Last year Google in its IO Developer conference announced Chromebooks. A Chromebook is a netbook running on Chrome OS. The idea of having a browser as an OS, with all data stored online has not really been adopted all that well.
It seems Google might have woken up to that reality and is planning to roll out Android 5.0 this year which will be used on notebooks and tablets.
When/What to Expect from Android 5.0 ‘Jellybeans’
According to DigiTimes, Android 5.0 will be pushed out in Q2 2012. It is being pushed out earlier than when Microsoft releases Windows 8 for running tablets, smartphones and computers.
Google plans to allow Android in two version, one that manufacturers can install as the sole OS for their devices and the other version being available for running with Windows.
The version that is dual-booted with Windows 8, users will be able to toggle between Android and Windows without needing a restart.
So Google might then be free to retire Chrome OS as a commercial entity. With a successful Android OS running on laptops, tablets and phones – it will give a more linear and uniform experience to users. This is not surprising as Microsoft is doing the same thing with Windows 8. Even Apple with their latest update for Mac OS X called Mountain Lion is also trying to bring the Mac closer to iPad.
Android is incredibly successful as an operating system on phones and tablets. If that will translate to adoption in the PC market only time and features will tell. What are your views? Do drop in your comments.
How much time does it take for your computer to boot up? Mine usually takes half a minute. I usually boot up my laptop twice a day on an average. That means I sit idle waiting for my computer to boot up for about 6 hours every year. That is why, recently a lot of stress is being put on faster boot up times.
The new Windows 8 OS from Windows is no exception, and recently demonstrated how the Windows 8 will load up faster than ever.
Here is a video of the new how fast Windows 8 starts up.
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Why Windows 8 will have faster boot-up times?
The key to a faster boot up lies in how the system shuts down. Windows 7, closes user profiles and then in kernel session it closes devices and services.
With Windows 8, the profiles will be closed but instead of closing down services it will put them in hibernate mode.
That means, certain services and their date will be stored on a local file “hiberfil.sys”. Thanks to this method, Windows 8 will have 30% to 70% faster boot up times.
With Windows 8, there will be an option to carry out cold-boot which means shutting down everything like Windows 7 does. This will be needed from time to time when adding new hardware.
It looks like Windows 8 will be a neat OS, but only when the first beta is available we will truly know. What are your views on Windows 8?
Mozilla has plans to build a new open sourced OS for the open-web. This OS project has been named Boot to Gecko. The operating system will be yet another new platform in the already over crowded mobile platform market.
Boot to Gecko will be obviously looked upon as a competitor to Android as both will be open-sourced.
Also considering Mozilla’s OS will work on mobiles and tablets, Android might have some competition in this regard. It will be using basic features from Android itself for this open sourced project.
We propose a project we’re calling Boot to Gecko (B2G) to pursue the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web.
Android OS does not release the source code in real-time while Mozilla is promising to release the source code in real-time which could be mean real co-ordination with developers.
Will it challenge Chrome OS or Android?
It is very difficult to say if Boot to Gecko will challenge any of the OS projects from Google. Also in the already crowded market of OS platforms, I wonder if many mobile and tablet manufacturers will adopt the new OS.
What are your views on Mozilla’s new project? Should Mozilla be sticking to browsers and web apps instead of a new standalone OS? Do drop in your comments.
We all know about free Linux based operating systems, free open-source office and graphics softwares, and so on! Open-source softwares are future of computing software! No doubt! But open-source does not only mean Free. It also means for better quality, higher reliability, flexibility, lower cost, reviewing & contributing to the development process!
Few days back I came across this new OS called ReactOS. This OS is based on Windows NT architecture. Which means that you can install your existing Windows device drivers & softwares on this OS. I have followed it up since then. Recently when I checked, I found that the development has come a long way since I first saw. And I thought of sharing with you.
I am specifically writing this post to let all software developers know about it and take part in this project development if they can.
