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[LosingNow]

July 8, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/technology/companies/08operate.html?_r=1&hp

Google Unveils a PC Operating System
By MIGUEL HELFT and ASHLEE VANCE
SAN FRANCISCO — In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs based on its Chrome Web browser.

The move sharpens the already intense competition between Google and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system controls the basic functions of the vast majority of personal computers.

In a post on its company blog, Google said the operating system would initially be aimed at netbooks, the compact, low-cost computers that have turned the PC world on its head. It said the open-source software, called Chrome OS, would be available in the second half of next year.

“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS,” the blog post said. “We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the Web in a few seconds.”
Google has already developed an operating system for mobile phones, called Android. And several manufacturers of netbooks are also using that software.

Google has long promoted a vision of computing in which applications delivered over the Web play an increasingly central role, replacing software that runs on the desktop. In that world, applications run directly inside an Internet browser, rather than atop an operating system, the traditional software that controls most of the operations of a PC.

Last year, the company released the Chrome browser, which it described as a tool for users to interact with increasingly powerful Web programs, like Gmail and Google Docs, along with Web applications created by other companies. Since then, Google has been adding capabilities to Chrome, like allowing it to run applications even when a user is not connected to the Internet.

It is not clear how much work it would take for Google to turn Chrome into the central part of a full-fledged operating system. But in a recent interview, Marc Andreessen, who developed the first commercial browser and co-founded Netscape, said Chrome was already well along that path.

“Chrome is basically a modern operating system,” Mr. Andreessen said.

Google has also long customized a version of the Linux operating system for use internally.

The rise of netbooks has started to challenge some of Microsoft’s dominance in personal computing software. The first wave of netbooks relied on various versions of the open-source Linux operating system, and major PC makers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell have backed the Linux software.

In an unusual move, Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, has worked on developing a Linux-based operating system called Moblin as well.

The company has aimed the software at netbooks and smartphones in a bid to spur interest for its mobile device chip sold under the Atom brand.

To combat these efforts, Microsoft began offering its older Windows XP operating system for use on netbooks at a low price. In addition, the company has vowed that the next generation of Windows, Windows 7, due out this fall, will run well on the tiny laptops.

Netbooks have stood out as the brightest part of the PC market during the global economic downturn. Over all, PC sales have plummeted, while netbook sales have surged.

[WicketView]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8140594.stm

Charge of Google's light brigade

ANALYSIS
By Tim Weber
Business editor, BBC News website

Chrome logo
Google's operating system aims to tempt people away from Windows

So at long last Google is making its move. Promising a lightweight but fast operating system - Chrome OS - the internet search company is poised to strike at the heart of Microsoft's software empire.

The Windows operating system is Microsoft's cash cow, powering about 90% of the world's personal computers, and as a result accounting for the majority of its profits.

The benefits are wider, though. Every Windows desktop comes with an invitation (and at times the imperative) to use other Microsoft software and services.

This, in turn, hobbles Google's ambition of organising all the world's information, and making money on the back of it.

After all, most people's computer experience is bogged down with frustration - from the time it takes to start a computer, to software conflicts, and worries about viruses and malware (or for Apple Macs the cost of buying a computer).

Clash of business models
   
Soon those people who are spending more of their time in the company of Google rather than Microsoft will have the opportunity to use the Chrome OS for all their computing needs
Rory Cellan-Jones
BBC's technology correspondent

Read Rory's thoughts in full

Google promises to change all that by stripping desktop computing to its basics. Your PC won't have to do the heavy lifting, applications will run in your browser instead, powered by Google's huge server farms.

It comes down to a clash of business models. Microsoft earns money by charging customers a one-off fee for its operating system, probably $20 for its old Windows XP software, and a rumoured $150 for Windows Vista and the forthcoming Windows 7, which is due to go on sale this autumn.

Google is unlikely to charge for Chrome OS. The company wants you to get online fast, have a whale of a time... and use as many Google services as you can: from search to email, social networking to photo sharing, word processing, to watching films on YouTube.

It is yet another incarnation of the company's "Google everywhere" strategy.

Google, the software firm

Chrome OS also shows what you can achieve when you sit on a huge cash pile, attract some of the world's best software engineers and - most importantly - start with a blank slate.

Google has a track record. Not that long ago the firm announced that it was developing an operating system for smartphones, dubbed Android (which is distinct from Chrome OS).

Microsoft executives that I spoke to back then were dismissive, arguing that Google was underestimating the complexity of such a venture. But already Android is in many ways a more accomplished piece of software than version 6.1 of Microsoft's Windows Mobile.

Google is helped by the fact that unlike Microsoft it has no need to worry about compatibility with legacy software.

That, however, could also be the Achilles heel of Chrome OS.

Consumers who want to buy a Chrome OS computer will have to start with a blank slate as well. Any software that they hold near and dear is unlikely to be compatible with the new system.

And they have to limit their ambitions. If you play computer games, do heavy-duty video or picture editing, or need any kind of specialised software, then you'll return to the shelves heaving with Microsoft powered PCs or Apple Macs.

