In the past, I've speculated as to how Windows PCs might cease to be requisite household appliances. I've also wondered out loud about how budget-busted institutions like schools will afford to upgrade all of their PC hardware and Windows licenses in this persistently unfavorable economic climate. Chrome OS, which is just now beginning to peek out from its veil, may be yet another opportunity to break free from Windows culture.

From Bloomberg Businessweek:

It takes 7 seconds to boot up Chrome OS and 3 seconds to log in, Google has said. [...]

The company also said today that there are 500 applications in its Chrome Web store, which opens today and was announced in May. [...]

Google’s new online store for software will appeal to people accustomed to easily downloading and using mobile apps on Apple iPhones and other handsets, said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

If you're a parent of a school-aged child, pay close attention to this stuff. Same for you school administrators out there. And small businesses, I'm looking at you too. This could be your ticket to a world free of burdensome Windows license fees and support costs.

If you've read me here at PE, you know I like Macs because they work and work fast. They let me get things done without being a part-time computer mechanic. Chrome OS may bring that same freedom to segments of society that can't reach the Mac for financial and other reasons.

Good things are coming.