This is Not the Chrome OS Beta

There has been an iso circulating the interwebs posing like it's the beta of Chrome OS. Well it's not, as much as we here at Chrome Techa want it to be. It's merely a build of OpenSuse Linux made with Suse Studio.

Suse Studio is a service were you can make custom build of the Linux distribution OpenSuse. The web application is actually pretty cool. It lets users pick and choose what software will be included in their operating system. It even lets you test it live. We have an account, but if you want one, you have to sign up and be invited. It seems as though Suse is still "adding capacity to SUSE Studio as fast as [they] can".

So some fan (hopefully) has created a "Chrome OS Beta" with SUSE Studio. And it's parading around the nets as the real thing. So when you run on to it, take it from us that it isn't Google's Chrome OS. In the word of the Engadget, it's just a "KIRF".

Even thought this fake was called out long ago, people are still circulating it like it is the real deal. But have no fear! Chrome Techa will bring you the first droplet of news that points to an official iso from Google themselves.

Google Hosts Event Featuring Chrome OS

We here at Chrome Techa have been waiting on our toes for any word on the upcoming Chrome OS from Google. And Thursday of last week, it seems, we were scheduled to find out more.

PC World told us that Google had scheduled an event at their headquarters in Mountain View, California. This event would have apparently shed more light on the enigma that is thus far the Chrome operating system. The event kicked off at 6:00 p.m., presumably Pacific time.

That "leak" the other day must have gotten the old Google a bit flustered. Apparently some snoopers (not us, we would never do such a thing) found a file directory containing a version of the Chrome web browser that is built specifically for Chrome OS. You can read more about thathere.

So, was this the "release of source code in late 2009" that Google so nicely has promised us? We sure hope it was! However, Thursday passed us by and we heard no word from the Big G. Maybe it has something to do with the dis-invitation of the media. For some reason, Google shut down the media's registration process to attend the event. So we're out here in the cold waiting on a bit of news...
Stay tuned for details, we'll post them up as soon as we hear them.

Update: In the mean time, we have something for you! Check out that Chrome web browser build for Chrome OS that was grabbed from Google's development directory. It has a very interesting clock in the window bar, as well as a new logo in the top left corner... Download the Deb file here (installs on Linux OS's): Chrome browser for Chrome OS 
And it appears as though the even is on October 16, not 15. Thanks anyways, PC World!

Update 2: And silence... We're not sure if they actually had a presentation about Chrome OS at the event or not. They seemed to have locked the mainstream media out, with no invitations being sent out. Better luck next time!

About Chrome OS

So what is Google's Chrome OS? I will let the company that started it tell you more about the operating system, as I believe they can do so best (from the Official Google Blog):

It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

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.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.

We have a lot of work to do, and we're definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision. We're excited for what's to come and we hope you are too. Stay tuned for more updates in the fall and have a great summer.

Chrome Techa is here to keep you updated on Chrome OS news and events. Feel free to email us at chrometecha@magnatecha.com if you have any questions or comments.