Google launches Chrome OS

Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Windows and other traditional PC operating systems are "torturing users" at Google's Chrome OS launch event Wednesday, where the company claimed 75% of business users can be converted from Windows to Chrome OS on the spur of the moment.

Google is partnering with Samsung and Acer to ship laptops based on Google's browser-turned-operating-system on June 15, it was announced at the Google I/O conference. In a briefing with reporters afterward, Brin was asked how many Google employees nevertheless use Windows. As a rough guess, he said it's about 20%. The rest must use Macs or Linux. However by straightway year, Brin hopes the vast majority of Googlers will be doing their work on Chrome OS.

"I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with Windows," Brin said. "Windows 7 has some great security features."

Google executives said they surveyed 400 companies and found that with a combination of Web applications, offline access to Google Docs and other services, and applications delivered through virtualization software, businesses could move 75% of their users onto Chrome OS devices.

Survey showing specifically the in contrast

Microsoft could probably come up with a survey showing specifically the in contrast. However Google does have an interesting plan to market Chrome OS devices, including partnerships with VMware and Citrix to deliver remote access to enterprise applications.

Devices from Samsung and Acer will be sold in the best case Buy and Amazon.com for between $350 and $500, however businesses can get the devices in a package for $28 per user per month, which includes support and hardware replacements. A similar deal for $20 per user per month is available to schools.

Partnership with VMware

Google made quick mention of a partnership with VMware and Citrix to deliver browser-based access to business applications, nevertheless said no more details would be revealed until later in the day while a panel discussion on enterprise computing. How the integration with VMware and Citrix will work, and what it will cost, are questions we'll be looking to get answered.

The success of online services shows that many users do trust their data to the cloud. Whether enough will do so to replace 75% of Windows computers is a point that will probably be debated for quite some time.

The second day of its annual developer conference

Google's Chrome OS announcements came on the second day of its annual developer conference. The first day focused on Android, Google's OS for phones and tablets. Some have doubted the viability of Chrome OS given the giant market presence of Android. Whether Google can build two successful operating systems is something we are about to find out.