Google Launching Chrome OS This Fall
Would it be any surprise if Google launched the Chrome operating system this October?
As if on cue in light of recent talk that Google is kicking Windows to the curb, the search giant plans to release its Chrome operating system this fall. According to Google, the open-source software will be free and available to the general public. In a world that's relied heavily on Microsoft-based operating systems for over two decades, competing with Redmond is a huge task, especially for an OS that's based on a browser of the same name.
"We are working on bringing the device later this fall," said Google vice president of product management Sundar Pichai at Computex. "It's something which we are very excited by. We expect it to reach millions of users on day one." He did not provide an actual month or day of release.
Google is expected to initially target netbooks with the OS. After all, it's slated to be very lightweight and use web apps rather than locally-installed applications. However the company plans to release the OS for other platforms including tablets (which has already seen a commitment from Asus), desktops, and other devices.
Curious consumers already have access to previous builds of the OS, compiled and tweaked by various outfits including Hexxeh's Flow. This version includes HTML 5 and Flash support, user-customizable menus, battery life improvements, and even Nvidia GPU hardware support, offering 720p and 1080p video resolutions.
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I will probably mess with it just like linux, but it would have to be pretty darn good for me to switch. (which it wont be).
Sorry Google I love my android phone. I just want to do more with my desktop. Maybe I will load it up on a netbook or something.
i just had a chuckle to myself when i envisage apple having to make iTunes for chrome......
Ya, but will it play Crysis??? lol
I will probably mess with it just like linux, but it would have to be pretty darn good for me to switch. (which it wont be).Sorry Google I love my android phone. I just want to do more with my desktop. Maybe I will load it up on a netbook or something.
+1
The only thing I don't like about it is the web apps that it will use instead of locally installed apps. I do not want everything I do on a cloud device. To me this OS seems like a move toward cloud only computing.
I have no problem with Google entering the OS war I just don't like the privacy concerns.
I wonder what linux distro they are poaching from? After all they poached Chrome from Chromium they didn't even change the logo.
Ya, but will it play Crysis??? lol
When I read this, all I could picture was a smug retard laughing at his own lame joke.
Ya, but will it play Crysis??? lol
Not without DirectX it won't
The only reason why I still use Windows is for gaming. Until an OS is released that will play games as good as or better than Windows I'm still going to have a Windows box.
As for ChromeOS, I will definitely load it up on a VM and see what it is all about, but I'm not entirely sold on the cloud.
I'll never move completely to cloud computing. Once all the data you own is on someone elses computer, only takes the net connection to drop for you to be boned.
As for crysis, just wait for OnLive and it could be done.
I'll stick with windows, thanks. Let's see if this does anything to what we believe in viruses. That Macs are only safe because they have a small install base. If Chrome gets out there and has less than 8% of the market but gets hacked as much as Windows, the old saying will be falsified.
Upon learning this, I bet the execs at Microsoft hear the Dark Side Tune from Star Wars.
Da da da da dada da dada...
I'm definitely going to play with this.
Real Games, no, real apps, no, real interest, none at all.
I see it having a whopping .01% market share. I'll stick with Windows...
I'll probably put it on my NOTEBOOK so I can quickly browse net when I'm on buses/trains/planes
The header should be : Google Launching Chrome OS "EPIC" Fail
LOL
I swear, you could literally stand on a street corner handing out steaming pieces of dog poo, and as long as they had "Google" or "Apple" stamped on them, people would still get excited.
Me thinks I need to switch to Linux or maybe Chrome OS. I'm honestly getting tired of paying for a new OS every 3 years or so, AND new Office. Maybe someone will make a hack that will make these OS's look like the current versions of Windows. Of course, then there's also Wine.
I'll stick with windows, thanks. Let's see if this does anything to what we believe in viruses. That Macs are only safe because they have a small install base. If Chrome gets out there and has less than 8% of the market but gets hacked as much as Windows, the old saying will be falsified.
From what I hear, Chrome OS is an inroad to cloud based computing. I have a feeling that makes it a more tempting target for hackers, thus it might not be a fair comparison.
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Me thinks I need to switch to Linux or maybe Chrome OS. I'm honestly getting tired of paying for a new OS every 3 years or so, AND new Office. Maybe someone will make a hack that will make these OS's look like the current versions of Windows. Of course, then there's also Wine.
I'm in the same boat - gets expensive. My only saving grace? Academic priced software. Heck, I think I'd rather sign up for a $300 course as a guest student and get my $90 copy of Windows than pay $300+ for a full retail package. However, I do not consider any cloud-based solution viable.
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However, I find it interesting that the DOJ and EU jumped on Microsoft for being an OS company trying to gain control of the web market yet little has been heard about the major web search engine/advertiser working its way into various markets (phones/mobile web and now OS). How long until that happens? Any bets on before the release date, after, or never?
First Google trash talks Microsoft on their security. Then they announce a new OS. They're just trying to frighten the masses into a different OS. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being like a Mac thing. "Oh Macs don't get viruses" (Replace Mac with Chrome doesn't) I guess I just don't see the OS taking over anything. It is sad however how Google played this out going after Microsoft.
The fact is that Microsoft is still ahead of the Mac OS in terms of overall security. It's just attacked much more often because Microsoft based OSs hold so much more of the market share. Ah well, I suppose only time will tell.
