Revealing what is one of the worst-kept secrets in computing, Google has finally announced that they were indeed going public with the development of a computer operating system, cleverly called Google Chrome OS.  You can read the blow-by-blow coverage of the Chrome OS announcement press conference if you’d like (it’s worth a look for the illustrations and the answered questions), but the LA Times has cut to the chase.

Google’s OS philosophy is, basically, the computer as a television.  Turn it on, and it’s on and ready for use.  None of the very slow loading process users must currently endure.  While Chrome OS isn’t ready for this holiday season, Google has opened their code up to developers with an eye on getting the product onto netbooks by 2010.

Given that Chrome OS is going to be running off solid-state drives and is going to be heavily based on cloud computing (using the internet to access the operating system and its various functions), it’s going to be very easy to use, take up very little space on your PC, and will be able to boot up in seconds.  For what most people use their computers for, it’ll be perfect, assuming it matches the quality of current instant-on Linux distributions.  My current desktop computer’s ASUS motherboard already comes with Splashtop, and I have to say that it’s awesome.  It boots up in seconds, and it gives me a web browser, music player, chat program, picture editor, and Skype.

If Chrome OS can do more than this on a netbook, then I’m sold.  Especially if it’s cheap.  I’m not crazy about it being so tied into an Internet connection, but that’s why I have my desktop.

Tags: Google, computers, technology, Google Chrome OS, operating system, Linux, Google OS, cloud computing, explanations, Splashtop, ASUS

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Everyone who has ever seen the news is vaguely familiar with the formula of how a standard news piece is put together.  When it’s not a breaking news story, just something they want to push a report on, there’s a pretty standard template of how to do it.  Newswipe, a BBC Four TV news satire […]

This is great.  Pee-wee Herman is all excited about his new iPad, only to get dragged down to earth by his friends at the Playhouse, who point out just how non-revolutionary the Apple iPad has turned out to be.  If you’re a fan of the old Pee-wee’s Playhouse, or if you’re just not a follower […]

This is quite possibly the funniest commercial I’ve ever seen.  Shockingly, it’s for big-box retail megagiant Walmart.  Not only do they own everything, and make more money than most of the world’s countries, now they’re also making some of the best ads to hit television.  When I saw this one during the AFC Championship Game, […]

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There are two things everyone loves:  cute things and explosions.  Well, I like cute things and explosions anyway.  That’s where the brilliant new website Cute Things Exploding comes in.  They take your favorite viral videos and have them all end with something adorable blowing to smithereens.  While YesButNoButYes describes the site as “designed by a […]

If you were shopping for Gatorade in Longmont, Colorado today, you might have sensed something was a bit amiss.  Gatorade, long represented by Tiger Woods, was the target of an unusual art project.  Well, the creator calls it pop art; the Food and Drug Administration may call it tampering or adulteration.  Over 1000 bottles of […]