Google’s Chrome OS doesn’t signal the apocalypse for Apple and Microsoft, but that doesn’t mean the operating system won’t succeed when it arrives next year. Just like the Chrome Web browser, Google’s carving out a small slice of the market for people who want the company’s buzzwords of speed, security and simplicity. Over time, the legion of Chrome OS fans will grow, and Google will look at its operating system as a success, not a failure. Price Google still hasn’t said how much Chrome OS machines will cost, but there are a couple things to remember:...

New Google Inc software will start up a computer as fast as a television can be turned on. Google gave the first public look at its Chrome OS four months after declaring its intention of developing the PC’s main software, a move that pits it directly against Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc. True to Google’s internet-pedigree, the Chrome OS resembles a web browser more than it does a traditional computer operating system like Microsoft Windows, matching Google’s ambition to drive people to the Web where they can see Google ads. The software will be initially be available by the holiday...

Google has announced a new operating system project: Google Chrome OS. This is separate from Android, Google’s mobile phone OS. Chrome OS is a “open source, lightweight operating system”. It won’t be available until the second half of 2010, but the source code will be made available later this year. At the heart of the OS is Google’s Chrome browser. In fact, the operating system appears to be little more than a secure platform for the browser to run upon. Google says the following: “Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re...