Live report: Will Google Chrome OS change Linux?
Google announced its open source Chrome OS last July and it has been a little more than a mystery to the wondering public since that time. Now, an official first look is mere hours away.
At 10:00 am PST (1:00 pm EST), Google will present a live webcast of Chrome OS, the search giant's attempt to "rethink what operating systems should be." Speakers this afternoon will include Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Product Management and Matthew Papakipos, Engineering Director for Google Chrome OS.
Besides finally getting to see just how Chrome will be laid out, we will get an overview of the underlying technology and find out about the operating system's 2010 launch schedule.
What we know about Chrome OS already:
* It will be free and open source
* It is built on the Linux Kernel but has a totally new windowing system.
* It will support both x86 and ARM architecture.
* It will run Web apps as if they're native desktop apps.
* It is not a handset OS like Android, but there will be "overlap" in functionality
* Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba have all voiced support for Chrome OS.
* Chrome OS Director Matthew Papakipos is director of the HTML 5 Open Web Platform efforts at Google.
* The underlying security architecture of "standard" operating systems is being completely redesigned.
Until today, these facts have only raised more questions. Far too many to even list here. Hopefully, once the Webcast gets rolling, we'll be able to finally put the most basic of these questions to rest.