Post #310,591
7/8/09 6:54:31 AM
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Google Chrome OS
http://www.nytimes.c...rate.html?_r=1&hp
SAN FRANCISCO Â In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs that is tied to its Chrome Web browser.
The software, called the Google Chrome Operating System, is initially intended for use in the tiny, low-cost portable computers known as netbooks, which have been selling quickly even as demand for other PCs has plummeted. Google said it believed the software would also be able to power full-fledged PCs.
[...]
Not a lot of meat there. I wonder how Shuttleworth feels about it...
http://googleblog.bl...le-chrome-os.html
Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. 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.
Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple  Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.
[...]
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear  computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.
Emphasis added. An ARM Netbook would be really nice from a battery life standpoint, I think.
Real machines running it are due out the 2nd half of next year. I guess we've got a while to wait...
Cheers,
Scott.
(Who hopes this provides significant competition to Intel and MS.)
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Post #310,605
7/8/09 9:25:45 AM
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There are already ARM netbooks coming very soon...
And some are claiming as much as 15 hours of life, though I don't quite know how... running all those radios they are to have in them, plus the powered USB ports.
1) Bluetooth
2) WiFi
3) MiFi (optional)
4) Cellular Broadband (optional)
5) Powered USB ports
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Post #310,621
7/8/09 7:39:58 PM
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They say the savings is in the processor.
Smaller simpler processor, lower speed and higher work per cycle (the ARMs have always had a much denser machine code than the x86 architecture) and thus a vastly cooler chip. A _lot_ of power in a laptop drives the Intel processor.
If this succeeds, it might just be the way to get off the ancient x86 architecture. Intel won't like that.
Wade.
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
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Post #310,626
7/8/09 9:51:38 PM
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ARMs rise in use has been...
A steady pace going up for *QUITE* a long time.
And Yes, it'd be nice to get out from under that Intel Behemoth.
Unless Intel *REALLY* improves power consumption AND improves overall performance at the same time... Intel will be going the same way Microsoft is starting to go.
Yes, I know that MUCH of the power is for the Processor. But come on, those radios transmitting mean a big amount of power no matter what.
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Post #310,637
7/8/09 11:49:41 PM
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Re: ARMs rise in use has been...
3G in particular is absolutely ruinous on battery life for a full-sized laptop - let alone a netbook with a tiny battery.
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Post #310,639
7/9/09 12:17:01 AM
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And yet mobile phones manage it.
Hmm. :-)
Wade.
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
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Post #310,655
7/9/09 9:32:02 AM
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It's pretty harsh on their batteries too.
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Post #310,676
7/9/09 12:41:57 PM
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...badly.
My iPhone, with 3G turned on and in use, will be dry in no more than about 3 hours.
This is on-par with other 3G phones.
Turn it off, and I have to charge it every other day (and that's with wifi turned on).
The heat generated by the 3G receiver in phones is indicative of the power being used.
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Post #310,732
7/10/09 8:57:54 AM
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Re: Google Chrome OS
"Pictures are better then words because some words are big and hard to understand"
Peter Griffin (Family Guy)
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Post #310,759
7/10/09 2:01:46 PM
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Re: Google Chrome OS
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Post #310,760
7/10/09 2:18:25 PM
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It goes back to 1969 with Dennis Thompson and Lionel Ritchie
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Post #310,766
7/10/09 4:16:40 PM
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Interesting analysis at Daring Fireball
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Post #310,773
7/10/09 7:11:04 PM
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Yes, very interesting. Thanks.
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Post #310,784
7/11/09 7:03:25 AM
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Very astute commentary.
Especially the comparison of Palm's WebOS to the Apple iPhone. And the mimcry of GNOME and KDE of Windows*. The description of a web-based application is quite good, but he left out a really good reference: Adobe AIR. I think this is why Google are talking to Adobe: so they provide something like an AIR runtime on ChromeOS.
Wade.
* I know I'm going to annoy Peter again, but I'm reminded of WindowMaker yet again. :-)
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
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Post #310,800
7/11/09 4:04:00 PM
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agree on the Linux GUI
I think I'd be more interested in GNOME or KDE if they'd expanded upon the ideas found in OS/2's Workplace Shell. For casual users WPS is enough like Windows that they wouldn't have problems using it, but it would add the ability to go above and beyond what Windows is capable of.
Hmm, didn't know about Adobe AIR, though I see via google that Gruber was aware of it - possible he'd forgotten about it when writing that commentary.
http://daringfirebal...le_wont_buy_adobe
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