Google, the company behind the world’s most popular search engine, has today announced that it will be creating its own operating system to take on Microsoft Windows. The two technology companies have been at war for years, and with the recent release of Bing, Microsoft’s latest search engine, things have really started heating up.
 
Clearly challenging the software giant, Google said that it has been working on a lightweight operating system based on its Chrome web browser that it launched last year. The new system will be aimed at laptop and netbook users.
 
In a post on the company blog Google stated “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 we'll soon be working with the open source community...”
 
“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”
 
In an apparent dig at Microsoft the announcement also said “It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be…completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”
 
Can Google successfully take on Microsoft in a market that they have dominated for well over a decade, or will they struggle just as the Apple and Linux systems have?
 
Google’s new operating system is due to be released in the second half of next year.