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Post by Tim Tibbetts @ 03:49pm 08/07/09 | 52 Comments
 Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.Hrm. promoted/edited forum item 
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Posted 04:00pm 08/7/09
Posted 04:08pm 08/7/09
last edited by 3dee at 16:08:47 08/Jul/09
Posted 04:10pm 08/7/09
A lot of people (myself included) have been looking to the Google OS to provide a real alternative to Windows or at least drive some actual competition in the market.
This just falls flat IMO. A stripped-down Linux kernel running a Cloud-extended Chrome just doesn't even sound like an Operating System to me! I think their experiences with Android have brought them face to face with just how mammoth the OS task really is.
My 2 cp anyway.
Posted 04:12pm 08/7/09
Posted 04:18pm 08/7/09
Not sure what market gap they are trying to fill. Still not sure what market gap they were trying to fill with Chrome for that matter.
Posted 04:42pm 08/7/09
Posted 04:56pm 08/7/09
If you were expecting a desktop replacement, that's a bit stupid.
They are providing a real alternative to windows and it probably will drive more competition in the market with a big name behind it, however as they've quite clearly stated it's a netbook/nettop/small form factor and portable devices market. I believe this is also the area in which Linux based operating systems has one of the largest 'market shares' or penetration or whatever you want to call it (on another note, Ubuntu MID looks seriously kick ass: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/mobile).
Personally I'm surprised they announced ARM support as this will probably be a bit of a grey area between Android vs Chrome OS.
last edited by eXemplar at 16:56:29 08/Jul/09
Posted 04:59pm 08/7/09
Posted 05:12pm 08/7/09
Posted 05:17pm 08/7/09
Expecting? Nope - I know how big the task is. But its so close to being a done deal with the existing work in Linux its not funny. The energy (and capital) that Google can inject is tremendous.
But instead we get another browser-based mini-OS with some Google Docs extensions, and the guys in Redmond have nothing to worry about.
Posted 05:20pm 08/7/09
So I think the netbook market is the best thing they could do; they're all the rage now, plus this complements their mobile android stuff pretty nicely, I reckon. Competing on the full desktop market is just too hard, and besides, Apple are already killing it there anyway.
I am reserving judgment until I see how many times the word 'Java' is mentioned in the real specs :)
Posted 05:23pm 08/7/09
Yes - but its still disappointing.
Apple is at about saturation I think, although I could be wrong. All the seriously pretentious wankers already seem to be Mac fanboys, its a big sell to get the rest of humanity to suck Steve's dick.
Posted 05:42pm 08/7/09
I agree, but I don't think it would be a smart move to make right now. It's not so much about how big the task is or how much google could contribute to mainstream uptake of Linux in the desktop space (they already contribute quite a bit to the kernel already afaik), it would end up being like Microsoft making a search enging. Everyone would blog about it's potential benefits, then go right back to what they were using before because that's where everything is and works. Also like trying to topple WoW lololo.
For all we know this could very well be the first steps to a desktop os, but being able to make a difference in an area where ms doesn't have total domination.
Posted 05:49pm 08/7/09
Posted 05:49pm 08/7/09
So in other words Express Gate.
Posted 05:57pm 08/7/09
Really? :O It's like I was trying to make a comparison or something.
Posted 06:19pm 08/7/09
It's almost like sarcasm doesn't work in forum posts.
See what I did there?
http://event.asus.com/mb/expressgate/
Posted 08:23pm 08/7/09
Posted 05:03am 09/7/09
Posted 08:14am 09/7/09
The kinds of people with bigpond cable 10gig plans are really the target market here. The one's who overpay on something because they know it as a brand name and feel safe with. These are the people who will make or break the market and its (arguably - along with maybe some MS scandal about buying off retailers to not stock linux versions) why linux didn't succeed so well on the netbook.
