Will Chrome OS be released before the end of this year?

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/13/google-chrome-os-to-launch-within-a-week/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)&utm_content=Google+Reader

If there are insufficient/unsupported drivers to run the system, what is the point of releasing Chrome OS at this time? If it is not a general release, because drivers are unavailable, is it regarded as a release in terms of this question?

I can see that the author of this question has just placed a huge best on this question, which I presume means that any release whatsoever qualifies in his book...

2. How must the world change for Chrome OS to be successful?

Google has described Chrome as an operating system for people who spend most of their time on the Internet.
I am one of those people, in the always-connected sense, but the current "applications on the hard drive" model serves me pretty well. If my broadband connection disappears, I can work quite happily (if disconnectedly) until communication is restored. How will Chrome OS handle this situation?

5. What happens to third-party applications in a Chrome OS world?

Google needs to explain the role of third-party applications in a Chrome-plated world. Must they all be online apps that live in the cloud?
How much functionality will exist on a Chrome OS machine when it isn't connected to the cloud? Can small developers make money writing Chrome apps, or is this a game for big players and, especially, for Google to dominate?
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/182491/ahead_of_chrome_os_5_questions_and_concerns.html

5 Expectations for Google's Chrome OS Event
Ian Paul
Nov 18, 2009 8:46 am
http://www.pcworld.com/article/182475/5_expectations_for_googles_chrome_os_event.html

It's a little late to clarify now, but does this include beta releases?

I'd think not... but anyway, http://www.lockergnome.com/theoracle/2009/11/19/chrome-os-revealed-but-hibernating-for-winter/

See, now I predicted this days ago, and again today. No Chrome OS for a while. Seemed straightforward to me, and I thought all that speculation was quite foolhardy.

November 19, 2009 5:46 PM PST
Google released the source code for Chrome OS on Thursday, beginning the process of producing a browser-based operating system by the end of 2010 for lower-end PCs called Netbooks. Although Linux runs under the covers, the applications all run within Google's browser.
http://news.cnet.com/2300-30685_3-10001912.html

(not sufficient for settlement, but still interesting info)

I may as well keep my speculative bet alive and hope for the end of the year.

I think we have to wait and see if Google will take the Chromium OS and package it as Chrome OS (just as they test and package the Chromium browser as the Chrome browser) before the end of the year.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/182718/google_chrome_os_its_promises_and_secrets.html
Public demonstration of chrome os today 20thNov09

I disagree with the settlement. Here is a post about a using Chrome OS on a virtual machine right now: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/chrome-os-google-vmware-download,9124.html#xtor=RSS-181
I believe this meets the criteria of "possible to download or installed on a device you can buy" stated in the terms above.