After last week's sneak peek at Google's upcoming operating system dubbed Google Chrome OS, tech enthusiasts everywhere have been playing with the open source code which Google released to the community on the day of the press conference. This code, called Chromium OS, lets anyone take the basic building blocks of Google's operating system and customize it for their own purposes. Going the open source route isn't just an example of Google's desire to "not be evil," but protects the company from anti-trust, anti-competitive claims surrounding the new project - a project which is basically an OS that runs only one web browser: Google Chrome. In fact, Google's browser is the operating system in its entirety. No desktop applications will be supported on this web-based, Wi-Fi only machine. As Google's VP of Product Management, Sundar Pichai, said during the press event, if any other browser maker wants to build their own version of the OS using their own browser, they can.

Since the launch of the Chromium OS source code, there have been a number of articles explaining how to run the operating system in a virtual machine on your own computer as well as how to boot the operating system from a USB flash drive. But up until now, these efforts have been steered by enthusiastic technology users and not those associated with any large computer manufacturer such as Dell.

And while the Dell Chromium build isn't exactly an "official" company product, it's noteworthy for the fact that it was designed by company employees, posted publicly on a Dell website, and is customized to run specifically on Dell Mini computers.

Dell's Chromium OS Build

According to the Dell blog post, the USB key image file (available here: http://linux.dell.com/files/cto) only works on Dell Mini 10v computers. Most importantly, the build makes the built-in Broadcom Wi-Fi adapter on these machines functional, a feature needed when running a web-based OS. After all, what good is a cloud operating system if you have to be tethered to an ethernet cable?

The blog post includes instructions on how to copy the USB image file to a USB flash drive, but unfortunately the directions are aimed only at those who have access to another Linux machine. We're not sure why Windows and Mac users couldn't just modify the instructions found on this website to make their own Dell Chromium OS USB keys by substituting the Dell build for the one hosted on that site.

In addition, if you're interested in trying out the Dell version of Chromium OS, there are a couple of things you should know:

• You'll need a hefty USB key drive - 8 GB minimum.
• It may take 5-10 minutes for the Chromium OS network connection manager to "see" the Wi-Fi access points.
• Some issues with the connection manager are still present. If it gets hung, reboot and try again.
• And by the way, there's no "reboot" - you have to press the power button on the Mini laptop.
• The Dell build is unsupported and minimally tested - use at your own risk.

If you're still feeling brave, the download is available here.

But now that the news is out, has Chrome OS lost its shine? People had high expectations for Google's new operating system but the end result doesn't look like the revolutionary, "change the world" product many had hoped for.

Don't get us wrong - Google's OS is different than whatever Windows, Mac, or Linux build you have running on your computer today. The new OS does away with desktop applications entirely - everything you use on Google Chrome OS runs on the web. Of course, the company hopes you'll use a lot of Google products like Gmail and YouTube, but it doesn't limit you to just Google-branded services. In the built-in applications area, there are also links to other web apps like the online TV streaming service Hulu.com and music sites Lala and Pandora. To be fair, Chrome OS even links to Yahoo and Microsoft's webmail offerings right out of the box.

Google's major goal with Chrome OS is to moving computing off our personal hard drives and into the cloud...the Google cloud. To accomplish such a feat, they've made the web browser the OS. Everything you need (in theory) is accessible through the included Google Chrome browser, the same browser the company currently offers to Windows users with Mac and Linux versions expected by the end of this year.

As exciting as that vision is, we have to wonder if people - especially the mainstream netbook users the OS is aimed at - are ready for this big of a switch. And more importantly, is the technology itself ready to make the change a comfortable and seamless experience?

...but is it Better?

After digesting yesterday's news, some lingering questions remain. Was this the OS everyone was hoping for or has Google let us down?