They really have the ability here to come in with a different angle then linux:
Feeling of safety after change. To be fair the home user who uses the PC 3 hours a week for emailing their children and forwarding decade old forwards may actually consider changing over to ChromeOS. Its a mammoth name that has been huge for well over a decade now. Its like chosing optus over telstra. (maybe not a lot more value, but at least you can rebel a little)
Manufacturers love google. Google adds a weird "in the now" feeling to a product. Its not a risk to offer it as an option - you know that people will buy it because its not windows.
Benefits. I'd assume ChromeOS will be instant boot. Already that will offer the major advantage over XP.
Familiarity. I'd assume ChromeOS probably leave you probably in chrome on your Google homepage or Chrome's little preview of your common websites. Greeted with your familiar links and the internet, you'll not be lost.
Well I don't really know but I'd assume there is a market there. Or at least they can take a little more market away from MS for a little and hopefully MS maybe will come up with something innovative.
Posted 08:32am 09/7/09
Posted 08:50am 09/7/09
Posted 08:59am 09/7/09
Posted 09:20am 09/7/09
I thought fuck me people call me a nerd cause I work in IT...at least I don't discriminate against people based on their preference of OS.
They're so open minded that artsy crowd.
Posted 09:25am 09/7/09
ls
1 directory, 0 files
ChromeBrowser
Posted 09:36am 09/7/09
Made me lol
Posted 09:45am 09/7/09
The main concern I have is flexibility. How much will you be able to do on it compared to a Windows or Mac with loads of native software?
In other words, will it be primarily browser based or will there be actual software on it like word processors, image editors and other things.
Posted 10:00am 09/7/09
Was that a joke?
Windows has around 92% market share. MacOS has around 5%.
Even though Vista was a such a shit OS, it still has more than 20% market share. XP Obviously still hammering it with ~ 60%.
Posted 10:11am 09/7/09
Posted 10:14am 09/7/09
Obviously wikipedia isn't the most reliable of sources, but I used median figures from 4 different sources.
Posted 10:16am 09/7/09
Posted 10:20am 09/7/09
I guess I'm basing most of this on having been to GDC this year and the year before. Last year I was boggled and amazed by the amount of game-dev-types that I saw with Macbooks. There weren't a lot - maybe 10-20%? This year there were at least twice as many.
Everyone I know that's not a hardcore Linux user or someone with a vested interest in buying Windows is buying Macbooks. Almost every single girl I know wants a Macbook. Macs are cool and shiny!
Posted 10:41am 09/7/09
The other thing is, nobody seems to be interested in Mac Desktops. Laptops are all well and good, but there is still some market for Desktop PC's and I think you'd find Windows dominates that.
Apple are doing well in laptops. I would definately look at buying one when I look at laptops, but I think its more for the quality and finish of the hardware than the software.
Posted 10:42am 09/7/09
Posted 10:52am 09/7/09
Its probably more to do with the third party apps that just dont run on macs that's stopping all that happening right now, but increasingly apps are becoming browser based, so that wont matter.
I'd say that windows vista actually helped MAC a fair bit. The user experience for someone buying a mac laptop or a vista based laptop in the last few years has easily been better for the mac user.
Once everything is browser based, it wont matter which OS you run.
Posted 11:14am 09/7/09
Just what browser you run :(
So what OS do you run?
IE...
Ouch!
Posted 11:15am 09/7/09
Gazelle Browser
Microsoft has been developing "Gazelle" as an alternative to Internet Explorer. The browser acts like a self-contained operating system and is designed to address the fact that browsers like IE and Chrome have not been built by design to handle multiple processes and web applications in a secure manner. The implications from this is that older browsers have suffered performance and security issues.
