Google announced yesterday that is working on an exciting Operating System project, called Chrome OS. Please see below some highlights I selected from their official blog post:

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web.

All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

FLYABYTE will certainly stay tuned for future news related to this important milestone for Cloud Computing.

Image credits to e-maniacs.

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joli - pretty, nice, lovely, nice-looking, fine-looking, good, bonny, precious, tidy

This is a perfect description for this extremely promising new OS for netbooks. From founder of Netvibes Tariq Krim, Jolicloud is a new operating system that focus on improving the experince of using web applications.

Based on Ubuntu Remix, Jolicloud has a "virtual OS" (see screenshot above) where you can look for new applications (both client softwares or web applications), update your system or, like in Twitter, follow other Jolicloud users.

The installation process couldn't be easier. You simply chose the software, click on install, wait a few seconds... and done! The same process apply for uninstalling and updating each software. Once your software is installed, you need to access the launcher from Remix and locate it under the correspondent category. I don't have any inside information, but it would make sense that the OS will evolve to a point where Ubuntu's interface will be totally replaced by the Jolicloud Dashboard.

To create the installable web applications, Jolicloud uses Mozilla Prizm to trigger streamlined Firefox windows that run without any superflual browser menubars, just the thin funtional black bar at the top. Another nice touch is the usage of small icons to show the apps/windows that are running, maximizing the usage of tiny screens.

As for the ability to follow other users, I believe this would be a much usefull feature if it were integrate to Twitter and Facebook, similar to what Moblin offers. Maybe that's another feature that might be under development. By the way, it is important to say that Jolicloud is currently at Alpha stage, despite the fact that it already has a lot to offer.

The installation was almost seamless using a pen drive. In my first attempt, I tried to install it directly without booting the system. For some reason, the process got stuck at 99% and I had to re-start the whole process. I tried, then, to boot the OS and start the installation from within. That worked perfectly.

As for hardware integration, almost everything worked out of the box on my Eee PC 901. Wi-fi connection works perfectly, volume and brightness funtions integrated nicely, and battery life seems to be very in line with the one provided by the original Xandros distribution.

The only tweaks I had to make were accessing the BIOS to enable Bluetooth and the integrated Webcam, which could be done very easily. I also disabled the defauld passwords required by Ubuntu when connecting through Wi-Fi or getting back from Suspend mode.

Overall, the experience have been great. Boot time is very short, navigating through different windows is done very easily and, as I said earlier, it just looks nice. Icons, colors, fonts, everything renders very smoothly and show a well-thought yet simple interface.

If you are half as excited about Jolicloud as I got when I first read about it, I need to warn you that you'll not be able to install it right away. You'll have to access jolicloud.com, provide your e-mail address and wait until you get your invitation. It might take a few weeks, but it's certainly worth the wait.

One thing I have decided: I will not get back to my Xandros Linux distribution. Jolicloud is now my preferred OS and I'm looking forward to the enhancements that are certainly on the way.

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Moblin is taking a step further. This new Linux distribution, besides the aspects above, is also focused on getting the most out the main purpose behind netbooks: using the Internet for media consumption, productivity and social interactions. I pasted below the main benefits from the recently released v2.0 beta:

• New, visually rich user experience, optimized for netbook and nettops, building on the latest open source graphics technology, such as Clutter, DRI2, and KMS. The user experience is provided mainly through the toolbar and panels, available at the top of the screen.
• The myzone, acting as the 'home screen' panel. It provides instant access to your synchronized calendar, tasks, appointments, recently used files, and real-time updates from your friends on social networking sites.
• Aggregation of your social networking content. This provides you with the ability to see your social networking activities on one screen, easily interact with your friends, and update your status and site information. Twitter and Last.fm are the currently supported social networking sites, with more to come.
• A web browser optimized for the Moblin 2.0 netbook user interface. Based on the latest Mozilla browser technology revised into a Clutter shell, the browser gives you access to the whole internet, as well as advanced features, such as video embedding and the latest Flash plug-in, while integrating seamlessly into the user interface. 
• A 'Zoomable' media player. This player brings your media collection to life as you zoom from viewing all media down to focusing on an individual picture, movie, or audio track. The media player can detect and index media on external USB devices, as well as UPnP devices on your network. 
• A user interface for connection management and an updated connection manager (ConnMan).
• And, of course, support for Linux desktop applications. Moblin is built using GNOME Mobile Technologies and supports existing Linux desktop applications.

This is still a beta version, so deppending on your hardware, not all functionalities will be working out of the box. If you want to give it a try, download it or see more screenshots here.

P.S.: On the same wave of revolutionary OS distributions, I am waiting to put my hands on another very promising software called Jolicloud. As soon as I get the invitation, I'll install it on my eee PC and write a review about it. Stay tuned.

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Schmedley is not really a Web OS (since you can't upload files and work on them), but it really looks like I'm taking my iMac with me on the web. According to their self-description:

What began as just a startpage with widgets has morphed into a personalized launch pad, where every tool you need to communicate, catch up with your interests, share digital content and express yourself online is organized into one convenient place - all your email accounts, social networks, instant messaging, applications and more - accessible from any computer, anywhere in the world.

And because you can create multiple “desktops”, each one can have a unique and different purpose. Use one for catching up with friends by loading up schmidgets for Facebook and Twitter along with a few email accounts. Use another for news items - RSS feeds, current weather forecast, and NASDAQ stock market data for example. And maybe another for games and entertainment. schmedley has lots of schmidgets (widgets) to enhance your daily, personal productivity, and we will always be adding more.

I'll play with it a lot more, but so far I'm loving Schmedley. Create your own page here.

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Before you get too excited, this might not be as easy as it sounds. According to the article from eLinux.org:

This article assumes that you are familiar with some basics of embedded ARM Linux. E.g. you should know how to use diff & patch, how to boot your embedded ARM SoC with a recent non-Android Linux, how to use a cross compiler etc.

Well, I'd never be able to do that. However, the idea of having Android running on this great device from Nokia is indeed very promising.

If you have the skills and own a Nokia N810, read the instructions from eLinux.org here. The device can be bought at Amazon for USD $220.74 here.

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