According to Google’s CEO, Chrome OS won’t be ready to go in notebooks until after the holiday. It’s a bummer, really, because the OS release could produce a glut of development from app makers looking to make web versions of their current software.

The OS was originally supposed launch well before the holidays, then it was pushed back to late November, now it’s looking like we won’t see it until next year, outside of beta anyway. Google says it will have more to share later in the year. Guess what, guys. It is later in the year. It’s very late in the year in fact, so just tell us it won’t be ready until next year. That’s all we need to know.

Several manufacturers have held a “no comment” status on launching Chrome netbooks. That can’t be a good thing. I figured there would be some excitement about a slim new OS that won’t have the crazy licensing fees of Microsoft products. Really makes me wonder why the OS has caught a delay. Is Google having trouble partnering with manufacturers? Did they back out after agreeing to support the platform a year ago?

In November of last year Apple released a new iTunes feature called iTunes Preview. The service allowed users to preview the music available in the iTunes store without launching or even installing the iTunes software. It was a nice move, long overdue, and it’s now been extended to include iPhone apps.

Basically, any time you click an iTunes link for an app, your browser will redirect to a page that contains the standard iTunes information. You get screenshots from the application along with reviews, pricing, descriptions and ratings. From there you can click to view the app in iTunes and go through your standard download process.

I’m just glad I can’t be fooled into clicking those damn links anymore. It was so infuriating to be on a site and accidentally hit a link on my touchpad only to have iTunes blow up and start loading the app store.

There’s an interesting article up on Wired this weekend that’s worth a look if you have the time. The focus of the story is Fennec, Mozilla’s new mobile browser. It’s meant to be the closest thing to a desktop browser you can get for a mobile device, replete with features that have to date required native apps to work. Features like full Java and HTML5 support.

That kind of flexibility is great for developers and users, but it’s a promise we’ve seen before. Remember that Java pitch from so long ago? Java was supposed to be the great equalizer, allowing one string of code regardless of machine. Different hardware capability and Java versions meant that never happened, and ambitious developers spent more time debugging than adding new features.

It’s hard to say whether things could be different this time around. It could be fantastic for consumers, leaving us to make the choice between PC and Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360, Android or the iPhone based on more than just native Facebook support, or whatever else becomes the flavor of the month.

Check out the full article on Wired.