back to article Dell sows 'experimental' Chrome OS for Mini netbooks

A team of Dell engineers has released a very unofficial version of Google's Chrome OS for use on the PC manufacturer's Mini 10v netbooks. Dell isn't on the official list of Chrome OS hardware partners. And the company's founder and CEO believes his netbooks go sour after 36 hours. But you now have ready access to an early open …

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  1. Adam T

    No bloatware??

    I assume they're getting their R&D in early to see how much crap they can fit in the image. If there's a way to monetise a desktop through installing stuff you don't want, Dell will find it - even if it just means gifting you will hundreds of unwanted bookmarks.

    Love the absence of a reboot/shutdown. Very cutting edge :)

  2. Neal 5

    At last some worthy competition

    "It's definitely not perfect (read: highly experimental, untested, unstable, yada yada...," Anson says, "but it does appear to function."

    I should imagine this will have Microsoft , Apple and the Linux foundation in quakes of terror. It appears to be light years ahead of any of them already.

  3. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Open Source

    "Chrome OS does not run native applications and works only with certain hardware. It will not, for instance, run on traditional hard drives. It works only with solid state drives"

    Being Open Source, I guess someone with the skills and the desire will be able to fix all that for the rest of us.

    Even embedded 'locked-down Google OS Appliances" will likely be Flash-storage based and able to be updated ( bug fixed ) through some sort of download mechanism so should be easy to subvert. Maybe 3L33T H4AX0RZ will finally have a real use in showing the way as I'm sure contaminating and messing with The Cloud must look very appealing.

    As a conduit into Google's data mine and revenue generating stream I don't personally see a future in Chrome OS, but as a lightweight framework to build upon I can see some potential.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Never get sold officially

    The contract with MS is too restrictive. You only have to look at how Dell has had to hide/butcher their Ubuntu sales to know the kind of stranglehold MS has over Dell.

    Even if, by some miracle, it does hit the streets; you cna be sure MS will demand that Dell only sell ChromeOS on sub-standard units (just like happens with Ubuntu now).

  5. Paul E

    Not so much of a conflict of interest with MS?

    As I see it Chrome would be best used in dual boot machines. Either quick access to safe browsing on the go using chrome (including shutting down the hard drive to extend battery life) or a full OS such as windows 7. Personally would find that attractive as if out and about could do safe websurfing for longer using chrome which also allowing boot to W7 for other work if needed.

  6. Matthew Collier

    @Paul, I think you're missing the point...

    ...is that Microsoft don't care what would suit you, or how much conflict of interest, or otherwise, there may be, they don't want any competition, which is why the OEM contracts are as they are....

  7. David Gosnell

    SSD / HD

    Why should it care, and how can it tell? Surely SSDs present themselves as (typically small) hard disks, just with slightly difference performance stats (some better, some usually worse). Unless it's clocking seek-times or something, there should be no difference, and actively blocking conventional hard disks sounds kind of obtuse.

  8. copsewood

    Bleeding edge

    This seems like a very early technology preview for those who really need to know, are not worried that most things are broken and positively want to help debug it.

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