I can say that Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. It is also running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. I truly hope that projects such as Google Chrome OS and other open source variants such as Ubuntu Netbook Remix, make a statement and come OEMed onto a variety of consumer devices.

The site gdgt.com has prebuilt vm disk downloads that let you run Chromium OS from VMWare or VirtualBox. I'm posting this from Chromium OS ;)

http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/

To answer David without going into too much detail, I'd say that the advantage of the cloud is not so much as the only storage location for your stuff, but as a synchronized location, the cloud is great. It may not be for you, but I find it pretty valuable. I synchronize my calendars and contacts with the cloud (and the cloud with my PC); I can access all of my mail accounts both in gmail and locally on my PC; all of my critical files are synced with the cloud; all of my browser bookmarks are as well.

First, Google allows you to access gmail using POP or IMAP (which is actually my primary way of accessing my account), so you can have everything both on a local disk and in the cloud. Second, Google offers Google Gears technology, which allows you to work on Google Docs offline, if you wish. Third, Google (and some third parties) have sync apps that allow you to sync Google Calendars, Google Contacts, and tasks with local copies on Windows and Mac (and perhaps Linux.)

I'd say that with a local computer, a file is not saved unless it is saved in at least two places - a disk crash of your primary computer would be disastrous without a backup. Losing your primary computer would be a serious bummer as well. Sync to the cloud is a great way to work - it's that second copy of your important stuff. If you need to use a computer on the run, or borrow somebody else's, you can still access your stuff online, but you do not need to access it that way as a primary method.

I'd look to ChromeOS, as I already said, not as a primary computer but as a secondary, highly mobile one.

(Also, I can say that ChromiumOS in a virtual machine is very, very slow.)

Let's assume that every file you saved on your Chrome PC (and every setting you changed in your software) also synced to some Internet service. Why couldn't that be your primary OS?

Is there some technical reason, or is it just inertia thanks to all of the Mac apps (or PC apps for Frank) that you use? If software is available to do all of the tasks you need, the only downside might be learning the new software and OS.

Steve

In my opinion, there are two reasons. First, the hardware is far too limiting - no local music storage, no photo and video processing (beyond rudimentary online Picasa tools, I guess), no integration with iPods/Zunes/smartphones, really no local storage of anything - files are cached locally, but stored online. There is no local file and disk services that are exposed to the user (except for access to USB drives, but that's apparently pretty basic.) Everything is accessed through Chrome. It could also be that gaming will be difficult to do, for those who care about that. There are a very limited number of devices that ChromeOS will recognize when they are attached.

At least for me, that becomes a problem for me, as I spend a good part of the year in a place without robust broadband internet.

Perhaps as online computing gets more sophisticated and tools that replace these are available for ChromeOS and the Chrome browser, and ChromeOS itself gets more sophisticated, this will be able to be a primary device. And I am sure that there are people for whom this can be primary, but I'd guess that most people who read MobilitySite would feel hampered if this was their primary computing device as it will exist at launch.

I must really be dense and old school. I just do NOT get the advantage to having all my "stuff" somewhere I can't get to if I lose my connection, which has happened two times this month when PG&E had outages and it took three sessions with my IP tech support to get reconnected. While I was waiting on ignore, I could still format email answers and use programs that would not have been functional had they been web-based. I know how slow having programs "installed" makes my computer, but hey, they still work (most of them), connected or not. I don't trust the "cloud" yet, nor am I willing to put all my eggs in one basket until this net neutrality thing is settled. Just my two cents.

There are lots of very cool features. The boot loader loads signed kernel code. If the code is at all altered, it prompts for a restart, downloads the boot loader firmware again, and restarts the OS from scratch. All user processes are sandboxed, network drivers are tailored for http traffic. This could be an intriguing second computer platform, better for some or most than current Netbooks.

I does not need to support other hardware,it will only be release on specific hardware from partners.