WiMAX and the Chromium OS

I have been looking into the future. This time, into what the Chromium OS from Google portends. This is an OS designed for netbooks and maybe tablets. Actually, the OS is Linux (Ubuntu) but with a big change- no desktop, just the Google Chrome Browser and a terminal window for those who speak 'nix. All apps are web apps, so you need a network connection. You can't really login without a network connection currently, since the way you login is with your Google username and password (for Gmail, of course). This sounds a little like 1999 when 'internet appliances' came out (and disappeared), except that now the machines are really powerful, web apps are for real, and we have mobile broadband. This is cloud computing and it really forces the issue, since you have no choice. I think it will get people working on the challenges and opportunities this enables.

Google says the OS is designed for those who spend most of their time on a computer using only the browser. I think that is a good percentage of computer users, actually. Maybe most of them. In fact, my wife and littlest kids only use the browser and the same goes for my elderly relatives. I know if they switch to Chromium I'll have less tech support to do... 

The browser has Flash 10. This is great for the casual gamer and it also has HD Video support. Chromium has Java, but no support for applets (yet). I am hoping it will support an application store since with Java and Flash- why not? It could be made to run some Android applications, as well.

Now on to the intersection with WiMAX. A system that only runs web apps needs to be connected to the Internet (except if there is Google Gears support or equivalent, but more apps need to use it, when it makes sense). WiMAX-embedded laptops exist today and they can run Chromium, but the OS does not have WiMAX support. That is something that needs to be fixed. 

That is easier than you might think. Here's what you need:

Linux drivers for WiMAX chipsets? Check. 
Chipset Software Development Kit? Check.
Common API specification for connection managers? Check.
Java-based Connection Manager, with free source code? Check.
Connection Manager that can use a web page as the user interface? Check.

You can find much of this at http://developer.clear.com

Looks like it is nearly ready to go, in fact. The final component is the time to put this together and test. Stay tuned.

Posted from my laptop running the Chromium OS.