You Can't Just Install Chrome OS - You Have to Buy a New Netbook

To begin with, one of the more surprising reveals that came out of yesterday's news is that the OS cannot be installed on your own computer. Oh sure, there are downloads available that use Google's open-sourced code to create bootable builds tech-savvy users and developers can play with, but the official word from the search giant is that anyone wanting to use the "real" Google Chrome OS will have to purchase a new netbook to do so. You cannot simply download it from the web and install it on any machine.

Part of the reason for this restriction is driver support. Google is working with carefully selected manufacturers to offer a handful of netbooks running the OS in the coming year. By going this route, they don't have to provide an entire ecosystem of drivers for every piece of hardware out there - they can pick and choose which ones to support. They'll likely limit the number of peripherals supported, too. According to what was said yesterday, the company will support "mass storage devices" (think USB flash drives and digital cameras) but were cagey on how they plan on offering printing support. All they would say is that they're planning on an "innovative approach" when it comes to printing, whatever that means. Hopefully, they're planning to do something more than just integrating with Kinko's and FedEx's online document services, for example. Printing, (sorry Google) is not a web app just yet.

No Other Web Browsers Supported

Another big disappointment is the company's decision to limit all web surfing to the one included browser, Google Chrome. Firefox and Safari users are out of luck - no other browsers will be supported. But before you cry out "antitrust!," be warned - Google has this covered. The code base used to build the OS is open-source - that means anyone take the code and create their own version of Chrome OS. As was carefully - and haltingly - explained by Google's VP of Product Management, Sundar Pichai, other browser makers can take the code and build their own OS if they want to. But let's get real - Firefox Chrome OS? We don't think so. The reality is that fans of other browsers are simply out of luck if they want to use this operating system.

Offline Access is Limited. Your New Netbook is Now a Brick.

One of the questions that got glossed over during the Q&A session at the end of the event is how Google's OS plans to deal with offline access. The world is not blanketed in Wi-Fi yet, so what can this web-based OS do without the web? Surprisingly, the answer given didn't refer to any subsidized deals with cellular providers regarding deals to offer built-in 3G connectivity for the new netbooks. Instead, Pichai explained that the OS was built for use with Wi-Fi.

Of course, a handful of Google products use Google Gears, a technology that makes websites available offline. For example, Gmail uses Gears to create an offline version of your webmail inbox which you can use to read and respond to email until internet connectivity becomes available again. At that point, all the changes are synced back to Google's servers. Although Google didn't specifically refer to Gears when answering the question, there's no reason to doubt that it will work in Chrome OS's web browser the same as it does now in the standard Chrome browser.

However, Pichai did make note of Chrome OS's support for HTML5, an upcoming revision to the core markup language used to build the web. In the new specification, a key feature is offline support for web apps. However, web application developers will have to rebuild their apps in order to use HTML5, so users will be dependent on each individual company to make this change. While it's believed that one day this spec could make the whole web an offline app, the reality is that most developers have yet to implement this technology in their services yet. Even by Chrome OS's launch next year, there's no reason to believe the landscape will have changed significantly by then.

Do You Really Need an OS or Just the Chrome Web Browser?

Finally, the big question regarding Chrome OS is why? What can the OS do that any operating system running the Chrome browser cannot? Based on what was shown yesterday, the answer is very little. Chrome OS's brand-new features consist of two things: application tabs and panels. The panels are persistent windows that pop-up in front of your web browser's main window. For example, Google Chat, the company's IM service, can live in a panel that stays on top no matter what window you're viewing.

Application tabs, meanwhile, are special tabs that give you easy access to your most frequently used web apps from the browser. Any page tab can be made into an application tab with one click and the resulting "tab" is represented with the colorful icon for that site or service. While that's certainly a cool feature, it alone isn't a major selling point for the OS. That would be like saying you have to buy Mac OS X because of the dock or Windows because of the taskbar. You need a million of these little features combined to add up to a compelling reason to buy an OS.

That's not to say that Chrome OS itself doesn't have worthwhile features of its own - like its built-in security mechanisms or its auto-update system, it's just that these aren't the kinds of things that sell it to an end user. The questions consumers want answers to are what does it do that's special? What does it look like? And for now, the answer is "it's basically just a web browser."

