Chromebooks will differ from the regular laptop in a way that’s not all that surprising given Google’s focus on online applications. They’re primarily cloud-based, which means the majority of data a Chromebook will access will be stored online, with minimum quantities of onboard storage. As shouldn’t be a shock, Google’s own applications are front and centre, with the key experience intended to be similar to that of running everything in a browser, all of the time. Online access also means that onboard processing power will be kept low, although this cutting down of storage and processors hasn’t led to price drops for the first run of Chromebooks, expected to launch overseas mid-June. They’re priced at the same kinds of prices you’d pay for a netbook running Windows right now. To remain competitive, they’re probably going to have to drop prices a touch, especially in Australia where online data costs could quickly make a Chromebook a rather costly option.

While the big name vendors such as Samsung and Acer will start selling Chromebooks overseas very soon now, there’s actually a locally produced laptop available right now running Chrome… of a sort. Local online retailer Kogan announced the “world’s first” laptop powered by Google’s “Chromium” operating system back on the 3rd of June. The choice of words in describing it is undeniably rather deliberate; Kogan’s effort isn’t a Google-stamped Chromebook, but running on the open source Chromium variant instead. That could have implications down the track for updates and security, as part of Google’s pitch for Chromebooks is that they’ll update automatically (based on a common hardware profile) while the open source Chromium variant is dependant on open source developers continuing to improve the code, which they may or may not do. I’ve not yet had a chance to slap one of Kogan’s Chromium-based laptops onto my test bench to assess if it’s any good or not, however.

This still leaves the question quite open as to whether ChromeOS will actually capture the attention of consumer buyers. There’s been a definite shift in recent years towards cloud-based applications. Google’s the obvious poster child, but even Apple’s getting into the game with the launch of its iCloud service. Lightweight inexpensive netbooks have enjoyed reasonable sales, but they’re also being pinched by easy to use Tablets, including those running Google’s own Android operating system. Despite appearances, not everything Google releases automatically turns to gold. Its Wave online real-time collaboration product was launched with considerable hype, but failed to gain the attention of the broader market; Google’s essentially ditched Wave, as it has other products that haven’t taken the way the company intended to.

Below are 5 of the most popular open source computer applications currently available along with the commercial software packages that they compete with:

1. Dia Vs Microsoft Visio
Dia is an open source drawing package that rivals the commercial Microsoft Visio package. Just as with Visio, Dia helps users develop and put together a host of charts, drawing and graphics presentations. If you need to put together flowcharts, UML diagrams, relationship diagrams or any other types of graphs or charts on a regular basis, Dia is an excellent open source alternative to the commercially priced Visio.

2. Clonezilla Vs Symantec Norton Ghost
Clonezilla is the open source solution for backing up files and important data on your computer. In fact, Clonezilla software can be used for backing up data, restoring data or for ghosting. Clonezilla is the open source rival of programs like Norton’s Ghost. It is capable of backing up everything on your hard disk, even including the operating system itself.

3. OpenOffice Draw Vs Microsoft Visio
OpenOffice Draw is a popular open source application that allows users to develop flowcharts, graphs and other illustrations. It is one of several open source software packages that rival Microsoft Visio. OpenOffice Draw can be used to create professional visual presentations of data which is extremely beneficial in the business environment.

4. Quanta Plus Vs Adobe Dreamweaver
Quanta Plus is a software package that provides an open source alternative to web design software packages such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft Frontpage. Quanta Plus is quickly becoming a viable alternative to other well-known software packages and includes a host of features that match those found in commercial packages and therefore is growing in popularity among web designers.

5. Gimpshop Vs Adobe Photoshop
Gimpshop is a software solution that not only provides an alternative to Photoshop but also rides on top of what has already been developed in Gimp. Gimpshop takes things further than Gimp to offer a graphics solution that is as similar as possible to Photoshop. Menus and tools have all been changed in Gimpshop to look as much as possible like Photoshop. This reduces the learning curve for people that want to use Gimpshop that are used to using Photoshop.