thechromesource – Google Chrome and Chrome OS News and Resources

Review: Chrome Canary – More Than One Browser Instance

Posted on 25. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

I had recently written a post at the Chromium-discuss Google Group about a recent problem I was having with Chrome instances.

The pace of Chrome’s development is mind blowing. So when I read the Chromium-dev Group news about Chrome Canary, I was happy that the team is allowing more instances of the browser to be run for those of us who have a keen interest in Chrome.

However, does Chrome really need to have a stable, beta, dev and now Canary release? Under normal browser conditions, it does not. But because the pace of releases are being sped up due to Chrome being implemented as an OS as well as an integral part of Google’s TV initiative, it makes sense.

The real purpose is to put a canary build out that can be frequently updated, and possibly rolled back. The Chromium team realizes that the more eyes that are on their early builds, the faster potential problems can be worked out, thus speeding up the development life cycle. Note that this build is currently only available for Windows users.

When I first installed Chrome Canary, I was surprised to see that I was given a choice for which search engine would be queried when I put a term in the omnibox. Actually since Yahoo how uses Bing for search results there’s really only two options here.

Looking at the versions of these two instances, it appears that for now the two are running the same build so there’s really nothing intriguing to report on about canary for the time being. Although canary will only be used to push the more risky features into the build, we’ll keep updating on any of the most interesting changes.

Google Was Interested in Palm – Because of Apple

Posted on 17. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Business Insider wrote an article recently about the talks that led to HP ultimately buying Palm. Apparently, Google was a part of these talks, mostly because they thought Apple was in the bidding – even though Google wasn’t sure if that was the case or not. Surprised Apple was interested? They likely were because of their desire to compete with RIM’s more business-attuned customers.

Although Palm was struggling financially at the hands of both Android and the iOS, they have some interesting technology to offer the market. Now that HP owns them, I would expect to see some innovative products come from the Palm brand, since the acquisition was structured so that Palm is a division of HP.

Just don’t expect a Chrome OS or Android tablet anytime soon from HP, it looks like they have their hands full trying to make some money off of Palm’s own cloud-oriented operating system called WebOS.

Will People Actually Want to Move Away From Windows?

Posted on 14. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Maybe Windows is horrible, or could just be enough for people to get by. ITPro’s Simon Brew has an article talking about alternatives to using the Windows operating system. Of course, there are open source alternatives in Linux and Chrome OS was brought up, but the main question brought to mind is this: are users actually going to want to switch from Windows?

On example of this is the fact that Microsoft is still trying to get users off of Windows XP, which debuted in 2001. If a user does get off of XP, their alternative now is going to be to start using Windows 7 which to some people may not be any different than the classic XP. It starts to make one wonder how much market share Google can really take from Windows, especially since probably the only ones buying a Chrome OS system will be those who are actually seeking out the device.

So, with that logic, maybe those who actively hate Windows will go out and look for a Google alternative when it arrives, but the fact of the matter is that Microsoft holds a dominating ninety percent share of a profitable market, and they are not going to lose out very quickly to upstart operating systems.

An example of Microsoft’s stronghold is that somehow, Internet Explorer, known to be an inferior browser through technical tests, still commands a sixty percent share across its three versions. Anyone can download one of the better alternatives, but either they don’t know they can or can do what they need to with a Microsoft product. And that’s the problem.

Hexxeh’s Working on a Chrome OS Tablet

Posted on 13. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

He ain’t talkin’ any more about it, but he posted this picture of a tablet running Chrome OS Flow earlier tonight.

I’m guessing based on the wires plus that this thing look torn apart that there’s no touch capability or input otherwise yet. But since Hexxeh’s been able to get a broad amount of hardware working on Flow maybe something significant will come out of this.

Hardware cost: $80. I was thinking it must be one of those Chinese ARM tablets, but Hexxeh confirms its x86.

I’m really hoping that we see a tablet with Chrome OS come out this year.

Webapps Vs. Native Apps – A Battle of Control?

Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Yesterday’s launch of the new YouTube Mobile site (just go to m.youtube.com) further reiterates something that has been in my thoughts ever since the explosive growth in mobile apps started. This has really led to another way for large technology companies to wall off their users, much like Microsoft has done over the years. Even though it’s great that you can have a mobile application for virtually anything that you want in your pocket, there are some inherent limitations to these native applications.

TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid makes a good point in his look at YouTube Mobile that the video quality is fantastic – better, he says than the native application that came with Apple’s iOS for the iPhone and iPad. That may have something to do with the fact that the webapp is built in HTML5 and optimized for the current wireless networks that devices use.

“Video on the HTML5 app looked much better, and was snappier to boot”, remarks Kincaid in his write-up.

All the more proof that giving browsers the ability to use the web as a platform to utilize applications is the future of computing, whether it be via a smartphone or a laptop. The idea of Chrome OS or other web operating system simply doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

One of the reasons that web applications have a clear benefit over native ones is interoperability. On the web, diverse applications are able to access and communicate data between one another in order to provide a seamless ecosystem. Think about Twitter, where users allow web applications such as HootSuite access to their accounts to better understand the underlying data. Or, as Kincaid remarks, the simplistic convenience of auto-fill in the YouTube Mobile app.

But what’s wrong with the way things are done now? We’ve seen both Apple and Google take take direct control of users’ devices. Even Amazon has removed books from its Kindle e-reader, citing copyright problems with a publisher. With the new browser technologies like HTML5, a third party cannot take away something that is on the web; and no developer or group of developers is dependent on an outside partner for its applications.

Sure, there are motives behind the decisions above in the face of security and potential lawsuits. Possible hurdles abound with what could happen in a world where applications are easily installed with one click. But Microsoft led a tech space for years that allowed people to put whatever they want on their computers, and despite their flagging performance, they’ve been around for over thirty years.

Chrome OS, Android 3.0 in Q4 – Is There Room For Both?

Posted on 05. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

It’s being reported that Android 3.0 will be available during the fourth quarter and most likely in November smartphones with the Google’s newest version of their mobile OS will be released by major wireless carriers. Also coming at the end of the year is Google’s Music service, which was shown off to some degree at Google I/O with a demonstration of a wireless device streaming songs from a computer to a phone through App Engine, the company’s cloud API.

One interesting thing to note about Android 3.0: it will have support for tablet devices that have screens larger than 4″. That makes it hard to determine where a Chrome OS tablet will fit in to the mix, as we have seen on Chromium.org evidence that there will be touch capability available to the manufacturers of the computer-based operating system.

It’s starting to look like although Google will spend huge amounts of resources on developing both Android and Chrome OS, the level of adoption for computer devices using each individual operating system will be left to device manufacturers. While mobile phone companies such as HTC and Motorola have seen enormous success with Android, there’s no stopping the deep pocketed PC manufacturers from developing innovative devices loaded with Chrome OS.

There’s still a deep separation between computers and smartphones, so at this point having a division of the two makes sense. Also, having consumer electronics manufacturer’s battle it out in terms of who can make the best hardware products loaded with Google’s OSs makes total sense, and is a very smart move for the company.

The bottom line is that Google will stay on the sidelines for any type of Nexus One-branded product of their own, providing its support for both OS platforms and if the two eventually merge into one in a matter of years – with perhaps Android the underlying system and Chrome on top for complex web applications – then so be it.

Who’s Going to Compete With Apple’s Tablet?

Posted on 22. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

The current state of the tablet market is pretty stale. And let’s not even go into the JooJoo.

I say this because when I was at Taiwan’s Computex 2010 conference less than a month ago there were some formidable competitors in terms of hardware, but the leading manufactures for these devices didn’t really offer a whole lot in terms of software.

Sure, the Acer tablet that allows one to flip the netbook-style form factor over to a table was impressive, but the touch functionality of Windows 7 for it was quite lackluster: I asked a product rep to reboot the device because there seemed to be a problem with the touch software, only to have the same problems crop up again once it started up.

Asus offered up a beautiful tablet design that had potential to compete with Apple, but they kept a product manager closely hovering over the device running a new version of Windows CE that looked surprisingly Android-like, but because of the people and Asus employees holding a close grip on the tablet, no one was really able to test the paces of Microsoft’s UI.

