Google on Nov. 19 began lifting the veil off its planned Chrome operating system, which promises to reduce boot-up speeds dramatically, but it said computers powered by the software would not be available for a year, reports the New York Times. The new operating system, which is closely tied to Google’s web browser, also named Chrome, is seen as a potential challenge to Microsoft, whose Windows software powers the vast majority of personal computers. But with the Chrome operating system, Google is not trying to build a better version of Windows. Instead, it is aiming to shift users toward its vision of "cloud computing," a model in which programs are not installed on a PC but rather are used over the internet and accessed through a web browser. In Google’s approach, a user’s data also will reside on servers across the internet, rather than on his or her PC. In a Nov. 19 demonstration of an early version of the Chrome operating system, the netbook using the software booted in seven seconds, and Google said it was working to make the start-up time even faster…

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