Google Launching Chrome OS, Lookout Microsoft Windows

By now you must have read about today’s biggest news - Google Chrome OS. The Official Google Blog just broke the news, Google Chrome is about to give birth to a full blown Operating System

By virtue of its name - Google Chrome OS will be built on the Chrome architecture. It’s just like running Google Chrome on a computer, or to be more specific on netbook minus Windows XP.

Google specifically describes the Chrome OS as:

Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.

It’s going to be a lightweight and open-source operating system. This would lighten Google’s load in developing it while at the same time making the OS popular even before its launch. Also, this would enable developers to get into the rush of building their applications that will run on the Chrome OS. These are in addition to Google’s web-based products and services which should normally be supported by the said OS.

Google Chrome OS will be available on several netbooks sometime in 2010. But its source code will be made available later this year.

Now the big question is - Why build a new OS for netbooks instead of developing the already available Google Android mobile platform? Google has this for an answer:

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

So netbooks will just be the test bed. The real objective here is for Google Chrome OS to run on both netbooks and desktop systems.

Next big question - Will it be a Windows XP killer? Probably not. Only Microsoft can kill Windows XP, and that would happen as soon a Windows 7 becomes successful. Google Chrome OS is a Windows 7 rival, the same way that Google Chrome is a rival of IE. Now that’s a better way of looking at it.