Potential users find early faults with Google Chrome OS

Google revealed more details of its Google Chrome OS on Thursday - showing how lightweight and fast it is - but early reactions from blogs, Twitter and Facebook, show that potential users are already finding problems with it.

A screenshot of Google Chrome OS. (CREDIT: Google)

At a media event at Google's Mountain View, Calif. headquarters, Sundar Pichai, VP of product management, and Matt Papakipos, engineering director on Chrome OS, gave an overview of Google's Chrome OS.

“We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast … to boot up like a TV,” said Pichai, according to Wired.

Google says Chrome OS is a faster and a more secure alternative to rival Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, the operating system that runs most of the world's computers.

Other features are that the browser is the OS, so users aren't able to install Windows Internet Explorer (even if they really wanted to) or Firefox (bummer). Google Chrome is both the browser and the OS.

Another interesting feature is that all apps are web apps which mean that users don’t need to installs or update their products, everything runs online.

Although some features are fresh and new, the product is proving to have early faults.

A big turn off is that Google Chrome OS is not for free, unlike the majority of its services, so it will not be available as a download to run and install on your laptop or Mac. Chrome OS will only be available at the end of 2010 when you buy a Chrome OS netbook approved by Google.

Another turn off for potential users is that unlike Windows computers, Chrome OS machines require Web access to run applications.

"Sorry Google Chrome OS. I am NOT on the internet 100% of the time. I don't want an Operating System that is JUST a web browser," tweeted @pwobbler.

Chrome OS netbooks will not have traditional hard disk drives — they will rely on non-volatile flash memory and internet-based storage for saving all of your data.

"All my applications and data under the control of one company (Google)…forget about it," wrote drfriday in a comment.

"All data in #ChromeOS sits in the cloud. #Google out for world domination. I'm going to root for the underdog #MSFT," tweeted @kebriggs.

Something else to think about, will Google encounter problems with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for bundling Google Chrome browser with the OS, just like Microsoft did with its Internet Explorer?

Watch a brief demo video of Google Chrome OS:

Tell us your first thoughts of Google Chrome OS in the comment box below.