The browser relies on a "browser kernel" (5,000 lines of C# code) that helps enforce security rules to prevent malicious access to the PC's underlying operating system. Built by the Microsoft Research team, company officials have been dropping hints that they are ready to talk more about Gazelle recently, we first heard about Gazelle back in February in a MS research blog posting. This week, Microsoft researcher Helen Wang spoke with CNET News and said "I think Gazelle marks a significant departure from all previous browsers, including Chrome and IE 8". Wang also noted "we're really trying to leverage the decades of operating system experience and apply that in the Web and browser setting".
more here including the paper: http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/07/08/microsoft-set-to-respond-to-google-os-next-monday
Posted 11:17am 09/7/09
Posted 11:17am 09/7/09
I'm sure they're interested in why Apple is gaining market share - the criticisms of Windows can no doubt be tied to the improvements in Win7. But are the suits in Redmond shitting themselves?
Nuh - because OSX is tied to the hardware, which along with business penetration (lols, I just thought of ya mum) is a serious block to them being more than a niche market player. There's a bazillion reasons why this is a problem to Apple gaining ascendency that anyone who knows anythign about computars could see.
A lot of Apple's new market gains are dependent on them retaining control of hardware as well as software, so they need to survive a radicxal change to their current model to become a real threat in the OS market.
Posted 11:29am 09/7/09
Apple have made computing cool and Google (and many others) have significantly decreased the relevance of the local desktop application (in favour of the 'cloud' - whether that's a good thing is another argument, but the fact is there's already whole generations that don't know what an 'email client' is).
This announcement by Google is a clear declaration of their intent to try and move people off desktop applications and into the cloud so they can use Google services. Google Apps/Mail coming out of beta at the same time is hardly a coincidence. Google now have a competing Exchange-compatible groupware application allowing businesses to reduce their MS dependency - I've been saying for years this is the last thing that needs to happen before MS's business dominance is disrupted, and they are well on their way to having a way to do that!
If you're a business owner that needs computers for email, web, word processing, etc - imagine how appealing it'd be able to be to buy a $500 PC with a free operating system and all the applications you'd ever need - as opposed to having to buy a Windows desktop and MS software for thousands of licenses. I reckon this is where Google are ultimately going with this OS (in addition to the home netbook market).
Apple will, unless they do something completely and utterly retarded, continue to grow in the desktop space as more people start realising they can run their whole PC without Windows these days (as my sister, and my mum, and various other people have already started to realise). Microsoft have nowhere to go but down, really.
You could be totally right - they might not be shitting themselves. But to me it just looks like they're flailing around aimlessly. There's already reports of their response to this Chrome OS thing a few people have pasted at me today, which just seems like a kneejerk response that makes them look weak and lame (this was just on stupid blogs tho so it could all be bullshit). They've got entire governments planning moves to open source software solutions - Brazil is well under way and Germany have a pilot programme that is happening as well. It just seems..inevitable.
Anyway, I'm not excited about Google OS yet because it's just a couple words in a blog post. I /am/ excited by the idea of it because while I don't think it'll revolutionise personal computing, I think it will mix things up and change the scene enough to keep it interesting.
Posted 11:38am 09/7/09
What has Microsoft been smoking? Chrome WAS designed PRECISELY in this manner. /facepalm
Posted 11:44am 09/7/09
What business that needs thousands of licenses is going to be suitable for Cloud-based internet apps? I can assure you that this would be a very unusual business case.
Businesses that have this sort of scale don't use computers for that sort of thing, and have a need for desktop infrastructure. Cloud computing (imo) just isn't suitable for enterprise operations for the forseeable future. Can you imagine three hundred terminals screeching to a halt because of internet difficulties?
There's no doubt that MS is looking at this space though, and its not just flailing around. They have significant investment over a long time in stuff like Windows Live that is starting to emerge. Remember it was Hotmail and not Google that moved email into the cloud, GMail was launched years later.
Its wishful thinking to write Microsoft off at this stage, they're too big, well-established and adept at working within an evolving market and flat out protecting their monopolies.
What is awesome is the way that these innovations and pressures improve stuff for everyone.
last edited by Hogfather at 11:44:56 09/Jul/09
Posted 11:52am 09/7/09
The reason I'm going to stick to MS is because even for 50 people it's too much effort to change them to a new system. Once you factor in training, additional support headaches (WHERE IS MY START BUTTON!??) and so on it's just cheaper to buy the MS license. The cost of hardware and software are is just the beginning when it comes to buying a new desktop for an employee.
