The idea that Web browsers could eventually replace computer operating systems caused Bill Gates to completely freak out, somewhere around 1994, leading to the "browser wars" with Netscape. Good OS, most known for its gOS Linux that debuted in Wal-Mart computers, today announced "Cloud," a new operating system that boots into a browser with Google, Yahoo! and Live in seconds, and optionally boots into Windows. Cloud is not meant to replace operating systems. Rather, it is designed to be the environment most users will use most often. It would be installed in parallel with another OS -- Linux or Windows XP -- typically on low-powered "netbook". Users needing to run legacy applications could boot into "that other OS" when they really need to.

The OS quite literally consists of a browser plus a Mac-ish dock for your shortcuts and for switching to XP or powering on/off. The Cloud system was demonstrated at the Netbook World Summit on a Gigabyte touchscreen netbook.

[Ubergizmo]