Google OS

[killer]

A list of hardware manufacturers who support Google's planned Chrome Operating System has been announced.

Here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8141964.stm

[jdhurst]

I read about this, and I really think it will be a non-starter. The machines will chain you to your desk. Put another way, it isn't likely to work very well 100 miles in the country with no internet around.

There is no question it will fit some people perfectly. It will not fit others (like me). The question is: Where is the divide point? ... JDH

[hausman]

The question is: Where is the divide point?

These days it's possible to get decent speeds via the cellphone network so only the small minority that lives outside of cell range would be unable to use Chrome and other cloud-computing solutions. Even today with a conventional notebook I imagine there are a few people who'd find something useful to do when the wired, broadband Internet is inaccessible. (Watching movies and listening to music doesn't count because they can do that offline today too.)

[ZaZ]

I don't really want to pay WWAN prices as I mostly use my machine at home, but there are times where I'd like use it where's there no WLAN available.

[qviri]

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[hausman]

WWAN, at least in Canada, is already about the same price as DSL. The speed is a bit slower and the amount of data you're allowed to transfer per month is lower. But if you can't get wired broadband, WWAN is a practical, cost-effective alternative. And it's much more, er, widely available.

[ZaZ]

The two places I mainly use my notebook are home and work, both of which already have free WiFi. Now it'd be different if were traveling all the time and needed Internet access, but I don't. It's the same reason I crackerjacked my iPhone. I didn't really want to pay $70 a month for a service I'd barely use since the two places I use it for Internet I get for free.

[mattbiernat]

so what is really going to be the difference between android and Google chrome OS?

[qviri]

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[mattbiernat]

yeah but then i read somewhere that android is already getting installed on netbooks...

[qviri]

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[hausman]

Yeah, and Windows 95 got installed on the iPhone

Good thing then that the laws against performing unnatural acts, cruel and unusual punishment, etc. don't apply to inanimate objects

[mattbiernat]

hey, I actually have a good and fond memories of windows 95.

[qviri]

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[jdhurst]

All of my machines (NT4, 2000, XP Pro, and Vista Business) look precisely like and feel precisely like my Windows 95 computer of years ago.

On the other side of the coin, I was happy to see the back of 9x computers and their inherent insecurities.
... JDH

[NorrisCell]

Whenever I get ready to describe my dislike for something, I always ask my less-technologically-inclined-than-me wife what she thinks of it. This gives me a normal point of view on tech products. Case in point, I asked her about the concept of Chrome OS. Funny enough, she rattled off the same problems I forsee with it.

I fail to see what is so wrong with loading an OS from a disc. There are a lot of people out there who still do not have broadband, even in bigger cities. The Chrome OS is targeted at the Netbook market, correct? And Netbooks are targeted at more "basic" computer user, such as one who does only light internet usage or word processing. Someone doing only those tasks is less likely to see broadband internet as a necessity. This cuts them off from Chrome, because downloading an entire OS (Light or not) over Dial-Up is probably not something they're going to want to undertake.

Naturally there's the issue of security as well. As it sits now, if my wireless switch is off, there's no way for anyone to get ahold of my files without physically having access to my computer. Google is trustworthy, of course, but as Microsoft knows, when enough people are out to find your weaknesses, someone is bound to find one or two. The question becomes how much damage can they do with that vulnerability?

This could very well be another situation where just I'm failing to see the advantages, but I don't see myself being in a hurry to try this.

[bill bolton]

This could very well be another situation where just I'm failing to see the advantages....

I remember a lot of PC users saying that when Windows first came out, way back when.

IMO its FAR to early to make a call on this one.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[qviri]

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