Seems to me that the Google Chrome OS will firstly compete on Netbooks - where Apple doesn't have a product, but where Microsoft has it's Windows XP and Windows 7 systems pre-installed. So at least at the moment it's Google taking on Microsoft. 
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Google Announces Google Chrome Operating System
- Thread starter ipodtoucher
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This is potentially massive news. I would imagine that MS and Apple's feathers will be ruffled slightly by this and that the likes of Dell and HP will be quite excited.
This will be interesting to see. I really don't think it will be extremely popular though. I still think the ultimate goal of Google is to own all computer related technology.
I've got nothing against Google, but let's not get carried away here. They've had their share of crappy ideas. They are quick to abandon these things however so it's probably why there is a perception that they can't fail.
Why would Dell or HP be excited about this? Because it's a cheap alternative? Linux is already a cheap alternative to Windows and getting either of them to sell PCs with it pre-installed is like pulling teeth.
PC makers, it seems to me, have been hurt enormously in the last few years because of their past willingness to fight for the low-end market to such an extent that they undercut the perceived value of their product. I don't think any of them are looking to continue that direction. I don't think this is going to be as easy for Google as some of you do.
Seems to me that the Google Chrome OS will firstly compete on Netbooks - where Apple doesn't have a product, but where Microsoft has it's Windows XP and Windows 7 systems pre-installed. So at least at the moment it's Google taking on Microsoft.
Apple doesn't have a netbook per se but they do have the iPhone which appears to fill many of the needs of those seeking netbooks. Personally, I doubt netbooks are selling as well as some would have us believe. I don't know anyone who owns one. I haven't seen any on the store shelves and I have heard no talk where I work of the benefits of using them. I don't see where they fit in or what purpose they serve in any compelling way.
Sounds like Mark Andreesens vision of a cloudOS is coming to fruition. And to think. Microsoft was afraid of this concept many years ago.
I agree that introduction and acceptance will be slow. BUT years ago before apple made a come back the general populations opinion was "there is no other OS" only thing people really knew of was windows.
BUT now its pretty common knowledge that linux is out there as an alterntive, and of course everyone knows about OS X.
Linux hasnt "caught on" mostly due to the hassle of getting everything working just right. No matter how simple people claim versions of linux, such as Ubuntu, have become, Linux is still a bit of a b**** to get it running with the convienence and overall "greatness" that users are used to in commercial OS's such as windows or OS X. Now even for those that can handle or dont mind that hassle, the sad truth is that linux just doesnt offer enough advantages to justify the trouble it can cause.
So what i mean is, assuming this google OS has been designed specifically to be quick and easy to install and have running smoothly, and hopefully google innovates enough for consumers to have a TRUE reason to use chrome OS instead of windows or OSX then this chrome could truly catch on.
To be fair, you're just assuming that it will be a dumb terminal - it's not like they've said "the OS will be a web-browser", is it?
Even if the apps are made with web-tech, the rich web applications of today are mostly running on the client, even if the code is being served from the server.
I do like Google but aren't they getting too big already? The domination of Microsoft is the reason they are pretty much hated. Google is in the same sphere as Microsoft; M$ owns the OS, Google own the online world. Marry that up with an OS (granted I doubt it would ever be as big as M$) and they really would be Big Brother. Makes me nervous ....
Read the blog entry and find out.
[hint: it's something this guy Linus created in the early 90s].
/vjl/
Most people are put off Linux because it all seems a bit too geeky and specialist, they are happy with what they know. They already know and use Google so that barrier is broken down already.
It's not competition for Apple. It's a custom Linux Distribution for Cloud Computing which will target the Enterprise.
To be fair, you're just assuming that it will be a dumb terminal - it's not like they've said "the OS will be a web-browser", is it?
Even if the apps are made with web-tech, the rich web applications of today are mostly running on the client, even if the code is being served from the server.
It reminds me of the Netwinder/JavaStation/NetComputer from around a decade ago - nice ideas but never took off because the idea of being reliant on company to take care of your data is rather worrying, especially when it comes to security, portability and the fact that it is creepy that some organisation has control over your data rather than it being physically in your own hands.
