Is Google Chrome OS really free and Open Source?

The Answer is NO.

Chromium OS is Open Source and free, but to make Chrome OS, there will be closed source programs and possiblly licence fee to be paid to include this closed source programs.

Sundar Pichai - Google’s VP of Product Management while speaking at an event says -

"This is all about offering a choice for users.

We’re not going to go into too much detail about going to market today. We’re working on the software right now, but we are also working with manufacturers on the hardware level. For example, we only support solid-state drives and certain types of WiFi cards.

In Chrome OS every application is a web application. There are no native applications. That gives us simplicity. It’s just a browser with a few modifications. And all data is Chrome OS is in the cloud.

You cannot download and install Chrome on any machine. You will have to buy a new one. "

Yes, Chromium OS can be installed on any machine yourself by download. But there will be a very important part missing from Google Chrome OS.

I will explain how is it possible. I can explain from some experience from Android mobile OS.

• Part of Android is open source.
• To make real Android, Google's closed source program is needed. And it is not free and someone, like phone manufacturer or network provider need to pay.

Keep logging to our blog to find more about how Android works.