now this is gonna be big! Google OS? wow. i just hope it will be smooth on low-edge pc's. CHROME OS and ANDROID promises faster boot-ups, faster surfing on the web and, of course, lower costs.
(from USA today)
Until now, most consumer PCs have run on software from one of two companies: Microsoft or Apple.
But on Wednesday, search giant Google (GOOG) shook up the computing world by formally announcing plans to compete head-to-head against those companies on their home turf: PC operating systems.
Google Operating System To Challenge Microsoft(from npr):
Google Inc. is working on a new operating system for inexpensive computers in a daring attempt to diminish Microsoft Corp.'s longstanding control over people's computer experience.
The new operating system, announced Tuesday night on Google's Web site, will be based on the search giant's nine-month-old Web browser, Chrome. Google intends to rely on help from the community of open-source programmers to develop the Chrome operating system, which is expected to begin running computers in the second half of 2010.
Shares of Google jumped $6.92, 1.8 percent, to $403.55 in morning trading Wednesday, while Microsoft fell 15 cents to $22.38.
Google is designing the operating system primarily for netbooks, a lower-cost, less powerful breed of laptop computer that is becoming increasingly popular among budget-conscious consumers primarily interested in surfing the Web.
Google has already introduced an operating system for smart phones and other mobile devices, called Android, that vies against various other systems, including ones made by Microsoft and Apple Inc.
The Android system worked well enough to entice some computer makers to begin developing netbooks that will run on it. For instance, Acer Inc., the world's third-largest PC maker, said last month it would make netbooks that run Android instead of Windows. Acer said Android would make the computers less expensive and possibly help them boot up faster.
Google, though, apparently believes a Chrome-based system will be better suited for netbooks.
That is a direct challenge to Microsoft, whose next operating system, Windows 7, is being geared for netbooks as well as larger computers. And it would be Google's boldest confrontation yet with its biggest nemesis.
Microsoft had no immediate comment Wednesday.
A duel between the two technology powerhouses has been steadily escalating in recent years as Google's dominance of the Internet's lucrative search market has given it the means to threaten Microsoft in ways that few other companies can.
Google already has rankled Microsoft by luring some of its top employees and developing an online package of computer programs that provide an alternative to Microsoft's top-selling word processing, spreadsheet and calendar applications.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been trying to thwart Google by investing billions of dollars in improving its own Internet search and advertising systems — to little avail so far.
In the past month or so, though, Microsoft has been winning positive reviews and picking up more users with the latest upgrade to its search engine, now called Bing. Microsoft is hailing the makeover with a $100 million marketing campaign.
