Google's Chrome OS will start out targeting netbooks, the bare-bones laptops designed specifically to surf the Web, which means it won't be moving in on Microsoft's turf anytime soon. However, it may have a more immediate impact in Google's own backyard, writes BusinessWeek's Olga Kharif. Indeed, Android is Google's other operating system, designed primarily for mobile phones but versions are also being developed for netbooks and other mobile Internet devices. Does this mean the company's efforts are now divided between potentially competing operating systems? Will software developers be forced to choose between the two? …

We're six days shy of Tim Armstrong's 100th day at the helm of AOL, and Silicon Alley Insider's Nicholas Carlson says that Armstrong and co. are already moving forward with their plan to revamp the company. Said plan includes expanding the mini-brands in AOL's MediaGlow content business through acquisitions and hiring; targeting the right mix of premium advertising big brands and Google-like self-service ads for smaller businesses; trying to tap the local advertising market through local sites Patch, Going.com and MapQuest; and enhancing AOL's communications products AIM, email and ICQ. Meanwhile, AOL is also planning on dumping …

Google CEO Eric Schmidt and cofounder Larry Page talked about the origins of the company's new Chrome OS, revealing that for six years, Schmidt balked at the idea of taking on Microsoft in one of its core areas. Schmidt notes that when Page and fellow cofounder Sergei Brin confronted him about building an operating system, Google was still a small company. "Having come through the bruising browser wars, I didn't want to do that again," he said. However, eventually, Google hired some Firefox developers to build a demonstration for Chrome. "It was so good that it essentially …

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Google CEO Eric Schmidt claimed that the company's new Chrome OS would eventually be on "millions" of personal computers and might eventually take users away from Microsoft's Windows. "It's certainly possible" Schmidt said. "It's certainly also possible that Microsoft will change its strategy to address that." Faced with a slowdown in online advertising, Schmidt noted that Chrome OS would help the company drive more users to its sites, particularly its search engine. "We make money as people adopt the Internet and broadband and use these new powerful operating systems," he said …

Walid Abu-Hadba, Microsoft's VP of Developer and Platform Evangelism, issued some fighting words following the unveiling of Google's new Chrome OS. In an interview with VentureBeat's Anthony Ha, Abu-Hadba insisted that Chrome was a defensive move. "Most of what Google does is defensive," he said. How can Google be playing defense when it's entering a market for the first time? According to Abu-Hadba Google is trying to distract competitors from attacking search, the company's cash cow. He argued that whenever Google enters a new market, like releasing mobile operating system Android, it's trying to force competitors to …

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch arrived in Sun Valley, Idaho on Wednesday for the annual Allen & Co. media and technology confab warning his media mogul peers against buying Twitter, the red-hot microblogging service. Murdoch said it would be a tough investment to justify because Twitter has yet to come up with a sustainable business model. "Be careful of investing here," he said. Meanwhile, Twitter is being represented at the annual conference by co-founder Evan Williams. There's plenty of speculation as to which media giant might want to buy the Web startup. As Reuters notes, the Sun Valley …

Marissa Mayer, Google's VP of search product and user experience, talks shop with the Guardian's Charles Arthur. She says a few familiar things, like "we've only just got started on search," and reminds us that the first iteration of search was all about text on pages, while the second stage, which we're in now, involves humans, who help add context to images and pages, making the Web appear more knowledgeable. The third stage of search, she says, will use sensors built into devices. Smartphones are a good, early example of this, she says. Then there's real-time search, a …

Google released more facts about its just-announced Chrome operating system in a short FAQ, Michael Arrington reports. As most people guessed, the open source software will be free to users and device manufacturers like Android, Google's mobile OS. Google also announced some of the manufacturers who will roll out Chrome OS devices late next year. They are: Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, HP, Lenovo, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Arrington notes that Acer and ASUS are the No. 1 and 2 netbook manufacturers worldwide, while HP and Lenovo are also major players in that space. Freescale, Qualcomm and TI are …