Google Chrome OS Becomes Official [What You Didn't Know About Chrome OS]

Just as we told you a few days ago, Google has decided to unveil its own computer operating system this year. Although we were expecting it to arrive at some point in 2010, Google execs must have realized that now’s the time to make Google OS official.

So let’s see what Google had to say about the Chrome OS just a little while ago at the official announcement!

“Chrome is the foundation of everything we’re doing here”, Google said today. What followed was an announcement of the future announcement. The Chrome OS is “one year away” so no beta will be available in the following days and no new devices capable of running the new OS will be launched in the near future.

What we didn’t know is that the Chrome OS will be based on the browser itself. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be able to offer you the same features and perks that Windows or Mac OS already offer you. In fact Google’s OS will offer you games, audio and video support and heavy processing applications all within the browser.

Google Chrome OS will bring “speed, simplicity and security” to netbooks and similar ultraportable computers. In other words, The OS will surprise us with features like fast boot times and an impressive user interface capable to meet our mobile needs.

The main feature of the Chrome OS is the cloud. All the data is stored in the cloud including preferences, customizations and all your personal stuff. You’ll be able to access that data from any PC which means you’ll be able to access your Chrome OS computer from any machine in the world.

Google showcased the Chrome OS and I must say I liked what I saw. 7-second boot time, Chrome browser-like user interface and support for lots of webapps. The whole thing looks like the Chrome browser. Each tab will have some of your favorite apps and all the data is stored in the cloud. The OS is able to detect malware or other unwanted threats and it will deal with them accordingly. In fact threats won’t be able to penetrate the shields in place and the Chrome OS will decide to reboot every time certain apps can’t be verified. The OS can be re-imaged as many times as you want and you won’t lose any of your personal data. You can even have your netbook stolen or lost and all your data will be safely stored in the cloud. Basically Chrome OS has a no trust policy regarding all your apps which means they are treated as if they were already hostile. Chrome OS uses the sandboxing technique which means that each tab is separated from others and separated from the OS.

The Chrome OS is an open source project which means we’re going to see the whole community working together to improve it. You can already download a Chrome OS build but you will need to buy a dedicated machine to operate it. The first devices capable of running the OS will be available next year before the holidays so there’s plenty of time to see what netbooks will manufacturers prepare for the Chrome OS.

In case you were about to ask, Chrome OS will support most of the apps you currently use on your current computer: games, Microsoft Office documents, PDF files, video and audio related applications, and pretty much everything that can be turned into a webapp. Will it run Modern Warfare 2? The OS will be able to recognize various peripherals, cameras and phones just like other computers currently do but it might not let you play some of the hottest games available out there. Although Google did mention working on support for hardware acceleration.

So that’s it folks, you can expect Chrome OS netbooks next year and I for one am really interested to see them in action. Laptops and desktops will run Chrome OS only in 2011 or even later so don’t make any plans for porting Chrome OS to your current computer. That might not be a feasible plan for now. But you will be able to run it in a virtual machine, so go ahead and grab a Chrome OS built. You’ll certainly have fun exploring its capabilities if you can get it to work.