Linux Distros and Google Chrome: Friend or Foe?

That's just one of the many questions sparked by Google's formal unveiling of the Chrome OS late Tuesday -- though a public release of the open source licensed operating system is not set until 2010.

Already, it's clear that Google's Chrome OS may be bumping heads with existing operating systems. For starters, the netbook- and Web-centric OS may overlap with Android, another open source operating system in which Google is invested. Android may be aimed at smartphones, but it's also garnered interest as a netbook platform. That could put it into contention with Chrome OS, which will be available for x86 and ARM processors.

For now, at least, open source industry insiders are optimistic, seeing Chrome OS as being most threatening to Microsoft Windows.

"With Linux as the foundation of Chrome, as well as the foundation of other challengers to Microsoft's desktop OS monopoly, we do see this as very good news," Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer programs at the Linux Foundation, told InternetNews.com. "As more and more people use Linux as the base for their products, Linux gets stronger and stronger."

A Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) spokesperson declined to comment. Microsoft is currently in the midst of preparing its own netbook-focused offering -- a low-end version of the upcoming Windows 7.

For existing Linux vendors, however, Google's arrival on the OS scene may be more complex, with the backers of various distribution greeting the news with a mixture of concern and cautious optimism.

Joe Brockmeier of Novell's openSUSE community Linux distribution voiced some concerns about how Google has started off Chrome OS -- without the larger Linux and open source world.

Page 2: Google takes on X Window System