Wow. So you know all those whispers about a Google desktop operating system that never seem to go away? You thought they might with the launch of Android, Google’s mobile OS. But they persisted. And for good reason, because it’s real.

In the second half of 2010, Google plans to launch the Google Chrome OS, an operating system designed from the ground up to run the Chrome web browser on netbooks. “It’s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be,” Google writes tonight on its blog.

But let’s be clear on what this really is. This is Google dropping the mother of bombs on its chief rival, Microsoft. It even says as much in the first paragraph of its post, “However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web.” Yeah, who do you think they mean by that?

And it’s a genius play. So many people are buying netbooks right now, but are running WIndows XP on them. Windows XP is 8 years old. It was built to run on Pentium IIIs and Pentium 4s. Google Chrome OS is built to run on both x86 architecture chips and ARM chips, like the ones increasingly found in netbooks. It is also working with multiple OEMs to get the new OS up and running next year.

Obviously, this Chrome OS will be lightweight and fast just like the browser itself. But also just like the browser, it will be open-sourced. Think Microsoft will be open-sourcing Windows anytime soon?

As Google writes, “We have a lot of work to do, and we’re definitely going to need a lot of help from the open source community to accomplish this vision.” They might as well set up enlistment booths on college campuses for their war against Microsoft.

Google says the software architecture will basically be the current Chrome browser running inside “a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.” So in other words, it basically is the web as an OS. And applications developers will develop for it just as they would on the web. This is similar to the approach Palm has taken with its new webOS for the Palm Pre, but Google notes that any app developed for Google Chrome OS will work in any standards-compliant browser on any OS.

What Google is doing is not recreating a new kind of OS, they’re creating the best way to not need one at all.

So why release this new OS instead of using Android? After all, it has already been successfully ported to netbooks. Google admits that there is some overlap there. But a key difference they don’t mention is the ability to run on the x86 architecture. Android cannot do that (though there are ports), Chrome OS can and will. But more, Google wants to emphasize that Chrome OS is all about the web, whereas Android is about a lot of different things. Including apps that are not standard browser-based web apps.

But Chrome OS will be all about the web apps. And no doubt HTML 5 is going to be a huge part of all of this. A lot of people are still wary about running web apps for when their computer isn’t connected to the web. But HTML 5 has the potential to change that, as you’ll be able to work in the browser even when not connected, and upload when you are again.

We’re starting to see more clearly why Google’s Vic Gundotra was pushing HTML 5 so hard at Google I/O this year. Sure, part of it was about things like Google Wave, but Google Wave is just one of many new-style apps in this new Chrome OS universe.

But there is a wild card is all of this still for Microsoft: Windows 7. While Windows XP is 8 years old, and Windows Vista is just generally considered to be a bad OS for netbooks, Windows 7 could offer a good netbook experience. And Microsoft had better hope so, or its claim that 96% of netbooks run Windows is going to be very different in a year.

Google plans to release the open source code for Chrome OS later this year ahead of the launch next year. Don’t be surprised if this code drops around the same time as Windows 7. Can’t wait to hear what Microsoft will have to say about all of this.

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Google Drops A Nuclear Bomb On Microsoft. And It’s Made of Chrome.

Ars Technica has received confirmation from two sources that Google is working on new software named Google Chrome OS, which will offer a cloud-based, OS experience around the browser. UPDATE: It’s official. It’s coming in the second half of 2010.

Google says the OS is open source and lightweight, allowing users super quick access to the web. They claim the OS will be virus free (the security architecture is entirely new), and run a newly-designed windowing system on top of a Linux kernel that will be compatible with x86 and ARM processors alike. Though they were quick to mention this was separate from Android, they also conceded there would be some overlap in concept and functionality between the two platforms.

While the discussion of specific apps (and how they will work) was vague, Google made reference to a developer ecosystem that will be heavily web-based, and apps would be compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux (obviously). In a nutshell, it looks like Google Chrome OS is about simplicity, speed, safety, and cloud computing.

The announcement of Google Chrome OS is a big step forward for a company who slowly and subtly wedged their way into web app development. Google says that Chrome OS is intended for “power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems.” So what does this mean for Google, and more importantly, what does this mean for Microsoft and Apple?

I think that Google has primed themselves to take a big chunk out of the mainstream computing market. That’s not to say that you or I will be exclusively using Chrome OS, but with the internet becoming more and more accessible from ANYWHERE, our parents, grandparents and technophobic siblings probably will be converts. Most of them are already familiar with Google as a brand, and frustrated in trying to learn the intricacies of current operating systems.