Revolution? Maybe Not Just Yet.

At the end of the day, Chrome OS is an exciting, but not fully realized, vision. Although it has potential, the world may not be ready for a web-based netbook right now. Also, the technology needed to make the Wi-Fi only netbook useful without an internet connection isn't up to full speed either. At the end of the day, the netbook will be marginally more useful than an iPod Touch - when connected, it's amazing. Offline, not so much.

While you might not rush right out to buy a Chrome OS netbook when they first launch, there could come a time - sooner than you think - when it becomes a reasonable choice. When the majority of apps work offline and you've fully transitioned away from desktop apps, a web-connected netbook, especially one that's affordable, could easily become your everyday computer. That day hasn't arrived yet. For now, Chrome OS is an exciting glimpse at the future of computing, but not a practical device for the majority of users.

Disclosure: Sarah Perez freelances for Microsoft's Channel 10 blog, but is not a Microsoft employee. Her primary web browser is, in fact, Google Chrome which she uses exclusively.

Read on for our live updates from the event, which will start at 10:00 am PST.

9:55am: Ahead of the event, Google has already made the Chrome OS source code available.

10:00am: Still waiting for the event to begin. "Some of our attendees are unavoidably delayed in traffic."

10:05am: Event gets started. No beta, no devices today. But they will give a demo and focus on technical demo.

10:06am: Google Chrome has been open-sourced.

10:07am: Why did we do Chrome? We wanted to push the Web forward. It has over 40 million users.

Focus on speed. Mostly on the JavaScript engine, but also on other parts of the browser.

Updated Chrome over 20 times in the last year, but users didn't notice this because it happens in the background. User experience should be seamless.

Coming soon for Chrome: Chrome for Mac will be ready this year. Chrome for Linux is coming along "very well." Extensions are coming soon as well (with automatic updates).

10:10am: HTML5: we want Web application to get more access to the hardware. Example: graphics, multiple threads, real-time communication

10:12am: Three trends in the industry: netbooks, cloud (everything is a Web application today), phones getting computing capabilities

Phones are becoming more like laptops and laptops are becoming more like phones.

Chrome OS

10:15am: Chrome OS will be focused on speed, simplicity, security.

Every application on Chrome OS will be a Web application.

Simplicity: Chrome OS is just a browser - all your data is in the cloud. Users should be able to log into any Chrome OS machine and be up and running with their apps and data in seconds.

Security: users don't install binaries on the OS. Keeps the system safe. Everything runs in the browser.

10:18am: Demo time. Booting up on laptop takes seconds.

"Everybody knows how to use a browser, and we want Chrome OS to feel that way.

UI will continue to change until release.

Application tabs: just like tabs in Chrome, you will be able to set persistent tabs for apps (Gmail, etc.).

App menu in the top left to access apps as well (see first screenshot above). These apps will be little widgets that appear in a panel, just like Google Chat in Gmail.

10:23am: As netbooks get better, we expect them to become entertainment devices. Shows chess game.

Shows Google Books in full-screen mode.

Chrome OS will feature multiple windows. You can drag and drop tabs from one window to another.

Even the file browser is a Chrome tab. Shows what happens when you click on an Excel file. Actually launches Windows Live Office apps to show them.

"Every app you write for the Web is a Google Chrome OS app."

10:29am: Every file opens in the browser: PDF, Microsoft Office, etc.

Under the Hood

10:30am: Matthew Papakipos, Engineering Director for Google Chrome OS on stage now.

"We want Chrome OS to feel more like a television." Instant on - all flash memory.

How to make the boot-up faster?

Right now, operating systems still spend a lot of time on unnecessary boot steps (looking for floppy drives, etc.)

10:34am: Verified boot: makes sure all the components are working and haven't been modified by malware.

System automatically fixes itself and re-images the computer with the last working version; saves all system settings and cache data.

Security: all apps are Web apps. The OS does not trust any app.

