Google Chrome OS Hands-on Review

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Google unveiled more details about their Chrome OS this week. Google also release the source code as open source and if you have time and skills you can actually run Chrome OS now.
Tweaktown did just that and published this hands-on review.

Quote from the review: "If you followed our live blogging from yesterday you know that Google made some really big claims. They claimed a 10 second boot up time and they claimed a quick and easy to use OS. They even showed us that with their demo unit they had working. The problem is that unless the source code we have is not what they were using at the demo Chrome OS is bulky, awkward and about as un-user-friendly as you can get. The snappy OS and fun items were just not there in the version we played with. Finding options and features is not easy; you really have to hunt around for what you are looking for to find it.
Read more

Posted on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:07:15 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Chrome OS Smartbooks Coming 2H2010

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After yesterday's developer chat it's hard not to be excited about Chrome OS. During the talk, it was mentioned several times that Chrome was intended to be used in products like netbooks and not larger laptops and desktops. While smartbooks weren't specifically mentioned as supported or not, it seems likely that they will be. Especially in light of this news from Digitimes.

They're reporting that Pegatron Technology has received a "large volume" of smartbook orders from several different clients. It's believed these smartbooks will launch in Q1 2010 on several different carriers. These first smartbooks are expected to cost around $200 USD. Most of them will sport a Linux OS, due primarily to their tiny display size. Now, here's where things get interesting;

Posted on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:27:19 CST | by Robert Evans

Chrome OS Developer Chat: Welcome To The Future Of Browsing

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Chrome OS developer chat (Engadget's liveblog) shed some interesting light on the upcoming OS. As you may know, Google released the Chromium OS source code to the world today. They stated at the developer's conference that every move they make now will be open.

The launch of the source code today means that, with a little bit of elbow grease and effort, it is now possible to run Chrome OS. While this isn't recommended for normal users, those of us that like to tinker with our machines will finally have a chance.

Posted on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:53:29 CST | by Robert Evans

Google's Chrome OS Event Is Tomorrow

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Alright, so we've got good news and bad news. First off, the good news. TechCrunch has been notified that Google is planning a Chrome OS event for Thursday. As in tomorrow Thursday. This event will feature technical info, demos, and a "complete overview" of the new OS. Google didn't say it, but I think it's likely we'll see at least a couple sneak-peeks at some of the Chrome OS devices that are under development too.

Now the bad news. The wording of this announcement makes it unlikely that we'll actually see a Chrome OS launch this week, as was previously rumored. In their notification to TechCrunch, Google stated that their new OS will launch next year. That's a bit of a bummer, but not entirely unexpected. If Chrome OS does launch next year, it will almost certainly hit in Q1.

Posted on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:53 CST | by Robert Evans

Google Chrome OS To Launch By Next Week

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See, that wasn't too torturous a wait, was it? Those of us who have been salivating with excitement over the imminent launch of Google Chrome OS now have, at most, one week to wait. TechCrunch reported today that a "reliable source" has informed them that the new open source OS will launch within one week. This is fantastic news for everyone who has a browsing machine that they want to work, fast and regardless of the circumstances.

TechCrunch notes that driver support is likely to measure in at anywhere from 'lousy' to 'middling' at launch. Google is either setting hordes of engineers on making drivers, or leaving it up to manufacturers themselves. Whatever the truth is, they are unlikely to have many up and ready by the time this launches.

Posted on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:06:30 CST | by Robert Evans

24 Hour I4U News Recap: Canon EOS 7D Review, Black Friday, Cliq And Chrome

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A review of the Canon EOS 7D we featured the other day leads the ranking of the top 10 most read technology stories on I4U News in the last 24 hours. The Canon EOS 7D is pretty new, but is already on sale on Amazon.

Check the list of tech stories from the last 24 hours that we covered to see if you have missed something.
Read more

Posted on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:27:10 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Early Chrome OS Build Available For Download

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Google's upcoming new browser-based Chrome OS has gotten a lot of attention over the last few months. Tech bloggers and Linux geeks the world over are waiting with bated breath for any information on the new, open source OS they can find. If you count yourself among those vast, serried ranks of geeks, today is a lucky day indeed. Chrome OS is available for download.

