Google Bets Big on Internet With Chrome

Ker Than

Date: 19 November 2009 Time: 12:17 PM ET

Search giant Google took the wraps off its upcoming Internet-based operating system, Chrome, today.

Chrome will run on specially designed computers and will be entirely web based. There are no desktop applications and the OS will run inside a web browser that resembles Google’s current web browser, also called Chrome.

"What if your browser was your operating system?" Google wrote on its company blog today. "You don't have to deal with lost files or losing settings or blue screens of doom."

Chrome could be a compelling alternative to Windows, Mac, and Linux for users who spend most of their time on the web.

For one thing, Chrome will be fast. Google says computers running its OS will boot up in only 7 seconds, compared to 45 seconds for other computers. Additionally, Chrome promises to free users of the need to install and manage programs or pesky anti-virus software:

"Each [Chrome] app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code."

Chrome will also be the first completely "stateless" OS, Google says. This means that all of users' information — emails, videos, documents, and music — will be stored entirely on the Internet and accessible from any web-enabled device.

Chrome will only run on netbook-like computers specifically designed for the OS and will be ready by "this time next year," Google says.

This article was provided by TopTenREVIEWS.