IT Pro is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Google Chrome OS review: First Look

We review a compiled version of Google Chrome OS to get a taste of what the new operating system has in store for us.

The only other signs of the OS are on the right in the form of small tabs for the battery level of your machine, turning wireless on and off and basic OS settings. From here you can actually tell the Chrome browser to use a different default search engine, with Yahoo and Bing the choices, which seems like fair play.

Remarkably, there's also an option to make Chromium my default browser', which would imply that you could use something else if you wanted. As such we went off to try and install Firefox but, as you can see from our screen shot, we got rather unexpected results.

install_firefox

In virtual mode there's not at this point a lot else to see. Flash-based video works, but as it's running in a VM, it's too slow to use.

If you want to get technical, (and you've come this far so why not), you can enter File:// to see the file system, and press Shift-space to see memory usage.

We'll continue to play and try out the USB based version, as in a virtual machine it's not possible to experience that sense of speed that Google is aiming for. However, one does get a sense of it though from the speedy boot times and it's hinted at from the stripped down approach.

We can see how this will work for netbooks, and those who spend most of their time online, but that isn't everyone right now. As it stands, it's hard to see this as the business OS of the future.

Verdict

Google OS is clearly an exercise in subtlety, and its approach is a departure not just from Windows but from conventional Linux as well. Its stripped down approach looks as though it will deliver the experience that Google claims it will but it’s hard to be too impressed at this early stage.

Featured Resources

ZTNA vs on-premises VPN

How ZTNA wins the network security game

Free Download

The global use of collaboration solutions in hybrid working environments

How companies manage security risks

Free Download

How to build a cyber-resilient business ready to innovate and thrive

Outperform your peers in your successful business outcomes

Free Download

Accelerating your IT transformation

How Cloudflare is innovating for CIOs to start 2023

Watch now

Recommended

The three keys to successful AI and ML outcomes
Whitepaper

The three keys to successful AI and ML outcomes

26 Jan 2023
How to speed up Windows 10
Microsoft Windows

How to speed up Windows 10

19 Dec 2022
How organisations drive employee empowerment and business results with leading digital technology
Whitepaper

How organisations drive employee empowerment and business results with leading digital technology

14 Nov 2022
How to choose APM software for your business
Whitepaper

How to choose APM software for your business

4 Jul 2022

Most Popular

Tech pioneers call for six-month pause of "out-of-control" AI development
artificial intelligence (AI)

Tech pioneers call for six-month pause of "out-of-control" AI development

29 Mar 2023
Getting the best value from your remote support software
Advertisement Feature

Getting the best value from your remote support software

13 Mar 2023
3CX CEO confirms supply chain malware attack
malware

3CX CEO confirms supply chain malware attack

30 Mar 2023