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Google announces Chrome Linux… err… Chrome OS

Brian Ambrozy July 8, 2009 3:17 AM ET in Tech

starting-chromeIf you read the comments from an old Yahoo story, you will see that a “Google OS” has been expected for years. Yesterday the big G announced their Chrome OS initiative. Any internet denizen worth their salt should completely fail to be shocked at this news.

Chrome OS will run as a layer of lightweight services over a presumably slim Linux kernel. Being that they are aiming at netbooks, we can expect Chrome OS to be as lightweight as possible. Builds for x86 and ARM are planned.

Their stated goal is to “be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds.”

Google has been slowly inching their way into the web-as-a-platform space since Gmail started to take off. The suite of services collectively known as Google Apps has become firmly entrenched as a set of indispensible tools to both consumers, casual users, and enterprise admins alike.

Pundits are shouting from the rooftops that this is Microsoft’s death knell, but it is an immature viewpoint at best to assume that a platform that is essentially a beefed up mobile platform can become a threat on the desktop. A lightweight OS will never be a powerhouse for applications such as video and photo editing, or the continually growing market of video gaming.

Of course one could argue that the trend towards centralized everything means all signs point to computing in the cloud as the panacea of our connected lifestyle; while services like OnLive (which have so far failed to actually demonstrate a working product), and Adobe’s Photoshop.com are certainly going to have a place in our future computing experience, the paradox is that the ever-increasing ubiquitousness of connectivity is driving the need for even more horsepower on the desktop. People want to make and (more importantly) edit their own YouTube videos. They want to create their own music. They want to edit and share photos from their increasingly higher-res digital cameras. Does a desktop with little to no horsepower, that relies merely on a fat internet pipe to receive what amount to screenshots played off of some massive datacenter supercomputer somwhere, really fill the role of a content creation and hi-def entertainment workstation? Not for a long, long time.

It’s true that Microsoft should definitely sit up and take notice; the winds of change and the hearts and whims of each coming generation are fickle. Windows 7 is a step in the right direction, as it seems that they are starting to take their reputation for bloatware seriously. Even to this old cynic, Windows 7 feels lighter than anything that has come before it. Is it capable of being a truly mobile OS? Sure. My netbook runs great with Windows 7. Is it the perfect platform for a completely web-based workflow? No, but that’s not what I want. I need to do real work while I’m on the road, not just “check my email and blog.”

For those who do need a device that is optimized for a web-based workflow, Chrome OS seems like it should be pretty cool. Will it connect to your corporate network, or work with the Mac workstations in your graphic design department? Probably not for a long time, if ever. Will we start to see 10-15 hour battery life on netbooks due to a super light OS that barely does any processing of its own? It’s possible.

Google is on a continuous upswing as far as announcing new products and services. But Google isn’t an untouchable paladin either. They’ve definitely had flops and bad ideas. Time will tell what place Chrome OS will claim in the history books.

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11 Comments:

  1. gondwannabe
    Guest
    8 Jul '09, 3:32 am

    Here's the point - this is not about replacing the PC as a workstation - there will still be a need for many Windows and Mac applications for doing 'serious' work like multi-media - rather this is about web/cloud based communication, converged with telephony (Skype, for example) - with a persistent, cheap, always on and most important mobile platform. The PC users perspective misses the point about how most users use their computers today. Most personal use doesn't need a PC in the traditional sense - when is the last time you had to roll-back a driver in your tv? Why do you think the iPhone is such a game changer? Google get it.

  2. Brian Ambrozy
    The Icrontic Guy
    8 Jul '09, 3:51 am

    And yet the "Micro$oft" crowd is using this as a rallying cry... That's the part that I don't get. I totally get the point of Chrome OS. It's the people who replace "s" with "$" that don't.

  3. Shorty
    Sniping teh enterpwise!
    8 Jul '09, 4:15 am

    Would be great for terminals that are web orientated. Stick it on my old original ASUS netbook for travelling. Like it.