Other security steps: files system is licked down; every tab runs in a secure sandbox. There is only a small list of known programs (verified and signed).

User data on a Chrome OS machine is always encrypted.

All the data is synced to the cloud (on the Google Drive?) - user partition on the machine is basically just a local cache.

10:41am: Back to Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Product Management.

Going to market: Chrome OS - but also working with hardware manufacturers.

Will only support flash drives - not traditional hard drives!

Google will specify reference hardware (specific Wi-Fi cards, etc.).

Google wants netbooks to have full-size keyboard, larger resolution, better trackpad.

Launch: Google wants devices to be out by next holiday season.

Chrome OS Open-Sourced

Google wants to work with open-source community. Will give all of its contributions back to the community.

10:45am: Shows marketing video.

Q&A

Question: What is the target group for a Chrome OS device? Will there be Chrome server solutions? Chrome as a server?

Answer: First we want to get netbooks out - no servers. But this is a paradigm shift in computer. Other questions: time will tell.

Question: Cost of Chrome OS netbooks?>

Answer: We will see larger netbooks - no price point - no price target. Demo ran on Asus EEE PC.

Question: How can manufacturers join the program?

Answer: Documentation is on website. Reaching out aggressively to hardware partners. For software developers, there will be a page that shows which devices are compatible already.

Question: Will there be an app store? Will Google certify drivers from OEMs? What about applications to edit photos?

Answer: App store: the Web is our app store, and we will work hard to make those discoverable. Drivers: working with hardware partners. Want devices to be built on reference devices and with open-source drivers. Editing: some apps are not available on the Web. Most people who will buy this machine will have another machine in their home. This is not meant to be a primary OS - just a "delightful experience to be on the Web." This is a companion device

Question: What about video codecs?

Answer: working on that. Trying to use hardware acceleration where possible. Everything that's available in Chrome will be available in Chrome OS - including the technology.

Sidenote: a lot of what you will see in Chrome OS will also flow back into the Chrome browser.

Question: Silverlight support?

Answer: No comment.

Question: Plugins? Other browsers?

Answer: code is available, but we won't support other browsers to run on Chrome OS.

Question: Do you expect to see this running only on netbooks or other devices as well?

Answer: more info about devices will come next year. Google is currently focused on delivering compelling devices: netbook-like form factors.

Question: How big is the OS?

Answer: nothing specific.

Question: Offline access? Google Gears support?

Answer: you can play media - but device is mainly meant to run online, though it will make use of HTML5 local storage.

Question: can you run it in a virtual machine?

Answer: yes.

Question: are you working with partners? Can Android apps run on Chrome OS?

Answer: we focus on making Web apps better. Mission of Chrome is to push Web apps forward. About Android apps: no.

Question: will there be third-party apps?

Answer: no. On phones you need native apps, but not on laptops.

Question: Native Client needs Intel - will you still support ARM?

Answer: we will support X86 and ARM - working on Native Client for ARM.

Question: What's the business model? Advertising in the browser?

Answer: Right now, we are focused on getting the OS and devices out. Chrome OS is free and open source. As people use the Web more, it benefits Google. No specific real estate in Chrome OS will be devoted to ads.

Question: What does Chrome do that I can't do in Firefox with plugins?

Answer: most of what we do is available in other browsers. But not the application tabs, etc. We are offering a fundamentally different model of computing (fast, simple, secure). In Chrome OS, Google can offer things others can't: fast boot, security.

Question: How do you get people to trust the cloud? How do you assure people that their data is secure?

Answer: most of what you are doing is already in the cloud - so problem is not specific to Chrome OS. Google thinks the cloud is just as secure as local storage. Users have a choice and are always in control.

Question: data syncing: will this be open or will data be controlled only by Google?

Answer: none

Sergey Brin drops in and joins the Q&A.

Question: Support for Java?

Answer: nothing to announce right now - hopefully we can do something interesting with this in the future.

Question: What about instant-on OS'es in Dell machines, etc.? Does Google want to do this?

