Google Chrome OS
July 18th, 2009
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the upcoming Google Chrome OS so I’m going to give everyone my thoughts on it, and also answer a few common questions I’ve been receiving. Google Chrome OS is not an entirely new operating system built from the ground up. It’s really not going to be anything more than just a new distribution of Linux.
A new distribution of Linux in itself really isn’t exciting news or anything special. New and totally free distributions of Linux are released to the general public on an extremely frequent basis. The problem with Linux as a desktop operating system is that for the average person even a trivial task like installing a new program can be daunting if not impossible.
Linux isn’t like Windows or OS X, there isn’t a nice graphical installer that runs when you want to add a new piece of software to the machine. Installing a piece of software or installing operating system updates usually requires the end user to use a terminal interface. Some distributions of Linux are more user friendly than others, and some distributions allow self-installers (RPM packages for example) but the simplicity and familiarity isn’t there for the average user. Another huge problem is the lack of driver support. Once again, some distributions are better than others in this area.
The Google Chrome OS is built around the idea that all programs the end user needs to access will be delivered via the Internet and their web browser. Things like SaaS (Software as a Service) is becoming more common by the day, and here at Falcon Worx we implement SaaS and we also offer it to our clients. Google believes that with any software available via a web browser, you’ll never need to install a piece of software anyway.
With widespread support from PC manufacturers things like compatible drives shouldn’t be an issue. Google is doing a smart thing by targeting the small and relatively new netbook market as a starting point for their new operating system. Netbooks are designed for well, surfing the internet and not much more. They’re low powered, and don’t have much capacity. So accessing software via a web browser makes perfect sense.
In addition to widespread support from PC manufacturers, I’m sure Google will implement some type of self-installer for software packages that will be easy to use. As a result, software developers will probably release a plethora of software for Chrome OS. I’m sure we’ll see Chrome OS move to notebooks and then eventually desktops.
How successful will Chrome OS be with consumers? Only time will tell but I suspect it will be fairly popular. PC manufactures are going to be cramming the Google Chrome OS down consumer’s throats because it’s free. Unlike Windows, Chrome OS doesn’t come with a hefty licensing fee for each unit sold.
I’m pretty eager to get my hands on Google Chrome OS, if their operating system is anything like any of their other products I’m sure it will be pretty darn good if not great. Do I think that all software a person or company needs will be available via your web browser? For most companies that answer is no. It’s far too costly and security is always a concern. However, I do believe that SaaS will be more widely implemented for some types of software.
