Google Chromium Os

[-Tj-]

My daily Engadget rounds found me this today:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/releasing-chromium-os-open-source.html

Google decided to release the Chrome OS source code early as Chromium OS. I'm not terribly interested in being connected to the web all the time, but some people might. Now that it's open source, and supports ARM, perhaps some interested parties might wanna check it out? What do you guys think?

Pandora, paired with a capable 3G stick, might be a rather interesting portable Chromium OS device.

Another link, this one is for the project site:

http://www.chromium.org/

 

[Gary13579]

Chromium OS has been out for a while, kinda. They left a debian installer up on one of their repos, and someone installed it. From their screenshots, it was essentially a web browser. And... that's it. Some extra features but nothing notable.

I'm giving this a look now, however.

 

[Username]

Edit: whoops I completely misread your post and thought you were talking about Chromium web browser for linux.

Yeah seems interesting, but I don't think I'll be using it any time soon.

 

[Near_Kstor]

It seems you NEED a SSD (Solid State Drive, kinda successor to the current HD) installed on your device in order to fully use the Chromium OS. (or use it at all)


I am not 100% sure, I will try to find the article that mentioned so...

...just don't put your hopes too high.

 

[Gary13579]

It seems you NEED a SSD (Solid State Drive, kinda successor to the current HD) installed on your device in order to fully use the Chromium OS. (or use it at all)


I am not 100% sure, I will try to find the article that mentioned so...

...just don't put your hopes too high.

This makes no sense at all... I *very* highly doubt this is the case. SSDs are overpriced, and still very small portion of the PC/notebook market. Considering the OS is meant to be small/fast, and literally nothing but a web browser, it more than likely just sits in RAM 99% of the time. There's *no* applications other than that stored on the HDD, so requiring an SSD would be silly.

 

[Username]

They've already said that you need an SSD to run it, knowing that they are overpriced.

 

[Poem58]

It seems you NEED a SSD (Solid State Drive, kinda successor to the current HD) installed on your device in order to fully use the Chromium OS. (or use it at all)


I am not 100% sure, I will try to find the article that mentioned so...

...just don't put your hopes too high.

This makes no sense at all... I *very* highly doubt this is the case. SSDs are overpriced, and still very small portion of the PC/notebook market. Considering the OS is meant to be small/fast, and literally nothing but a web browser, it more than likely just sits in RAM 99% of the time. There's *no* applications other than that stored on the HDD, so requiring an SSD would be silly.

From Engadget article: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/19/googles-chrome-os-revealed/

"As far as going to market, Google's not talking details until the targeted launch at the end of next year, but Chrome OS won't run on just anything -- there'll be specific reference hardware. For example, Chrome OS won't work with standard hard drives, just SSDs, but Google is supporting both x86 and ARM CPUs. That also means you won't be able to just download Chrome OS and go, you'll have to buy a Chrome OS device approved by Google. Interesting move, for sure -- but since the entire OS is totally open-source as of today, we're sure it'll be hacked onto all kinds of hardware soon enough. (And for the record, the demo was run on an off-the-shelf Eee PC.)"

So yeah, it seems unless during the hack a hard drive is supported, it's SSD only. Not being the programming type I have no idea why this would be.

 

[-Tj-]

It seems you NEED a SSD (Solid State Drive, kinda successor to the current HD) installed on your device in order to fully use the Chromium OS. (or use it at all)


I am not 100% sure, I will try to find the article that mentioned so...

...just don't put your hopes too high.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/19/googles-chrome-os-revealed/
It's mentioned in this article. (edit: ninja'd)

I wasn't sure about that SSD part that was mentioned, either. My hopes were that an SD card could be used in place of SSD.

I wasn't aware of the previously released version. The article above led me to believe this is something new, and it seems like pretty big news. My understanding is that it's a web browser that all apps work through. Supposedly it's very secure in the way it does things, and so on and so forth. I didn't read too deep into it, other than what was in the articles. The technical stuff is usually way, way over my head.

 

[Etinin]

No thanks.
I don't want a piece of thrash which only runs online applications and which requires me to surrender all my data to a private company.

 

[-Tj-]

No thanks.
I don't want a piece of thrash which only runs online applications and which requires me to surrender all my data to a private company.

You're not alone in this thinking. I'm a bit concerned about having some private company store my data, too. But that doesn't mean I'm not interested in what this could do.

I used Google Docs during a production animation project last year. We were using OpenOffice at the beginning, but after trying Google Docs I suggested we give it a shot. It allowed us to change spreadsheets at the same time, and since the building had frequent power outages, we would never lose the data if the power went out. The only problem was if there was no net connection, we couldn't access the docs. Anyway, point I'm trying to make is that it has its uses. Just keep the stuff you're worried about off their systems.


I had a hunch on why SSDs are required and looked up some stuff about what they're doing about speed. In the video link below, the guy explains that Chromium OS "uses solid state storage devices, like in your camera, or your phone." In other words, it sounds like it will work off something like an SD card. Their logic seems to be that by removing the moving arm and spinning disks, wake up times will be a lot faster.