Before you get too excited, Google still has yet to release the final, official version of the OS. However, one cunning TechCrunch reader managed to find a copy of the OS on the Chromium build site. He's put together a walkthrough and made the whole OS available on Rapidshare.

Posted on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:26:21 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Chrome OS Devices To Launch Next Month?

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Unsubstantiated rumors should always be treated with scepticism, and that's doubly true for any rumors that involve Google's upcoming Chrome OS. That said, I've stumbled upon some rather interesting news from over in China. According to Shanzai.com (via PC World) Chinese manufacturer Lemote is loading Chrome onto its new line of netbooks to replace their terrible proprietary OS.

These new Lemote netbooks might hit the market as soon as October, which would put them well ahead of Google's stated 2010 release for Chrome. If these netbooks do hit in October or November, they still won't do us in the U.S. much good. Lemote won't be shipping their netbooks overseas, so the most we'll benefit from this is some screenshots of the Chrome OS in action.

Posted on Fri, 2 Oct 2009 10:56:44 CDT | by Robert Evans

Tegra Chrome OS Devices Coming

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If we exclude the Apple geeks from offering an opinion, most gadget nerds are pretty excited about the Zune HD. A big reason for this is its Nvidia Tegra processor, which allows for low energy consumption video playback among other things. In fact, the Tegra processor itself is much more impressive than the new Zune, which is why I was so excited to hear that Nvidia has Tegra-powered Chrome OS devices on the way.

In an interview with jkOnTheRun, Nvidia GM of Mobile Business Mike Rayfield stated that his company is working with Google to develop one or more Chrome OS devices. In the interview Rayfield "stressed" that Tegra was meant for more than just handheld devices. To me, that means we're looking at a Chrome/Tegra netbook, smartbook or (dare I say?) tablet in the near-ish future.

Posted on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:33:33 CDT | by Robert Evans

Chrome OS: One Login Does It All

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We've got a small but nifty little piece of news about the upcoming Chrome operating system. The folks at ReadWriteWeb have just found out how Chrome OS is going to handle logging in. Apparently as soon as you start-up, you'll be prompted to log in with your Google ID. Upon doing so, you'll automatically be signed on to Gmail, calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader, and any other Google product.

That's very nifty news, and should mean a little extra boost of convenience for most Chrome OS users. But, as Read Write Web points out, it also raises some troubling questions. If the Chrome browser is so tightly integrated to the OS, will we be able to use other non-Chrome browsers on it? Will Google give exclusivity to their browser on their operating system?

Posted on Tue, 1 Sep 2009 11:40:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Chrome Bookmark Sync Hits

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Good news, Chrome users. The Chromium Blog has just announced the launch of bookmark syncing! This new feature will allow you to keep the same set of bookmarks on all of your computers, even if they aren't in the same building. Bookmark sync stores your bookmarks alongside Google Docs, so you can port them over to any computer you want, wherever you are.

If you want to activate this feature, the only way to do it currently is to launch a dev version of Chrome with “-enable-sync command-line flag”. If you have no idea how on earth to do that, don't worry. TechCrunch expects Bookmark Sync to come to the regular release channel very soon. You'll just have to wait this out a few more days.

Posted on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Open Source Eee PCs in October, Chrome OS Netbooks Coming

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Awesome news from Engadget about the open source future of the next generation of Eee PCs. Their 'spies' have uncovered information that the first Moblin-running Eee netbooks will be in stores come October. Asus, the Eee PC manufacturer, is apparently considering making open source OSes an option for all their netbooks in the future.

This would save consumers who dislike Windows products a bundle of money. A free operating system cuts down on cost substantially, and will give all of us a much greater choice in our future purchases. With any luck, other netbook manufacturers will take Asus's lead and start offering open source versions of their products as well.

Posted on Fri, 7 Aug 2009 11:55:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

New Google Chrome Beta Out

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Another version of Google Chrome (beta) has been released today. You can download the latest update here. Speed seems to be the primary focus of this update, and the latest version of Chrome shows some definite advances. Google claims a 30% improvement in V8 and SunSpider benchmarks over the most recent stable Chrome release.

It's not all about speed, though. The Chrome Developers blog lists a spate of other improvements as well. The New Tab page has received an upgrade, as has the Omnibox feature. Google has also added in additional customization options by allowing users to add colors, patterns, and images to your browser.

