Browser swallows OS

The idea that Web browsers could eventually replace computer operating systems caused Bill Gates to completely freak out, somewhere around 1994, leading to the "browser wars" with Netscape. Now, a newly announced "Cloud" OS aims to replace netbook operating systems with a simple fast-booting browser-based environment.

The company is Good OS, or gOS, which announced its "Cloud" quick-boot environment for netbooks today at a Netbook expo in Paris. The product appears to be available now for licensing by netbook designers. It follows the release earlier this year of gOS 3.0, Good's widget-enabled distro for netbooks.

Good says gOS Cloud can boot in seconds, into a barebones browser-based environment not unlike the locked-down "kiosk" set-ups at libraries and cafes everywhere. Yet, here, the browser has taken on OS-like features, such as the familiar Mac OS X-like application dock shown in the screenshot below.




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