Cloud OS Runs a Browser, That’s It

The newest netbook-focused operating system from Good OS has been stripped down to the sole program most people consider a bare essential: a browser for Web connectivity.

Good OS may be best known for gOS, the operating system wrapped around Google services that has appeared on many ultra-budget Everex machines, but the company proved on Monday that it wasn’t just a one-trick pony in the OS game. The company has announced on a new operating system, dubbed Cloud, that makes the browser the center of the user experience.

Unlike gOS, which included both a browser and many other free desktop applications, Cloud has only a browser that runs on top of an extremely condensed Linux kernel. As a result, it boots in only seconds, giving users nearly instant-on Internet access. To give power users more flexibility, it also has a button to quickly boot into Windows XP for access to more conventional tools.

Gigabyte will be the first company to pick up the OS in an upcoming line of touch-screen, tablet-style netbooks. The company plans to release them on Jan. 8 at the beginning of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.