Is Google dumping Linux?
Scrutiny of recent project code suggests that the company is working on Fuscia, a new OS without the Linux kernel.
We don’t like starting a news story with the line ‘Google is up to something’, but Google is up to something. It’s been revealed that a project known as Fuscia could be a completely new operating system that the search giant is working on. Code has been added to Google Git ( https://fuchsia.googlesource.com), which highlights some interesting features of the OS. One thing that’s missing is any reference to the Linux kernel, which means that this operating system could be a complete departure from Android and Chrome OS, Google’s other operating systems that are based on Linux.
Instead, the OS uses the Magenta kernel, which is based on LittleKernel ( https://github.com/littlekernel/lk), which is designed for embedded systems, so there’s a possibility that Google’s OS could be aimed at Internet of Things and other smart devices. However, there are reports that this new OS is running on Intel NUC PCs and various laptops, and a Google developer working on the project has stated that it will soon support Raspberry Pi 3. While further details are thin on the ground, it looks like Google’s Fuscia OS could end up on a range of devices. There’s certainly one person who doesn’t think this upstart OS will be a success, however, thanks to the fact that it won’t be made available under the GPL, and that man’s name may be familiar to readers of this fine magazine: Linus Torvalds. Torvalds has commented at the recent LinuxCon that operating systems, such as Fuscia that shun the GPL will suffer from a lack of community.