Answer: No - we just want it to start up super-fast. A lean and mean netbook.

Question: Will a Chrome OS machine be able to run printers? Other devices?

Answer: we will support storage devices. Printers: we are taking an innovative approach and will share more about that next year.

Question: Open Source.

Answer: we want to upstream what we do and help the community.

Question: Real-time notifications.

Answer (Sergey Brin): We need better real-time notifications in the browser. Chrome will use the W3C Notifications API.

Question (for Sergey): How does Chrome OS fit into Google's strategy.

Answer: we want users to be able to use netbooks easily, and make it easy to manage software on these devices. The Web is the right platform for this. We're trying to fulfill this need.

According to news from the eyeos team, the new eyeos 2.0 operating system isn't just a revamp of the company's former product, it's something entirely new, built "from scratch," notes a company blog post. With a new UI (pictured below), new applications, and new concept for how the web-based desktop should work, the update is more than a fresh coat of paint.

Upon login, for example, instead of displaying a simulated computer desktop complete with icons and wallpaper, the updated OS features a new dock bar whose menus link you to applications, events, contacts, and more.

The other key part to eyeos 2.0 is the focus on collaboration. As with Google Docs, eyeos provides a web office component that allows you to invite friends to collaborate with you. As multiple users log in to edit the same file, colored lines display to highlight which sections are being edited by your colleagues or friends. You can also add comments and view the changes made by the other collaborators. At the moment, though, this "web office" feature appears to be limited to a word processor and calendar.

Other updates in eyeos 2.0 include real-time notifications via a new instant messaging component, a re-written file system and kernel, a new sync tool for syncing files, contacts, and calendar from your local desktop to the web, and new base applications which function as real apps as opposed to demos of what eyeos can do.

Why No Love for Webtops?

The main difference between what Google plans to offer with Chrome OS and what eyeos and other "webtops" like it is that Chrome OS doesn't live in a web browser, it makes the web browser the operating system. Even though Google's browser will sit on a Linux kernel, this won't be apparent to end users. The browser, for all intents and purposes, is the OS. And unlike eyeos, Google is making deals with netbook manufacturers to come preinstalled on their hardware. Eyeos, on the other hand, is still a destination you reach via URL (Well, for the most part.)

Despite the revamp, new look, and new features of eyeos 2.0, end users probably won't take note of this or any other webtop for that matter. As Ray Valdes, research director at Gartner Research, was quoted as saying a few months ago: "I have not seen growth or traction among the Webtop companies over the past year," Valdes said. "From a long-term perspective, I don't see any change to current market trends, which are that Webtop ventures are not gaining market traction."

But why are users so underwhelmed? For one thing, the web office components of any of these ventures are poor comparisons (if they exist at all) to what Google Docs provides. The poor webtops would be better off partnering with Zoho Docs instead, a feature-rich web office startup that could offer a real alternative to Google's online office. Webtop Ghost tries to make this transition easier by linking to both Google Docs and Zoho as opposed to offering their own applications, but they're more of an exception than a rule.

Additionally, there's more than a bit of hesitation among end users to make a full-on switch from a system they know - be that the OS on their local hard drive or Google's cloud-based programs - to some young startup that may up-and-disappear at any time, like the better known You OS did only last summer.

Finally, there are issues of lag time and speed. Web OS's that try to simulate the local desktop experience simply can't duplicate the feel of native applications. And when they try, they can often end up using a huge chunk of memory in the process.

Eyeos: But Wait, We're Not Just a Webtop, We're Software Too!

Although eyeos has to fight all the same issues facing webtops as described above, they have an identity issue too. It seems eyeos can't decide if they want to be a traditional webtop accessible via the eyeos.info URL or open source software you can install on your own server. This latter solution is designed for users worried about the "privacy and confidentiality problems" that come from hosting your data on a "big company's" server.

