Google Chrome OS
| Google Chrome OS, running on a Google Cr-48 Notebook, from the December 2010 pilot program. | |
| Company / developer | Google Inc. |
|---|---|
| Programmed in | C, C++ |
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Source code released as Chromium OS |
| Supported platforms | x86, ARM |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Default user interface | Graphical interface based on the Google Chrome Browser |
| License | BSD license (for Chromium OS — Chrome OS has not yet been released)[1][2] |
| Official website | google.com/chromeos/ |
Google Chrome OS is a forthcoming Linux operating system, based on Ubuntu and designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. Google announced the operating system on July 7, 2007 and made it an open source project, called Chromium OS, that November.[3][4][5][6]
Unlike Chromium OS, which can be compiled from the downloaded source code, Chrome OS will only ship on specific hardware from Google's manufacturing partners.[7] The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Chrome web browser. Because Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet, the only application on the device will be a browser incorporating a media player.[3][8][9][10][11]
The expected launch date for retail hardware featuring Chrome OS has slipped since Google first announced the operating system: from late 2010 to early 2011 to, by some reports, mid-2011.
Google developers began coding the operating system in 2009, inspired by the growing popularity and lower power consumption of netbooks and the focus of these small laptops on Internet access. To ascertain marketing requirements for an operating system focused on netbook Web transactions, the company did not do the usual demographic research generally associated with a large software development project. Instead, engineers have relied on more informal metrics, including monitoring the usage patterns of some 200 Chrome OS machines used by Google employees. Developers also noted their own usage patterns. Matthew Papakipos, former[16] engineering director for the Chrome OS project, put three machines in his house and found himself logging in for brief sessions: to make a single search query or send a short email.[8]
On November 19, 2009, Google released Chrome OS's source code as the Chromium OS project.[3] As with other open source projects, developers are modifying code from Chromium OS and building their own versions, whereas Google Chrome OS code will only be supported by Google and its partners, and will only run on hardware designed for the purpose. Unlike Chromium OS, Chrome OS will be automatically updated to the latest version.[17] InformationWeek reviewer Serdar Yegulalp wrote that Chrome OS will be a product, developed to "a level of polish and a degree of integration with its host hardware that Chromium OS does not have by default," whereas Chromium OS is a project, "a common baseline from which the finished work is derived" as well as a pool for derivative works. The product and project will be developed in parallel and borrow from each other.[18]
At a November 19, 2009 news conference, Sundar Pichai, the Google vice president overseeing Chrome, demonstrated an early version of the operating system. He previewed a desktop which looked very similar to the Chrome browser, and in addition to the regular browser tabs also had application tabs, which take less space and can be pinned for easier access. At the conference, the operating system booted up in seven seconds, a time Google said it would work to reduce.[19][17][18][20]
Also on November 19, 2009, Chris Kenyon, vice president of OEM services at Canonical Ltd announced that that Canonical "is contributing engineering to Google [Chrome OS] under contract. In our discussions, Sundar Pichai and Linus Upson made it clear that they want, wherever feasible, to build on existing components and tools from the open source community without unnecessary re-invention. This clear focus
should benefit a wide variety of existing projects and we welcome it".[21]
On January 25, 2010, Google posted notes, images and a video of a conceptual design showing how a Chrome OS user interface might look on a tablet PC with a 5-10 inch screen. The design would include the same basic layout as on netbooks, but with a touch interface; an onscreen qwerty keyboard in different layouts; large, square icons placed above the tabs; and panels placed along the bottom edge that could be opened with an upward dragging motion.[22][23] The posting was made two days before Apple announced the iPad tablet.[24]
In March 2010, Google indicated that consideration is being given to developing two versions of the operating system, a consumer version and an enterprise version.[25]
Cr-48 prototype hardware
At a December 7, 2010 press briefing, Google announced the Cr-48 notebook, a piece of reference hardware created to test the Chrome OS operating system. Google gave away a limited number of the notebooks as a part of its pilot testing program. The Cr-48 is intended for testing only, and will not be sold to the general public.[26][27][28] Google also addressed complaints that the operating system offers little functionality when the host device is not connected to the Internet. The company demonstrated an offline version of Google Docs running on Chrome OS and announced a 3G plan that would give Chrome OS users 100MB of free data each month, with additional paid plans available from Verizon.[15]
About 60,000 Cr-48s were distributed to testers and reviewers in early December 2010. Reviews published about the Chrome OS running on the Cr-48 in mid-December 2010 indicated that while the project holds
In reviewing the Cr-48 on 29 December 2010, Kurt Bakke of Conceivably Tech said: "in my household the Chromebook has turned into a family appliance and the most frequented computer in our household. Its 15 second startup time and dedicated Google user accounts made it the go-to device for quick searches, email as well as YouTube and Facebook activities. It has not turned into a device that can rival the appeal of any of our other notebooks – we have one gaming laptop, two mainstream notebooks and two netbooks in our household with five kids. the biggest complaint I heard was its lack of performance in Flash applications
Preliminary reception
Ahead of the commercial launch of Chrome OS devices, industry observers have evaluated the operating system in terms of its potential success, advantages and limitations.