MSI had a winged version of a tablet running Android that seemed surprisingly comfortable in my hands, but we all know that Google’s smartphone operating system isn’t really meant for tablets – it just seemed like a supersized stock version of the OS. An MSI product manager also told me that the MSI Wind tablet was just a concept for now.

This is problematic. The reason why I say this is because since Apple has taken the world by storm plugging an already existing operating system with the iOS to a tablet form factor, that have essentially beaten the entire computer manufacturing market with the iPad. There is no one else that has an operating system that is fully compatible with touch on a tablet.

That’s not to say Android is far behind Apple’s touch-based operating system, but it is clear that unlike the iOS, there was no plan for tablets in its future. We’ve seen early on Google’s Chrome OS tablet concept, and we can only hope that Chrome OS will offer a stylishly-designed slate from the likes of HP, Dell or Acer in the coming months, hopefully something that is just as functional, open source for app developers and creatively designed mobile gadget that can compete with the iPad.

I hold out hope on this, because only one successful tablet in the market does not bode well for innovation. What do you think? Which one of these PC manufacturers has the best chance of offering a tablet running Chrome OS that can compete with Apple?

thechromesource Daily: Links for 6/14/10

Posted on 14. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Asus is working on an ARM tablet that will run either Android or Chrome OS and will be released by its AGAiT subsidiary.

A Google Executive has thrown in his opinion on the AT&T limits on data the company is imposing.

It appears that a Google Music service could be coming this fall, with some exciting features to compete with Apple.

Mobile devices that blur the line between smartphone and computer heat up the competition between Qualcomm and Intel.

Google sure does have a lot of money in its coffers to invest in or acquire companies with.

Marvell Talks Cloud Computing, Chrome OS

Posted on 13. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

At Computex, I had the opportunity to talk to Bou Chung Lin, VP & GM of Taiwan Operations for Marvell. While we were going though an overview of the company’s offerings, we got on the subject of cloud computing and Chrome OS. Here’s a quick clip of his response to my questions regarding this.

We know that Marvell has been working on an ARM-based Chromium OS build, as our pal Charbax over at ARMDevices.net showed us earlier this year when the company showed it off running on their Armada 510 processor at CES in Las Vegas.

It will be interesting to see what will happen to Chrome OS in terms of using an ARM based solution versus an x86 one. I’ve heard rumors that Intel is readying a rival to ARM-based solutions, or perhaps start making their own ARM licensed product.

There is no doubt they are going to need to do something after some of the things that I have seen coming from ARM processors comprised of multiple cores that divvy up the duties for a device to separately process system, video and audio functions for mobile devices.

thechromesource Daily: Links for 6/11/10

Posted on 11. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Extension syncing – which will allow individual extensions to share data with one another - appears to be coming to Chrome browser.

The plans that Google had to launch a desktop application to compete with Skype may be shelved indefinitely.

The FCC is promising increased regulatory scrutiny for both Apple as well as Google.

Is there merit to the claim that Google Apps lacks the requisite security needed to be used in the enterprise?

Potential Chrome OS competitor HyperSpace, whose operating system boots in ten seconds, has been purchased by HP.

Chromoting Fits the Chrome OS Thin Client Model

Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

The idea of Chromoting as a way to bridge the gap between the web-enabled environments of the future over to the old model of installed applications on Windows, Mac and Linux seems to fit with the overall theme of Chrome OS. That theme is to get away from natively installed applications, though many of us still will rely on these “legacy” apps to some degree.

In the smartphone realm, the use of remote desktop is possible to go into our computer at home or at work to do things. Chromoting will be no different than that, installed as an extension on a Chrome OS device with another application on whatever other machine you need to remote into.

As cloud computing in ramps up from an operating system standpoint, there is going to be some software that simply will not be available in the cloud. Although it is true when Google says that most major applications are coming out today arrive web-based, there are still some resource-heavy tasks that require a traditional computer. Chromoting thus offers power users the ability to possibly use virtualization on servers to harness both Chrome OS and whatever applications they may need directly through the cloud.

I can see a variety of uses for Chromoting, and not just as a stopgap solution for legacy purposes but also as a path to allow Chrome OS to act as a window to more process-intensive computing capabilities. One would not only be able to use it to access powerful software tools on a thin client Chrome OS device, but the enterprise would benefit as well. I could see IT support analysts, salespeople and health professionals utilizing Chromoting on a tablet or netbook to access resources in a safe and controlled way that perhaps other devices would be unable to.

