Although Google without a doubt has been a great facilitator in internet technology and has changed the world of business, I am starting to have doubts about the current direction they are heading with the new Chrome OS. With the domination of Windows 7 , Snow Leopard , and Linux what makes Google think they can compete in the OS market? I don’t think billions of dollars can save them this time.
I have predicted the inception of this type of OS for a few years now and had an inkling that Google was going to be the one to produce this according to the rate at which they are pumping out all sorts of apps. A few years ago while I was analyzing and studying RIA’s ( rich internet applications) I knew that the desktop would eventually become obsolete. What we are currently seeing here is the evolution of the personal computer into a “cloud computing shell” or “big brother” computer. Although the integration of information is key to the evolution of technology, I still believe Microsoft and Apple will still remain the champions toward facilitating this change.. NOT Google.
Here are my top three reasons for this thing floppin’…
1. Google is promoting this OS initially on netbooks…. enough said there…
2. Open Source OS’s like Ubuntu and Red Hat have been working on a system like this for years. What makes Google think they can just jump in the market? What is the benefit of a Google OS… Adsense on the side of your desktop now? There are too many players in the game in the open source OS market, Google needs to let the grassroots open development companies take care of it instead of trying to monopolize open source culture.
3. Hardware companies already have an agreement with software companies. These powerhouse relationships wouldn’t want to be disrupted for an open source solution to run native. I would be really upset of if my MAC came with a free, buggy, Open Source Google OS… with the $3000 price tag. As far as the netbook market… these are currently controlled by huge Asian vendors which doesn’t give a shit about a new OS. The switch over would cost millions in operations.
Ok… Before I bash Chrome OS before It comes out… let see what they say…
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/releasing-chromium-os-open-source.html
“Most of all, we are obsessed with speed. We are taking out every unnecessary process, optimizing many operations and running everything possible in parallel. This means you can go from turning on the computer to surfing the web in a few seconds. Our obsession with speed goes all the way down to the metal. We are specifying reference hardware components to create the fastest experience for Google Chrome OS.”
It looks like Google’s biggest selling point is speed……..Ok… like every other OS.
“Google is promising boot times measured in seconds, not minutes”
“Windows 7 is Engineered for speed. Special attention has been given by the Windows 7 team for making Windows 7 faster than the previous operating systems.”
“In ways big and small, Mac OS X Snow Leopard makes your Mac faster, more reliable, and easier to use. Snow Leopard is seriously faster than its predecessor.”
SEE A PATTERN HERE?!
That’s just my two cents… I don’t blame Google for getting into the market because it has the budget to have a crack at it. As a smart business decision… I don’t think it will pan out like Google thinks.
I’m always open to debate… let me know what you think through the comments below!
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One Response to “GOOGLE Chrome OS ? Makes me sick… what do you think”
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Hi Peter,
I see things a little different. Google OS does not have to dominate the OS market for Google to accomplish their goals.
Google has all kinds of data on usage patterns on the internet and they know that there is a direct relationship between how fast internet pages and applications are delivered to the user and how long a user stays on the internet. So the quicker the response time the more likely you are to stay on the internet and that makes Google more money (which is essentially what Sergey Brin said at the Chrome Browser launch http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3769021).
In your post you say that the “desktop will eventually become obsolete”. Well who would gain more from this happening? It sure would not be Microsoft or Apple. They both make healthy profits from the desktop, especially Microsoft with their OS and Office suite. If the desktop OS is going away and Google has the most to gain from that then it makes sense they are out trying to help it happen.
Google’s OS is essentially a stripped down version of Linux, so it is not like they are starting from scratch. Their OS will be optimized for one thing and that is web browsing.
So to address your points:
1. Netbooks are not right for everyone, but I think Google wants to turn the computer into an appliance. Just plug it in and use it, no upgrading, no loading the latest software or updates. So a netbook would be the best and cheapest way to get there.
2. I agree that Linux has been trying to become a player on the desktop for years, but with very mixed results. The thing is I don’t think Google is trying to compete with the desktop they are trying to create an internet appliance to get more people using the internet and Google.
3. Hardware companies will continue to build the products they are building now (which may be inferior), but they will make production bandwidth available to build these machines also. They will have to build the netbooks with the stringent hardware requirements that Google will require (like a solid state drive) to get the official Google stamp, so the quality will be better then standard netbooks. I do agree that you won’t be buying any Apple Macs with anything but OSX since they like taking your money and mine.
Google is obsessed with speed because they make more money the quicker and easier it is for people to get on the internet.
In closing, Google doesn’t need Google OS to supplant Microsoft and Apple as the dominant OS. If by introducing Google OS on netbooks they can get more people on the internet and/or they can push existing hardware and OS providers to come up with better and cheaper alternatives to getting on the internet then Google wins.
-Rich