Comments on: Google Chrome OS: A lot to do about Nothing

By: Justin Dickinson

Justin Dickinson — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:11:05 +0000

Good article but it is off the mark with the complaint about Chrome being a “new OS”. Yes it will be built on Linux kernel but it will BE a new OS. SUSE is a different OS than Ubuntu even though they are both built off of the Linux kernel. MAC OSX is built off a Unix kernel but it to is viewed as new or separate OS than Unix (because it is stable yet user friendly in opinion). So I believe this is not only doable by Google it is brilliant.

The Chrome OS is more a play for the convergence of phones, desktops and netbooks/laptops than a play to compete with Mac or Microsoft for a PC based OS. Google, in true Google fashion, is anticipating where things will ultimate be and heading there now. They have done this time and time again to Microsoft with the web search engine and online apps. Now they are just realizing and acting the idea of the future of personal computing and the downright coolness of tying all of our personal computing devices together with one OS.

By: Tray Nelson

Tray Nelson — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:57:31 +0000

Excellent points, it is simply a browser and has no cpu tools, memory tools, data processing tools and a massive amount of other necessities needed to bring an out of the box. If they really want to create a great browser, they have some massive hurdles to overcome and they will need to hire a massive new programming staff with knowledge of programming that isn’t web based. I am curious to learn more

By: Jeff Hawkins

Jeff Hawkins — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:52:57 +0000

Reading the story and comments that agree with it, I can’t help but think, “that’s exactly what they said about Mac OS X. Just another shell over BSD Unix.”

The fact is that if Google entirely replaces the UI, and revamps the security, and changes a bunch of hooks so things work differently, and writes a bunch of APIs that programmers like and start using, then for all practical purposes, it’s a new OS.

By: John

John — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:55:26 +0000

Yes, this is the core idea. Make notebooks cheaper and faster and remove everything else . It’s not a masterpiece, it’s targeted at people who want to do just the basics. It’s really a high demand in this field.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:53:29 +0000

I bought a netbook last year with Linux. It’s OK, but if Google’s Chrome would make it better and make the netbooks cheaper, than I would like that. I’m not a power user at all and would really like to see netbooks at $100 so more people without a laptop could have one for just the basics.

By: Zak

Zak — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:44:06 +0000

say i write a new operating system. i write a new kernel. new windowing system. new desktop environment.

hey this looks familiar. kindof like my old mac. and my flatmate’s windows pc. hang on, it looks a lot like my linux box too.

what google have done is removed the stuff you don’t need – and hidden the stuff you don’t need to see. it isn’t about what is new in google’s OS – there aren’t any amazing new inventions – it’s about what isn’t old. no desktop metaphor. no mixture of archaic programming languages. no “applications”. no C:\. and for this, they deserve our attention. while linux as a kernel and the web as a platform are not perfect, they’re sure as hell better than yet another UNIX-like kernel with yet another overlapping window manager and yet another mindless application of the desktop metaphor all written in yet another C spinoff with yet another incompatible API bound to yet another scripting language.

a significant step in the right direction, in my opinion.

By: Mrs Woolfe

Mrs Woolfe — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:22:49 +0000

Once it moves beyond netbooks and if computer manufacturers make it there standard OS than it could be something BIG. But because Windows 7 will be out before than it could meet the same fate as many other of Googles non search products, nothing. But time will tell and if nothing else congrats to Google for stepping foot in the OS realm.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:20:31 +0000

Tell me more about the “Jesus phone” (iPod Touch without AT&T and with Google Talk)…I’d love the benefits of an iPhone without the stench of AT&T/SBC/Cingular hanging in the air.

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:37:04 +0000

My take on it is that they’re building a package that makes a netbook run one application — Chrome. You want to edit a document? It’s a Google doc inside Chrome. Email? Gmail through Chrome.

All this argument about “is it an OS” is just people trying to fit this into their definition of what an OS is. Sure, the OS is technically Linux. But we’re getting off the “OS runs compiled binaries that manipulate data” model to “whatever-you-want-to-call-it is a web browser that runs HTML and Javascript (and probably Flash)”. Even the fact that it’s running Chrome is irrelevant.

This is going to be a super stripped down Linux distribution that has the sole job of running a web browser. Because they only have to support one application they can tune the performance and security of the Linux kernel accordingly.

Look back at the comic book that was released to explain Chrome. This is what they had in mind all along.

Sean

By: ChrisM

ChrisM — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:06:01 +0000

As long as OS X can’t be installed on ANY x86 machine, it’s not directly competing with Microsoft. I always wanted to see Apple opening their system up, but now Google stepped in and I’m really thrilled to see what’s going to happen!

Please point me to the information on which you can conclude Google’s attempt is “half backed”. Looking at Android, their attempts seem to be very sophisticated. I’d rather bet my money on any open operating system than a hardware locked solution from any company. Time will tell though.