Chrome OS: Cloud computing made real [Video]

Forget Windows. So long Mac OS X. Google’s OS lifts computing out of yesterday’s desktop paradigm and into the cloud

Credit: Shutterstock / 2lttgamingroom

Chrome OS must be a dream come true for Google-versus-Microsoft fanboys. Rumors that Google would ship a desktop OS first flew back in 2006, but the project in question turned out to be for internal use only. Then came Android, and reports that Google’s smartphone OS would soon make the leap to more traditional PCs set the market abuzz again — although many remained skeptical. Now the announcement of Chrome OS should brush any lingering doubts aside.

Not everyone is impressed with the search giant’s latest move, however. My colleague Randall Kennedy says Chrome OS has “an ice cube’s chance in Hell” of competing successfully with Windows or Mac OS X, citing the overwhelming effort needed to duplicate the full range of device drivers and applications available on those platforms today. Randall just doesn’t …