What other intriguing purposes could Chromoting provide for that I have missed?

Google Depends on Official Partners For Chrome OS

Posted on 07. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

One of the things I have been thinking about after looking at the video I shot from the recent Computex press conference held by Google is that despite the confusion held by many in regard to how Chrome OS and Android will fit in with each other is that it is going to depend on the partners for each particular project.

It’s likely we are not going to see the same type of fragmentation that has surfaced with Android. Although some of these devices being made are not smartphones and thus cannot get on the current application market legitimately, some of the gadgets we’ve seen are giving us different ways to think about using Android.

Instead of a gadget free-for-all with Android that has happened, Google is officially partnering with a small group of companies to launch Chrome OS for a release in the fourth quarter. It remains to be seen whether the list of companies will at some point be expanded, but if the market is ready for a cloud-based operating system at the end of 2010, then there may be a ton of companies interested in Chrome OS. The question is, what will be required to officially release Chrome on a device? While it has been said hardware specifications, could that include the form factor as well?

All we know right now is that a 10-12″ laptop/netbook is in the works for the initial launch. That may perhaps be because touch functionality has not been completely figured out in term of user interface interaction, but I’m just assuming this point.

Anyways, it’s a different model than Microsoft, whereby they support so many different devices I can only assume that this sometimes drives them mad. Google would be keen to set certain standards for products that are released with Chrome OS. At the same time, being a platform that is going to be on open source software there will be innovative ways for the market to grow that could n0t happen with a Microsoft operating system.

Freescale Semiconductor Working on Chrome OS

Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

The folks at Freescale Semiconductor were kind enough to invite us to their offices yesterday in Taipei to show off the fact that they are actively working on Chrome OS for ARM processors.

I learned a lot during my time at Freescale, and I now better understand that it is taking a good deal of work to port Chromium over to the ARM architecture as opposed to x86. They had a version of Chromium running on their iMX515 processor that was from last year’s Google open source build.

I happened to have the latest spring release of Chromium on a USB drive in my bag while I was there. However, the build that I had was specifically for x86 and the reality is that a lot of work has to go into making Chromium compatible with ARM’s low power, mobile specific platform.

Here are some pictures that they allowed me to take, giving an indication that they are working closely with Google to ensure that Chrome OS will not just run on Intel processors. My time at the Freescale office in Taiwan yesterday gives me an indication that there will probably be ARM devices running Chrome OS in the first quarter of 2011.

More Chrome OS news will be coming in the closing days of Computex, keep checking our RSS feed or follow us on @thechromesource if you’re a Twitter addict like I am.

thechromesource Daily: Links for 6/2/10

Posted on 02. Jun, 2010 by Greg Farnum.

Google rules online search advertising, but TechCrunch Disrupt attendees aim to crack the social media ad market.

Google’s Wi-Fi incident is under more scrutiny from Canada’s privacy commissioner.

Inspired by Ask.com and Bing, Google will allow users to add a background image to the Google homepage.

Google Search for Mobile now includes mobile app results.

Google Chrome OS could shake up PC market predicts PCWorld’s Tony Bradley.

Video: Google Executive Talks Chrome, Chrome OS

Posted on 02. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai was featured at a Google press conference held at Computex today. I got a chance to film many of the questions that were asked, as well as ask some of my own regarding Chrome OS.

More Chromium and Chrome OS information to come. Follow us on Twitter and/or via our RSS feed for the latest updates from Computex.

Google VP: Chrome OS Release in Q4

Posted on 01. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Speaking today at the Computex Cloud Computing forum, Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai said that Chrome OS will be on the market in the fourth quarter of 2010. The Cloud Computing Forum is featuring executives from Google, ARM and Quanta Computers.

Computex has been mostly focused on Microsoft products that are on display.

When asked about the Chrome vs. Android debate, Mr. Pichai said that providing open source platforms will allow the market to make the best determination about what operating system will work best in the mass market. It’s pretty clear that Android has really taken off, it will be interesting to see how Chrome OS will develop.

