os

Ballmer shrugs at Google's Chrome OS

Addressing Google's Chrome OS, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said Tuesday that the move leaves its rival with dual operating systems, something that Microsoft learned the hard way is not a good idea.

"I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there," Ballmer said in an onstage question-and-answer session following his speech at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans. "The last time I checked you don't need two client operating systems."

Microsoft, he noted, had separate business and consumer operating systems … Read more

Intel eyes Google, but Microsoft is mainstay

Intel is endorsing Google's future Chrome operating system, but the chipmaker is being cautious as it already has a successful strategy supplying chips for Windows-based mobile devices.

Last week, makers of processors based on the ARM design, such as Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, were quick to cheer the news of Google's Chrome, which is slated to first appear on Netbooks in 2010.

"We're thrilled about the news that Google just issued," Ramesh Iyer, TI's head of worldwide business development for mobile computing, said last week. "You can see how simple the user interface … Read more

Ghost's operating system comes alive

In the middle of the desert between Israel and Palestine, Ghost's high-tech Virtual Computer is set to launch Tuesday. After three years of work, Ghost finished the development of its Web-based operating system that uses "cloud computing" to let users access their desktop and data from any computer worldwide.

Ghost, short for Global Hosted Operating System, was founded in 2006 by Zvi Schreiber, whose goal was to create the Virtual Computer that works with third-party Web applications like Google Docs, Zoho, and Flickr and joins them together into one online service and can be accessed from any … Read more

Chrome OS proves Google can hype, but can it win?

Google becomes more like Microsoft every day. It used to be that only Microsoft could pre-announce a product to mass hysteria (and mass exodus of start-ups dabbling in the area), then proceed to under-deliver for the first few iterations of the product and still make billions in the process. With Google Chrome OS, Google has signaled that it, too, can over-commit and under-deliver and still mint billions.

Perhaps equally dismaying, as Anil Dash suggests, is that Google may be having "its Microsoft moment" and starting to develop software to work nicely with its other software...rather than actually … Read more

Comfort zones: Windows vs. Linux

Where's your comfort zone? Windows, Mac, Linux? An unintellectual, emotional attachment to an operating environment often determines what consumers buy and may determine whether Google Chrome can ultimately compete with Windows.

In the consumer laptop space, specifically Netbooks, there isn't much hope for a Linux-based operating system like Google Chrome in the near term. So, first the bad news.

Market researcher iSuppli released a report Friday that I agree with. It begins with the usual, saying that Google's Linux-based Chrome operating system sets the stage for a battle of the Titans (Google versus Microsoft). But what it … Read more

The Google OS surfaced in March--or did it?

A look back at CNET's server logs reveals that someone gave us a quick hint of the Chrome OS back in March, by surfing to a CNET.com site while apparently using a browser running on the still-in-development operating system. On March 4, 2009, an unusual user agent entry was recorded on our servers. The key bits, just to beat this over the head, are in bold:

When browsers request data from Web servers, they send a user agent item that generally includes the name and version of the browser as well as the operating system. This data is … Read more

Google sees separate paths for Android, Chrome OS

SAN FRANCISCO--Among the many questions raised in the wake of Google's announcement of Chrome OS is exactly how the project fits in with Google's Android mobile operating system.

Essentially, nothing has changed, said Google's Andy Rubin at a press conference Friday morning highlighting Google and T-Mobile's partnership on the launch of the new MyTouch 3G smartphone. "You need different technology for different products," Rubin said, explaining that Google's approach to product development means that projects that might overlap aren't necessarily scuttled to protect the one that got there first.

Android is first … Read more

Week in review: Google goes after Microsoft with OS

Google finally confirmed what we have long suspected--it's working on an operating system--one based on its Chrome Web browser.

The company announced Google Chrome OS on its blog, saying lower-end PCs called Netbooks from unnamed manufacturers will include it in the second half of 2010. Linux will run under the covers of the open-source project, but the applications will run on the Web itself.

The move shows just how serious Google is about making the Web into a foundation not just for static pages but for active applications, notably its own such as Google Docs and Gmail. It also … Read more

Schmidt plans talks with Apple over board role

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday that he plans to discuss his role on the board of directors at Apple with the company following Google's announcement that it is working on an operating system for personal computers.

Schmidt has served on Apple's board since 2006. He has already implemented a policy of recusing himself from discussions involving the iPhone at Apple, given that Google's Android software competes with the iPhone for consumer and developer attention, but before his appearance at the Sun Valley media conference Thursday, he had not responded to direct inquires about whether he'll now have to do something similar … Read more