Mountain View is preparing to integrate its new Google Drive Cloud-based storage platform with the upcoming version of its flagship Chrome operating system.
According to Google exec Sundar Pichai, the tight integration will help streamline sharing and moving files within the web-centric OS.
“With Chromebooks, [Google Drive] is even more powerful,” Pichai told Wired.
“This is because it just starts working naturally. Your local drive is also Google Drive. This makes it really powerful because you just don’t think about it.”
Meaning, if you open the ‘save file’ dialog box on Chrome OS, the system directs straight to Google Drive.
“We’ll effectively integrate [Google] Drive into the native file system of Chrome OS,” Google exec Scott Johnson confirmed.
“All the core OS functionality will use [Google] Drive as a place to store data — if that’s what you opt in to.”
Chrome OS can best be described as a Linux-based operating system designed to work exclusively with web applications. The operating system was announced on July 7, 2009, with the first Intel-based Chromebooks shipping on June 15, 2011.
Fortunately, Mountain View is already planning a major Chromebook revamp with faster Intel Ivy Bridge x86 chips tapped to power next-gen Chromebook devices. Unsurprisingly, Google may also be eyeing an ARM Chromebook refresh, as a number of reports indicate the company is currently prepping at least two new models that will feature RISC-based ARM chips.