Edit: silly me, I forgot the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTFfl7AjNfI

 

[Gary13579]

It seems you NEED a SSD (Solid State Drive, kinda successor to the current HD) installed on your device in order to fully use the Chromium OS. (or use it at all)


I am not 100% sure, I will try to find the article that mentioned so...

...just don't put your hopes too high.

This makes no sense at all... I *very* highly doubt this is the case. SSDs are overpriced, and still very small portion of the PC/notebook market. Considering the OS is meant to be small/fast, and literally nothing but a web browser, it more than likely just sits in RAM 99% of the time. There's *no* applications other than that stored on the HDD, so requiring an SSD would be silly.

From Engadget article: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/19/googles-chrome-os-revealed/

"As far as going to market, Google's not talking details until the targeted launch at the end of next year, but Chrome OS won't run on just anything -- there'll be specific reference hardware. For example, Chrome OS won't work with standard hard drives, just SSDs, but Google is supporting both x86 and ARM CPUs. That also means you won't be able to just download Chrome OS and go, you'll have to buy a Chrome OS device approved by Google. Interesting move, for sure -- but since the entire OS is totally open-source as of today, we're sure it'll be hacked onto all kinds of hardware soon enough. (And for the record, the demo was run on an off-the-shelf Eee PC.)"

So yeah, it seems unless during the hack a hard drive is supported, it's SSD only. Not being the programming type I have no idea why this would be.

I would absolutely love to see Google do that. I believe they are referring to only selling the OS to run on hardware with SSDs. You have to remember, Google will likely sell the OS to vendors who include it with their hardware. Just like Android. Anyone can grab Android and install it on whatever they want. But if they want the full "Google Experience", including GMail/etc, you must purchase a license from Google.

However, I don't see any proprietary closed source apps that Google would include with Chrome OS. As such, you'll be able to install it on a HDD, just expect it to be slower and unsupported.

I had a hunch on why SSDs are required and looked up some stuff about what they're doing about speed. In the video link below, the guy explains that Chromium OS "uses solid state storage devices, like in your camera, or your phone." In other words, it sounds like it will work off something like an SD card. Their logic seems to be that by removing the moving arm and spinning disks, wake up times will be a lot faster.

Of course that's why . Google doesn't want the OS to be sold by vendors with old style HDDs, and for the users to be disappointed. And you have to remember, the OS itself is going to only be 1gb at most, which would only cost manufacturers ~$10 max to include.

 

[droneb]

the SSD is more on the thing on using it as a ram extension but on somehow more extreme option than regular pagefiles.

so no need to run it on sooo much ram. anyway, i will still prefer to use angstrom right now i still want to be able to use my stuff
while no internet available

 

[yumcax]

Am I the only one thinking WTF? The Chromium OS Page said *nothing* about SDD only, and it is open source. A lock like that would be nothing, unless it is the only way the OS can work. Which would be weird. In conclusion, I would like to see where Engadget got their info about SDD only. The Official Blogpost says nothing of the sort.

EDIT: Spelling.

 

[-Tj-]

I couldn't find anything about SSD on their site either. Did some searches tho, says that it's actually in the code, something that disables HDD usage. I've also seen it mentioned that the SSD is a requirement for systems built for the OS, along with screen size, keyboard size, etc.

The SSD info is also mirrored here by Maximum PC.
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/8_things_you_need_know_about_chrome_os

 

[Vorporeal]

I assume Chrome OS will be SSD restricted, as Google wants to keep load times as low as possible. Chromium OS likely doesn't have the same restriction, as installing Chromium OS is a user choice, not what might be pre-installed on a system.

 

[second exodous]

Google has done something, quick, everyone jump on board.

 

[cobaltage]

I really think they're saying that the Chrome OS will be designed to boot from flash memory and not from a hard drive -- and not, that your device needs a 64GB or 128GB SSD, or that you can't access a hard drive on the device. 'Nothing' is stored on your device running Chrome OS -- everything is stored 'in the cloud' anyway, so you wouldn't need much space to run Chrome OS. It sounds like it will be featured on MIDs and netbooks and as a secondary, instant-on OS for notebooks and maybe desktops. The notebook would have both an x86 CPU and an ARM CPU, with a dedicated flash memory drive just for Chrome OS; otherwise, it's just like any other notebook PC. That ensures that the boot time will be fast and lengthens the battery life. (That design for a notebook with an instant-on secondary OS is real; I don't remember who is making it, or what instant-on OS they were working with.)

Imagine this scenario: a $250-300 5" touchscreen MID with subsidized 3G service costing $15-20 per month, with GPS, webcam, wifi, media playback, and an 8 hour battery life. Or a 7" "smartbook" (they're supposedly coming out soon -- basically like the HP Journada in design) for $200. Or a 10" netbook for $225. All of them would cost less than a Pandora.

If Google could subsidize 3G service on a limited, all-browser device to the point where it costs a little more than Tivo service or Netflix membership, that would have a huge impact, IMO. I think they could be working towards that, based on their overall philosophy, but not based on any real information. I do think the recent rumor of a Google phone is actually about a cellular data device, not a phone. And I've seen something online (a rumor of a rumor) to that effect. If Google is really going to make their own name-brand cellular data device, I can see them going for the gold and arranging for a subsidized data plan.