Early on, Chrome OS was viewed as a competitor to Microsoft, both directly to Microsoft Windows and indirectly the company's word processing and spreadsheet applications--the latter through Chrome OS's reliance on cloud computing.[32][33] But Chrome OS engineering director Matthew Papakipos argued that the two operating systems would not fully overlap in functionality because Chrome OS hosted is intended for netbooks, which lack the computational power to run a resource-intensive program like Photoshop.[8]
Some observers claimed that other operating systems already fill the niche that Chrome OS is aiming for, with the added advantage of supporting native applications in addition to a browser. In PC World in November 2009, Tony Bradley wrote: "We can already do most, if not all, of what Chrome OS promises to deliver. Using a Windows 7 or Linux-based netbook, users can simply not install anything but a web browser and connect to the vast array of Google products and other web-based services and applications. Netbooks have been successful at capturing the low-end PC market, and they provide a web-centric computing experience today. I am not sure why we should get excited that a year from now we'll be able to do the same thing, but locked into doing it from the fourth-place web browser."[34]
A year later, Ryan Paul of Ars Technica came to similar conclusions. He wrote that Google's Cr-48 prototype "met the basic requirements for Web surfing, gaming, and personal productivity, but falls short for more intensive tasks". He praised Google's approach to security, but wondered whether mainstream computer users would accept an operating system whose only application is a browser. "In its current form, I think that the operating system could appeal to some niche audiences, like regular consumers users who really just need browsing or office productivity workers at companies that have gone Google or only use intranet apps. It's decidedly not a full-fledged alternative to the general purpose computing environments that currently ship on netbooks". Paul wrote that most of Chrome OS's advantages "can be found in other software environments without having to sacrifice native applications".[29]
Wolfgang Gruener of Conceivably Tech noted the lack of support for Photoshop and comparable software, as well as what he called a "workable but annoying trackball design". His conclusion: "Google has a lot of work to do, but Chrome OS makes a lot of sense and if Google does not shoot itself in the foot, it could light the way to how mainstream computing will look like 5 or 10 years from now.
Design goals and direction
User interface
Design goals for Google Chrome OS's user interface include using minimal screen space by combining applications and standard Web pages into a single tab strip, rather than separating the two. Designers are considering a reduced window management scheme that would operate only in full-screen mode. Secondary tasks would be handled with "panels": floating windows that dock to the bottom of the screen for tasks like chat and music players. Split screens are also under consideration for viewing two pieces of content side-by-side. Google Chrome OS will follow the Chrome browser's practice of leveraging HTML5's offline modes, background processing, and notifications. Designers propose using search and pinned tabs as a way to quickly locate and access applications.[39]
[edit] Architecture
In preliminary design documents for the Chromium OS open source project, Google describes a three-tier architecture: firmware, browser and window manager, and system-level software and userland services.[40]
- The firmware contributes to fast boot time by not probing for hardware, such as floppy disk drives, that are no longer common on computers, especially netbooks. The firmware also contributes to security by verifying each step in the boot process and incorporating system recovery.[40]
- System-level software includes the Linux kernel that has been patched to improve boot performance. Userland software has been trimmed to essentials, with management by Upstart, which can launch services in parallel, re-spawn crashed jobs, and defer services in the interest of faster booting.[40]
- The window manager handles user interaction with multiple client windows much like other X window[40] managers.