And even for those of us who consider ourselves technologically advanced, how much of the desktop experience have Google’s web apps already replaced? We’ll still have our main computers, but what will be running on our netbooks or old laptops that sit in the living room?

More and more, I find myself working almost exclusively with apps that exist entirely on the web, or with clients that connect to web services. The only apps I use that aren’t cloud-happy are either utilities, media players or photo/video editors. And even then, those are heading in that web-centric direction. Cloud computing has been bringing us closer and closer to the mainframe days of yore. Google wants to be the only backbone working behind the scenes. By saying they’re keeping Chrome OS app development web-centric and platform-agnostic, they’re slowly luring us techies into their web.

Still, Windows and OSX will always have a spacious home in the computer world, undoubtedly. Some apps will always require native architecture, and the businessmen, code-monkeys, graphic designers, video editors and other connoisseurs of nuanced computing would be foolhardy to try and work strictly in the cloud.

But the final hurdle for Google to overcome is easy, accessible online storage. Will they be able to go after Amazon’s S3 cloud servers? And perhaps more importantly, will they be able to offer the service for free? If they can let us really extend our hard drives into the cloud, look out. Chrome OS will be a force to be reckoned with.

But do we really have to wait a year to get our hands on this thing? [Ars Technica and Google]

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Google Chrome OS for PCs: Look Out Windows and OS X [Google]

Still can’t find a Wii at your local Toys R Us or Gamestop? Head on over to the dollar store and pick yourself up a Zone wireless gaming system! This $30 wunderspiel includes either 7 or 80 games, depending on which package you buy, although it’s unclear whether the controllers are in any way motion-detecting. I’m guessing no.

It’s garnered an unprecedented 1-star rating on Amazon, with such rave reviews as:

I am a college educated person with a lot of technical knowledge and I had to hold the manual in one hand and the controller in the other and try to figure out how to play the game.

He also describes it as “worse than the original Nintendo,” which I think is unfair, since pretty much everything in the world is worse than the original Nintendo, including you and me. Next:

Extreme disappointment — Wuold not pay 50 cents for this at a rummage sale much less 50 dollars for it on line.

Outstanding. The Zone is one of many Wii knockoffs, but this one doesn’t even pretend to be more than 16-bit. My favorite so far has to be the Wü, which skillfully drew a line between the two i’s in “Wii,” forming a new and more inexpensive product.

[Original image by Lambboy, via Reddit]

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Sweet faux Wii has “real time action graphics”

I know, I know. Tech writers spent all this time hyping CFLs, and now it’s possible that incandescent bulbs might be acceptable again thanks to a new technology that seals the filament in a special, heat-reflecting inner-capsule? The nerve!

The NY Times’ Green Inc. blog says the inner capsule of these new bulbs, developed by California-based Deposition Sciences, is coated with a material that is able to reflect the heat back onto the filament, part of which is converted back into light. This technology, currently featured in Philips Halogena Energy Savers line, has resulted in the bulb using 30% less power and lasting 3x longer than normal incandescents.

And what about CFLs you ask? Yes they’re still about 2.5x more efficient than these new incandescent bulbs. But these new bulbs will get more efficient with time, don’t take forever to warm up to full brightness, don’t make your home feel like a lab or mental institution and don’t contain mercury (famed destroyer of Jeremy Piven and all-around, pain-in-the-ass substance to dispose of). But they also cost $5 a bulb. [Green Inc. via Slashdot]

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New Heat-Reflecting Technology Threatens to Make Incandescent Bulbs Fashionable Again [Lightbulbs]

Now that the iPhone has video capability with the 3GS, there will undoubtedly be many iPhone-filmed videos on the many video-sharing sites on the Web.

Of course, why would you want to shoot videos on a cellular phone? I’m sure you have seen how jittery they are. This is why a startup company known as OWLE (Optical Widgets for Life Enhancement) has created a mount for the iPhone designed for filming.

I don’t know about you, but I think its shape resembles a controller for the Xbox 360. Not only does the OWLE steady your shots, but it also improves recording quality by including a 37mm camcorder lens with a front facing microphone.

It is a packaged deal for those who want to be video bloggers on the road, and there is planned support of external lighting and power. There is also a plan to make another version that plugs into the 30-pin adapter. As of now, there are only plans to plug the mike into the headphone and microphone jack.

OWLE doesn’t have this device out now, and it will only make it currently available to bloggers who are willing to promo it. There are plans to put out this device sometime around Christmas, with a price for about $30 to $50.

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OWLE Pefects the iPhone 3GS for Video Shoots

“Biomimetic miniature flying platforms” appears to be the theme this week. Just a few days ago we saw a meant to hover in and out of buildings, and now there’s this ro-bat being put together at North Carolina State University. Here is my question: were there not enough bats in the world already?