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It happens so many times & we hate Windows for frequently annoying us. Sometimes a developer may feel like doing something about it, but one can not (unless works for MS). So if you’re a software developer then you too can contribute for development of this OS. Click here to know more.
What is this ReactOS?
According to ReactOS website, ReactOS® is an effort to create a Free Software replacement for Microsoft Windows® that is compatible with existing hardware and software! ReactOS is a free and open-source operating system based on the Windows NT architecture, providing support for existing applications and drivers, and an alternative to the current dominant consumer and server operating systems.
I first downloaded the ReactOS Live CD to preview prior to the installation. But somehow I could not preview completely as few areas are yet to be implemented in a live cd version. You may download ReactOs Live cd here.
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As of now the ReactOS seems very lightweight and fast! Installation ISO which I downloaded is only 46.5 MB in size. I was surprised. Final release size may vary as the project develops. You can download installation ISO of ReactOs here.
I installed ReactOS through VirtualBox. I purposely avoided installing it on my current hardware so that I do not disturb any ongoing projects, just in case anything goes wrong! Unfortunately because of this, I could not install any device driver nor any Windows software I am using.
Installation was quick. The installation process and post installation user interface look very similar to Windows. It also offers multiple desktops as we see in Ubuntu or Fedora. ReactOS definitely needs more robust development to be able to reach to the practicality benchmarks & improvements set by popular open-source operating systems we know.
Few screen-shots here
ReactOS website has plenty of screen-shots to show you. See them here
Below is a video of screen-shots to show you how it looked at my end!
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According to me, this is a great beginning of something that I never thought will ever exist. I would really like to use this OS if it works great, but let’s wait for some more time until they say ReactOS is ready for daily use.
Please Note:
ReactOS is in development stage now and is not suitable for daily use!
My suggestion to developers is, if you find it interesting & worthy then take your time and contribute to the project at your best. Who know, what happens next! 🙂
Afraid that you might get lost in the ‘confusing’ world of linux, if you were to switch to it? Well worry no more. For here is a Fedora and KDE based distro called Xange. Its also popularly known as Vixta, because of the similarity in its GUI with Microsoft’s Windows Vista.
Google has finally released Chromium OS as a open source project. The news about Google’s Chrome OS has been received by people with anticipation which is expected but views on the OS are different in many ways. Some experts think Chrome OS will drive Google to go the Microsoft way. Others think it will not last and the idea of an Chrome OS is not suitable when Linux is still around.
About Google Chromium OS
Chromium OS will work on the principle that many people who use a computer may not want a OS which takes 45 seconds to load up. Chrome OS will load up in approx 3-4 seconds.
One thing that stands out with Chrome OS, is it’s laser like focus on the internet. Google being an internet giant has not lost it’s focus with its OS. It keeps the focus as the internet and has built the Operation System around what a internet user will need.
Chrome OS will not store a lot of data on the computer. This will give it a great advantage when it comes to security. All files and data will be stored online. Even if the computer is hit with a virus when Chrome OS updates the virus will be removed automatically.
This will also mean that when if Chrome OS crashes, there will be no data loss as all data will be stored online. So if my Chrome OS crashes all I will need is to re-install it and I should be good to go with all my data intact as it would anyways be stored online.
Chrome OS vs Windows 7
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Many blogs might be taking the name of Chrome OS as competition to Windows 7, but I doubt that is the case. Google has kept its focus on internet functionality unlike Microsoft which is multi focused. I doubt Google is even looking to rival Microsoft’s Windows with Chrome OS. The impact Chrome OS will have on the Operating System market is still to be seen. Being still a year away from when it might get out of beta where Chrome OS will position itself is difficult to predict.
But if Google gets Chrome OS right, there is a good chance that people who are just using the internet and their browser with their computers might just dump Windows and move over to Chrome. I do not see Mac users dumping their Macs for Chrome OS as most people who buy a Mac would need their computers for a lot more than just using the internet.
Below is a video which explain the concept behind Google’s Chromium OS
