Google OS Is Actually a Browser: Google Chrome

Google Blogoscoped posts an interesting comic book (update: a better version) created by Scott McCloud that illustrates the features of Google Chrome, an open source browser based on WebKit. As usually, all the rumors related to Google are true and "Google Browser" is no exception.


Google Chrome has been built in a time when browsers no longer render mostly web pages, but full-blown web applications. That's why browsers need to be more powerful, more stable and more secure. One of the problems of the existing browsers is that a web page can lock the browser and there's no way to isolate that tab and close it. Google Chrome uses a new process for each tab. "We're applying the same isolation you find in modern operating systems," says Arnaud Weber. Each process is sandboxed to prevent malware from affecting your computer.

The new browser has a JavaScript virtual machine built by the V8 team from Denmark that generates code dynamically and has a better garbage collector.

Google Chrome's UI is inspired by Opera: tabs are displayed above the address bar, the address bar combines previously typed URLs with search results and suggestions and there's a homepage that includes frequently visited sites, recently closed tabs, bookmarks and searches.


Web applications can be opened in chromeless windows, without menus and toolbars, much like in Mozilla Prism. The browser will also include Gears, a set of APIs already available for IE, Firefox and Safari.

Some people will say that Google wants to compete with Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Mozilla's Firefox, but I think there's something more important about the new offering: an open source browser that is prepared for running applications and that diminishes the role of existing operating systems. The browser won't become very popular, but the ideas behind it will influence the next versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari.


The browser is not yet available for downloading, but the launch seems imminent.

{ Images licensed as Creative Commons by Google. You can read the entire comic book at google.com/googlebooks/chrome. }

Update: Google announces that a Windows version of the browser will be launched tomorrow. "We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build. (...) By keeping each tab in an isolated sandbox, we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers."



Update 2: Google Chrome has been released and it already supports 43 languages.

Google OS Is Actually a Browser: Google Chrome by Alex Chitu

Google Releasing Chrome Operating System - Google Chrome OS - Lifehacker

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In a sudden, if not unexpected, announcement this morning, Google said it would release an open-source operating system based on its Chrome browser. The OS will be free, geared (at first) toward netbooks, and focused on "speed, simplicity, and security."

Google executives told the New York Times that Google Chrome OS would be available online "later this year" as a free, open-source download, while specially tailored netbooks running the operating system are targeted for the second half of 2010. The release will not be a remixed version of the Android phone platform, but a "minimalist user interface," with more screen space and computer power given over to web applications.

Google's official blog post lays out some basic but intriguing details on Chrome OS' goals:

We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

More specifically, Chrome OS is planned to run on x86 and ARM-based processors, and its architecture is described as "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel." Developers looking to specifically target the Chrome OS need not apply, as Google says "the web is the platform"—the system will, in other words, run web applications online and offline, and those applications should also work on any standards-based browser on any system (read: most anything, except Internet Explorer, sometimes).

Many who closely watch the search company have predicted a similar move for some time now. To say the Chrome OS will face stiff competition is quite an understatement, with Intel developing its own lightweight, Linux-based netbook platform, Windows XP emerging as a force in netbook OS share, and Microsoft itself likely to fight tooth and nail to keep yet another upstart from encroaching on the one area of PC sales that is still seeing significant growth.

It's easy to assume Chrome OS is a strong push to get users familiar with using Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and other web suites, both online and off. It's harder to figure out the specifics of how Google's platform will overcome the deeply entrenched Windows familiarity that has kept other Linux-based netbook upstarts mostly in check, and how it will accommodate the vast array of x86 hardware compatibility quirks that plagues Linux distributions to this day. More details and discussions to come, certainly.

Introducing the Google Chrome OS [Official Google Blog]
Google Plans a PC Operating System [NYTimes.com]

More about Google Chrome OS

Google Chrome OS

Nine Must-Have Features We Want to See in a Google OS

What's inside Google's just-announced Chrome Operating System? How does it work, exactly? Nobody outside Google knows. We can, however, build a dream operating system from the ground up, and that's what we're doing with some help from the hive mind. We asked on Twitter what features users wanted... More »

Read More: Google, Google Chrome OS, Google chrome operating system, Google Chrome, NetBooks, Netbook, Free, Open Source, Operating Systems, Top, News

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Google Chrome: Browser Or Cloud Operating System? - Analytics - InformationWeek

By most accounts, the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Chrome development team has dramatically achieved its goal of building a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer, and easier.

