Chrome OS a Week Away

Them's the rumors, anyway. According to multiple news reports, Google (GOOG) plans to release its new Chrome operating system some time next week. TechCrunch's Michael Arrington was the first to break the news, and he's got a few details about what might and might not work on the new system.

Word about the new OS first broke in July, when Google spokespeople announced that they would roll out the product sometime in the fall. Now it appears to be right around the corner, although Arrington predicts that there might be a few bumps in the road. For one thing, he writes, "Driver support will likely be a weak point. We’ve heard at various times that Google has a legion of engineers working on the not so glamorous task of building hardware drivers. ... People will want to download this to whatever computer they use and have it just work."

In addition, Google will probably tease out the release, making it compatible with just a few PC brands at first to work out the kinks. Although the company has announced a dizzying number of PC manufacturers it plans to work with, these won't all be available when Chrome debuts next week. If it debuts; after all, Google's still keeping mum about the release.

Meanwhile, CNet Stephen Shankland claims that another Chromish thing is about to pounce upon an unsuspecting public: The Chrome Web browser for Mac is about to be released in beta sometime in early December. Of course, Chrome's PC version has been bopping around the world for months, impressing quite a few users with its speed and security, and Mac freaks have been waiting to take a crack at it on their machines. Recently, Shankland was reading over a Mac developer mailing list and came across a note from a Google engineer, referring to a "Beta launch in early December."

So there you have it: two major Chrome events in the space of one month. It's all so exciting. Are we nearing the End Times? Were those damn Mayans right after all?