At long last it happened. Google announced that they will be releasing the Google Chrome Operating System. For us it could not have come sooner. Let’s face it, competition (and we mean viable competition from a big company, not another Linux based OS that’s simply not accessible by the public) should have been here a lot sooner.

If that had happened maybe we would not have been held to ransom by Windows’ sky high licensing fees. Maybe we would not have been subjected to what some called a disaster but Microsoft christened Vista. And maybe our PC user experience, and not just PC components, would also have grown according to Moore’s law.

According to the Official Google Blog the Chrome OS will be open source and based on a Linux kernel. The first netbooks running the OS should hit the streets in the second half of 2010. Although the Chrome OS will initially be target at netbooks it is also noted that full-size desktop systems will be able to run it.

As can be expected Google is designing the Chrome OS with the Net as its main focus, with most of the user experience taking place online. Speed, simplicity and security are also key aspects they are paying attention to. For example Google is looking at redesigning the whole underlying security structure of the OS.

Personally we can’t wait for the Chrome OS to arrive, in fact this free OS can’t come soon enough. And with the imminent arrival of the highly touted Windows 7, the Microsoft/ Google competition should (hopefully) provide some scintillating IT drama.