Google Announces Google Chrome Operating System

[clevin]

Looks like all the big names are moving in this direction:

Apple's server farm

Microsoft's Gazelle

Google's OS

This news about google doesn't seem like much of a shocker in light of the wider context.

i sincerely hope, and I kinda think will be true, that google os is not like those two

those webbrowser as platform ideas only good for restricted area and limited number of users. It would fail on any capable computers, which netbook is actually one of them.

You're wrong about Google Apps of course... It will run anything web based (ajax) program.
And Google OS isn't designed to replace OSX and Windows for complicated tasks, just for basic tasks that most everyone uses their computer for.

thats the original thought of linux on netbook, look at it now.

its one thing to meet the basic need of most people, its another to totally remove other taskes they might need.

 

[*LTD*]

Explain/ No MS OS was ever based on a browser. That is why you will be able to buy IE less windows 7.

IE + ActiveX.

 

[SPUY767]

That is great news... I hope it is stylish too. I would really like a streamlined OS; in truth the Mac OS is kinda bloated with lots of stuff I don't want during install but don't have the option to remove them.

What Chrome would need though is a good media player, windows media and mov files aren't really that common anymore, neither are real media files. Google has got youtube (awful site) but at least they have experience with media such as flash and mp4.

There's a difference between Mac OS bloat and Windows bloat. I can delete what I want on Mac OS with reasonable certainty that because I delete, say, Activity Monitor, something else isn't going to **** the bed. With windows, you can't even uninstall an application with Windows' own uninstall program with certainty that it won't wreck another application's day.

 

[MRU]

I'm surprised this is news.... Google have been messing around with their own linux variant for a while.

I already played around with gOS, which I assume Google Chrome OS will be some derivative.

If so.... it wasn't very good.....



http://www.thinkgos.com/gos/index.html

 

[Ibjr]

At what point does it become uncomfortable or legally shady to have Google's CEO on Apple's Board of Directors?

--HG

When it becomes a conflict of interest; when Apple releases a netbook or Chrome OS is targeted at full desktops.

 

[*LTD*]

i sincerely hope, and I kinda think will be true, that google os is not like those two

those webbrowser as platform ideas only good for restricted area and limited number of users. It would fail on any capable computers, which netbook is actually one of them.

It might not get as much traction NOW.

But think a few years down the road. Hell, the whole game can change in only two years! MobileMe, Twitter, Cloud computing, iPhones, everything synced everywhere, online services, you name it.

Now if this Google OS is just another flavour of Linux that tries to integrate a few more online services, then, well . . . . it sounds less exciting.

 

[clevin]

With windows, you can't even uninstall an application with Windows' own uninstall program with certainty that it won't wreck another application's day.

what a nonsense. I install, uninstalled programs on windows for 13 years. long enough to tell you your statement is FUD.

But think a few years down the road. Hell, the whole game can change in only two years! MobileMe, Twitter, Cloud computing, iPhones, everything synced everywhere, online services, you name it.

the problem as I see it, is that there is only limited things you can do with it, i can easily name a game, torrent, or video transcoding, or sky video chatting, or c++ programming, or professional editing (office, or image) etc, that an web-based OS is incapable of. and the fact that there are probably numerous others.

Its probably okay for some users, my point is, those "some users" is not a big enough number among computer users. I doubt it will be more than a million.

 

[Ibjr]

IE + ActiveX.

You do not know what you are talking about.

 

[Ibjr]

thats the original thought of linux on netbook, look at it now.

its one thing to meet the basic need of most people, its another to totally remove other taskes they might need.

Linux on a netbook failed because they used unconventional UI with inadequate standardization and people bought it with the expectation it will do more than it did. Everyone knows the google programs and everyone knows what google can do. This will not be a repeat.

 

[clevin]

Linux on a netbook failed because they used unconventional UI with inadequate standardization and people bought it with the expectation it will do more than it did. Everyone knows the google programs and everyone knows what google can do. This will not be a repeat.

no, linux on netbook fail because people can not install and use many programs and hardwares as they like to. EEE's UI is simple enough (its big buttons!) and its window decoration mimics windows. The inconvenience of that aspect can't be possibly blamed for the failure.

 

[techfreak85]

i will have to check this out.
i now see how all of googles online apps have fallen into place for this.

i wonder how long google people are going to still be on Apples board.

 

[SPUY767]

Explain/ No MS OS was ever based on a browser. That is why you will be able to buy IE less windows 7.

It was a joke about Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer being the same thing. The Web Browser being an integral part of the OS that you could never get rid of.

 

[SPUY767]

And ended up killing Windows.

I used the term 'worked' pretty loosely.

 

[*LTD*]

I used the term 'worked' pretty loosely.

I used "killed" loosely too.

 

[Kinjjibo]

You're wrong about Google Apps of course... It will run anything web based (ajax) program. And no, you didn't "hear" about this awhile ago. You have have heard speculation, but no confirmation. The only announced google os where their clustering server.

And Google OS isn't designed to replace OSX and Windows for complicated tasks, just for basic tasks that most everyone uses their computer for.

I have heard "rumors" about a Google OS for months, which means I've heard about a Google OS. I wasn't saying I heard any confirmations of it, just rumors. I was just stating guesses that it might just use Google Desktop and other Google softwares. It's a guess, not final.

 

[SPUY767]

what a nonsense. I install, uninstalled programs on windows for 13 years. long enough to tell you your statement is FUD.

I'm willing to bet that I've been using windows a far sight longer than you, since pre 3.11, and there are so many dependencies that applications share. Couple that with Microsofts lazy Add/Remove Programs utility that will just run the applications own Uninstaller if its available, and it's relatively easy for one uninstaller to delete a DLL file that two applications use and have a second application that won't run properly until you can dig up a copy of the missing DLL. It's not something that heppens frequently for me or likely any other power user, but casual users do this kind of crap pretty often.

