No silver lining in Chrome OS delays

From CNET News.com: Google executives like to say they celebrate their failures, reasoning that when something fails, at least they've learned something. Perhaps with Chrome OS, they're learning how to set expectations.

It's looking pretty clear that Google is going to miss its fourth-quarter target for the launch of Chrome OS, a lightweight Web-based operating system that is designed for Netbooks. The company hasn't said as much, but Google CEO Eric Schmidt referred to the Chrome OS launch as "a few months" away in mid-November, and Jim Wong, senior vice president for Acer, told reporters last week that Google is planning a consumer launch in 2011.

Wong, whose company was among the original Chrome OS hardware partners, also suggested that Google may be planning to duplicate its corporate holiday party gift bag from last year, when attendees received Nexus One phones several weeks before they made their formal debut. Google has long said that it plans to have its employees use Chrome OS internally, and may jump-start the process with a free Netbook as a Christmas gift: a company representative would only say "we are very happy with the progress of Google Chrome OS and we'll have more details to share later this year."

But what to make of Chrome OS? The idea is solid: a Web-based operating system that doesn't tax a battery, allows for extremely fast boot times, and provides security with no local data or locally installed applications. Yet smart ideas often fail from a lack of execution as well as shifting tastes among those once willing to jump on board.

It's just hard to see exactly where Chrome OS Netbooks fit among the hardware scene of late 2010 and early 2011. It's increasingly clear the tablet device is here to stay, and those companies not named Apple that want to target that category are using Android--not Chrome OS--in order to get going.

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