A new Google repository recently went live on GitHub page and this one is big. Google’s latest project is nothing less than a brand new operating system called Fuchsia. This new OS is powered by a new kernel called Magenta that’s based on the existing LittleKernel project.
Yes, that’s a lot of huge news to take in in a single paragraph. Let’s give it a little space to breathe and let it really sink in. Google’s project page describes Fuchsia as a new operating system which is the result of Pink + Purple. You read that right. The description literally reads “Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System)”. Isn’t very helpful, is it? Luckily, we’ve got Android Police to help us make sense of it.
Flutter will apparently act as the user interface for this new OS with Escher as the renderer. This renderer is capable of supporting light diffusion, soft shadows and numerous other visual affects. This has l leaf to speculation that the UI will follow Google’s Material Design guidelines as these visual affects play an important role in it. The programming language of choice appears to be Dart.
The kernel that powers Fuchsia is the aforementioned Magenta. It is capable of scaling all the way from embedded systems to smartphones and even desktop computers. The kernel improves upon LittleKernel, its base by offering first class user-mode support and a capability-based security model. The former is necessary to permit the existence of user accounts which is expected of any modern OS. The latter will allow a granular permission system like the one in Android Marshmallow.
For those who are itching to take this new OS for a spin, it’s apparently possible to already install it on a PC or a virtual machine. You’ll however need to compile the code yourself. Googler Travis Geiselbrecht has confirmed that it’ll be making its way to the Raspberry Pi 3.
What is the future of this fledgling OS? There’s a world of possibilities. Rumors range from the radical to the more mundane and plausible. Is it the replacement for both, Android and Chrome OS? Or is it here to power Google’s growing embedded devices portfolio? One should never forget that this is Google we’re talking about and the project might die and be buried before you get the word out to all your friends.
For now, this does hold the potential to be something really, really big someday and you know we’ll keep you posted about its fate. Let us know what you think about Google’s new project in the comments below.
[Source: Android Police]
Whew, hope it to release in full version soon for General Purpose Use over PCs.
Step of Google over Desktop OS.