While the host-your-own option will appeal to a handful of do-it-yourselfer geeks out there, the majority of mainstream users - and even the majority of early adopters - aren't looking for a web OS you have to install on your own. If folks are that into privacy and open source, they'll just install Linux and manage their own backups instead. Besides, offering the host-your-own solution almost misses the point of being a web OS. The promise of cloud computing is that it's supposed to make our lives easier - our data lives on the web now and not on our fallible hard disks and CDs. We don't have to backup, because Google (or any other cloud vendor) does that for you. We don't have to worry with hard drive space either - we use the cloud, sometimes even for a fee, and we can get to our data from anywhere using any device. And all this is provided to you within your browser. Yes, it does mean that we give up a bit of our privacy in the process, but it's a trade that most are willing to make.

All this being said, the updates to eyeos 2.0 are a nice step forward for the fledging webtop and will appeal to those interested in that sort of thing...but, sadly, we're guessing that most of you aren't.

We don't know much about the upcoming OS from Google, Chrome OS, so most of the news we read about it involves speculation or, sometimes, rather terrible attempts at faking some supposedly official screenshots. However, we recently stumbled on a tidbit of actual news that proves how tightly integrated the Google Chrome web browser will be with the operating system. Of course that makes sense - it is called "Chrome OS" - but it makes us wonder if Google will be required to support other web browsers on their new platform? After all, it's one thing to integrate your own browser with your OS (as Microsoft does with IE) but it's another thing to not even offer a choice. What will Google do? Will they go the "evil" route?

That's as much as we know for sure, but what is not clear is exactly how this SSO option will be presented to the user. We wouldn't be a bit surprised to see you logging into your computer with your Google account the way you log into your Mac or Windows PC using a set of credentials you create during the setup process. However, in Google's case, it's easy to imagine a more web service like prompt on the login screen. For example: "Create a Google account" / "Already have a Google account? Sign in here." Perhaps there will even be a "Remember Me" option so you don't have to log in again, you just flip the netbook's lid open. Of course that's all speculation, but it seems logical.

Will Chrome OS Offer Browser Choice?

The real question here is whether this SSO option will only work with the Chrome web browser which comes pre-installed on the new OS. Obviously, Chrome OS will push people to use Google's own browser, but will it be your only option? What if you really want to use Firefox because you've discovered you can't live without your add-ons and Greasemonkey scripts? Will Chrome OS's sign-in manager support that alternative? Will it - gasp - support IE8? What about Opera? Safari?

Microsoft has come under fire for "bundling" their web browser, Internet Explorer, with their operating system. In fact, the issue has led to the European Union's requiring that the company offer a "select your web browser" ballot screen in the Microsoft's new OS, Windows 7, due out this October. It would seem odd if Google could get away with not just bundling, but actually not even allowing another browser to install.

Although Google hasn't come out and said that will be the case, they've made no mention of how browser alternatives will be handled. In fact, when describing how their OS works, Sudar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director, wrote: "the software architecture is simple -- Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel." (In this case, "Google Chrome" refers to the web browser, not the OS. Oh, how we wish they had named them differently!)

What that means is that the very architecture of the OS depends on tight Chrome browser integration. While this is a revolutionary concept for building the OS of the future, to say the least, it begs the question: will Google get away with this? And finally, should they be allowed to?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

With Weave, Mozilla Labs currently offers a very similar feature, though Weave hasn't made it into the default install of Firefox yet. In the past, Google also offered a synchronization plugin for Firefox, but the company discontinued this service in December 2008.

Link to Chrome OS?

Of course, we can't help but wonder if this work isn't also being done in preparation for the upcoming release of the Google Chrome OS. A lot of the work to get Chrome to sync between different instances is being done at the backend. If Google could get its netbook OS to seamlessly sync with applications on the desktop, then that would be yet another selling point for the Chrome OS.

Privacy?

Chances are that you are already storing your search history on Google's servers. With Chrome's synchronization feature, however, you would also store a complete record of all of your comings and going on other parts of the Internet on Google's servers. Mozilla Weave encrypts your data before it is synced with Mozilla's servers. In today's announcement, the Chrome team did not talk about encryption, though we would be surprised if Google didn't implement client-side encryption as well.

