Posted 11/20/09 at 01:00:00 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Google's Chrome OS press conference gave us plenty to discuss on this week's No BS Podcast. We give you a recap of what juicy nuggets were revealed, and explain why Windows won't be replaced by Chrome any time soon. We also talk about benchmarking a dual-Radeon 5970 system, comparing it to a tri-SLI GTX 285 machine that we reviewed a few months ago. Finally, we answer some listener questions and Gordon breaks not one, but four NDAs to tell us about a super secret product. 

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? A secret to share? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are standing by.

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Posted 11/19/09 at 03:00:12 PM by Will Smith & Norman Chan

Google pulled the wraps off of Chrome OS today, and while there isn't a general availability announcement today, they spoke briefly about the Chrome browser (Linux and Mac versions due this year, along with support for extensions) before diving into the nascent OS. You can expect to see Chrome ship in about a year, and showed the first glimpses of the new OS, details about the architecture, the hardware it will run on, and gave us the first hints about what the Google Cloud OS will really look like.

Here's why Chrome OS won't be replacing Windows anytime soon. 

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Posted 11/19/09 at 01:30:28 PM by Norman Chan

 This morning, Google gave the first public demonstration of the Chrome OS they announced earlier this year. We'll have a full recap of the presentation later today, but Google has also released a 3 minute video explaining the basics of their netbook-targeted operating system. The basics: Chrome OS is Chrome web browser, built on top of a Linux kernel, which only runs web apps (ie. primarily used when you're connected to the internet). And it's being designed with specific hardware specs in mind. 

Hit the jump for the full video!

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Posted 11/17/09 at 07:24:03 PM by Ryan Whitwam

It looks like those rumors about the impending release of Google’s Chrome OS weren’t all smoke and mirrors. Google is planning to hold a Chrome OS event at its Mountain View headquarters this Thursday. Apparently Google will be giving some technical background, as well as showing some demos of the OS in action.

Google Senior VP of Product Management, Sundar Pichai, and Google Engineering Director, Matthew Papakipos will be speaking at the show. There will also be a Q&A after the event. No word on possible developer preview access though.

Chrome OS was just announced in July, so the fact that Google is already prepared to give a complete overview is impressive. There have been a few leaks of possible browser UI designs, but now we’ll get to see what form the whole OS will take. Are your hopes high for this operating system? Feel free to share any predictions in the comments.

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Posted 11/13/09 at 12:00:21 PM by Paul Lilly

We almost made it halfway through November without a Chrome OS rumor, and if the latest inside tip turns out to be true, the oft talked about OS will launch next week so we never have to hear another related rumor again.

At least, that's the word coming from Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch, who says a "reliable" birdie told him we'll all be able to download the lean OS within a week. When and if that does happen, expect sketchy driver support, as Google engineers continue to work around the clock building hardware drivers. Or, according to other rumors, it will be up to hardware manufacturers to get their drivers in line. Whichever the case might be, expected a bit of busted support out of the box.

TechCrunch says the launch will probably be a cautious one in terms of which platform the OS supports. Netbooks will be the most obvious candidates, and it's unlikely Google will tout Chrome as being ready for notebooks and desktops in general. The search-giant-gone-OS-developer might even list specific makes and models that Chrome is known to work with.

Think we'll see Chrome OS next week? Hit the jump and place your bets. 

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Posted 10/18/09 at 10:12:41 AM by Justin Kerr

Google poured some much needed optimism into the markets last week by announcing some stellar third quarter earnings, giving hope that advertising markets around the world might finally be on the mend. Google turned in a Q3 profit of $1.64 billion, with a very respectable earnings per share of $5.13, a 27 percent boost from the same period last year. During the conference call Google CEO Eric Schmidt also declared that the search engine giant would be on the prowl for new acquisition targets, and would consider any company be it large or small.

News like this usually gets analysts all fired up trying to figure out where they will strike first, but Schmidt clarified that Google is primarily interested in search engines that target specific verticals, or could help them refine how search is performed. Google apparently is also on the lookout for companies that can help them improve their display ad business, or with the development of Chrome. "We have historically done an acquisition, perhaps, one a month or so, and those are typically small, they're typically a complete offering, they're typically technology-intensive," said Schmidt on the call. "They're not very expensive in the scheme of things, and they bring some specific technology."

Schmidt also confirmed that Chrome OS is on track for a beta release later this year, claiming that internal demos have proven it to be a superior offering for netbooks, and far beyond anything offered by either the Microsoft, or Linux camps in both “speed and efficiency”.

So who do you think Google should buy?

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Posted 10/15/09 at 08:02:16 AM by Paul Lilly

Google this week apparently let slip a "chromeos" folder in the same directory where its nightly Chromium browser builds are stored, causing a stir of speculation on the Web that the company had leaked an early look at its upcoming Chrome OS. As it turns out, that's not the case.

What the folder really contained  was the Chrome browser that will be included with Chrome OS. So it's not quite what was originally reported, but still something Google didn't mean for you to see. The search giant has since removed the folder, but not before blogger Jonathan Frederickson managed to snag a copy and toss it up on RapdShare.

"It's the Google Chrome Web browser, yes, but it's the version that will be included with Chrome OS," Frederickson clarified in his blog. "Because of the fact that Chrome OS is most likely just he Web browser running on top of Linux, they had to include the clock, network connections manager, and battery meter in the title bar. [But] it's just the browser [and] TechCrunch's article was very unclear and a bit misleading on that subject."

Bummer, but for those of you still interested in giving it a spin, you should probably download the files sooner rather than later in case it gets pulled. Oh, and you'll need Linux in order to install it.

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Posted 10/01/09 at 11:00:47 AM by Paul Lilly

Citing "sources in China," Shanzai.com is reporting that devices powered by the Chinese-designed Loongson CPU could come with Google's Chrome OS pre-installed as early as this month. If true, that would put the OS on the market well before Google said it would be ready.

Google won't release a full version of Chrome OS until next year, but they do intend to roll out a preview version sometime this year, which at least makes the rumor plausible. The devices would run a MIPS-based processor (Loongson), which currently powers a custom version of Linux called Loonux. Loonson isn't a x86 processor, so it can't run Windows. And since Loonux hasn't been particularly well received, Google's Chrome OS suddenly becomes an attractive option, even if only in a preview state.

We'll believe it when we see it.

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