Posted on Wed, 5 Aug 2009 12:40:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Intel & Google: Building Chrome OS Together

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When Google announced that they were starting development on the Chrome OS they listed a bunch of different manufacturers they were working with. Conspicuously absent from that list was Intel, the world's largest processor developer. This was hardly unexpected; Intel is working on its own Linux-based operating system, Moblin, and also has close ties to Microsoft.

Today, however, Intel surprised everyone by announcing that they have been aware of the Chrome OS project for “some time”.

Posted on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Update: Chrome OS Screenshots Were Faked

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When something seems too good to be true, it usually is. The Google OS leaked screenshots from this morning have been revealed as fraudulent by the poster himself.

Apparently the man behind the hoax is a graphic designer, and he cobbled together some screenshots that looked vaguely plausible and stuck them up online accompanied by an appropriately vague story. After his story gained significant traffic he decided it was time to come clean and admit his story was false.

Posted on Thu, 9 Jul 2009 13:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Releases Chrome OS Q&A

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Yesterday Google announced that they were in the process of developing a browser-focused open-source operating system. Today Google's posted up a Q and A on their blog site in order to answer the most common questions being asked about the Chrome OS. You can view the FAQ here. Make sure to check up frequently, because they'll be adding new questions on a fairly regular basis.

We've gotten several interesting pieces of info from Google so far. As expected, the Chrome OS is going to be totally free to use and distribute. It's also been confirmed again that the open-source OS will be available to other developers sometime later this year. All you developers will only have to wait a few more months before you get your chance to tinker with Google's new baby.

Posted on Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Chrome OS Pics, Info Leaked. Update: Fraudulent

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A brave employee of a company that provides parts for Acer laptops has risked his career to provide us with our first grainy photos of Google's new Chrome OS in action. He's also brought us a detailed description of how smoothly the OS is running right now.

Google's promised us speed with this new OS, and so far it sounds like they are delivering. The tipster says that installation from Vista to Chrome took only 10 minutes. Only one restart was required, and the whole process was described as 'elegant', which is not generally a word one hears applied to OS installations.

Posted on Thu, 9 Jul 2009 10:10:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Google Chrome OS Vs. Google Android

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This morning Google announced that they were in the process of developing a brand-new open source operating system. The appropriately-named Google Chrome OS is billed as being a totally new type of operating system, built specifically for people who spend a lot of time on the Internet.

We've heard rumors of a Google operating system for a very long time, but I think most of us discounted them after the launch of the Android OS. At the outset it doesn't seem very sensible of Google to create a brand new OS when their first one is still taking its baby steps. Is Chrome OS a sign of a lack of faith in Android?

Posted on Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:25:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Microsoft making big Announcement on Monday to counter Google Chrome OS?

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Google made a splash yesterday with the announcement of Google Chrome OS. The lightweight Linux based operating system is supposed to arrive in 2010, first on Netbooks. A Google OS is surely something Microsoft doesn't like, especially when Google is giving it away for free.
Apparently Microsoft is making a big announcement on Monday, which is supposed to be related to the Google OS announcement. On Monday the Microsoft World Wide Partner Conference starts in New Orleans. Read more

Posted on Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:19:27 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Google Chrome OS to attack Microsoft Desktop Dominance in 2010

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Google has long been rumored to launch a desktop operating system. Well now they are doing it. Late yesterday Google announced Google Chrome OS.
Google says Google Chrome OS is their attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year Google will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Read more

Posted on Wed, 8 Jul 2009 02:30:20 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Internet Explorer Loses Ground To Firefox, Safari & Chrome

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The first browser wars saw Microsoft's Internet Explorer devour and digest the once-great Netscape browser. In the ten years since then, the various versions of IE have maintained a steady dominance across the market. It's only been over the last few years that serious challengers have started to arrive. Google's Chrome browser and Mozilla's Firefox have both risen up to compete with Internet Explorer.

In fact, they're doing more than just competing. They're winning. In March 2009 the combined market share of IE6, 7, and 8 was 65.8%, a commanding lead. But now, just three months later, Internet Explorer's overall share has dropped to 54.4%.

Posted on Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:45:00 CDT | by Robert Evans