Google's Linux-based Chrome OS operating system should be with us by now. But at that point last December when we were led to believe our netbooking futures were about to be redefined, Google postponed our date with destiny and asked us to try again in another six months. It seemed the road ahead wasn't quite as clear as Google wanted it to be, and six months is presumably enough time for the masters at Menlo Park to fine-tune their revolution and get things back on track. But that's a tough track to find, and while I obviously want it to be a success, there are three specific challenges that Chrome OS needs to face before I believe it can be a success. The first is that Chrome has to turn a netbook operating system into something desirable, innovative, shiny and practical. It has to do this in the face of increasingly refined competition, and it has to do this using a foundation of open source software. Netbooks may be brilliant for getting work done while you're travelling in economy class, but they're an increasingly hard sell in a world full of tablets and touch gestures. Google did release a prototype version of its operating system, running on devices it calls the CR-48 , but from all reports there's very little to tell the operating system apart from the browser, and its limited release to a small group of journalists only adds to Google's unsubstantiated hype. Tough sell That brings us to the second problem with Chrome OS. It's going to be a tough sell
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