The OP mentions that Google is positioning this as being for people's non-primary (secondary) machines. i.e. something to quickly check your mail, surf, google, etc.
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Google Previews Chrome OS, Scheduled for Release in Late 2010
- Thread starter clevin
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Some of you may not be old enough to remember but this ChromeOS is not really all that novel. It's just a reinvention of an old idea.
You can trace the pendulum quite easily between the "do it all on the local computer" and "do it all on the server." The next big thing is doing the opposite of what was done before. Also factor in that technology changes and economic realities play a big part.
Will ChromeOS sell? We'll find out. Is it a game changer? Odds are no. Will someone come out with something in 5 years that shifts things from cloud computing? Probably. In 10 years will cloud stuff be all the rage again? Probably.
- Terminal Servers - VAX
- Terminal Servers - UNIX
- Oracle's Net Computers
- Client-Server Thin Client Apps
- Chrome OS
- Next???
You can trace the pendulum quite easily between the "do it all on the local computer" and "do it all on the server." The next big thing is doing the opposite of what was done before. Also factor in that technology changes and economic realities play a big part.
Will ChromeOS sell? We'll find out. Is it a game changer? Odds are no. Will someone come out with something in 5 years that shifts things from cloud computing? Probably. In 10 years will cloud stuff be all the rage again? Probably.
This reminds me of WAY back in the day
I don't know about you guys but this reminds me of the original iPod thread here on MacRumors... Almost nobody thought it would get off the ground, but it ended up doing just that.
(keep in mind an iPod is also a secondary device)
P.S. I am aware people thought the iPod was going to fail because of price, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. I think ChromeOS is something that I don't think most people will appreciate until it actually starts getting used and people see the benefits.
I don't know about you guys but this reminds me of the original iPod thread here on MacRumors... Almost nobody thought it would get off the ground, but it ended up doing just that.
(keep in mind an iPod is also a secondary device)
P.S. I am aware people thought the iPod was going to fail because of price, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. I think ChromeOS is something that I don't think most people will appreciate until it actually starts getting used and people see the benefits.
enough about this potentially exciting new OS--LTD, who's that starring in your peep-show avatar?
Yes, you still have to sell free stuff. In this case it's not a money transaction but a persuasion. And right now Google can't sell me on the ChromeOS idea.
If you haven't seen the shifts in philosophy on thin clients/client apps then you haven't been in software development long enough. I've coded both long enough to see it and see it written about when it happens yet again.
Obviously you don't get it.. The web-centric OS does away with the notion of proprietary/local apps. Everything you need app-wise is in the cloud, on the web. Cloud-based productivity suites like Google Docs will replace your local Word/Excel/Powerpoint apps.
The killer feature(s) are zero cost, instant-on and simplicity coupled with lightweight low-cost hardware.
Agree.
I am really surprised that some people can be so conservative/impatient. They start whining about anything new and do not appreciate the potential benefits.
If you feel like local storage is important to you, then go away from Chrome OS. But there are lots of people interested in a light/fast OS that works great on the go. Besides, I feel Chrome OS can really push our web apps experience to a new level. Because other web app companies (and Apple/M$) will definitely work harder to increase the quality of their web apps. It's definitely a good thing.
Sure there are lots of problems, sure there are lots of question marks. But please stop whining. If you can't accept the new thing, just walk away. It's not for everyone!
Zero cost = lots of ads. Nothing is free since Google isn't a charity and certainly someone out there will want to be paid for their applications without advertising.
Yes it will locally cache the data, but it's still stateless. Your locally cached data is always secondary to the data stored in the cloud. It will work just like Google Gears - you can compose an e-mail on an airplane.. completely shut off your laptop.. then turn it on the next day and it will re-sync everything with the cloud.
Obviously these are not the kind of details they would get into during 2 minute video targeted for Joe-the-consumer.. But it will be there.
There are not more ads than when you use the apps through any other web browser.
I assume Chrome OS would support extensions and plugins just like Chrome browser, so Adblock et al would be available.
