OS Overpopulation: Google Chrome OS – Do We Really Need Another Operating System?

Google has been on a developing spree ever since the launch of its Chrome Browser. Now the latest news is that their Google Chrome OS, first announced in July will be available for download as early as within the next week.

It raises a few questions in my mind: How different will it be from their Android OS for Mobile and what distinct features it might have. Since it is in its early stages of development and is said to be based on Linux.

• What could be the possible limitations of this OS.

• Will it run third-party applications from the hardware or simply connect to applications in the internet cloud.

• Google claims it will end security related issues. Will the new OS be ‘really free’ from viruses, trojans and malware.

• Will it be limited to the applications hosted by Google.

Google Chrome OS is claimed to be lightweight and targeted at the entry level notebook users. Google intends its Chrome OS to be lightweight and connect its users quickly to its Cloud applications, which it hopes will consume very less system resources.

But do we have any use for the Chrome OS on a desktop? Atleast not right away! On a notebook it might provide some functionality. But on a desktop pc it might just serve as a gateway to connect to the internet while completely relying on the internet to get any work done.

Although in terms of performance; an OS such as this one with minimalist functionality could outpace the current crop of operating systems. It may free these notebook devices with limited functionality from running memory hogging operating systems such as the Windows and Windows Applications.

But from a practical point of view for many computer users notebooks are ‘practically’ useless for any real work.

Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Cinema 4D or even PC Games or any other heavy duty stuff would be possible in the cloud? I don’t think it would be possible, at least not at the moment. So for some of these reasons it may not hold much value for developers and power users alike.

It would be naive to say that all the pc users account for the aforementioned, but the trade-off here is that for those who use computers for ‘data entry’ this would provide a more ‘cost effective’ option as opposed to running a Windows OS. The Google Chrome OS is free and open-source and subject to future development and upgrades from vast number of developers.

The trade-offs here need to be considered. These days with the many manufacturers and wireless carriers selling notebooks as another piece of communication hardware, and not a full blown computer; an operating system such as the Google Chrome OS might actually be worthwhile on a notebook.

With most of us looking for an working operating system that pretty much does what we would like to get done; Windows, Mac and even Linux seem to fit the bill very well, therefore leaving very little space for Chrome OS to occupy.

If you wish to read more about the Google Chrome OS, read all about it at The Official Google Blog and Google Chrome Blog.