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> So, yes, Chrome is an alternative to traditional operating systems.

Chrome is basically a launcher for web-based programs so it is more like a alternative to traditional shells.

honestly, all the points above, I have heard few years ago for Java and the Applets who were portable, and would replace desktop apps, and Windows didn't matter anymore.... Sun even managed to create a Java only Os. But the whole thing went nowhere. Chrome will probably never be able to do 3D, or very intense computing tasks, so I think the OS is still here to stay.

You're right, Chrome won't do 3d. But that doesn't mean you can't look at 3d things through Chrome. Didn't we have the about:internets article just a few days ago?

Chrome isn't going to be an OS; but it might be a desktop environment. Which, to the casual user, is the same thing.

HTML5's canvas tag has an OpenGL ES 3D API. Well, that's what they've said. We'll see.

And frankly, they should've gone for the more DOM-like X3D.

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