There aren't going to be any more ads than what you already get in your browser, when using Gmail or Google Search.
Who cares about boot-time?
My Mac boots in 35 seconds. But that doesn't even matter because my computer is on 24/7. I can be on a web page in less than 7 seconds at any time. The whole 'boot up and be on the Internet in 7 seconds' doesn't impress me at all and although I can see a use for it, I can't imagine that everyone turns their computer off every time they check their mail.
My Mac boots in 35 seconds. But that doesn't even matter because my computer is on 24/7. I can be on a web page in less than 7 seconds at any time. The whole 'boot up and be on the Internet in 7 seconds' doesn't impress me at all and although I can see a use for it, I can't imagine that everyone turns their computer off every time they check their mail.
Underwhelming at best.
And I was really hoping they would pose a serious challenge to Windows.
They are. This is an OS for the person that knows nothing about computers and just wants a cheap netbook. If you have Apple dominating the $1000+ and Google dominating the ever growing netbook market, it leaves M$ with very little room to grow and a drastically smaller potential userbase.
That being said I have no use for this thing. It is incredibly limited in features and I don't trust Google, much less depend on them for everything I do. They have basically built their dream: an adware/spyware platform to know what you're doing across a wide range of devices.
Don't forget about ZERO need to back anything up because it's already on redundant servers, and even if you drop your netbook in the river, you haven't lost anything - theoretically, even your basic settings can be cached online periodically. No more defragging hard drives, no more reinstalling OS's, etc. The killer feature is the incredible amount of simplicity it brings. Oddly, the same main selling feature of the Mac. ...except even simpler.
not surprised by all the criticism here. refer to page 1 for my original post.
i think too many people are missing the point of this OS. i think too many people are being too close minded to its true potential.
i'm not going to sit here and try to even guess at what percentage of people use the internet for what percentage of their normal computer use. i will say that a vast majority of the people i know that own computers 1) don't demand from their computers enough to justify the knowledge of an OS that today's OSes require from most users. 2) if their internet is down, they'll not be at their computer anyway. 3) have never bought and installed software that didn't already come on the machine (refer to point 1). and 4) they wouldn't know the difference between the picture they just transferred from their dig camera being stored locally or on a "cloud" (as long as it's appears in FB or Flicker for their friends/family to see they're happy).
the biggest thing i think people are missing here is that there already are several markets that this type of OS would be extremely successful. there are quite a few on here that are questioning whether google is trying to create market for this OS that isn't there.
first and foremost EDUCATION!!!
imagine how many thousands of schools with tens even hundreds of thousands (certainly millions) of computers are out there. one of the biggest expenses in school systems is IT. google's OS would work perfect on an INTRANET (vs an Internet).
it would require a lot less resources to support and maintain as the current Windows OS (and Apple OS) do. virus protection would be less of an issue because each machine would be void of a traditional OS and data to be hacked, and virus protection for data would be done at the cloud level in "one" location, making it more efficient, and reliable.
security of data and hardware would also be easier to handle as the theft of a computer from a school would serve the criminal little to no advantage. there would be no data on the machine to farm. if they google os was in firmware, and only able to run google os, then if stolen they would be of no use to someone unless connected to the internet. the second someone did do that, the machine could be easily traced and the thief caught.
the hardware would be much cheaper too, because it could be stripped of all the things that are only needed to be able to run the sometimes bulky OSes that are installed now.
sure there would still be some departments that would require a traditional desktop for power computing, but that's not what google os is aiming for.
you could also apply the same arguments above to business. i work in a government agency that is currently working on replacing ALL of our machines with terminals. all apps, data, and computing would be done by servers. all that would be at our desks would be a little black box to connect peripherals and a monitor. ie Cloud Computing. so as you can see the market is already there. google os just needs to find its footing and i think it'll be a hit.
i think too many people are missing the point of this OS. i think too many people are being too close minded to its true potential.
