Google Chrome OS Browser to Mimic Windows Explorer?
When Google announced its plans for a new cloud-based operating system built around the Web browser, there was some concern about the OS' capabilities. Although a lot of our computing can now be done in the Web browser these days thanks to online applications and services, quite a few operations still need to take place on the hard drive - running iTunes, for example, or importing photos from a digital camera. How would a Web-based operating system handle these sorts of tasks? Based on what we knew of Google Chrome OS, it seemed like the OS just wouldn't be able to do them.
But a new discovery in the Google Chrome OS browser code base points to a "mount library" that monitors devices inserted in the computer. Would Chrome OS be able to see your iPod? Your camera? And what would it do then?
Chrome OS Code Reveals "Mount Library"
Thanks to some serious sleuthing on the part of the DownloadSquad blog, a site that often scours through Chrome OS code to uncover hidden gems, we've learned that the new operating system will monitor for new devices attached to your system. As Sebastian Anthony points out in the blog post, the Chrome Web browser can already access your local file system (e.g. Windows users can just type C:\ in the address field to see a list of files), so this new feature would simply extend the browser's current functionality. Anthony then speculates that in Chrome OS you may be able to launch a new tab in the browser to see a real-time view of "My Computer," complete with attached devices and the files they contain. Or perhaps a new window would pop up showing you the drive you've just inserted into the netbook's USB slot.
That would certainly be an unusual trick for a Web browser to handle; navigating your local file system is a task usually left to file explorer programs like Windows Explorer and Mac OS' Finder. But because the interface for Chrome OS is the Web browser, it appears that the browser will have to step in and do the OS' job in this case.
If Chrome OS' Browser Can See Your Drives, What Could You Do With Your Files?
More importantly, what does this mean for the end user? If the browser can "see" your attached devices and the files they contain, how would they then display them to you? If you plug in a USB flash drive containing spreadsheets and text documents, would Chrome OS launch Google Docs to display them? Or would it allow you to preview them in HTML, as is possible in Gmail? Or both?
And what about when you plug in a digital camera? Would Chrome OS prompt you to import your photos to Picasa? Your videos to YouTube?
If so, Chrome OS would overcome one of the perceived stumbling blocks of being a cloud-based operating system - the need for the computer's hard drive to act as the middleman when it comes to importing external content hosted on other drives and getting it posted to the Web.
Wait a Minute... Didn't We Already Decide This Was a Bad Idea?
As exciting as that sounds, a commenter on the blog post points out that a browser that acts like this could mean serious security issues for the new operating system. Would a malicious Web page be able to tap into this feature to wreak havoc on your system? We know that Google has said that security is one of the key aspects of the OS, but we also know that hackers are extremely crafty as well. No matter how good the security measures Google puts in place to limit this sort of access, nothing would provide 100% protection. And isn't this the same sort of functionality that Microsoft ditched in Internet Explorer years ago with the launch of IE7 due to these very same security concerns?
What do you think about this new feature? Is it a great feature for the Web browser or a security hole just waiting to be exploited? Let us know in the comments.
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hmm...make me want to try this OS!
Cheers for the shout-out :)
It's an interesting development certainly (and fellow Download Squad blogger Lee originally pointed it out to me...!)
I know it's splitting hairs, but it's important to note that this is _not_ OS code. We can't see that just yet!
This is from the source for the Chrome OS version of the browser itself.
I bet Google will simply do it right.
For each "physical" file/folder, you'll have the option to syncronize it on the cloud, or leave it in the HD/USB key, being it a document, photo, movie or anything else.
um... please tell me how this is different from doing a file:/// in the address bar in firefox?
Sounds like a security and privacy problem waiting to happen, but people who use Google already trust both their security and privacy or lack thereof.
No doubt Google's working on the security portion, but the company's developers are human and humans make mistakes and miss things. Something will inevitably be missed, though probably patched very quickly.
Everyone should realize that Google will go as far as it's allowed to to gain access to users' activity. From the web to your browser, to your OS, devices then you. It's their stated goal to organize the world's information. You are the world, after that maybe Google will organize you.
Google will figure it out. Can't wait to play with the OS.
@Lee: thanks, I'm updating that line to include the word "browser" - that's important, I agree. Nice sleuthing, btw!
Whether it's from the OS or not, I wouldn't want my browser to do all of this for me. I like having a separate system to manage and display drives, files, and folders.
All those functionalities are cool and excited but this is not the Internet.
the Internet is not Google or Apple or Microsoft storing all my photos, blogs, spreadsheet, docs, etc...
Everybody should store their data themselves.
This is interesting, it confirms what a number of people have speculated, which is that Chrome OS is not going to have a traditional window manager for using conventional Linux applications, but will instead be all about running web apps (offline too via Gears, etc.) It's a cool idea that is fully aligned with Google's core business, but isn't the idea of a Google Linux that looks like Ubuntu, or Win 7 for that matter.
