The Netbook Showdown

Let’s face it. For those who turn on their computers only to surf the Internet, check email, or use social media sites, booting up can be a huge pain. Did you know that even the fastest computers take at least 45 seconds to boot up? Of course, that’s not a whole lot of time wasted, but it does seem like an eternity. Long gone are the days of oh-so-slow dial-up connections. We’ve grown accustomed to getting what we want, fast. Why wait for the entire OS and its applications to boot up when all you want to do is get online?

This is the question that the people at Google have asked themselves, and the solution they’ve come up with is the Google Chrome OS. But wait! Isn’t there a web browser with that name? Of course. But the Chrome OS is more than just a browser; it’s an entire operating system.

As the sole operating system for netbooks, Google Chrome OS will allow Internet users to access email, social media sites, blogs, and browse the web, naturally with Google’s own applications, like Gmail and Google Docs. There will be no need to run desktop apps or store information in your computer. It will all be stored “in the cloud”.
This presents numerous advantages for the Internet user. The Chrome OS will be perfect for those who primarily wish to get online fast and want none of the sluggishness of most desktop computers. Another big advantage is that it could effectively give its users a safe, clean, virus-free environment. According to Linus Upson, Google’s Engineering Director, Google is “completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.” A bold promise indeed, and one that is sure to attract many of those who’re in the market for a speedy netbook.

The one main disadvantage is that a netbook that runs on the Chrome OS will depend on an Internet connection to be of any use. However as a trade-off all your data is stored in the cloud, meaning you can access any of your documents from any internet enabled computer just by logging into your Google account in any web browser.

Google Chrome OS will be released in the second half of 2010. Whether it will be a resounding success, or one big fail for Google…well, that remains to be seen. In the mean time you can stop by The Chromium Project and download the newest binaries of Chromium OS, their open source project, and try it out.

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