Walter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, who has been testing Google's Chrome browser for a week next to the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, concludes "With the emergence of Chrome, consumers have a new and innovative browser choice, and with IE8, the new browser war is sure to be a worthy contest." Many cloud computing enthusiasts are overjoyed with Chrome and call it the first cloud browser or even the basis for a cloud operating system.

So says Nick Carr:

"To Google, the browser has become a weak link in the cloud system -- the needle's eye through which the outputs of the company's massive data centers usually have to pass to reach the user -- and as a result the browser has to be rethought, revamped, retooled, modernized. Google can't wait for Microsoft or Apple or the Mozilla Foundation to make the changes (the first has mixed feelings about promoting cloud apps, the second is more interested in hardware than in clouds, and the third, despite regular infusions of Google bucks, lacks resources), so Google is jump-starting the process with Chrome."

To which, Sam Johnston adds an amen:

"What is perhaps most interesting, though (at least from a cloud computing point of view), is the full-frontal assault on traditional operating system functions like process management (with a task manager that allows users to "see what sites are using the most memory, downloading the most bytes and abusing (their) CPU"). Chrome is effectively a Cloud Operating Environment for any (supported) operating system in the same way that early releases of Windows were GUIs for DOS. All we need to do now is load it on to a (free) operating system like Linux and wire it up to cloud storage (a la Mozilla Weave) for preferences (e.g. bookmarks, history) and user files (e.g., uploads, downloads), and we have a full blown Cloud Operating System!"

Having downloaded and played with Chrome, I share Nick's and Sam's enthusiasm for Chrome's potential. I especially like the sleek tabbed interface, the faster JavaScript virtual machine, and the multiprocessing, multithreaded "sandbox" architecture, which prevents one tab from crashing another and provides improved protection from rogue sites. One of the best things about the Chrome software launch was Scott McCloud's clever and thorough comic book that explains Chrome technical details to journalists and bloggers. Chrome's got a ways to go to make it the basis of a cloud computing operating system, as Google co-founder Sergey Brin admitted at the Tuesday Chrome launch demo.

"No, I would not call Chrome the operating system of Web apps. I think it is a very fast engine to run Web apps."

"With Chrome we will be able to bridge the divide; we will be able do more and more online," he said. "You will be able to access your work from an Internet cafe and get all those benefits."

One of the more troubling things about Google Chrome is something I found in its Terms of Service agreement (which most people click through without reading before downloading Chrome).

"17. Advertisements

17.1 Some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions. These advertisements may be targeted to the content of information stored on the Services, queries made through the Services or other information.

17.2 The manner, mode and extent of advertising by Google on the Services are subject to change without specific notice to you.

17.3 In consideration for Google granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that Google may place such advertising on the Services."

Google is an advertising company, and it already collects a huge amount of personal data on everyone to target ads at us. Being the browser vendor will give them that much more personal and behavioral data, which will be even more worrisome if the Chrome browser evolves into a cloud operating system.

Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

Introducing the Google Chrome OS

7/07/2009 09:37:00 PM

It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our 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 we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we're definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We're excited for what's to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer.

Update on 7/8/2009: We have posted an FAQ on the Google Chrome Blog.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director

Software Glitch Leads To $23,148,855,308,184,500 Visa Charges

Hmmm2000 writes

"Recently several Visa card holders were, um, overcharged for certain purchases, to the tune of $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 on a single charge. The company says it was due to a programming error, and that the problem has been corrected. What is interesting is that the amount charged actually reveals the type of programming error that caused the problem. 23,148,855,308,184,500.00 * 100 (I'm guessing this is how the number is actually stored) is 2314885530818450000. Convert 2314885530818450000 to hexadecimal, and you end up with 20 20 20 20 20 20 12 50. Most C/C++ programmers see the error now ... hex 20 is a space. So spaces were stuffed into a field where binary zero should have been."

Introducing the Google Chrome OS

It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our 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 we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we're definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We're excited for what's to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer.

Google Chrome Operating System

Google Chrome Operating System