Investigate an alternative OS - Activity 2

The alternative OS I decided to look into was Google Chrome OS. After reading about it, I am so excited to see it in action. No, I do not plan on purchasing a netbook to use it, however, once it becomes available, I would like to see if it is compatible with Mac in the hopes of using with my Macbook.

With that said, what is Google Chrome OS? What is the history behind it, what makes it unique, and why should we use it? Well...

Google came about just around a decade ago and was seen by Microsoft as an immediate threat. The interesting piece, however, is that Google had no interest in undoing Microsoft. Google was just Google. No concerns about what Microsoft was or wasn't doing.

ANYWHO...Google's new plan to release Google Chrome OS was picked up by news sources quickly after official statements broke. Chrome OS has been specifically designed for use with netbooks, and is a lightweight, cost-effective alternative open-source platform for portable computing: basically a Web browser as an operating system. It has been designed specifically to operate within the "cloud" and users will be able to take advantage of the vast medium of products from Google.

As stated by Angsuman Chakraborty of Simple Thoughts:Simple solutions for complex problems, there are SEVEN points worth mentioning in the upcoming Chrome OS:

1. Open Source Google Chrome OS is an open-source.
2. The 3 S's Google Chrome OS will be built around speed, simplicity, and security.
3. Security Google redesigns the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates.
4. Hardware Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips.
5. Architecture Google Chrome will run within a new window system on top of a Linux kernel. The web is the platform and all web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using favorite web technologies. These apps will run on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.
6. Instant Interaction Everything will be instant. Users will not need to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates.
7. It is NOT an ANDROID Google Chrome OS will borrow some features of Android, but not all.

So, who might be interested in using such an operating system? WHO WOULDN'T is more likely the question!! A system that loads faster? What could be better? Although there are some concerns, mainly about everything working through the CLOUD, this has become the new fight. Operating systems and making them work faster and better for the likes of all.

Sources:
Bradley, Tony.Chrome OS Strives to Replace Desktop Culture. Net Work. 2 June 2010. Retrieved from . 3 June 2010.

Chakraborty, Angsuman. Google Chrome OS: 7 things you must know. Simple Thoughts: Simple solutions for complex problems. 8 July 2009. Retrieved from . 3 June 2010.

Whittaker, Zack. The history and future of Chrome OS. ZDNet.com. 11 July 2009. Retreived from . 3 June 2010.