Introducing the Google Chrome OS

[AYHJA]

7/07/2009 09:37:00 PM

It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser. Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.

More/Source: http://snurl.com/pmt5j

[bd55]

Now THAT is interesting news. It will be worth looking at.

[jdog]

Only worth putting on netbooks as that is what it was designed for.

[bd55]

Only initially. They do mention it is intended for desktops as well. I doubt it will surpass windows anytime soon, but if it is that good, it might be a decent contender in the mid and long term.

[AYHJA]

Saying its for netbooks is only so they have what would essentially be a focus group for testing and working out bugs...They know if they outright say it's for PC's, hardcore tech heads will install it and probably rip it to shreds, lol...

[bd55]

But they do say it. It is on paragraph 5:

...and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems.

[zaphodz]

I think Google has the vision that there will shortly be no need for many desktop applications - i.e. wordprocessing, email clients, instant messaging.

All these things currently run in a browser. With the new HTML5 spec and ever increasing flexibility of javascript, the web browser now can be a front-end GUI for any program.

So they make their own OS based on Linux that they're partnering up with hardware manufacturers. I believe particularly ARM chipset netbooks - that should be able to run for ages on a single battery charge.

I think the whole idea is great and am really looking forward to see how they use it.

[jdog]

Only initially. They do mention it is intended for desktops as well. I doubt it will surpass windows anytime soon, but if it is that good, it might be a decent contender in the mid and long term.

1. Linux has been in hundreds of various distros for several decades and has NEVER taken off. Only the most hardcore/pure geek techies even bother using it and that makes up oh...0.01% of total PC/laptop users in the world. They tried to roll with it on netbooks but Windows XP Home quickly dominated the netbook market.
2. Windows has by far THE most superior driver and application support. Nobody is going to be using Chrome OS on anything but a netbook which has no viable expansion capability.

Chrome OS will only exist on netbooks and smaller peripherals, period. It has ZERO hope on the desktop or laptop market.

[bd55]

Once it gets on notebooks and people get used to it, it should not be difficult to jump into the desktop. The challenge will be exactly to get people used to it. True that no linux distro has been very successful, but none has had Google behind. Chrome is already growing much faster than FF did at the same stage and it will keep on doing so. In the eyes of a regular user, it will not be some strange company behind some even stranger operating system. This will be a name regular people are more likely to recognize and there it will find its strength. However I do not believe that (even if it turns out to be a big success) we will be seeing much in the short term.

[jdog]

Once it gets on notebooks and people get used to it, it should not be difficult to jump into the desktop. The challenge will be exactly to get people used to it. True that no linux distro has been very successful, but none has had Google behind. Chrome is already growing much faster than FF did at the same stage and it will keep on doing so. In the eyes of a regular user, it will not be some strange company behind some even stranger operating system. This will be a name regular people are more likely to recognize and there it will find its strength. However I do not believe that (even if it turns out to be a big success) we will be seeing much in the short term.

OpenSUSE has Novell behind it and pushes for use on business/corporate level with SLED: http://www.novell.com/linux/

That still hasn't taken off and I am quite the fan of OpenSUSE. It was by far the most easy to use Linux OS. Two thumbs up for OpenSUSE but I only used it on my Latitude D610 laptop and wouldn't consider it for a desktop.

True, Google is a more popular name but it just won't have the applications/driver support that is pretty much required for a desktop. Maybe a laptop would be suitable but the problem is that a LOT of people use laptops now as their primary system so it would need a LOT of application support. Unfortunately that falls under Windows.

Netbooks are plain and dull and only require internet and email use. That is where Chrome OS would excel, especially for email. Problem with that is that laptops have now fallen to the price of the netbook price range ($399) so netbook sales have suffered because of that. Now the mobile phone market is taking off by leaps and bounds (iPhone 3GS, Palm Pre, Blackberry) for email and internet use that is ultra portable. So that will take away a lot of sales for a netbook with Chrome OS.

The Chrome browser unfortunately will have zero effect on Firefox. Firefox has superior speed and customization with extensions. It has been eating away from Microsoft IE since it went 1.0 (when I first switched to it). Chrome will, however, eat away from IE6/7/8 users. Microsoft must be desperate at this point. They don't need to worry about OS market share though with an absolute wonder of an OS out now, Windows 7.