Why You Don’t Need Chrome OS
Not everything that Google touches turns to gold, far from it it would seem. In certain opinions, the web behemoth appears to be hard at work devising solutions to problems that people don’t really have. While the company is known, quite rightly so, for being cutting edge and innovative, some of the concepts and ideas just seem to leave you scratching your head. I’m sure we will get to terms with Wave when it finally hits our shoreline….
Google’s Chrome browser seems destined to be another flop, with its market share, so much as it is, steadily declining and users decrying its inability to integrate with much-needed apps and add-ons. While Google has always had its eye on Microsoft in the battle of the geeks, its boldest posture is surely Chrome OS. This is Google’s interpretation of how the operating system of tomorrow will integrate with the latest hardware and how it will change us all. We think it is an idea ahead of its time or worse, based on poor objectivity.
With Chrome OS, Google is trying to convert the desktop machine into a glorified web browser. Isn’t the existing version of Chrome supposed to be just such a browser? Google seems to think that desktop apps will very swiftly become a thing of the past and that everyone will jump onto the idea of cloud computing. Like we said, too far ahead of its time. We all surf the web more often than we allocate time to any other task on our computers, but there are still numerous processes and programs, accounting software versions, entertainment applications and so on that we use quite readily at our stations.
It looks like Google is firing a shot across the bows of Microsoft, but this effort is hardly likely to make a dent in the armor, let alone sink the ship. Microsoft operating systems represent an institution that will be very difficult to crack. Windows Vista may have been rightly denigrated, but 7, the latest effort, appears to be much more palatable and people are more likely to jump from XP to 7 than get into bed with Google. Any laptops, notebooks or other machinery that comes bundled with a Chrome OS is likely to lead to raised eyebrows, if not be returned to the merchant upon discovery and we think that Google has got a considerable hill to climb. Look at Apple’s intense marketing effort, currently trying to persuade us to change from Windows to Mac as an example.
Let’s face it, Google is not known for its quality of support. Indeed, when they rolled out Checkout, support was simply not available, much to the chagrin and amazement of potential vendors. Such a lack of consideration could be catastrophic for the company if it materialized during the release of an operating system.
Despite its undoubted stature and might within the technological world, Google seems to be relying too much on its name and its “hip-ness” when it comes to the very philosophy of a Chrome OS-reliant computer. The company has already said that it will only allow the operating system to run on referenced hardware, further restricting its overall appeal.
Do you think that Google’s turn has come?
Adam Toren
This must rate as the worst researched article of all time. Google Chrome is the preferred browser of EVERYBODY I know. It’s funny how your article makes no mention of the next (imminent) version having extensions either…
I think that you are wrong here. Remember, MS has been in the game longer than anyone, and google is thinking ahead more than catching up. I use Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and not IE. Chrome seems to operate the fastest and smoothest, though there are add ons that are missing. I just got Google Wave, and for business, this is likely to change the nature of collaborative communications. Let’s face it, if you watch the history of the web, and computers, many power houses have fallen by the wayside. Remember Compuserve and Prodigy? Look at AOL and its loss of marketshare. While Google is not ready to take over the mass market, rather than concentrate on any one thing, they are figuring how to integrate everything. More work being done on the web, allows for smaller more portable devices that can function more. Meanwhile, MS is still debugging Vista and XP while putting out Windows 7. What happens in the end remains to be seen, but Google is not fighting a battle, but looking to win a war. Just my opinion, and what do i know?
I will definitely try out Chrome OS, just because I am tech savy and I generally like to try out new software, but do I think Google will make a big dent in Microsoft’s Dominance in the OS? No way.
Till then,
Jean
LOL @Jonathan, the article is not about Google Chrome, it’s about Google OS Doh!
Anyhow, while we are on the subject, according to this link
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0
Chrome has only a 3.9% share of the browser market, to IE’s 63.61 and Firefox, 24.74.
As of last week, Google just opened up the door to developers to code extensions for Chrome. Extensions appear to be quite a long way from public release according to this resource:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/23/google-chrome-extensions-developers/
This is probably the most well liked element of Firefox, so Chrome has some catching up to do.
There are bound to be Google vs MS arguments made here. Personally I don’t see Wave taking over the world and I am in on the beta part of it, but it might catch on sometime, if more people do.
From what I can see, this post was surely meant to be thought-provoking, to start a thread going or even be controversial, as it was entitled “Why you don’t need Chrome OS,” after all?
Calm down people. Every product finds buyer. There will always be people who will need more that Google OS offers and those will stay with Windows and other operating systems, while others will be fine with Chrome.
Anyway I think it’s positive to read this kind of review which looks on Chrome OS from different aspect.
I agree that the concept of the Chrome OS may be ahead of its time. The idea of cloud computing sounds like it has its advantages, but does that mean everyone will want to get rid of all software on their computer? Of course not. It will take a long time for people to change the way they use their computers. Google is a little arrogant in thinking they can change the landscape of computing with a new OS.
Okay. So this whole concept of the browser as the desktop seems so familiar. This was MSFT’s strategy for containing Netscape a decade ago. Thus the inability to untangle IE from Windows. And yes, there was a rush to put everything into the browser, whether it belonged there or not. In the end, the only victim was the shrink-wrapped browser software that people paid for, that helped tie them to the back-end server that was also sold. Now the playing field is level all around and the real question is: is the modality of working with applications and data that exist entirely on the web workable. It requires a LOT of trust on the part of the user. Not only that their data will be safe, but the applications that use them will be stable with time. But here is a hint: MSFT’s real leverage over the world has always been the format of binary files. There was never any need for any lawsuits or trials, only government and industry doing what they normally do in most markets: specify standards. In this case standards for binary files and features supported, allowing businesses (and Open Source) to compete on price and performance. If an organization like W3C determined how word processing, spread sheet and other documents were stored, and MSFT was forced to inter-operate, then the market could work more freely. It would also protect users data, guaranteeing that it could be accessed by future applications.
This notes that “not everything google touches turns to gold”, not at all. Just look at yahoo answers dominance over google answers.
I think its wrong to say they are fighting a loosing battle, especially so early on.. Chrome is still (for me) a work in progress, but when they get up a good base of extensions, I could imagine jumping on to that too. Mostly I use Firefox for reasons of the extensions (and I’m used to it), but I partly use Google Chrome to surf when I don’t need my extensions (like SEOBook). Mostly I’m fascinated with the speed of Chrome, as I’m tired of Firefox crashing at taking up vast amount of my computers memory.
Regarding the OS, I am not sure what to think yet, but I wouldn’t rely on it to be perfect in the first version - maybe after a few releases, they could catch on and actually create a competitor to Windows, but it will take a few generations of the software.
However, I am not so sure about its operating system. Linux has effectively lost the netbook battle. Windows and Microsoft Office have become too familiar to the average computer user.
I wouldn’t count Chrome OS out just yet. Cloud computing is still in its relative infancy. In a few years, this prediction may come back to haunt you.
As for the chrome browser, the chrome market share has steadily increased while IE has steadily decreased. I don’t think anyone expected a flip in market share to happen overnight, or even in the course of a year. IE is embedded in the mindset of users and is also the default browser in the most popular OS. Most people either don’t realize there are alternatives or don’t care, or see no need to switch. But I can see those numbers changing as time goes on as users and web developers do realize that.
By the way, been using Chrome/Firefox/Opera at home for over 2 years (well, FF/Opera for over 2 years) and IE at work. Definitely would take any of those three over IE.
That said, I’ll still take MS Office over Open Office.