As sessing that most of today's activity on a computer is carried out online, Google seeks to extend this model to its logical end by two primary means:
In the Cloud, with Google Apps, a continuously improved SaaS offering, detailed in Part 2 of the book.
On the user desktop, with just what is needed (and nothing more) to take advantage of these services in an optimal way. This minimalist approach, driven by performance and sobriety (which have been Google's signature from the beginning) has given rise to two products: Chrome, a next-generation web browser both performant and elegant, and Chrome OS, a lightweight and minimalist operating system capable of quickly launching the browser. That's it! Done.
To remove any possible doubt, let's emphasize that all Google Apps (fully addressed in Part 2 of the book) smoothly operate on all browsers: IE, Firefox, Opera, or Safari!
Google Chrome is the web browser developed by Google. Released to the public in December 2008, its core is built on of 25 code libraries developed either by Google itself, sometimes over the course of many years, or by free software foundations, like Mozilla.
On ce more, sobriety is the differentiating factor in Chrome graphical interface. Tabs are laid out above the navigation buttons unlike other browsers where they are set underneath. The tabs can be dragged off the main window or, symmetrically, dropped onto an existing one. Pop-ups are bound to the tab they originated from and are only visible when the tab is active.
The graphical interface of Google Chrome web browser whose standard navigation buttons, tabs (laid out above other elements), and "omnibox" data entry area are its key elements
Another breakthrough in Chrome's user interface is its unified data-entry area named "omnibox." It allows typing in URLs as well as search keywords. In any case, typing triggers auto-completion based on previously visited sites and Google Suggest.
When opening a new tab or window, Chrome displays thumbnails of the eight most visited sites.
In line with the SaaS philosophy, Chrome allows the creation of shortcuts to launch web applications (Gmail, Google Calendar …) whose windows' navigation elements are then deactivated, so that they blend into the user desktop, thus making web and desktop applications look alike.
A shortcut to launch a web application with a Chrome window free of any classical menus and controls
In provision for the upcoming (or eventual) adoption of the HTML 5 standard by the W3C, Chrome is already HTML 5 enabled, primarily in terms of built-in audio and video standards.
The Flash Player used for video on many sites will be directly built into Chrome version 5.
Chro me is designed using a multi-process architecture. Each tab runs its own process, independently of others. One tab can crash without crashing Chrome itself. Likewise, any malicious process that might execute within a tab would not have access to sensitive data handled by the other tabs. Actually, every process runs in a sandbox where it is literally deprived of its rights, in particular writing to the local file system.
However, some plugins like Adobe Flash Player, overrun the sand box principle. For security reasons, they are run as separate processes dedicated to one tab and one plugin.
An i ncognito ("no trace") mode is also available in Chrome, keeping it from storing history or cookies from the sites the user visits.
Complex and dynamic Web 2.0 pages require high performance when executing JavaScript code. Gmail is one such application, demanding high-speed processing on the client side. Google's developers thus devoted special care to have designing Chrome's JavaScript engine, which was the object of dedicated project at Google.
Chrome relies on DNS pre-loading to speed up navigation between sites.
Chrome includes Gears, which enables offline features for web applications; the topic was addressed in Part 2 of the book.
Since the beginning of 2010, a gallery of extensions to Chrome lists more than 1500 applications, ranging from the utilitarian (a built-in dictionary…) to the silly (adding a "Don't care" button in Facebook!).
By the end of 2010, Chrome Web Store will allow any individual to look for web applications as currently offered to companies through Google Apps Marketplace. Free or paid applications will be classified, assessed, and ranked by end users. Every web application available on the Chrome Web Store will be developed using standard web technologies and will consequently be runnable in any recent web browser. "Installing" on Chrome will offer the advantage of creating a handy shortcut that appears in much the same manner as the most visited pages do.
Shortcuts to launching web applications in a Google Chrome tab
Last but not least, Chrome has an automatic update feature. No user action is required. If the update takes place while the browser is running, Chrome will use the updated version when the browser is restarted.
Most of Chrome's source code, including the JavaScript engine code, is available as an open source project: Chromium.
Chrom e OS should be released in 2011, for free. It embraces the SaaS philosophy we have been stressing, offering a minimal software infrastructure that enables running a single application: Chrome.
Today, most users of Information Systems agree upon a handful of key expectations.
Keeping these expectations in mind, the key concepts in the design of Chrome OS have been: sobriety, speed, and security.
Chrome OS is based on the free operating system, Linux. Hardware targets for Chrome OS are netbooks or tablets. Chrome OS features will include advantages of the SaaS model:
- Web browsers, with Google Chrome and Chromium.
- Operating systems, with Chrome OS and Android Mobile.
- Booting the system should be almost instantaneous to be able to quickly check email.
- Users should not be required to manage the logistics of copies and backups of their documents.
- Reconfiguring the system each time new pieces of hardware are added should not be necessary.
- Users should not have to deal with updates.
- Performance of the system should not degrade over prolonged uptime.
- Boot time is expected to be less than 10 seconds. Full support is provided for latest web standards including Adobe Flash.
- Because all Chrome OS settings are stored in the cloud, the user experience will be the same on any computer.
- Security features include special protection against malware. Each process runs separately in a restricted environment called the sandbox. A self check, called verified boot, is performed by the OS to make sure it was not corrupted.
- Updates happen transparently without any user action. This way, the latest versions of all the software are used.
- A Chrome Web Store offers hundreds of applications that are reviewed by other customers.
The source code will be freely available within the Chromium OS open-source project. One of the main expected benefits of this openness is the operating system security. As the code will be scrutinized by the user community, security breaches will be quickly detected and corrected.
The user interface will be very similar to Chrome, with different types of tabs. Web pages and applications should all display in the same set of tabs.
As far as off-line access, Chrome OS will naturally take advantage of the HTML 5 standards.
One concern for an operating system like Chrome OS, fully dedicated to online applications, is printing. With the project Google Cloud Print, Google's ambition is to provide a dramatically simplified user experience: printing a document from any application, from any machine, to any printer. Google Cloud Print is to be the interface between applications (online as well as desktop) and printers selected by the user, without any drivers installed locally.
Boot time has been reduced to a minimum of a few seconds. Unnecessary tasks, such as initialization of floppy disks, have simply been removed from the boot sequence. The Linux kernel has been modified to account for performance enhancements, too.
Further promoting performance and thinness, Google has requested that its hardware suppliers use SSD instead of regular hard drives.