Cloud (operating system)
Cloud was a browser-based operating system developed by Good OS LLC, a corporation based in Los Angeles. The company initially launched a Linux distribution called gOS, which was based on Ubuntu. Cloud was the third incarnation of the gOS project and aimed to provide a simplified operating system experience, particularly for Netbooks, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), and PCs primarily used for browsing the internet.
Overview
Cloud was a simplified operating system that ran just a web browser, providing access to a variety of web-based applications that allowed the user to perform many simple tasks without booting a full-scale operating system. Because of its simplicity, Cloud could boot in just a few seconds. The operating system was designed for Netbooks, Mobile Internet Devices, and PCs that are mainly used to browse the Internet. From Cloud the user can quickly boot into the main OS, because Cloud continues booting the main OS in the background.
Combining a browser with a basic operating system allows the use of cloud computing, in which applications and data are stored remotely and accessed via the internet, instead of storing and retrieving data from a hard drive.
Cloud can be installed and used together with other operating systems, or act as a standalone operating system. When used as a standalone operating system, hardware requirements are relatively low.
In 2009, Cloud was only officially available built into the GIGABYTE M912 Touch Screen Netbook.
Early reviews compared the operating system's user interface to OS X and noted the similarity of its browser to Google Chrome, although it is actually based on a modified Mozilla Firefox browser.