  4. Mr TRiot
    Icrontic Posting Maniac
    8 Jul '09, 7:56 am

    I was just reading this...

    Anyone else notice this comment?

    "Acer, the world's third largest PC vendor, was unable to immediately provide a comment, while Asustek Computer declined to comment."

    http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente...chrome_os.html

  5. kryyst
    CTRL+ALT+DEL
    8 Jul '09, 8:41 am

    It'll have it's uses but it's not a death knell to any existing OS, well accept perhaps linux in some areas. Which is ironic at best since it's basically saying linux is going to be the death of linux.

    The true test of the OS will be how much utility is given to the user when they aren't connected to the net. Because, ya know there are times when you don't have net connectivity.

  6. Gargoyle
    We can't stop here...
    8 Jul '09, 9:05 am

    The best thing about this, other than its intended use, is that it keeps the pressure on Microsoft. Windows 7 is a step in the right direction, but it would likely be the last step unless the pressure stays on.

    I got sucked into the Wikipedia vortex yesterday and was reading about the history of OS/2 and early Windows. Microsoft thought OS/2 was bloated, and at the time, Windows 2 & 3 were pretty trim. If you think about it, both of these old school OSs did an awful lot on a small footprint.

  7. Thrax
    Cad
    8 Jul '09, 9:06 am

  8. Cliff_Forster
    Keepin it real
    8 Jul '09, 10:20 am

    As decent and zippy as Windows 7 is on even fairly light weight hardware, Google will have to do something really compelling.

    I remember a little net argument with Thrax a while back on how I expected the Linux Ubuntu user base to grow, it was free, relatively light weight but still full featured enough that you could do most things in it (except DX gaming), but after struggling with countless driver issues on my last Ubuntu install, and getting to a point where I am pretty much married to the goodness that is Windows 7, I honestly would not suggest Ubuntu to the web surfing, document making, emailing with an occasional light photo edit crowd like I would have a year ago, Windows 7, simply put, is well worth paying for, even if that is all you do, your experience is just going to be better. I do this rarely, but I have to concede this argument to Robert, he was right. A year ago, even six months ago before growing to love Windows 7, I saw this movement starting to form for Ubuntu and was excited about the possibilities, now, I just can't recommend it to anyone.

    Now enter Google, who does show the ability to recognize great software and develop some pretty compelling software as well, and they have something the Ubuntu guys don't have, a big giant boat load of cash.

    So, I guess I am saying this, other lesser Linux distributions are probably going to have a ton of trouble keeping their projects afloat. I see Google being more of a threat to them than they are to Microsoft at this point.

  9. chrisWhite
    Polygons
    8 Jul '09, 1:07 pm

    I am 100% underwhelmed and uninspired by this. It sounds good, sounds like a solid idea for netbooks and it could be a great solution for people who only use their computers for email, internet and Office but everyone else will stick with what they have. Maybe Google should just get Chrome finished for OS X and Linux before writing a whole new OS.

  10. Thrax
    Cad
    8 Jul '09, 1:22 pm

    Now to be a pundit:

    ChromeOS (I'm dubbing it COS right now) seems like the logical conclusions for Google's ambitions in the cloud, but it's an uninspired gesture. Windows 7 offers familiarity, speed and polish -- even on the netbook. The FOSS faithful have Ubuntu which, despite familiarity shortcomings for Windows regulars, has its own certain polish. Then there's Moblin, the rising Netbook distro from Intel that already demonstrates awesome usability, great boot times and low resource usage.

    Where does COS fit into this landscape? Nowhere, really. I'm not convinced that users will swallow the pill that Google is offering. Users return netbooks in record numbers when they're fitted with Linux. COS' arrival will herald even less of the familiarity and versatility that the PC-buying majority is accustomed to.

    Blithely selling the Internet as a platform that reaches everyone is a shrewd spin on a solution that will meet few people's expectations.

  11. Lincoln
    Snapperhead
    9 Jul '09, 12:04 am

    Comedy gold: http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2009/0...-get-some.html

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