Google has taken the wrapping off Chrome OS, its web-based operating system for notebook PCs, but it won’t be delivering in time for Christmas.
Having promised to deliver the rival to Windows and Linux sometime this year, Google is now targeting the middle of 2011 for the OS, which it demonstrated running on an unbranded laptop.
Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS won’t require — or even be capable of running — native applications. Instead it will rely on the ‘cloud’, running web apps from Google’s own extensive collection as well as third-party offerings showcased in the Chrome Web App Store.
‘We think cloud computing will define computing as we know it,’ said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt. ‘Finally there is a viable third choice for an operating system.’
Schmidt said the OS has been delayed because ‘some of the features…require new hardware’, though he didn’t go into specifics.
Nor did he elaborate on the lack of support for printers, USB hard drives and other widely used peripherals.
Vice president of product management Sudar Pichai suggested that Google’s CloudPrint service would suffice — ‘we think that’s a much better model, since you don’t have to install stuff’, he said — though you will need a compatible printer, once they are available.
USB support is ‘a work in progress’, he said.
‘We support all keyboards and mice already, even though storage devices won’t work.’
Chrome OS is the second operating system development Google unveiled at this week’s D: Dive Into Mobile conference. Earlier the company showed the ‘Gingerbread’ version of Android, a version of the mobile OS designed for both phones and tablets.
