Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx has arrived and it is getting rave reviews. It is quick and easy to install, boots faster and has a clutter free desktop. But, instead of writing a review for 10.04, which I am using for last whole week now, I decided to write a review of Google Chrome and how great it works with Ubuntu 10.04.
There are many issues with Firefox, it takes a lot of memory, it is slower and does not fit well into over-all desktop environment. On the other hand, Google Chrome fits well into Gnome since it has an option to use either default theme or the GTK Theme. Chrome’s GTK theme fits perfectly well and attempts to blend in beautifully. It is much faster and uses less memory than Firefox.
As you all know Google is working on releasing an Open Source operating system of its own which is currently called ChromeOS. A sneak preview of this operating system can be seen here. Those who want to try its very early alpha builds should follow these instructions.
ChromeOS is basically a browser based operating system that uses the web as its hard disk. It is focused around working on the web. Google already has many tools available that will be part of this operating system. Such as Gmail which will be used as the email client, Google Docs will be used as an office suite, Picassa as photo manager, gtalk as instant messaging client, and so on.
This operating system will have linux at its core and the web browser, Chromium or Google Chrome. So may be this is the reason that Google Chrome performs better on Ubuntu Linux.
I have started feeling that may be I am using two operating systems at once. Google OS and Ubuntu Linux. I am using Google Chrome to access Gmail, Google Docs, Gamil Chat, Google Search, and keeping in touch with my social networks. I use Google’s Picassa photo manager. I ocassionally use Movie Player to watch movies, I use Empathy for voice chat with my gmail contacts. So basically I use Google OS components more than I use default desktop applications. So can I say that I am actually using Google Operating System on Ubuntu Linux platform?
Yup it can be Chrome OS if you just use Chrome Browser and Google’s online applications. 🙂
Amusingly you may be closer to ChromeOS than you think, Canonical blogged last year about their worth with Google on ChromeOS:
http://blog.canonical.com/?p=294
By using the Ambiance theme [1] and by forcing Chrome to “Use system title bars and borders” (right-click in an empty space of the tab bar), it looks even better.
[1] https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/elnmibmpefhmfgphdphdncoogpbfmlbp