The idea is that these micro air vehicles, or MAVs, would carry small sensors and be able to investigate, say, a radioactive or toxic area that other robots can’t access. Check out the way the bat works:

We’re using an alloy that responds to the heat from an electric current. That heat actuates micro-scale wires the size of a human hair, making them contract like ‘metal muscles.’

Yeah, I’m sure the machines will never be using these terrifying metal muscles against us when the time comes. At least these bat-things don’t have the power of flight yet; the researchers are putting together a full prototype with super-light materials (the whole thing weighs under 6g) so they can figure out just how to make that bat-flight thing work.

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Because there weren’t enough Ro-bats in the world

As we reported earlier today, media search engine Technorati has succumbed to the Twitter infatuation and is launching Twittorati, a site that shows what Technorati’s top 100 bloggers are tweeting about. Our earlier story indicates that the site is launching tomorrow but perhaps our post sped things up. We had a chance to demo the site with Technorati’s CEO Richard Jalichandra. The site pulls in the Tweets published by bloggers from Technorati’s list of Top 100 Blogs, which is determined by Technorati’s Authority Ranking (its equivalent to Google Page Rank). Authority Ranking is calculated via algorithm of inbound links from other blog posts, and weights those based on timing, relevancy and the inbound link’s site source Authority Ranking.

The blogs that are ranked vary by subject, with The Huffington Post taking the top spot, TechCrunch as no. 2 and Engadget in the no. 3. Twittorati pulls Tweets into a real-time stream (though not fully real-time; like Twitter, you still need to refresh the page to get real-time results) where you can organize Tweets by Authority Ranking or by latest Tweet. Because the Tweets are aggregated from blogs that cover a variety of subject relating to politics, technology, entertainment and more, the subjects of the Tweets are varied and somewhat random. But you can narrow your stream by filtering Tweets by Technorati Tags (life, news, music, politics, etc.) and the top trending Twitter hashtags. For example, some of the top Twitter hashtags that bloggers were Tweeting included #michaelphelps and #MJ. The origins of the Tweets include a blog’s Tweets and bloggers’ personal Tweets from their own accounts. Technorati says it has collected Twitter handles for most of the authors of the top 100 sites.

The site also shows the most popular links that bloggers link to as well as the most popular photos that are linked to. Both link and photo searches can be filtered by most recent links and images. And each day Twittorati pulls in a list of Tweets of featured bloggers that are profiled on the site.

The site itself can be useful when trying to peer into the professional and personal lives of bloggers. I think something that’s missing a breakdown of Tweets from blogs by topic. So for example, if you only wanted to see Tweets from bloggers at technology blogs, there’s no easy way to filter Tweets and blogs by subject. Jalichandra says Twittorati plans to add this functionality in the near future. The site is similar in theory to Federated Media’s ExecTweets, which is focused more on aggregating Tweets from execs in various industries vs. the blogger-focus on Twtterati. WeFollow is also similar, but isn’t limited to just blogs. Missing from the Twittorati are bloggers whose blogs may not make Technorati’s top 100 list, but whose Tweets are relevant and entertaining. Jalichandra says that the site will expand to include other prolific bloggers down the line.

Twittorati is being produced in partnership with Sawhorse Media, publisher of fellow Twitter aggregatorsMuckrack.com and VentureMaven. Luxury car manufacturer Infinity is sponsoring Twittorati. Technorati Media has been through a roller coaster of highs and lows over the past year. Last June, the company launched Technorati Media, a blog advertising network. Prior to launching the ad network, Technorati raised $7.3 million in a fourth round of financing through Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mobius Venture Capital and FG Incubation. And last fall, Technorati acquired AdEngage to join the company’s newly formed blog advertising network. And most recently, Technorati launched a new directory of ‘tag’ pages, offering brief overviews of a variety of tech-related topics and redesigned BlogCritics, a blog network the company acquired.

Unfortunately, Technorati hasn’t been immune to layoffs during the current economic climate. In April, the company let go 10 percent of its staff, or 4 employees, and also suffered through an earlier round of layoffs last September and implemented pay cuts for remaining staff. Despite these setbacks, Jalichandra remains optimistic about the future of Technorati and the potential of Twitterati to be a popular destination to peek into the Twittersphere of the blogosphere.

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Twittorati Will Show You How Awesomely Fascinating Bloggers’ Lives Are (Or Not)

Take a gander at Project Nomad, a wonderful and artificial horse. As you can see, it looks like a four-legged version of Bumblebee from Transformers.

