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by Nissin Laby is a Web Content Writer and Associate-Corporate Communication at Pixint Graphics Pvt. Ltd.,

It looks like Google Chrome might be the future of the Operating system. Google launched this lightweight open source OS in November 2008. The OS was initially 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, as stated in the Google Blog.

So what is the big deal about Google Chrome OS anyway? And how does it stand to be better than the Operating systems we have now? Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. The OS is being designed to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as was done for the Google Chrome browser, the designers went back to the basics and completely redesigned the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. The aim of the Google Chrome OS is that it should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple 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 thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Yukihiko Shimada, a computer analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo said “There is a possibility that the new OS can break the paradigm Microsoft and Intel created over the past 20 years, there is plenty of business opportunity for Google in this market.”

Well it seems that Google’s Open source Operating System is all set to rock Microsoft’s boat. Google (GOOG) dominates search while Microsoft (MSFT) owns the operating system universe. Each is trying to cut into the space the other rules.

Anthony Massucci Business reporter & columnist at DailyFinance.com, is betting on Google to rake in the sweepstakes in the long run. In his article “Massucci's Take: Google Chrome challenges Microsoft's future”, Anthony says that ‘the two companies could not be more opposite in their views. Google, though, appears to be tuned into the current consumer view that what's on the Web should be free. Google's search service makes it's money off of small ads that appear alongside search results. Microsoft makes money at the cash register, which requires you reach into your pocket and pay.

Microsoft seems to be protecting its kingdom by digging a deeper moat and not wanting to give up the income from its Windows operating system and Office software. Google on the other hand, sees the operating system and office software as a means to create more search traffic and help boost sales.’

The Chrome OS will be open-source, meaning the program code will be freely available to developers, Google said. The software will work on top of the Linux operating system, which is also open-source. Windows, Microsoft’s flagship product, runs about 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. Google is trying to use Chrome to spur Web-ad sales after reporting its first sequential revenue drop as a public company.

The Chrome OS will be free to download, while Windows will continue to come at a cost. Consumers will almost always go with the cheaper of two options as long as the quality is similar. Google has been listening to the masses and thus they are aiming to deliver what the people want: instant emails, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up; computers that always run as fast as when they first bought them; data to be accessible to them wherever without having to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files; even more importantly, not having to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates.

Google is trying to deliver a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

However, Google will have a couple of hurdles to overcome in its battle to establish its place in the Operating system regime of Microsoft. Massucci goes on to explain that the first vey real hurdle, which Google will have to overcome, is reluctance to change. Microsoft can lower the price of Windows significantly enough that people are willing to pay for it versus a free product. Many won't want to swap the guts of their PCs. If getting the free operating system requires consumers buy a new computer that will also be a huge roadblock for Google.

Second, if Chrome OS never gets past the netbook phase, Microsoft has little to worry about as netbook sales are projected to be one-tenth of the combined sales of notebooks and desktops. Third, employees won't switch as long as the company they work for continues paying for Windows. Most corporate workers know change at a large company happens slowly. Corporations continue to use dated software running on slow computers because upgrading takes time and money. It would take five years or more to replace Windows computers with new, free-software based computers at most large companies.

With these hurdles to be overcome, maybe Microsoft can rest easy for the next decade or so, as it has done for much of the past decade. The Chrome OS shows Google is circling like a shark and plans to keep taking bites until Microsoft's revenue river becomes a stream.

External Links:


Introducing the Google Chrome OS
The Google Operating System Is Real: Google Chrome OS Announced.