Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 13th Nov 2009 17:01 UTC
TechCrunch's Michael Arrington is claiming Google's Chrome OS will debut next week - but his story does have an odd ring to it. He goes on and on about how driver support will be shoddy, but that makes no sense - isn't Chome OS supposed to be built on Linux? The only way I can see initial driver support to be shoddy is when Chrome OS has its own, custom graphical layer, instead of using X. However, were that to be the case, I'm sure Google would at least support some NVIDIA, ATI, and Intel chipsets. In any case, it's a rumour - do with it as you please.
Thread beginning with comment 394558
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-07-22
Member since:2005-06-29
It is an operating system. And a Linux distribution.
No, Linux is the operating system. ChromeOS is a version of the Linux OS plus a set of custom libraries, frameworks, conventions (such as file system layout) and user interfaces.
Check any CS-oriented Operating Systems textbook or course syllabus, and you will find an accurate view of what is and is not a Operating System. Unfortunately some vendors (Microsoft in particular) has obscured this definition in the general public. I hold OSNews to a higher standard, however :-).
Member since:2009-09-17
Android is also based on Linux, it uses the linux kernal with a custom userspace so you can't just load normal linux apps on it.
Android is really pretty limited when you compare it to a desktop Os, this goes for pretty much every other smartphone os as well, except for maemo which is linux based and uses a much more conventional userspace so you can install most normal linux apps on it with minimal effort, though it might not always be wise to do so.
If Chrome OS goes the Android route, then pretty much nothing would run on it as is and you'd need to port everything. While Chrome OS will no doubt make heavy use of web apps that would need no porting, not being able to use any native linux apps would be a bold move by google, and I'm not sure it would pay off.
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2006-01-01
not being able to use any native linux apps would be a bold move by google, and I'm not sure it would pay off
And exactly why would you want to run native linux apps? If you want to run native linux apps then get a proper linux. I've commented in the past, someone needs to take this bloated piece of *cr* cough cough "code" and do radical changes. The changes would be so big, one can't even tell it is even remotely close to Linux. Get rid of X.ORG and even the file system structure and do something about it - aka SkyOS.
*Only* then will Linux see the light on the desktop. Don't expect to concur the desktop with GNOME/KDE, it's not gonna happen anytime soon.
Edited 2009-11-14 05:49 UTC
Member since:2005-11-14
Member since:2009-09-17
What makes you think Chrome OS won't use "X-windows"? It's only speculation from a vague statement that it will be "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel". What they define as "windowing system" is entirely up to the reader.
Just a guess, though I might have been influenced by some of the early press that did assume new windowing system meant not X, though now it is clear thats not the case. Though Android doesn't use X (I think, too lazy to check right now) So it goes back to the argument of whether they are making something more like Moblin or more like Android. I'm not really basing my speculations on anything more than gut instinct in this area. We will see next week hopefully.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
Sponsored Links
Member since:
2005-06-29
Despite its name, Google OS is not an Operating System, but rather a Linux distribution (albeit one without X-windows as the basis of its graphical interface). Linux is the OS underpinning it.