Today's press conference was a semi-letdown when Google announced that it would not be releasing Chrome OS until next year. But Google finally showed off what Chrome OS will look like, and what it can do.

What you need to know:

Chrome OS is a browser: All of Google's applications are online. So why would they make desktop apps for their new OS? So there will be no installed application on Chrome OS, but Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calander, etc will all be online. Also, web apps will be integrated into the OS. This is all made possible by HTML 5 to give it power to access local resources such as offline storage to make them more like native apps.


If you use Chrome, then you can use Chrome OS: Using Chrome OS will be almost exactly like using the Chrome browser that we all know and love. All apps will be used in browser. It looks just like the Chrome browser, with tabbed browsing acting as the taskbar. You can also peg smaller windows to sit above your tabs at all times, such as Gchat or a media player.

When is it coming: Sometime next year is the offical word. And no news of a beta anytime soon either. But good news for Mac users, the Chrome browser for Mac is coming before the end of the year.

I love the idea of a web based OS. It makes so much sense because that seems to be where things are going. Cloud computing, web apps, on smaller, faster computers. An OS like this could really change netbooks for the better. 

For more news Google Chrome OS, visit the Offical Google Blog