 

[Electrolytic]

Maybe you and I won't but most, if not all who buy Windows don't go looking for the best but what can get the job done at the cheapest price. This will kill off Linux distros which makes me queasy and I don't trust Google with privacy issues.

This almost the equivalent desktop version of the Pre. 90% of what most people do is through the web apps. It's the other 10% that Google may struggle with. Huh I wonder if they'll be an iTunes for Chrome, lol.

If this will kill off most or all Linux Distros then thank god or google... There are too many distros of Linux no one wants to spend time making a app for 50 different distros that's why Linux has never taken off...

As for the new chrome os great, Microsoft needs at least one good competitor...

 

[*LTD*]

I'm willing to bet that I've been using windows a far sight longer than you, since pre 3.11, and there are so many dependencies that applications share. Couple that with Microsofts lazy Add/Remove Programs utility that will just run the applications own Uninstaller if its available, and it's relatively easy for one uninstaller to delete a DLL file that two applications use and have a second application that won't run properly until you can dig up a copy of the missing DLL. It's not something that heppens frequently for me or likely any other power user, but casual users do this kind of crap pretty often.

This.

If this will kill off most or all Linux Distros then thank god or google... There are too many distros of Linux no one wants to spend time making a app for 50 different distros that's why Linux has never taken off...

As for the new chrome os great, Microsoft needs at least one good competitor...

?

Most common distros can run the same applications. Linux apps are often cross-compatible.

 

[thepylongenius]

Yes it's news!

News? Really? Seriously?

I've been hearing rumblings of a GoogleOS for years... hasn't everyone? I'm sure MS and Apple have contingency plans for this, and it remains to be seen how much the general public will even notice.

How are you questioning whether this is news or not? Google just made an official statement about their upcoming OS, that is news. Yes, there have been rumors going around, but this is news because it's an official statement. Please think before you type.

 

[QCassidy352]

It just runs, while Leopard is still a spinning beachball-infested crash and freeze, random runaway CPU usage fest, in spite of the marketing trying to convince you it's the other way around.

Um, I don't know what you're running leopard on, but you need to get it checked out. Leopard is rock solid - no crashes, freezes, beachballs, etc. - on the three macs in my house (core2duo imac, mini, and macbook). In fact, I don't know a single leopard user who has anything close to the experience you describe - and I know a lot of leopard users.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Great news. Competition is good.

 

[kingtj]

What's funny is, you DO need a full-blown OS for this!

1. Many porn sites are really big on downloading custom-made plug-ins to use with them. The porn industry on the net has been one of the most aggressive in adopting and experimenting with new technologies. (They stand to make, or lose, a lot of money based on how user-friendly they can make their site while still locking down their content tightly enough so people can't just share paid user accounts, download and re-distribute their photos or video for free, etc. etc.)

2. Even something seemingly as "basic" as video streaming from popular sites like Hulu or YouTube may require a full-blown OS to accomplish it in the manner the user wishes to do it. EG. User may have a dual display configuration and wants all video to show on only the 2nd. display (or LCD/DLP projector that's attached to a second video port).

3. Voice chat sometimes gets more complicated than you'd think, too, because people want to use devices like bluetooth headsets. Even OS X has had numerous issues with people hearing pops/clicks or with pairing of specific makes and models of headsets in the past. A stripped down, basic, browser-centric OS aimed at netbooks isn't likely to support all of this very well.

These are just a few random examples, off the top of my head, but it illustrates the reason the most popular operating systems of today are all so huge and resource-intensive. They *have* to be, to make a lot of the things "easy" that people come up with to try to do, while trying to use what seems like a pretty straightforward application. A small, "mini OS" works best when you have control over the hardware, and you're only providing a limited set of capabilities (as you do with, say, the iPhone).

There are a lot of people in the world who only do a few things with a computer, even in today's world:

- Watch porn.
- Check their email.
- browse the web.
- Video streaming via Youtube, Hulu
- listen to music and sync their iPods
- documents and spreadsheets
- organise and edit some photos.
- MSN, Skype, etc.


That covers most tasks for most people. You really don't even need a complex OS like OS X or Windows to do these basic tasks, which is what's funny about OSes getting more complex and feature-filled.

 

[JoelMarcey]

Will it also be in beta for 5 years?

I wonder if Google Chrome OS will be in beta as long as Gmail -- which was, if my math is right, about 5 years.

Seriously, they are going to make or break on their decision to open source this thing. Will they make money like Red Hat does (support and services) or somehow incorporating ads into the OS?

 

[atari1356]

I find it interesting that so many people are excited about an OS where the apps will be web-based.

Not so long ago, many people on here were very upset with Apple that the iPhone could only run web-apps from third parties (before Apple released the iPhone OS SDK / app store).

They complained that web apps were slow, and crippled... that you couldn't do anything useful with them.

How will web apps on a Google OS be any different?

How long will it be until we see a Google Chrome OS App Store? where developers sell their native Chrome OS apps?

 

[windywoo]

Just look at OS X. It's superior in just about every way, and even it has had difficulties at eroding Windows'es dominance.

Even if OSX was as superior as you believe it to be, its quite obvious why Apple has barely dented MS marketshare. Apple refuse to sell their OS except on their own overpriced hardware. Queue all the Apple fans saying its not overpriced. Well sorry, but you really are the minority who think that.

Google's browser has been a success in so far as it got more share of the market than Opera in 1/10th the time. I would say its possible for Google to repeat that success with their OS if they do the same things that made Chrome great. Keep it fast but with a featureset that makes it simple to use and uncluttered.