For some users, though, giving even more information to Google - even if it is encrypted - may turn out to be a deal breaker.

Get the Dev Channel Release (if you dare)

For now, only users who have installed Chrome's developer version and are subscribed to the Dev channel will see these new features. The Chrome Dev channel is the most frequently updated, cutting-edge version of Chrome, but these version are also far less stable than those in the more mainstream Beta and Stable channels. If you would like to switch to the Dev channel, instructions for installing this version of Chrome can be found here.

Although we know this service exists in some form as an internal tool, Google has yet to release a version for public use. But with the latest announcements about the new Chrome operating system, we wonder: will Google Drive finally become a reality thanks to Chrome OS?

In January of this year, blogger Brian Ussery discovered an interesting tidbit of information tucked into a file used by Google Pack, the bundle of tools that Google thinks computer users need to set up a new machine. The file contained a reference to a product called GDrive, described as an "online file backup and storage" system:

"GDrive provides reliable storage for all of your files, including photos, music and documents. GDrive allows you to access your files from anywhere, anytime, and from any device - be it from your desktop, web browser or cellular phone."

Of course, the blogosphere immediately went crazy over this information, sure that this time Google Drive was about to become a reality. And yet, like all the times before, nothing happened. GDrive didn't launch, Google didn't release any announcement, and disappointed bloggers everywhere moved on...again.

Still, the hope for a true GDrive system just won't die. It very well may be one of the blogosphere's longest-running rumors. And now, with the recent announcement of Google's new Chrome Operating System, an OS where "web-based applications will automatically work," we wonder: will the mythical GDrive be included with the OS?

GDrive Needs Picasa Integration

From what we already know, Google has somewhat integrated Picasa into the backend of Google Docs, but, for whatever reason, they have not yet switched this on. To see what we mean, visit this link: http://docs.google.com/#photos. You'll be taken to Google Docs where a message will appear "No Photos." In other words, Picasa image search works in Google Docs, but there's nothing for it to search until the two services are fully integrated. But this functionality was discovered nearly a year ago. What's the holdup?

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Picasa, unlike Docs, is a combination of desktop software and a web service. The service's Web Albums feature is more like flickr, a place where photos are shared either publicly or privately with friends and family. However, it's the desktop software that provides the organizational and editing tools needed to manage your photo library. Integrating Picasa into Google Docs now would only be a partially complete user experience - you still need the desktop software component to access all the functionality the service provides.

Maybe Google is waiting to provide that complete experience via Chrome OS? It's not that far-fetched. Picasa is already available in a Linux version (and Chrome OS will sit on a Linux kernel). But perhaps what really has us hopeful was one extra word in the Google Chrome OS announcement:

"...most of the user experience takes place on the web."

Most? Maybe Chrome OS will let you manage your photos via desktop software that integrates with a web service and is accessible via your Google Docs interface? Will that interface then be "GDrive?"

GDrive Needs Music...Or Does It?

If you can't save your tunes online to your cloud storage drive, then you don't really have any cloud storage drive worth using, do you? Even if Google Docs added in Picasa, we'd still be looking at an incomplete GDrive solution if we didn't have access to our music. For GDrive to become the true "hard drive in the sky" it needs to accommodate other sorts of files besides just documents and photos.

It would make sense if Google leveraged their existing partnership with Amazon, who provides the music store on the T-Mobile G1 and the myTouch 3G, phones running Google's mobile phone OS called Android. With Amazon's online interface, you can already browse, listen to samples, and buy MP3s via the web.

The question is, will Chrome OS integrate some sort of music store for letting you buy music (maybe via Amazon) from your computer? And if so, will you be able to download and save those files to the hard drive of the computer itself? Or will Google come up with some revolutionary new "music in the cloud" service that lets you accumulate an online library of songs available at any time for streaming from your computer? Or then again, does Chrome OS even need an iTunes alternative in order to compete? Maybe they will simply offer a web app like Pandora. There have been no hints as to what direction Google will go with this or if they will ignore users' need for music altogether in the new OS.

