Google Plans a PC Operating System

[kgun]

My thin client when starting this thread is Opera 10 Beta.

"SAN FRANCISCO — In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs that is tied to its Chrome Web browser.

The software, called the Google Chrome Operating System, is initially intended for use in the tiny, low-cost portable computers known as netbooks, which have been selling quickly even as demand for other PCs has plummeted. Google said it believed the software would also be able to power full-fledged PCs.

The move is likely to sharpen the already intense competition between Google and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system controls the basic functions of the vast majority of personal computers".

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Google’s plans for the new operating system fit its Internet-centric vision of computing. Google believes that software delivered over the Web will play an increasingly central role, replacing software programs that run on the desktop. In that world, applications run directly inside an Internet browser, rather than atop an operating system, the standard software that controls most of the operations of a PC.

Read more ...

Related WPW thread: Opera - Uniting the Web?

[Modified]

They're not happy with just android? I wouldn't use it. There's already enough OS's out there not to need another one; and Google already has too much control over the web.

[wige]

Interesting. Of course, by their description, I don't think Chrome would qualify as an operating syatem, the OS would technically be Linux, with Chrome functioning as either a virtual machine or user interface. Basically, Chrome would be an OS in the same way KDE or Windows 3.1 are operating systems (technically, neither is an OS: KDE and 3.1 are GUIs running on Linux and DOS respectively).

I for one am very curious to see where this will go. I have already been playing with some applications that function completely through the browser. Check out www.aviary.com for some very interesting examples. If Chrome as an "OS" catches on, I think it will only increase the availabilty of truly distributed applications. What I am unsure about is the delays. By shifting applications to the web, you replace the time spent loading applications from your hard drive (where the only limitation is the speed of the hard drive and processor) with time spent loading applications over the Internet (where the limitation is the much slower speed of most Internet connections, combined with the bandwidth issues of more heavily used applications)

I have seen a product that is in development which is based on a similar concept (unfortunately I have not been able to find the link...). This product is a minicomputer that has a Linux Kernel and uses Firefox in full screen mode as the user interface. All user applications are loaded from a protected version of Amazon's Web Service, guaranteeing that users (in theory at least) are safe from any type of virus. In addition, users never have to upgrade or purchase software. User files are also stored remotely, which means that even if the computer is stolen or destroyed the data will not be lost.

The one drawback I see with this approach is that users will lose out on a few types of apps. Home gaming would be eliminated, as more complex games have too much data to easily be transmitted over the web each time a user wants to play. They also usually need their own user interface and tight integration to the underlying hardware. It would also be interesting to see if this approach is effective for media - can media be stored and played locally, or will it have to be streamed each time?

[kgun]

Wige, another great input.

Originally Posted by wige

If Chrome as an "OS" catches on, I think it will only increase the availabilty of truly distributed applications. What I am unsure about is the delays. By shifting applications to the web, you replace the time spent loading applications from your hard drive (where the only limitation is the speed of the hard drive and processor) with time spent loading applications over the Internet (where the limitation is the much slower speed of most Internet connections, combined with the bandwidth issues of more heavily used applications)

My bolding. I agree, but cloud and grid computing opens new possibilities. In addition there are a number of advantages with web applications:

1. Web applications are inexpensive.
2. Web applications are easy and inexpensive to upgrade.
3. Web applications are flexible. They can run on most servers and browsers (clients). They are not well suited for heavy number crunching, but tomorrows may if net OS's are developed.
4. Web applications can serve n clients simultaneously independent of time and place.
5. Web applications make it easier to have a central data store. You don't need separate data store in each location.
6. Big companies can use them on their intra / extra net with similar advantages as those mentioned above.

[DaveSawers]

Originally Posted by wige

By shifting applications to the web, you replace the time spent loading applications from your hard drive ... with time spent loading applications over the Internet

Not quite true. Applications run over the internet are run on the server and it's only the data from and to the user that is transmitted over the internet. You don't load the application on the client.

The main advantage of running web based applications is that you can run resource hungry tasks such as finite element analysis (that take a huge amount of processor time) from your phone or your Chrome powered netbook.

[The Leader]

Microsoft may have made a monumental error by waking the giant of google by competing with BING.
I just get the feeling at Google would be more sucessful with an operating system than Microsoft will be with Bing because of the trust factor of MS!

[Chief Ken]

All I hear now days is that Bing won't stick because they came out too late in the game, Google and Yahoo! have the market locked. Seems the same should hold true with an OS; too late Google, Bill had you licked decades ago.