The internet can compliment and used as a tool for collaboration but it is delusional to think that it could replace the desktop operating system with some sort of stripped down OS with a browser ontop.
The first question I have is how will this make any money for Google? After all, development costs, particularly OS development does not come cheaply. Will it scan your emails/browsing history to bring you specially selected 'sponsor announcements'? Will it lock you out of certain sites in places like China or Iran?
No offence, but I cannot see OEMs rushing to put this on their netbooks if they have to pay for it, since they can get Windows for a pittance (as long as they lock out the opposition) and people will shy away from a freebie if it is tied to advertising, since there are already other free alternatives.
Google is a business, not an altruistic charity. What is its real motivation for this OS?
No offence, but I cannot see OEMs rushing to put this on their netbooks if they have to pay for it, since they can get Windows for a pittance (as long as they lock out the opposition) and people will shy away from a freebie if it is tied to advertising, since there are already other free alternatives.
Google is a business, not an altruistic charity. What is its real motivation for this OS?
Very interesting news. I am excited to see what direction this will go in as the OS develops. Props to them, but I too see this being hard to get adopted. These days, as people have mentioned, the OS would have to be pre-installed to get any sort of user base, and that will be hard to do when you have to fight PC vendors to do it, and fight consumers to pick a new OS they don't know over Windows, which is very very much so engrained...
It's open source, so that'll lessen the development costs. Plus, having Chrome developed already would give them a huge head start on development. I don't imagine that an open source kernel (linux) combined with an open source browser (chromium/chrome) to create an open source OS would cost that much for Google.
If Google has any sense at all, they would give a user option to disable any tracking done for the benefit of Google. As for advertising, I don't see Google Chrome butting in every second with some Google supported ads, and seeing as this OS is supposed to be a complete web-based experience, if their standalone browser isn't obtrusive, I don't see why their OS would be.
I wouldn't know their motivation though, if it's truly FOSS. Probably the same motivation, if any, as the idea behind Chrome, seeing as they're practically identical projects.
it could be interesting, and i think it will initially have a lot of adopters because it's google. my guess is that it will struggle much like linux has to have wide adoption for a variety of reasons:
software - that's the big one. if it can't do MS Word, the Adobe suite, or other major software, it will never become more than a toy for people who really hate 'the establishment' (i realize there are open source alternatives, but for the most part they're not entirely viable)
security - imagine if everything you owned/did on your computer & the web was tied to a Google account. that's a hacker's fantasy world.
familiarity - that's why microsoft is still huge.
business - it's a combination of the above, but if businesses have been slow to let go of XP, how fast do you think they'll be willing to jump ship to an entirely different OS? (Apple even has a hard time making significant headway with this - though they are making inroads)
There are other reasons for sure, but even with that said, I think a Chrome OS could have some serious potential for netbooks, and provide a great way to spread technology through third world countries... and hopefully they'll light a fire under Apple to continue innovating, and for MS to continue copying and tweaking
software - that's the big one. if it can't do MS Word, the Adobe suite, or other major software, it will never become more than a toy for people who really hate 'the establishment'
(i realize there are open source alternatives, but for the most part they're not entirely viable)security - imagine if everything you owned/did on your computer & the web was tied to a Google account. that's a hacker's fantasy world.
familiarity - that's why microsoft is still huge.
business - it's a combination of the above, but if businesses have been slow to let go of XP, how fast do you think they'll be willing to jump ship to an entirely different OS? (Apple even has a hard time making significant headway with this - though they are making inroads)
There are other reasons for sure, but even with that said, I think a Chrome OS could have some serious potential for netbooks, and provide a great way to spread technology through third world countries... and hopefully they'll light a fire under Apple to continue innovating, and for MS to continue copying and tweaking
Given the data mining that Google does with GMail, one wonders what they will do when they control the whole freakin' OS.
Then what they said in 1984 will becomes reality in 26 years, except it is not IBM...
Yeah, but it wont happen. It's obviously going to be built on some stripped down Linux, and we know how well Linux "just works" on stuff.