Google aims for speed in PCs running on Chrome OS

Google showcased the much anticipated operating system to the public for the first time, four months after declaring it is venturing into the operating systems market. Chrome OS will initially be available by the holiday season of 2010 on low-cost netbooks that meet Google's hardware specifications.

Staying true to Google's internet-pedigree, the Chrome OS resembles a Web browser more than it does a traditional computer operating system like Microsoft Windows which directs users directly the web - where they can see Google ads.

Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management for Google's Chrome OS, said that computers running Chrome OS will be able to start in less than seven seconds.

"From the time you press boot you want it to be like a TV: You turn it on and you should be on the Web using your applications," Pichai said.

The Chrome OS design team is obsessed about speed, noted Group Product Manager Caesar Sengupta and Engineering Director Matt Papakipos.

"We just want computers to be delightful and work," said Google product manager Sundar Pichai. "You turn it on, and you should be on the Web."

"We are taking out every unnecessary process, optimizing many operations, and running everything possible in parallel," Sengupta and Papakipos said. "This means you can go from turning on the computer to surfing the web in a few seconds."