[goodfta]

i wonder if adsense will be displayed on your desktop?

[jane4455]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is probably just more Google hype. "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel." That would suggest that it is likely just another GUI framework for Linux like GNOME, KDE, or Xfce. Maybe with some additional modifications, like the current Linux GUIs provide, but nothing revolutionary.

[Peter]

Its interesting that they are going for the netbook market when some reports are now saying that netbooks have only really taken off when XP got put on it. They are also predicting more convergence between smart phones and netbooks.

From a business POV if you dont want to run a fat client, switch to a thin client on Citrix or MS TS etc, these already run linux, CE and XP.

So who are they going to be targeting? Have they realised their browser launch was a failure and are now trying to generate more hype for it?

[kgun]

Originally Posted by Peter

Have they realised their browser launch was a failure and are now trying to generate more hype for it?

Isn't it too early to draw that conclusion?

[inertia]

Check out www.aviary.com for some very interesting examples.

This is indeed a very interesting site! Just signed up

As far as Google challenging MS in the OS game, i dont reckon they'll win that one. Thats what MS do. Google do search technologies and did MS beat them at that?

[kgun]

Originally Posted by inertia

As far as Google challenging MS in the OS game, i dont reckon they'll win that one. Thats what MS do. Google do search technologies and did MS beat them at that?

May be not on the Pc in the foreseeable future. What about "an OS in the Internet cloud / a net OS"?

[wige]

I think it will be interesting what markets they target when they go after the desktop platform. I imagine they will start with the home user, for productivity computers where word processing, simple gaming, and basic data management applications can exist in the cloud. Windows or Linux would probably not lose ground on "primary" computers in the home simply because certain types of applications like games and home media playback don't necessarily translate well into the cloud. However, for additional computers in the home, these computers will probably be a low-cost alternative to the more powerful traditional desktop.

Where I really don't see Chrome breaking through is in the business world. First, Microsoft has something of a stranglehold there, and if the cloud begins to permeate business computing, MS will probably come out with a platform that offers tight business integration with traditional Windows workstations. In addition, privacy and security concerns will probably keep the cloud limited to the enterprise scope, rather than the world-wide scope cloud that Chrome looks geared to connect to.

[DaveSawers]

Businesses can run applications on their intranet totally secure from the internet. You don't have to run on the www.

[jawn_tech]

Gmail was and is a slam dunk.

The google browser so far seems like a flop, but the jury is still out.

The last I used Google docs, it was still having trouble reading a docx file correctly.

I would consider switching to a Google OS if I had some assurance it would run all of my professional graphics, video and audio production programs ("for Windows") without a hitch. Then, there would need to be a cost incentive (as in free, or a fraction of the cost of a Windows OS).

It all comes down to price and compatibility.

[inertia]

I've been using google docs recently and the collaboration aspects of it are great! Its a bit poor at importing files and some errors can occur when you're clicking around a big spread sheet. Also, it doesn't seem to like imported files (its still in beta but isn't everything!). So id recommend building docs from scratch in their system.

One of the best uses I've found for it relates to a link building aid/spreadsheet which i was slowly building. It really got interesting when i invited a handful of SEO and marketing buddies to join and contribute. The spreadsheets coming along nicely now thanks to the extra input. Some cool features which help are live colour coded highlighting of any field another user is editing, live chat and mass emailing to all users.

Also been doing some link building for a client and i use a Google doc to record all the work. The client can then login whenever he wants and see what work i've been doing without messaging me direct.

The idea of cloud storage and enterprise was a bit dodgy to me at first but im getting more and more into the idea and benefits.

[earnest]

The game is never over, MS offers a google apps alternative: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8148969.stm, officelive dot com.

[inertia]

Hhmm. Interesting!

In a few months I'm hitting the road and becoming a "travelling SEO", so I've been slowly moving all my stuff online and all within my google account (gmail and google docs mainly). This is going to be great for travelling as the inevitable theft or breakage of my laptop wont mean I loose anything and all i have to do is find the nearest internet cafe and im right where I left off! Google was my main choice for online enterprise as i only have to login into one account and I have it all there at my fingertips. However, Google docs isnt brilliant so I may give MS Office 2010 a try! But then i have to log into two accounts...

I dont see how MS can compete when people are so used to logging into their google account for email, reader, calender, analytics, GWT etc etc

[kgun]

Originally Posted by inertia

Hhmm. Interesting!
In a few months I'm hitting the road and becoming a "travelling SEO", so I've been slowly moving all my stuff online and all within my google account (gmail and google docs mainly).

