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Google to challenge Microsoft and Apple

November 21, 2009

GOOGLE’S new operating system, which is designed to bypass computer hard drives and work via the internet, got its first public preview on Thursday.

Chrome OS, due to be released in about a year, could pose the first real competition for Microsoft’s and Apple’s computer operating systems.

Chrome’s main difference is that applications and other materials that normally exist on hard drives will live online.

It will initially only be available for the small netbook computers that use solid-state drives.

One of the main advantages of the operating system, as extolled by Google’s product manager, Sundar Pichai, is speed.

At a news conference at the company’s US headquarters in California, the entire online system appeared on the screen of a demonstration computer less than 10 seconds after rebooting.

Mr Pichai compared it to hitting the ”on” button of a television. ”You turn it on, and you should be on the web,” he said.

The operating system’s on-screen interface looks much like a browser. On top are tabs showing programs for email, documents, a chess game, an e-reader and other offerings.

Panels that pop up from the bottom of the screen can be used to play music, for instant messaging or to show a quick video while browsing the web or doing work.

Mr Pichai said simplicity was the aim for consumers. ”We just want computers to be delightful and work,” he said.

One of the keys to Chrome’s success will likely be how much users can do with it, given that it will not be using much of the software in common use now.

Mr Pichai announced that the company would make the system’s computer code public so that outside developers could start making applications for it.

Google released an animated video on YouTube (which it owns) to explain Chrome OS.

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Web runs out of space by 2010: Experts

Updated at: 2209 PST,  Thursday, November 05, 2009

LONDON: A survey, conducted by the European Commission, found that few companies are prepared for the switch from the current naming protocol, IPv4, to the new regime, IPv6. Web experts have warned that we could run out of internet addresses within the next two years unless more companies migrate to the new platform.

The IPv4 and IPv6 protocols refer to the way in which web addresses are created and assigned. Each website has a unique IP address, represented by a string of numbers, such as 192.168.1.1, which are then given a user-friendly web address, such as telegraph.co.uk, to make them easier to remember.
The IPv4 protocol uses 32-bit addresses, which enables the web to support around 4.3 billion unique addresses. By contrast, IPv6 uses 128-bit web addresses, creating billions of possible new web addresses – experts estimate it could assign a unique address for every blade of grass on the planet.

The EC survey found that of the 610 government, educational and other industry organisations questioned across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, just 17 per cent have upgraded to IPv6. The Commission has warned that the timely deployment of the protocol is vital to the growth and stability of the internet.

“We’ll be down to our last tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of web addresses by the end of next year,” warned Sam Pickles, lead enterprise engineer of F5 Networks.

Switching to IPv6 is relatively straightforward, said Pickles, but will require significant investment from companies and internet service providers.

“Some additional spending will be required to migrate to the new addressing format, and ensure that systems using the old IPv4 format can interface with new IPv6 networks,” he said. “Initial installation of new equipment will most likely affect systems at the edge of the corporate network, interfacing with the internet, such as routers and firewalls.”

The move to the IPv6 protocol will also necessitate some changes to domestic set-ups, said Pickles, but it should be a relatively straightforward process. “Consumers will eventually also need to replace equipment in the home, although this is likely to be introduced by ISPs in gradual stages,” he said. “The most likely device needing replacement initially will be the home broadband router, connected to the phone line.”

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