Google opened up some (or all?) of the code they've been working on as part of the Chromius OS they announced plans for last year.
I cloned the Chromium OS git repository at the Docunext Mirrors Project and perused some of the code, but didn't get too far into it. At least I didn't get too far in figuring it out, anyway.
Lots of people are blogging about it, and from what I've read, it appears that Google is just enough to get users online (kernel, X, and the Chrome web browser), but that's about it. That sounds pretty awesome to me!
One review I read talked about what happens before the kernel loads and that Google is using custom firmware to get the OS to boot quickly. While the post I'm referring to questions why they didn't choose Coreboot, I'm just glad they are adding to the mix of bios options. With all the advancements that have been made in computing over the recent years, its odd to me that bios are still so awkward and goofy. EFI is an alternative, but that has issues too. Its ironic that sometimes when I'm installing linux on a recent Mac, I start to wish it had bios instead!
As far as business logic goes, I think this is a smart move on Google's part. I believe that they will be able to follow in Apple's footsteps of using an open source kernel to power an elegant, yet controllable experience for their users. In my opinion, Google's search engine is so good that they mostly need to focus on maintaining their brand and customer relationships over the foreseeable future. Another nice tie in with Chromium OS is Android of course - making sure that their users are always connected with a controllable experience is a worthwhile goal.
The Chrome browser they created is absolutely awesome. I hope the OS is just as good!