Have you put all of your favorites on deli.ciou.us? They can be imported with a few mouse clicks and made private if you don't want to share them.

Here

Favorez - DHTML menu builder for website navigation using your own IE favorites.

is a nice tool that writes your (works only for IE?) favorites to an xml document that can be manipulated with code like this

<script type="text/javascript">
document.write("<br /> <br /> <b>URL'ene:</b> <br /> <br />"); 
x=document.getElementsByTagName('a'); 
for (var i=0; x[i]; i++) {
    document.write("<br />"); 
    document.write(x[i]);
    }
document.write("<br /> <br /> <b>Navnene:</b> <br /> <br />"); 
for (var i=0; x[i]; i++) {
    document.write("<br />"); 
    document.write(x[i].innerHTML);
    }
</script>

(made for HTML - not tested for XML documents). Since innerHTML is used, you may convert the XML document to an HTML document with XSLT or another automatic XML processor.

[inertia]

Yeah, Ive been using delicious for a while now. Loving it! Its also great for link building as I've submitted my delicious RSS feed to a load of aggregators/directories.

The only criticisms I do have is that there are often glitches and if you ever do a full sync it looses all the favicons.. When you have lists without favicons it can be a visual mess! And if you forget to click the private option it can be a bit frightening!

[kgun]

I have had very few problems. I never use a complete import of my FireFox favorites. Only FireFox favorites are imported.

Originally Posted by inertia

The only criticisms I do have is that there are often glitches and if you ever do a full sync it looses all the favicons.. When you have lists without favicons it can be a visual mess! And if you forget to click the private option it can be a bit frightening!

Then combine my code above with seamless file access: Tutorial for chmod (Worth reading. Very short chapters).

[wige]

One thing I wanted to toss in here. I had been hunting for this link since Google announced their OS, and I have a feeling this system is very similar to what the Google OS will do:

CherryPal PC Offers Subscription-free Cloud Computing That Runs Off Two Watts of Power - CherryPal PC - Gizmodo

The Cherrypal offloads everything - storage and processing - onto the cloud. The computer has only a Linux kernel and Firefox. The Chrome OS will be a Linux kernel and Chrome. Cherrypal has all of the applications and data existing in the cloud of Amazon Web Services, with no data stored on the computer, and the only applications available are the ones in a protected (read only) section of AWS. For GoogleOS I think you will have the same thing, using GoogleDocs, but possibly with the ability to save documents locally.

[Uncle Dog]

Google Plans a PC Operating System.

Microsoft could learn a thing or two here.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by inertia

In a few months I'm hitting the road and becoming a "travelling SEO", ...

Good luck with that venture; I do hope that it works out well for you, as there's so much we miss being tethered to one spot.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by wige

The Cherrypal offloads everything - storage and processing - onto the cloud. The computer has only a Linux kernel and Firefox. The Chrome OS will be a Linux kernel and Chrome. Cherrypal has all of the applications and data existing in the cloud of Amazon Web Services, with no data stored on the computer, and the only applications available are the ones in a protected (read only) section of AWS. For GoogleOS I think you will have the same thing, using GoogleDocs, but possibly with the ability to save documents locally.

So, what we end up with is essentially a very thin client, with an embedded OS?

[wige]

Exactly. They claim that the computer will run on only 2 watts of power, and because it has no moving parts it can be used in hazerdous environments, and even get run over by a tank without being damaged (provided you attach appropriately durable input devices and monitor).

[deepsand]

Might be useful to road warriors and the casual user; but, I don't see either institutional users or a great portion of personal users jumping on this.

[kgun]

Generally it is too early to know the future. Yesterday I was told the following on Cnn and / or our Tv.

1. The Apollo 11's computers power were less than the computing power of todays standard mobile phone
2. The complete Aollo project cost about 3 cents per capita / day. It was stopped because of the expenses. It was told that it is comparable to what you use on ice cream.

In my opinion, cloud and grid computing (I admit that I do not know enough about the buzz words) combined with a Linux or other kernel can be the way ahead. I think Google is on an interesting path.

[deepsand]

It's not the issue of capabilities that I have reservations about, but rather the level of trust and reliability required for relying solely on the grid.

Fictional and non-fictional literature is replete with stories of systems going very, very wrong, in every imaginable manner, with dire consequences. The more centralized such are, the greater the risk of catestrophic consequences arising from an otherwise mundane problem.