Google’s New OS Fuchsia: Meet Android’s Killer
Last August the Web community discovered a new project on GitHub called Fuchsia. Obviously, it looked like a new OS. Google, as you know, has developed two operating systems – Android OS and Chrome OS. Both have much in common, although Android is much more popular, while Chrome OS just didn’t cut it. You can find Chrome OS only on Chrome Books – a limited and strange edition of laptops.
Now Google ventured in a third attempt to abruptly change the dystopian mobile OS world. The company revised not only the system but the very kernel of it and created it from the start. Along the lines of the new colors policy, Google named the kernel Magenta. From the look of it, Fuchsia is going to be independent both from Linux and Java – the two operating systems that rule Android now. It will be a Google product through and through.
The project is live and evolving rapidly. Curious readers can watch the work of Fuchsia Armadillo app on YouTube. It works super fast and very smoothly.
First of all, Armadillo offers a card-centric interface rather than a static one. The apps and widgets are organized in a flow that users can scroll downwards to find the one they need right now. These same widgets and apps (which are called ‘stories’ in Fuchsia) can interact with each other, ‘suggesting’ better actions for users. The suggestions represent not a prompt but a representation of an action. In other words, Armadillo is a constantly changing, live environment that reacts to one’s likes, dislikes, wishes and intentions.
Fuchsia Armadillo GUI Settings
Fuchsia seems to be centered around the user’s page. It features an image of the user, the date and time, location, and battery level as well as a shortcut to settings. The settings are similar to those in Android. There are volume and brightness settings, airplane mode, and a screen rotation on/off function.The new OS also supports long tap, drag-and-drop and split-screen mode.
But what magic is behind all this smoothness? This is where we come to the core of it. Because a new OS doesn’t just mean new icons or a new shell but a new approach to handling things. Google’s Fuchsia is the first real time operating system or RTOS for mobiles.
What is the real-time system? In a way, the RTOS is similar to the army. You get an order and you fulfill it. You have a deadline to meet or be prepared for severe consequences. If the task is a complicated one you have to divide it into stages and set your priorities right or you’ll fail.
The real-time system commander is called Scheduler. It schedules how much time and memory an app has to execute the program. The Scheduler also set up priorities: which app is more important than the other and should be given the green light. The Scheduler has assistants called Interrupters. They do exactly what they’re named after: they interrupt or pause the apps with lower priorities.
The real-time systems are widely used in house smart appliances with micro-controllers: washing machines, dishwashers, and climate systems. For instance, a dishwasher features a water manager and a display manager. The water manager controls the water level and leaks; the display manager regulates the data on the display. Obviously, the water manager has the higher priority. It controls the water fill, temperature and drain. If it fails to meet the deadline, the dish-washer will stop mid-operation. But if everything is OK, the water manager ends the operation and gives the place to the manager of the display. And you can see, that the eco wash program is on and due to be over in an hour. You’re oblivious to all the drama that has taken place behind the control panel. Nevertheless, the microprocessor of your dishwasher is running the real time system and the appliance is obliging its commands without a fail.
It is this flawless work that Google wants to bring to our smartphones. Yet, the revealing date is still a mystery. Some experts assume that Fuchsia will go to drones and home assistants rather than to smartphones as these gadgets are more in need for smooth work. But on the other hand, Android’s time is nearing its end. Smartphones are becoming more and more powerful and complicated while Android is constantly lagging behind and failing to organize the process properly. Let’s hope, we’ll be able to try Fuchsia on our smartphones next year.
Links
- Google plans to launch Fuchsia OS: Report – Deccan Chronicle
- Fuchsia Git repositories – Official website
- Sell your cell phone online – The best place to sell used electronic devices
- Everything About Apple’s Products – The complete guide to all Apple consumer electronic products, including technical specifications, identifiers and other valuable information.
FUCHSIA: What We Know So Far About Google’s New OS [Video]
Video uploaded by CHM Tech on May 19, 2017
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