[edit] Remote application access
In June 2010, Google software engineer Gary Kačmarčík wrote that Chrome OS will access remote applications through a technology unofficially called "Chromoting", which would resemble Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection.[41] The name has since been changed to "remoting," and is "probably closer to running an application via Terminal Services or by first connecting to a host machine by using RDP or VNC."[42]
[edit] Hardware support
Google Chrome OS is initially intended for secondary devices like netbooks, not as a user's primary PC,[19]x86 or ARM-based processor.[9] While Chrome OS will support hard disk drives, Google has requested that its hardware partners use solid-state drives "for performance and reliability reasons",[17] as well as the lower capacity requirements inherent in an operating system that accesses applications and most user data on remote servers. Google Chrome OS consumes one-sixtieth as much drive space as Windows 7.[43] and will run on hardware incorporating an
[edit] Integrated media player
Google will integrate a media player into both Chrome OS and the Chrome browser, enabling users to play back MP3s, view JPEGs, and handle other multimedia files while offline.[41]
[edit] Printing
Google plans to create a service called Google Cloud Print, which will help any application on any device to print on any printer. While the cloud provides virtually any connected device with information access, the task of "developing and maintaining print subsystems for every combination of hardware and operating system-- from desktops to netbooks to mobile devices -- simply isn't feasible."[44][45] However, the cloud service would entail installing a piece of software, called a proxy, as part of Chrome OS. The proxy would register the printer with the service, manage the print jobs, provide the printer driver functionality, and give status alerts for each job.[46]
[edit] Link handling
One unresolved design problem related to both Chrome OS and the Chrome browser is the desired behavior for how Web applications handle specific link types. For example, if a JPEG is opened in Chrome or on a Chrome OS device, should a specific Web application be automatically opened to view it, and if so, which one? Similarly, if a user clicks on a .doc file, which website should open: Office Live, Gview, or a previewing utility? Project director Matthew Papakipos noted that Windows developers have faced the same fundamental problem: "Quicktime is fighting with Windows Media Player, which is fighting with Chrome". As the number of Web applications increases, the same problem arises.[8]
[edit] Security
In March 2010, Google software security engineer Will Drewry discussed Chrome OS security. Drewry described Chrome OS as a "hardened" operating system featuring auto-updating and sandbox features that will reduce malware exposure. He said that Chrome OS netbooks will be shipped with Trusted Platform Module, and include both a "trusted bootpath" and a physical switch under the battery compartment that actuates a developer mode. That mode drops some specialized security functions but increases developer flexibility. Drewry also emphasized that the open source nature of the operating system will contribute greatly to its security by allowing constant developer feedback.[25]
At a December 2010 press conference, Google claimed that Chrome OS would be the most secure consumer operating system due in part to a verified boot capability, in which the initial boot code, stored in read-only memory, checks for system compromises.[15]
[edit] Chrome Shell (crosh)
Chrome OS includes a Bash-like shell with minimal functionality called the Chrome Shell or "crosh".[47]
[edit] Compatible hardware
Companies working with Google to develop hardware for the operating system include Acer, Adobe, Asus, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Toshiba,[48] Intel,[49] Samsung,[50][51]Dell.[52] and
In July 2010, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said a Google-branded Google OS netbook was unlikely, despite Google's having previously negotiated with a couple of hardware manufacturers to produce it, and despite an earlier Google-branded device, the Nexus One Android phone. "Let's see how well those partners do first. My guess is we won't need to. The PC industry is different from the phone industry. The PC industry is used to working with Microsoft, whereas the mobile industry was not used to working with software".[53]
In December 2010 Google showed off a development Google Chrome OS laptop that replaced the Caps Lock key with a dedicated search key.[54]
[edit] Hardware pricing
Schmidt has acknowledged that Chrome OS will be compatible with a smaller library of applications than conventional operating systems, like Windows, which support both Web- and client-based applications. That limitation, coupled with Chrome OS having no licensing fee, has caused speculation about the retail price of Chrome OS devices.[55]
In April 2010, Schmidt indicated that he expected prices for Chrome OS netbooks to range from US$300 to $400, and thus be similar in cost to comparable devices that ship with closed source operating systems. He also confirmed that Google will supply the operating system for free, but it will be up to hardware manufacturers and retailers to set their own prices for the devices. When Schmidt was asked about the likelihood of phone companies bundling low cost or free netbooks with service contracts he responded: "If a phone company chose to do that then that would be great."[55]
Other observers had earlier forecast different pricing models. In November 2009, Glyn Moody, writing for Linux Journal, had predicted that Google's market model for the Chrome OS would be to give away the software and the netbook hardware that it will run on for free, as a means of expanding its advertising-based model. He said: "The unexpected success of netbooks over the last two years shows there is a market for this new kind of computing; giving away systems for free would take it to the next level. Then, gradually, that instant-on, secure, secondary netbook might become the one you spend most time on, and Google's ad revenues would climb even higher...."[56]
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