Microsoft Dominates at Computex

Posted on 01. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

So the first day of the Computex computer trade show has come and gone, and I’ve been confronted with a startling revelation: Microsoft really has command of this conference.

I spent a good amount of time today going from manufacturer to manufacturer asking about Chrome OS. While most of them are open to using it, there really seems to be an “in the future” mentality to using any operating system from Google. That also includes Android as well, with the sheer majority of tablets that I saw sporting a touch-enabled Windows 7.

Here is some of the reasons that Microsoft is such a force at Computex.

The Show is for Procurement

People come to Computex to make purchasing decisions for their companies on products that mostly come from Taiwanese manufacturers. As such, they want to see what they are going to be buying over the balance of 2010 and into 2011. Because of this, purchasers are looking at getting devices that run Windows 7 since it is here and now, ready for deployment and/or selling.

Windows 7

Windows 7 was launched not too long ago, and as such Microsoft is making a big push to sell its new operating system. Despite the software climate these days, Redmond still makes a ton of money on selling operating systems that are shipped on new computers. That would partially explain the reasoning behind so many tablets having a Microsoft OS instead of Android. With that being said, there was an open source booth that had some different commercial versions of Linux. I also got a chance to try MeeGo, and I have to say I was impressed with it.

The Microsoft-Manufacturer Connection

One product manager I talked to for a leading manufacturer told me that there are some financial incentives to help them put a display on at Computex if they follow certain standards for showing off Microsoft products. I was a bit surprised by this fact initially, but it makes sense. The relationship between Microsoft and Taiwan manufacturers is very tight-knit whereby Microsoft offers a platform that works with an array of hardware that the manufacturers design and produce for a good price.

Bottom Line

The most intriguing dynamic to all of this is the fact that it was reported by CNET today that new Google employees can no longer choose a Windows solution for their workstations. Future Microsoft implementations at Google will only be for testing purposes, or specially approved. This report, which was rumored but not confirmed until now, comes at the same time we are seeing a boatload of Microsoft-loaded products at Computex.

It will be interesting to see how this may change over the course of the next year, with Google exerting more dominance in the market. This is a telling sign that IT purchasers do not have Google platforms in their sights as of yet.

Browser Tests: Which of the Current Generation is Best?

Posted on 29. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Here is a video that pits Chrome 5, Firefox 4, Internet Explorer 9, Opera 10.5 and Safari 4 against each other. Using a good array of speed tests, including one for JavaScript, the SunSpider test and the Peacekeeper Benchmark, you might be surprised to see some of the formally fastest browsers on the market are starting to fall behind the pack.

It’s clear that Google is directing a lot of resources into the development of Chrome. Witness the fact that Chrome 6 in now in the development channel, and the browser was first introduced in 2008. It appears that major financial and development time is what is going to win the title of best browser, so it doesn’t come as a shock that IE9 is pulling itself up by its bootstraps and start moving up the rankings.

An interesting point: some seem concerned about the fact that Android and Chrome OS are being developed concurrently, and that the logic behind doing something of this nature is faulty. But the reality is that Chrome is not going anywhere. Massive resources are being used to develop this platform, and along with the fact that Google TV will use Chrome as well, I don’t see Android and Chrome merging anytime soon. Plus, perhaps with Chrome OS Google will be better able to handle the fragmentation issues that have plagued Android via its auto-update technology.

What do you think? Should Android and Chrome be merged? Or does it make sense for the two to be separate, one used for phones and one for computing?

Chrome OS on a $199 Tablet

Posted on 27. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Our pal Charbax from ARMDevices has a video showing Chromium OS running on the $199 Freescale i.MX51 tablet which runs the ARM Cortex A8 processor. Although he has to use some external input/output devices are used in order to make it work, this gives me some hope we will see some breakthroughs in terms of affordable tablet technology utilizing Chrome OS at the Computex conference which starts next week.

At CES, Korean mobile device maker Cydle showed off a 7″ Android tablet and said that they were planning on having a Chrome OS version at some point as well. Having cheap internet enabled devices running Chrome OS would be great, and would probably scare wireless companies if Skype or another VoIP company had a webapp to complement these tablets.