Google’s plan to release its own operating system based on its Chrome browser is set to debut next year. According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the time is now ripe for a new kind of operating system, and his company’s Chrome is the one he’s betting on. The browser-friendly Google OS will be geared toward computer users who grew up with the Internet, who are interested primarily in surfing the Web, and who have been pummeled into a thrift-driven mindset that’s likely to persist long after the recession is over.