Google's Chrome OS to Hit Market Without Many Drivers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Although it will lack many important features, Google’s Chrome operating system will be made available within a week.

Chief among the omissions upon launch will be support for many important drivers needed to give Chrome the ability to run on different platforms and on different systems.

According to online reports, Google has been working with several tech companies to get these drivers ready. Some of the companies involved in the effort include Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Toshiba.

But according to leading tech analyst Michael Arrington, Google will also have to turn to its own talented team of developers to come up with some of the necessary drivers.

“We expect Google will be careful with messaging around the launch, and endorse a small set of devices for installation,” he said, later adding, “Don’t expect to be able to install [Chrome] on whatever laptop or desktop machine you have from day one.”

But when it comes to Chrome, Google isn’t just working on the new OS. They’re also putting the finishing touches on a Mac-compatible version of the Chrome web browser — a release that’s been in demand since the unveiling of the Chrome browser in September 2008.

Chrome for Mac will receive a beta release by the end of the year, according to multiple sources. Google had previously released developer versions of Chrome for Mac and Linux platforms. As of now, Google has no plans to release a beta version of Chrome for Linux.

Chrome holds appeal for web-savvy tech professionals, as well as adult industry members looking for more flexible ways to deliver video. Chrome comes factory-equipped with support for HTML5, the latest version of the Internet's core language. Chief among HTML5's features is support for open-source video codecs. That means that Chrome users can easily embed videos without having to rely on Adobe's Flash plugin.

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