Leaked: First Images of Chrome OS? (Not)

We’re not going to come out and call these fake right off the bat because we like to give people who claim to be putting their "career and notability on the line" the benefit of the doubt but we’re very skeptical, especially since the colors of the Google logo are actually in the wrong order. Check out the pictures below and let us know what you think. All images are courtesy of chromeosleak.wordpress.com.

The poster claims to have been invited to check out the Google OS by Acer and says the software was installed on an Acer Extensa 4620Z laptop to show it can be quickly installed on laptops from late 2007 to early 2008. He continues on to say that the install from Vista to Google Chrome OS Dev Beta took 10 minutes and only required one reboot. With a reboot speed of 25 seconds, the posters called the OS "amazingly fast" and said that at the time, the only application Google had installed was Gtalk. Read the full post here.

[UPDATE] It was all a ruse. Shocking. Check out the amazingly pretentious video below, which shows screenshots of the article on sites like Digg and Twitter, all to the tune of "The Final Countdown."

"I am sorry if you beleived it. It was a really bad attempt. You all are smart people. I never planned on it getting this big. But it did. (Come one, I know the Google logo. I am actually a graphic designer, I just wanted to see reactions if it was a crappy back.)Oh, right, I also DO know CSS and HTML. Just clarifying that. I never was going to let this go on longer than 12 hours.Read the video descript for more info."

  • Pei-chen
    Watch out for that truck
    Reply
  • drunknmunkys
    If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat, tastes like a rat, feels like a rat, and you think it's a rat ... you can be sure its news at TomsHardware!
    Reply
  • captaincharisma
    tell me this guy is not a complete loser
    Reply
  • zerapio
    Journalism at its best. Not sniping a Tom's per se but the industry as a whole. Are we that desperate for information that we believe anything that is thrown at us without a though? I'd like to think that's not the case.
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    microsoft paint at it's best
    Reply
  • jcknouse
    Personally, I think Google should sue him for trademark and copyright infringement.

    Now *THAT* would be funny.
    Reply
  • brendano257
    Pffft....pwned?
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    hey look - gullible is written on the top right pic!
    Reply
  • lol.... Funny video. seems like a few ppl are mad that its not a real screen shot. 3000 hits in 12 hr. come on really.. is that all. he couldn't do better then that. OK enough fun making... So someone has made a fake screen shot. I still can't wait to see the real thing, and no I don't believe everything I see Fox. It entertained me like 5 mins ty. :)
    Reply
  • twisted politiks
    i think that was a funny video. alot of people were thinking to do it, he just did it first, and epic song for the video, just made it that much funnier IMO
    Reply