Earlier this week there was an announcement for Chrome OS posted on the Google blog. It was good to hear that there will be fresh new OS in the mix. The blog indicates that the web browser would be the central software platform for Chrome. The increasingly popular netbooks will be the targeted hardware platform. It is not clear how native applications will be developed. Obviously, standard web-based html/javascript apps will run with no problems. The blog indicates the new application can be written using "your favorite web technologies." I would assume that Java would be on the short list of languages that would be used to create native applications.
The new OS is not planned to be released until the second half of 2010. Much can happen over the next year before the release of Chrome OS. It is surprising that Google would give us this much notice regarding their future plans. It would appear that Google needs assistance from the open source community in order to fulfill their vision. That must be the reasoning for the early announcement. Could we see a public beta before the end of the year?
Chrome OS may completely change how users interact with their OS. The days of a large OS install could be nearing their end, as web based apps take over. The web browser has become where I spend most of my time when on the computer. With each passing year, there seems to be fewer native OS applications required. One has to wonder if native desktop applications are becoming obsolete.
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