Imagine turning on your PC and in a few seconds, you can use it right away. Once connected to the Internet with its browsers, all your emails and files become accessible. If the device gets damaged somehow, just replace it and when you login to your Google account, your emails and files are still there as if nothing happened.

This is the promise of Google Chrome OS, Google’s latest open source project that is based on the Linux operating system. The idea is that all your data reside on a server and your laptop, netbook or computer is just a device that connects you to the server and that this device boots up very quickly and presents a web browser to the user. This concept is currently used in many applications already like Gmail, Picassa and Youtube. All the files reside on the server and your account allows you to access the content from anywhere. Google Chrome OS simply lets you get on with what you need to do with your account very quickly and efficiently.

Virus problems would be a thing of the past because there are no files to infect on the PC. With computer hardware price going down and performance going up, cost of getting a device to access the Internet would significantly go down. Google Chrome OS will not add to the cost because it is open source and is free to use and share.

It is now very clear that the Linux operating system has become a major player in the desktop environment. It would not be a surprise if the PC, laptop or netbook you buy next year would come with a free Google Chrome OS rather than a proprietary and expensive OS. With the cost of computing going down, it will be easier for more people to access the Internet and with a free, safe and secure operating system, business, education and entertainment would soon become mainstream.