Is it me, or does Google plan to offer/sell something more than just software products in the following years? Will we really need to have the latest processing technology when we will be able to “rent” Google’s processing and memory resources to work in the place of our computer?