Rumours abound that Google's Chrome OS will be 'open sourced' in the coming week, although the early glimpses are likely to be some way from the final product due for release in late 2010.
The likes of TechCrunch and Reuters have suggested that this could be the week that the eagerly awaited operating system and rival to Microsoft's Windows is pushed out to developers, with its source code given out for anyone to see.
Announced back in July, Google Chrome OS will launch as an alternative to Windows on the likes of netbooks, but the company will be aware that this could build a platform and user base for an all-out assault on Windows.
Baited breath
With Google insisting that late 2010 would be the first time that the operating system would be ready for the mass market, the software industry has been waiting with bated breath for an alpha or beta version of Chrome OS to gauge exactly how much of a threat it potentially could be in the operating system market.
Chrome OS is pitched as a fast, simple and secure OS with a minimal user interface, that has been designed with internet and cloud apps in mind.
Although it is still early days in the cloud computing revolution, Google will hope that Chrome OS will be a major boon to its own range of internet based service.
Foremost among these are Google Docs, Google Apps, Gmail and the Wave collaboration tool, along with things like Picasa and Google Calendar.