But like this author's sister recently said after being told about Chrome OS: "why would I want a computer that couldn't run iTunes?"

We hope Google will keep that in mind.

GDrive and Video?

Would a true GDrive solution offer a way for users to store video files, too? It almost seems redundant to have an online storage system for video since Google also owns the giant video sharing portal that is YouTube. Still, you couldn't really have a cloud storage system that restricted you to storing only documents and photos and call it "GDrive." But integrating the supposed GDrive with YouTube - especially via Chrome OS - could be tough. Today, videos still need to be on your computer's hard drive for editing purposes. And, of course, uploading a file from your computer is how you get them online to sites like YouTube. Althouugh GDrive could easily include a way for you to view your online files at YouTube, getting them there via Chrome OS would be more difficult. However, if Chrome OS allowed you to save files on its hard drive, then the YouTube uploader built into Chrome could simply know to look in that particular video storage location when you go to publish them online. Making this a seamless experience for the end user would be the challenge. Again, there are no hints as to Google's plans in this department, but it would seem odd if Chrome OS didn't attempt to integrate one of Google's top properties deep into its system.

What Else?

Although this article is just pure speculation, we think that if we ever see GDrive revealed, there's a chance that it would occur when it's introduced as a part of Chrome OS. What do you think?

What will happen when you go offline?

If the Chrome OS is all about running web apps in a browser, that begs the question - what will happen when there's no internet connection available? Of course, Google apps like Gmail can run offline using Gears, but Gears isn't everywhere yet. Another likely possibility is that Chrome OS will support the upcoming standard HTML5, which also offers offline capabilities. However, not all web applications will support that either...at least not immediately. That just leaves the "windowing system" running on the Linux kernel. Will it, like any other Linux OS, allow us to install software applications? That seems less likely since Chrome OS is all about the move away from the desktop to the web. The only real solution to the offline conundrum would be to bundle in a cellular data service with the netbook so you have always-on connectivity.

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Will Chrome OS Turn into an Enterprise Play?

Although Chrome OS will launch on the netbook, how far does Google plan to take their new technology? To the consumer desktop? To the small business? To the enterprise? Google has already shown how competitive they are when it comes to fighting Microsoft Office, will they do the same in fighting Microsoft's foothold as the business desktop OS of choice? If so, they may have a tougher battle ahead of them than they think. It may be one thing to get the IT guys to ditch Office software for a simplified cloud version, but ditch their OS? Not so much. The Windows desktop OS is designed to work with the rest of the Windows stack, including everything from Exchange Server to SharePoint and many others. In a client-server setting, IT admins create server-based policies that control everything about the corporate OS including browser settings, backup policies, logon restrictions, file access, permissions, updates, and so much more. What can you control when the OS is the web? Not much. And that could be a big problem.

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In the announcement, Google stresses that this operating system is a completely new project and not affiliated with Google's Android OS, which, according to Google, was always meant to run on a variety of devices, including netbooks. Google acknowledges that the two operating systems might overlap in some areas, but the company believes that, ultimately, "choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google."

Here is how Google describes the OS:

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.

The Google Chrome OS will run on top of a Linux kernel, though the exact details about the actual implementation are still vague.

Perfect for Netbooks

This kind of operating system would obviously be perfect for netbooks, which, after all, are meant to be constantly connected to the Internet and don't have a lot of resources. Currently, most netbooks run Windows XP, which, by now, is a rather antiquated operating system. With Windows 7, Microsoft tried to release a version for netbooks that would only run three applications at the same time (though Microsoft has since dropped this limit). Maybe Google is going to take this even further and will release an OS that will only run one application - Chrome.

With this, Google can obviously put its own web apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs at the center of the user experience, and this is surely part of Google's motivation behind releasing this OS. But given that Chrome is simply a browser, any other web app would obviously also be able to run on it as well.