Microsoft's rivalry with Google heated up considerably this past year when rumors surfaced that Google might release its own operating system to compete with Windows. Has Google finally jumped into the fray with its own OS? Unfortunately, no; gOS is not a "Google OS" nor is it affiliated with Google (though Desktop Linux has reported that Google has seen gOS and approved
inclusion of the Google toolbar with the operating system).
gOS is developed out of
Los Angeles. It's based on Ubuntu Linux 7.10 and runs the
Enlightenment E17 interface instead of KDE or Gnome. Despite not being created by Google, the focus of gOS is Google's online applications such as GMail, Google News, Google Maps, Google Calendar, YouTube, etc. It's a neat concept for a Linux distribution, but how practical is it? We'll find out in this review.
Installing gOS
I installed gOS on my iMac system via VMware Fusion after downloading the ISO file. I was pleased to notice that gOS provides a "live CD" desktop that lets you start using it without having to install anything. Sure, live versions are slower than having it running off your hard disk but it's a nice touch and will let you see what gOS looks like on your system without doing a full install.
The install itself didn't take very long and was quite easy. If you've installed other Linux distributions (or other operating systems) you'll be able to handle a gOS install.
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gOS Unboxed: Should Microsoft Worry?
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