Google Chrome OS for Netbooks: 15 Essential Features - Cloud Computing

eWeek reports: "Google Dec. 7 didn't shock anyone with the announcement that Chrome Operating System netbooks wouldn't arrive until 2011. But that doesn't mean that the Chrome OS update event in San Francisco didn't come with some surprises. There was the unveiling of Crankshaft, a new compilation infrastructure for V8, the Chrome JavaScript engine responsible for making the browser so speedy. There was the formal launch of the Chrome Webstore, which has more than 500 Web applications, including two programs from Amazon and one each from The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. Think of the Chrome Web Store as Apple's App Store, but for Chrome OS netbooks (and, eventually, Chrome OS tablets) instead of iPhones and iPads. Finally, in the biggest surprise of all, Google launched a pilot program using black, unbranded Chrome OS netbooks. Google is passing out thousands of these machines to media, friends of Google and business partners, including the U.S. Department of Defense and American Airlines. Here is a run-through of the news using slides from Google's Dec. 7 demonstration."