i'm not going to sit here and try to even guess at what percentage of people use the internet for what percentage of their normal computer use. i will say that a vast majority of the people i know that own computers 1) don't demand from their computers enough to justify the knowledge of an OS that today's OSes require from most users. 2) if their internet is down, they'll not be at their computer anyway. 3) have never bought and installed software that didn't already come on the machine (refer to point 1). and 4) they wouldn't know the difference between the picture they just transferred from their dig camera being stored locally or on a "cloud" (as long as it's appears in FB or Flicker for their friends/family to see they're happy).
the biggest thing i think people are missing here is that there already are several markets that this type of OS would be extremely successful. there are quite a few on here that are questioning whether google is trying to create market for this OS that isn't there.
first and foremost EDUCATION!!!
imagine how many thousands of schools with tens even hundreds of thousands (certainly millions) of computers are out there. one of the biggest expenses in school systems is IT. google's OS would work perfect on an INTRANET (vs an Internet).
it would require a lot less resources to support and maintain as the current Windows OS (and Apple OS) do. virus protection would be less of an issue because each machine would be void of a traditional OS and data to be hacked, and virus protection for data would be done at the cloud level in "one" location, making it more efficient, and reliable.
security of data and hardware would also be easier to handle as the theft of a computer from a school would serve the criminal little to no advantage. there would be no data on the machine to farm. if they google os was in firmware, and only able to run google os, then if stolen they would be of no use to someone unless connected to the internet. the second someone did do that, the machine could be easily traced and the thief caught.
the hardware would be much cheaper too, because it could be stripped of all the things that are only needed to be able to run the sometimes bulky OSes that are installed now.
sure there would still be some departments that would require a traditional desktop for power computing, but that's not what google os is aiming for.
you could also apply the same arguments above to business. i work in a government agency that is currently working on replacing ALL of our machines with terminals. all apps, data, and computing would be done by servers. all that would be at our desks would be a little black box to connect peripherals and a monitor. ie Cloud Computing. so as you can see the market is already there. google os just needs to find its footing and i think it'll be a hit.
Why does 2010 somehow feels like 2000 ? I mean there are currently so many new developments going on in the direction of cloud computing.
I think its important to put things into perspective and just look back at 2000 when OS X was launched and how it moved forward.
In 2020 we will know if Chrome OS did evolve and a certain percentage of the market is using it or if it was just one new thing that didn't go anywhere.
I think its important to put things into perspective and just look back at 2000 when OS X was launched and how it moved forward.
In 2020 we will know if Chrome OS did evolve and a certain percentage of the market is using it or if it was just one new thing that didn't go anywhere.
+1 for seeing the truth!
+1 for being honest!
+1 for being like me!
+1 for the history lesson!
The fear percolating through this thread is almost palpable.
I predict hundreds of "fail", "I don't want it" and "lousy internet speed" posts.
That alone makes me think Google has another winner in the works.
I wonder if there is a koolaid flavored Valium.
http://www.maclife.com/article/news/go_get_it_google_chrome_os_source_code
I predict hundreds of "fail", "I don't want it" and "lousy internet speed" posts.
That alone makes me think Google has another winner in the works.
I wonder if there is a koolaid flavored Valium.
http://www.maclife.com/article/news/go_get_it_google_chrome_os_source_code
But don't you remember when Netbooks first came out? They were all running Linux and people weren't happy with it. I remember some retailers reporting a 50% return rate. Then Microsoft extended the life of Windows XP (which they had originally intended to EOL) and now nearly all Netbooks come with XP.
Why will Chrome OS be any different? You could install the Chrome browser on those Linux Netbooks but everyone still wanted Windows. I understand what you're saying in theory, but the evidence of recent consumer behaviour just doesn't match what we might think would happen.
i think you miss the point. there were no apps when the iPhone came out either. but more importantly google os won't have apps. the internet IS the app. so if you look at it that way, as it was intended, you'd see that google os isn't an app environment, it's an information environment. its apps are websites, instant messengers, etc., not photoshop and final cut.
you already can't do anything on your expensive full featured computer that requires the internet if the internet is down already. so google os would not be at anymore of a disadvantage if the users of it are internet based users in the first place.