Chrome OS = MSDOS 8.0
Lightweight to the point of near uselessness
Even if I don't mind the privacy concerns of having web based apps, I have a very poor internet connection that is intermittent at best. Will I then run into similar problems that prevent me from truly enjoying things like Steam, let alone constant internet connected DRM?
Yawn = browser OS. Now if someone were to come up with an OS with DirectX or OpenGL ish type things at the core. Work with AMD and Nvidia to make sure it can run all modern games, then I would be all over it. But, unfortunately, Microsoft owns DirectX and that is what is at the core of PC gaming these days. I think that is the main reason for MSs survival, their control of the gaming sector.
~IF~ they also release the software to build / run your own cloud and have your devices run off that local "cloud" then this could be big for business or a tech savy home user. Running your apps over the internet is epic fail waiting to happen. If you can instead run your apps from your own local sever (farm) and store your data locally, then it becomes more viable. Kinda like a mashed up version of a thin client.
There is a reason why there are analysts predicting the collapse of the Microsoft desktop OS monopoly in the next year or so. There is a massive free (libre and particularly gratis) movement happening and the shift towards mobile computing is gaining pace. Windows can't compete except on a stationary desktop computer, and Microsoft is going to need to come up with something far better than WinMo.
There is a reason why there are analysts predicting the collapse of the Microsoft desktop OS monopoly in the next year or so.
I agree with this...to an extent. As Apple loses it's invincibility as it gains market share and more attraction from our malware buds, the security vulnerabilities will put a lot of people searching for a more "secure" browser, and Windows will have the benefit of having dealt with these security concerns for years.
Chrome OS is not competing with Windows nor Apple. I love the concept and am awaiting it's release, but I am not quite sure that there will be a chance that it will directly replace my Windows 7 64-Bit based machine. Why would it? It does too many cloud things and has little to no provisions for native apps. How could it knock Windows off? Linux has promoted free software for decades... Why would somehow this change?
It's one thing to be excited about something new. It's another thing to experience delirium.
With the irrefutable improvements of Windows 7 over XP and Vista, Microsoft has gotten their act together. Is it anything more than media hype that places these companies against eachother?
In the end they're not even vying for the same markets:
MS: PC Total Solutions
Apple: High-end, simple users
Linux: Computer scientists and enthusiasts
Google: Cloud-based computing
All of these are different markets... It's great to see the "competition" since there is a finite amount of consumers, in general... But this overhyped attempt by the media-at-large (and the marketing departments of the respective companies--excluding Linux, of course) to create consumers where there otherwise might not be...
...soapbox exited...
i dont think it would displace win7, in fact with the advent of multi-core computing i think there is a real prospect of virtualizing a chrome server inside win7 to serve up content to a chrome os device..... imagine the iPad without apple's control.......
Can you stop calling it an OS? It's not an OS, it's just a browser running programs on a server. No company will ever use a third party server to store and run it's applications/documents on, google is daydreaming here. And at home we don't do much working, that's why it's called home morons.
If they build it properly it could actually end up being adopted by businesses for use connecting to their own first-person private servers. I know our company has been moving more and more toward server applications over local installs on client machines and right now RDP is pretty big. If they do a good job with this Chrome OS it could move into business clients and push out Windows.
It's not going to replace Windows for desktops and power-user laptops but I could certainly see it taking over netbooks and possible business client machines if setup correctly and securely.
MS: PC Total SolutionsApple: High-end, simple usersLinux: Computer scientists and enthusiastsGoogle: Cloud-based computingAll of these are different markets...
The question remains: which of these markets are going to survive long-term? Cloud computing has been the "next big thing" for decades but until now hasn't really had much hope due to a lack of decent mobile devices. It's now feasible, and people are already using it for many things even without mobile devices. Look at what people already rely on Google for: Google Docs, Maps, Calendar, Mail, Search, Talk, News, Finance, etc. All of this is cloud-based, whether it is access via mobile or stationary computing devices.
As much as people like to talk about how much they don't like Google's business of selling us as products to advertisers, they are quite happy to surrender their business to the Google cloud. Then their personal information goes up on Facebook to top it off.
Now given the choice between a free OS by a company that has its name in the Macquarie Dictionary and an expensive OS that has previously caused problems, what will people choose? If Chrome OS satisfies the user's application requirements and works smoothly, there is no way they would pick Windows unless, of course, they are so stuck in their way of doing things that they can't accept the lack of a button that pops up a tooltip that says "Start" when you mouse over it. There will be people like this, there always are. But some of these people are from pre-Windows days as well, and therefore learning something new is not something they haven't done before, it's just something they haven't done in a long time.
Can it install your previously purchased and very expensive software?
If you require software that runs on Windows then why would you use anything other than Windows? That's as stupid as trying to run it on OSX. I can see a new article being written titled "Chrome OS is not Windows"
It would be better to find an alternative. Compatibility layers just add bloat and security risks. If you're using Chrome OS then chances are you'll be using Google's cloud applications as well. If not then you are probably running the wrong OS, because this thing is little more than a web browser with a customised Linux kernel at the heart, not a try-to-be-everything patchwork like Windows.