When I saw this one, I knew it was too good to be true. Sure enough, it is still a concept, but the fact that Jason Battersby saw it fit to put it on paper is a step in the right direction for making all our dreams of riding a robot horse come true.

I’m sure that readers who follow my work know that I love to cover concept tech like this, especially when it seems so futuristic that it could never be built in my lifetime. This one has a very unbelievable feature: a GPS that knows where the plant life is. Project Nomad then eats up the vegetation, and uses it for fuel.

Perhaps this is why the designers might have put the Greenpeace logo on its flank. I’m not certain why a giant stone hand is jutting up from the ground to crush it, but I suppose we’ll find out in Transformers 3.

In fact, maybe that film should feature a race between Project Nomad and Bumblebee. Of course, since they are both the same color, it would be difficult to tell who was winning.

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Project Nomad Leaps out of the Next Transformers Movie

Maybe you heard that a new Facebook iPhone application is almost complete. Maybe you’ve also heard that probably the best feature is that it will allow you to upload video right from your iPhone 3GS to the social network. Well you don’t actually have to wait for the new app to do that — there’s one that does it already. And it’s really, really fast.

VideoUp is a application created by Raizlabs. While they are in no way affiliated with Facebook, the social network was nice enough to help them fix a couple bugs to get it ready for the App Store, founder Greg Raiz tells us. That’s good news because it means Facebook apparently isn’t being tyrannical and demanding that its official app is the only one that will be able to do video uploads to the network.

VideoUp is very simple. You login to your Facebook account via Facebook Connect, choose which video you wish to upload (you can pick one in your library or shoot a new one), enter a description, and you’re done. What’s really pretty amazing about the app is just how fast it uploads the videos. The 16-second test video I shot below was uploaded and playable on Facebook in under a minute. That easily beats the YouTube upload times from the iPhone 3GS, and the quality seems much better.

VideoUp recommends that you hold your iPhone horizontally, so it appears correctly on Facebook. However, if you do it vertically, it’s easy to rotate the video there as well. Obviously, this will only work with the new iPhone 3GS, which has video capabilities.

You can find VideoUp for Facebook in the App Store here. It is $0.99.

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Upload Videos From Your iPhone To Facebook Right Now With VideoUp

More bad news for large newspapers. According to the latest stats from the Inland Press Association, larger newspapers with higher circulations are suffering more than their smaller siblings. Newspaper veteran Alan Mutter reports that the bigger the newspapers are, the more their profits decreased over the past five years. Since 2004, operating profits on average fell just over 100% at newspapers with circulation higher than 80,000. That’s right. Taken all together, their losses wiped out their profits.

The Inland Press surveyed 120 papers across the country.  Newspapers with circulations of less than 15,000 fared better, with ad revenues actually eking out a 4.3% increase over the same period. But operating profits still fell by nearly 65%.  This drop isn’t nearly as staggering as the plummet of profits for newspapers with an 80,000-plus circulation, but it’s not a cause for celebration either. Newspapers with 50,000-80,000 in circulation saw profits fall 83%, with newspapers with circulations of 25,000 to 50,000 seeing a 90 percent drop in profit.

Another sign of hope: small papers still have a hold on classifieds.  Average classified sales for small papers have actually gone up, at a time when they have been declining for most papers. Inland cites an example of a daily newspaper with a circulation of less than 15,000, which posted a 210.4% increase in classified revenue from 2004 to 2008. But it didn’t do much good.  The paper’s profits were down by almost 30%.

All in all, newspapers on average reported a 13.5% drop in ad sales between 2004 and 2008, which confirms yet once again the dismal state of the industry. Curiously, the study says that the largest newspapers reported an average profit margin of 12% in 2008, which is remarkably high for publishers whose profits have virtually disappeared. Mutter points out that a 12% profit margin is more than double Wal-Mart’s margins in 2008.

Apparently, Inland Press says the reason profit margins could still average 12% is because data was collected from a variety of publications, some of which had healthy margins and some of which has terrible losses. We’re not sure which, if any, large newspapers had healthy margins. Also, the data that was volunteered by publishers was released on condition of anonymity. Seems like a bit of a paradox in these times.

Perhaps their are just averaging the profit margins across newspapers on a percentage basis, while taking absolute profits and losses into account when calculating the overall declines.  Large percentage gains at small newspapers would then have an over-sized weighting.  No matter how rosy a picture the newspaper association tries to paint, the fact remains that there are still serious (perhaps mortal) declines at all newspapers.  And while death may be slower for the little guys, it’s still imminent.

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Small Newspapers May Be Able To Prolong Death Longer Than Large Counterparts