If I had my way we'd all be on Linux based desktops or OSX but the reality is our clients probably don't want to fuck around installing OpenOffice converters or having to listen to excuses why the PowerPoint or Word document they are trying to view is all fucked up because OpenOffice can't save documents in MS formats 100% reliably.
This is why MS will remain the dominant force in business, at least in the desktop space, because the big business with thousands of employees work with smaller businesses who can't afford to have the big business pissed that they can't view the work they are paying to be provided with.
Posted 12:12pm 09/7/09
In particular the Netbook market, I've read somewhere recently that the first year Asus launched eeePC netbook, Linux market share was like +90%, but then MS caught on and start making XP cheaper and have now basically obliterate Linux in that space and reverses the market share and owned it like they do on desktop and notebook space. Make sense really as much as I like Linux I can't use it for my day to day work.
Is MS shitting their pants? I wouldn't say they're panicking but, certainly a cause for major concern for sure. Watching Google attacks on Redmond of late is quite interesting, first it was Andriod, Baller: nah we're not worry blah blah blah..
Sure it still isn't great (it's only a couple years old) but, seeing HTC latest handset - Hero which is (full?) ActiveSync compatible, definitely should at least make Baller sweat (more than usual). Personally I'll wait until more reviews come in on this handset but if it's synced with Exchange etc I'll definitely have no reason to stay on WinMo platform. I even contemplated getting Apple iPhone but the thought of having to use iTunes just puts me off completely.
Then there's Google Waves an attack on small business groupware space and now the pièce de résistance - Chrome OS. They're definitely chipping away at MS from the fringes, as one should aim to do so when one plots to dethrone the giant.
I wouldn't put MS out just yet, they have very deep pocket, much much deeper than Google and has vast experience of being the last guy to the market yet, still able to throw their cash around to eventually dominate the market (or at least catch up). Obviously Google is a smart and innovative company with lots of cash to boot (unlike Netscape), so they'll be a worthy sparring partner for sure.
I for one am excited by a _real_ competitor to MS, it's a good news for consumer.
Posted 12:58pm 09/7/09
Good god that man can sweat. DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS anyone?!
This. I develop Windows software, and I love what competition does to the landscape.
Who knows - without shit like Java and Flash I might still be stuck fucking around with the GDI and MFC/win32 API rather than enjoying WPF and .Net.
last edited by Hogfather at 12:58:46 09/Jul/09
Posted 01:03pm 09/7/09
Posted 01:11pm 09/7/09
I know if we replaced our mail system in the office /tomorrow/ with Google Apps, the training time would be zero, because everyone knows how to use it already!
Was just looking for some stats on Google Apps uptake but there's just a bunch of random figures; no real data. Google say there's 10m people using Apps in 1.75m businesses, Ballmer says that's bullshit and they're not growing.. usual crap. There's been a few high profile changes already - again, I think Microsoft can only go down from here.
Posted 01:18pm 09/7/09
Yeah exactly without a healthy competitions, god knows how much crappier MS software would be...
Posted 01:23pm 09/7/09
Never thought I'd say this, but bring on the Macs!
Posted 01:29pm 09/7/09
If you're talking about the one that comes with the original eeePC, then it's a customised Xandros Linux. But I think they're going to go with Android based OS next.
Posted 02:44pm 09/7/09
Posted 05:38pm 09/7/09
I think someone already said this, but this system doesn't work for the 11ty billion businesses that use non-browser based applications.
For my company, there are a LOT of applications that don't run in the browser, that we NEED to be able to use. e.g. MYOB.
There are also major costs associated with WAN links when you have a business that is spread out across the country / world.
There are definately benefits to cloud computing in business, but there are also downsides. I certainly think at the moment, that the positives don't outweigh the negatives at this point. It will take a BIG change of thinking before it becomes commonplace. (I'd say even bigger than the onset of "the Internet").