| Debian Linux-based Google Chrome OS debuts, goes open source |
Nov. 19, 2009
 Google unveiled its Debian Linux- and Chrome browser based "Chrome OS" today and announced the open-sourcing of the project. Due to ship on netbooks in late 2010, the lightweight, cloud-oriented Chrome OS offers seven-second boot-ups, works only with flash storage, and borrows from projects including Moblin.
No beta release of Chrome OS was made available at the announcement this morning at Google's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters, and no timetable for a beta was announced, but the final version should appear by the end of 2010. The distribution will not run on just any system, but can only be used with netbooks that adhere to Google's x86 and ARM-based reference designs, and offer Chrome OS pre-installed, said Google.
Initially announced with few details in July, and quickly hailed by observers as a potential Windows killer, the lightweight Chrome OS stores all data in the cloud, with data cached on local flash-based solid-state storage. (One interesting news item here: the device will not support conventional hard disk drives.) Meanwhile, all applications are web-based, so there are no binaries or native apps. This cloud approach enables users to share machines and download personalization data, as well as quickly resume one's working environment if a netbook is broken or stolen, said Google.
Google Chrome OS prototype UI with application tabs (Source: Google)
(Click to enlarge)
The key announcement today was the opening up of code elements to open source developers. From now on, Google developers will be working on the same tree as external developers, said Pichai, and the project will post design documents, so developers will "know what we're doing next." In addition, Pichai noted that Chrome OS draws upon code developed by a number of open source Linux projects including the Linux kernel, Moblin, and WebKit.
One interesting development today is that Canonical announced it is working with Google on Chrome OS, which might be seen as a competitor to Ubuntu Netbook Remix Edition. In a blog post today, Canonical's VP of OEM Services Chris Kenyon reports that "Canonical is contributing engineering to Google under contract." He goes on to note that, "While the two operating systems share some core components, Google Chrome OS will provide a very different experience to Ubuntu. Ubuntu will continue to be a general purpose OS running both web and native applications such as OpenOffice and will not require specialized hardware."
For a full report on Chrome OS, see the coverage on our sister publication, LinuxDevices, here.
-- Eric Brown
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