I don't know how much I want to use this sort of operating system. I like having all sorts of options. However if it turns out to be a great alternative to Windows and as a result, forces Microsoft to provide a very good low cost version of their operating system to compete, bring it on.
Even if the browser were used to browse the filesystem, this wouldn't be new. You can do the same thing with most browsers, including IE and Firefox.
If you're on Windows, type: "file:///C:/" into your browser bar.
Besides, prior to KDE 4 on Linux, the file browser and web browser were the same tool. They perform the same fundamental task, differently only in protocol and the location of the data.
I highly recommend doing more research before posting stuff like this. Saying things like, "If Chrome OS' Browser Can See Your Drives, What Could You Do With Your Files" really makes the author sound uninformed.
I can't wait to see if Chrome OS will be able to take out Windows or not.
It's usefull information!
maybe IE and FF "can see your drives"...but with very limited action they can take to the files!
I think this is where native client plays in,
Let it handle all the real data (along with the OS, which will probably do a lot too) while chrome does the web stuff,
it might also allow google to offer its chrome OS apps, if it has any, on other computers, to allow people to better carry their data.
I suppose l can comment on this as an ardent user of google chrome having indexed my files and added gears, even though the plug-ins from my Windows OS have caused problems with crashing. So l really look forward to being able to download Chrome OS as it will then be used with Google Wave and as a surfer that is using labs and have learned how to build gadgets l will be able to integrate almost everything into a Google Package.
I read your comments about security and l am an ardent almost paranoid about security, but the chrome browser has been the best so far and enables me with sharing to be able to open any application once linked in a new window, without leaving the page. It is cool and l like the way it works.
Finally can l thank you for letting me comment and this link to twitter will share with a lot of other sites and hopefully get you more readers. Ian PS " They Call Me G or The Giraffe as l provide a lot of help and guidance to people in need. Profiles - http://www.google.com/profiles/idadamchristian96
@Josh: Well actually, as noted above, Microsoft removed this functionality in IE7. Now if you type C:\ into your IE8 web browser a separate Windows Explorer window appears.
@in8sworld: It's not all that different than Firefox, but it's notable because Chrome browser will be the primary way to interact with files on the new OS.
Why I would want this is beyond me. I've got an OS and a portable computer that can do this for me, and I do not have to rely on net connectivity in order to compute.
Bleech.
Tom
This is not going to work out. I can guarantee that Google will not compete with Microsoft, Mac OS, and Linux. There are too many security problems that are just waiting to happen and also, running any decent development studios will be difficult. If you are using a video editing software, sound editing software, or 3D graphics program or even video games, Google will fail badly. The only reason android worked is because it was an open source alternative to Apple's strick guidelines for development. However, I will say that even the android project will crash within the next 4 years. When an operating system runs on dozens of different phones and sets of hardware, it is bound to have compatiability problems. Too bad, so sad for google!
Folks, am new to this debate. In evaluating googles plans, let get back to the basics. If a browser is allowed to access your hard drive, what is the security risk. 2 of them come to mind. Either unauthorized access to your data or compromising your local operations (eg Virus type software). In google's view of the world, all the data will be held in the cloud, NOT locally. Thus if some hacker has access to your hard drive, they do not have access to your data. If they hack into Google, then the world has a very big problem. Again, I hear that the local drive will be the closest to a dumb terminal that we have had in a long time. Zero intelligence. Thus compromising the system will be tough on that score. Its akin to leaving doors to an empty house open. What does the group think?
I have read your comments about security. But the chrome browser has been the best so far and enables me with sharing to be able to open any application once linked in a new window, without leaving the page. It is cool and l like the way it works. I got more information from the
http://www.techarena.in/review/18377-google-chrome-os-chromium-os.htm
@Dave
"When an operating system runs on dozens of different phones and sets of hardware, it is bound to have compatiability problems. Too bad, so sad for google!"
This statement brings to mind another OS...Windows. There are plenty of compatibility issues with Windows and computers and until Microsoft directly makes an OS and a computer together like Apple does, there will continue to have these issues.
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And to those complaining that this will bring about many security issues, I say to them to first try and hack Google. Then also realize that every window and every program that runs in the ChromeOS is quarantined. And if somehow a malicious program still gets past that, ChromeOS will recognize changes to it's code and when it restarts, it will reset it's code.
By far, this is the most secure OS I've heard of to date. Especially since the programs *do not* run on your computer but they run *online* thus eliminating risky downloads.
The only thing I hope happens is that there will be drivers made to use my tablets...that's the ONLY reason I use Windows.
ChromeOS...DO WANT