My main question is, what does Chrome OS do when it's off-line? There should be local storage and syncing, but that's really the question. If it does, then it would have off-line document editing and PIM functions. Anyway, I believe that it would have to do something when you're off-line, rather than just showing a "not connected to a network" error message.

I've said this in a recent discussion of Android for Pandora: any fast-loading OS that just gets you on the internet would be a great secondary OS for Open Pandora. If there are built-in document-editing and PIM functions with online syncing, all the more so. So if Chrome OS could work with the Pandora, that would be swell. Better than Android, because all of Google's services are designed to work completely well within a browser. (Except Navigator, but that's still in beta...of course.) However, Google seems to have implied that in order to get Chrome OS, you have to buy a device designed to run it. So we'll see.

Anyway, very exciting to think about.

 

[nightwheel]

Give the either the community or Google a little while. I'm pretty sure that SSD only thing won't fly far enough to be final.

So one way or another, regular hard drives will most likely work in the future.

(Oh yea, it's already been compiled to run under VMWare.)

 

[Gary13579]

I really think they're saying that the Chrome OS will be designed to boot from flash memory and not from a hard drive -- and not, that your device needs a 64GB or 128GB SSD, or that you can't access a hard drive on the device. 'Nothing' is stored on your device running Chrome OS -- everything is stored 'in the cloud' anyway, so you wouldn't need much space to run Chrome OS. It sounds like it will be featured on MIDs and netbooks and as a secondary, instant-on OS for notebooks and maybe desktops. The notebook would have both an x86 CPU and an ARM CPU, with a dedicated flash memory drive just for Chrome OS; otherwise, it's just like any other notebook PC. That ensures that the boot time will be fast and lengthens the battery life. (That design for a notebook with an instant-on secondary OS is real; I don't remember who is making it, or what instant-on OS they were working with.)

Imagine this scenario: a $250-300 5" touchscreen MID with subsidized 3G service costing $15-20 per month, with GPS, webcam, wifi, media playback, and an 8 hour battery life. Or a 7" "smartbook" (they're supposedly coming out soon -- basically like the HP Journada in design) for $200. Or a 10" netbook for $225. All of them would cost less than a Pandora.

If Google could subsidize 3G service on a limited, all-browser device to the point where it costs a little more than Tivo service or Netflix membership, that would have a huge impact, IMO. I think they could be working towards that, based on their overall philosophy, but not based on any real information. I do think the recent rumor of a Google phone is actually about a cellular data device, not a phone. And I've seen something online (a rumor of a rumor) to that effect. If Google is really going to make their own name-brand cellular data device, I can see them going for the gold and arranging for a subsidized data plan.

My main question is, what does Chrome OS do when it's off-line? There should be local storage and syncing, but that's really the question. If it does, then it would have off-line document editing and PIM functions. Anyway, I believe that it would have to do something when you're off-line, rather than just showing a "not connected to a network" error message.

I've said this in a recent discussion of Android for Pandora: any fast-loading OS that just gets you on the internet would be a great secondary OS for Open Pandora. If there are built-in document-editing and PIM functions with online syncing, all the more so. So if Chrome OS could work with the Pandora, that would be swell. Better than Android, because all of Google's services are designed to work completely well within a browser. (Except Navigator, but that's still in beta...of course.) However, Google seems to have implied that in order to get Chrome OS, you have to buy a device designed to run it. So we'll see.

Anyway, very exciting to think about.

Long and good post, but got a few clarifications. Technically, the OS itself is stored on the device. The OS consist of a basic Linux kernel, and Chrome (the web browser).

Next, why would the notebook have both an x86 AND ARM CPU. This is just a waste of money, and I can't see anyone actually building a device like it. Yeah, it would be nice for battery life, but it's far too complicated for pretty much every manufacturer to waste their time with.

Google is more than capable of striking a deal with cellular carriers to offer net access. In fact, look at the Amazon Kindle in the US. The recent versions come with a CDMA modem that connects to the Verizon network, and offers FREE web browsing of Wikipedia and ability to download ebooks anywhere in the nation. Wasn't Google talking about free nationwide ad supported WiFi several years ago...?

Android is almost a complete waste on the Pandora. The OS is designed for a phone, and is designed for *all* applications to execute within it's Java-like virtual machine. It'd lock you out of 99% of the applications made for the Pandora, and give you... a contact book, a kinda shitty web browser, and... nothing else really. I do see Chrome OS being useful on the Pandora, though.

Exciting indeed, but none of it matters until we get the Pandora <_<

 

[mali]

Next, why would the notebook have both an x86 AND ARM CPU. This is just a waste of money, and I can't see anyone actually building a device like it. Yeah, it would be nice for battery life, but it's far too complicated for pretty much every manufacturer to waste their time with.

I wouldn't dismiss this idea so fast. There is an interesting ARM document floating around somewhere that includes ARM-x86 hybrid devices. ARM SoCs are pretty cheap and will get even cheaper in the future.

@Chrome OS
Get off my data.