Getting work done with Google's new Aura interface for Chrome OS

Google attempted to introduce a new approach to computing when it first launched Chrome OS in 2010. The operating system consists of little more than a fullscreen Web browser perched atop a rigorously-hardened Linux environment. The platform makes some unusual trade-offs, eschewing conventional native applications in exchange for bulletproof security and low-maintenance stateless computing. 

Although the unique approach that Google is pursuing with Chrome OS offers some intriguing benefits, the platform hasn’t inspired enthusiasm in consumers. It offers limited functionality and a poor user experience compared to more conventional alternatives. Chrome OS in its current state is simply too alien and too restrictive to appeal to a mainstream audience. But that’s about to change in a major way.

Google is readying the next iteration of Chrome OS, which promises to remedy the deepest deficiencies of the wayward Web-centric software platform. A new user interface layer called Aura, which offers many improvements over the current Chrome OS software environment, has reached the testing stage.