What is Pigweed? Google trademarks new operating system
Even though Google's Android operating system powers a big chunk of active smartphones, the internet giant is not having enough of the OS game. Case in point: A new platform that Google appears to be developing by the name of Pigweed to accompany the already-existing team of Chrome OS and Android. Here's all we know about Pigweed (the information here is really scarce).
Google filed trademark application for 'Pigweed' OS
While Google has not said anything about this new operating system, its recent trademark filing with the USPTO tells a different story. As first spotted by Redditor Igats, the company has filed a trademark application for the name of 'Pigweed,' which falls into the category "computer operating software". Perhaps, a new OS could be in the works here.
But, what else we know about Pigweed?
Apart from the name and the category it covers, the trademark application doesn't tell anything else about Google's Pigweed. Technically, pigweeds are known to be nutritious leafy plants that also go by the name of amaranths. Sometimes they also dry out to form tumbleweeds, which spread their seeds while being blown around by the winds. So, no clue in the name either.
Only few references to Pigweed seen earlier
The folks at 9To5Google tried digging up the information about Google Pigweed but found only a couple of references related to it. First, it was mentioned in the code of Fuchsia, another operating system Google is known to be developing since 2016. However, that reference was later changed to 'fuchsia,' indicating (although not conclusively) that the two might be related some way.
Another reference was in Chromium code
Along with Fuchsia's code, references to Pigweed were spotted in Google's Chromium code repository, although in the code related to 'Monorail' issue tracker used by Chrome. This seems to indicate that Pigweed carries its own version of the Monorail bug tracker, much like other active Google projects. Beyond this, nothing is available about the OS or what it's being designed to do.
When Google will tell more about Pigweed?
There's no saying when Google will tell more about Pigweed, given that the company has been irregular with trademark filings and launches. The word 'Android' was trademarked five days before the launch of the OS in 2007, while 'Chromebook' was trademarked months after the first Chrome OS notebooks started shipping. Meanwhile, Fuchsia was trademarked two years ago and is yet to be unveiled officially.
