Google Chrome OS

Abstract

Google Chrome OS is a Linux operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications. It is intended to focus on Web applications while running a fast and simple interface, based off Google's existing Chrome browser. Google announced the operating system on July 7, 2009 and made it an open source project, called Chromium OS, that November.

Unlike Chromium OS, which can be compiled from the downloaded source code, Chrome OS will only ship on specific hardware from Google's manufacturing partners. The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Chrome web browser. Because Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet, the only application on the device will be a browser incorporating a media player.

Google Chrome OS is initially intended for secondary devices like netbooks, not as a user's primary PC, and will run on hardware incorporating an x86 or ARM-based processor. Chrome OS as a "hardened" operating system featuring auto-updating and sandbox features that will reduce malware exposure. Google claimed that Chrome OS would be the most secure consumer operating system due in part to a verified boot capability, in which the initial boot code, stored in read-only memory, checks for system compromises.

Introduction of Google Chrome OS

Speed is an unsaid feature of the Google Chrome OS. With Google Chrome's tremendous booting speed and more, users have a lot to say about experiencing 'waitlessness'. Waitlessness, in Google's terms, means never having to wait for the web.

Chrome notebooks boot in about 10 seconds and resume from sleep instantly. Websites load quickly and run smoothly, with full support for the latest web standards and Adobe Flash. The web evolves rapidly. Your Chrome notebook evolves with it. Every time you turn it on, it upgrades itself with the latest features and fixes. Annoying update prompts not included.

The portion of the operating system needed to operate the device will reside in a read-only section of memory. The rest of the operating system is integrated with the Chrome browser and, like the browser, security updates require nothing more than a reboot. Chrome OS can run multiple Web applications in multiple tabs and each one is locked down from all others, so vulnerability in one Web app can't lead to exposure in another.

BASIC FEATURES

• Speed:

Speed is an unsaid feature of the Google Chrome OS. With Google Chrome’s tremendous booting speed and more, users have a lot to say about experiencing ‘waitlessness’.Waitlessness, in Google’s terms, means never having to wait for the web.

Chrome notebooks boot in about 10 seconds and resume from sleep instantly. Websites load quickly and run smoothly, with full support for the latest web standards and Adobe Flash. The web evolves rapidly. Your Chrome notebook evolves with it. Every time you turn it on, it upgrades itself with the latest features and fixes. Annoying update prompts not included.

The portion of the operating system needed to operate the device will reside in a read-only section of memory. The rest of the operating system is integrated with the Chrome browser and, like the browser, security updates require nothing more than a reboot. Chrome OS can run multiple Web applications in multiple tabs and each one is locked down from all others, so vulnerability in one Web app can't lead to exposure in another.

• Quick Booting:

The Chrome operating system is designed to allow computers to boot up to the Web within seconds, onto a home screen that looks like that of a Web browser. Chrome OS boots up in mere seconds. In these precious seconds, Chrome OS scans critical parts of the OS to make sure they have not been modified.

• Simplicity:

Basic user interface and features lend simplicity to the Google Chrome OS, making user interaction easier and adaptable.

• Ultimate Security:

The most fascinating and intriguing features presented by the Google Chrome OS is Security Maintenance. Chrome OS is the first operating system designed to counter security threats. It uses the principle of “defense in depth” to provide multiple layers of protection, so if any one layer is bypassed, others are still in effect.

• Sandboxing:

On the Chrome notebook, each web page and application visited runs in a restricted environment called a “sandbox.” So if you visit an infected page, it can’t affect the other tabs or apps on your computer, or anything else on your machine. The threat is contained. Google expands its security by running each tab through a dedicated sandbox. These sandboxes have no access to hard drive. This means the browsing is separated from the other areas of the system; this gives a total security from malware intrusion in to the hard drive.

• Verified Boot:

Even if malware manages to escape the sandbox, the Chrome notebook is still protected. Every time the computer is booted, it does a self check called “Verified Boot”. If it detects that the system has been tampered with, or corrupted in any way, typically it will repair itself.

• Continuous Update:

The web evolves rapidly. Your Chrome notebook evolves with it. Every time you turn it on, it upgrades itself with the latest features and fixes. Annoying update prompts not included.

• Printing:

Google plans to create a service called Google Cloud Print, which will help any application on any device to print on any printer. This method of printing does not require any drivers and therefore will be suitable for printing from Google Chrome OS. Mike Jazayeri, Google group product manager, wrote that the service was prompted by a paradox inherent in an operating system designed expressly for cloud computing.