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Weekly News Digest

July 9, 2009 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.

Google Announces Plans for Google Chrome OS

Google announced a new project that it says is a natural extension of the Google Chrome browser (www.google.com/chrome)-the Google Chrome Operating System. Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year, Google will open source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because Google is already talking to partners about the project and will soon be working with the open source community, the company wanted to share its vision now so everyone understands what it is trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity, and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. Google is designing the OS to be fast and lightweight-to start up and get users onto the web in seconds. The user interface is minimal, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as it did for the Google Chrome browser, Google is 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. Google is also working with multiple original equipment manufacturers (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.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android (www.android.com). Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices, from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and it is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, Google believes that choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

Source: Google, Inc.