Google has partnered up with an online charity to provide classrooms with low-cost Chromebooks for the holidays. From now through December 21, educators can request discounted Chromebooks through DonorsChoose.org, a Kickstarter-like charity that focuses on projects submitted by...

Google has redoubled its efforts behind Chrome OS, unveiling two new Samsung-built machines today. Launched last May, the company's first cloud-based systems were scarcely marketed and were largely dismissed as niche products. This time, Google says it wants to boost awareness...

Chrome OS notebooks from Acer and Samsung are expected to launch next month at $349 and $429, respectively. The fact that you can get a more powerful netbook with Windows 7 pre-installed for roughly the same price, or even less, is already putting some people off.

But that doesn't mean you should disregard Google's operating system without so much as giving it a try, especially since it's available as a free download for you to test on your own hardware. We'll show you how to create a bootable USB flash drive with Chrome OS or run the it using a free virtual machine.

The recently launched Chrome OS notebooks from Acer and Samsung offer a glimpse of the future Google envisions, where all your computing is done hassle-free through the browser. Would you be interested in getting one, even if just as a secondary machine? What would you consider the sweet spot in terms of price? Vote and let us know your thoughts in the comments.