Timing is everything

As you make your buying decision, you will have this niggling worry that one day, maybe, you will need to use some software that simply can't run in your browser. The advertising campaigns of both Apple and Microsoft will have a great time stoking these worries.

Google's announcement comes at an interesting time. Microsoft is poised to launch its new operating system Windows 7. Unlike its predecessor Vista, Windows 7 is proven to be a good fit for ultraportable netbooks, currently the fastest growing segment of the PC market.

So Chrome OS, due in mid-2010, may come either at just the right time, as the economy recovers and consumers go shopping again, or it may come too late, with Windows 7 already firmly hogging the market.

Chrome impact

In the end, Google's strike may not cut deep into enemy territory.

Chrome, the web browser, is still stuck at a tiny market share of 1.2%. Android is available on just two or three phones, not enough to really make an impact.

Google Apps - productivity software to handle spreadsheets and word documents - has just come out of its "beta" test phase, but look around you and you will find most people still using Microsoft Office.

The one field where Chrome OS may make a difference is the market for the open source Linux operating system. Chrome OS will use bits of the Linux kernel, the link between the computer hardware and the Chrome browser running on it.

Google is bound to make Chrome OS much more user-friendly than most "distros" or versions of Linux available right now. Instead of slaying Microsoft, Chrome OS might corner the segment of the consumer space that might have been Linux's.

No doubt, Google's charge with Chrome OS will needle Microsoft. But we won't know for years whether it will deliver a mere pinprick, or is the fine point of the dagger at the heart of Microsoft.

[WicketView]

It would be nice for people with a better understanding of the issues to chime in:

1) Does this mean that it will not be possible to install software of the user's choice?

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

[RicePlateReddy]

1) Does this mean that it will not be possible to install software of the user's choice?

Well, the text you bolded in the article makes the point that folks who use existing programs may not have the luxury of using those programs on the Chrome OS. E.g., if you love Microsoft Excel and use it heavily, you will be out of luck on Chrome OS unless you can make do / transition to Open Office or Google's application. Until Chrome OS becomes more popular, vendors are unlikely to start providing software compatible with Chrome OS.

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

Or even the same vendor program does not behave in identical, familiar ways when it is supported on multiple platforms. One tactic some folks have been using is to emulate the familiar OS on a virtual machine or VM and run the application within (e.g. I can run Windows XP in a VM on Mac OS and run Quicken Turbo Tax within that VM if I want the PC flavor of that program only). There is no easy way to solve this problem and it forms the barrier for entry for any new OS. With Chrome OS, the threat to Microsoft is the cost equation. Chrome OS could be free for a very long time, perhaps ever!

[kingcool1432]

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

There're no "programs" as such besides native linux file-managers and windowing systems. The OS is just an interface to the web. So you might get a fancy excel client, but it'll be an interface to the google docs with probably more syncing/sharing features built-in.

"Google says the software architecture will basically be the current Chrome browser running inside “a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.” So in other words, it basically is the web as an OS. And applications developers will develop for it just as they would on the web"

[WicketView]

SSL: OK I should have been clearer. Obviously closed source software are out. But my questions were about using open source software. Clearly, these are software that you can compile using the compilers in the system.  However, the
statement I bolded does not distinguish between open-source and closed-source software ... but simply says that one would not be able to use software that one is used to. It may just be poor phrasing on the part of the article writer, but if one truly cannot install custom software, then this would not be a serious OS (if at all it can be called an OS). I am hoping it is the first rather than the second. But honestly, I am not aware of the possible restrictions (or even the advantages) that a OS based on a web browser.

1) Does this mean that it will not be possible to install software of the user's choice?

Well, the text you bolded in the article makes the point that folks who use existing programs may not have the luxury of using those programs on the Chrome OS. E.g., if you love Microsoft Excel and use it heavily, you will be out of luck on Chrome OS unless you can make do / transition to Open Office or Google's application. Until Chrome OS becomes more popular, vendors are unlikely to start providing software compatible with Chrome OS.

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

Or even the same vendor program does not behave in identical, familiar ways when it is supported on multiple platforms. One tactic some folks have been using is to emulate the familiar OS on a virtual machine or VM and run the application within (e.g. I can run Windows XP in a VM on Mac OS and run Quicken Turbo Tax within that VM if I want the PC flavor of that program only). There is no easy way to solve this problem and it forms the barrier for entry for any new OS. With Chrome OS, the threat to Microsoft is the cost equation. Chrome OS could be free for a very long time, perhaps ever!

[kingcool1432]

Chrome OS could be free for a very long time, perhaps ever!

It would be interesting if they bring over their ad-sense program into the desktop version. Would people use something with ads as long as its free?

[WicketView]

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

There're no "programs" as such besides native linux file-managers and windowing systems. The OS is just an interface to the web. So you might get a fancy excel client, but it'll be an interface to the google docs with probably more syncing/sharing features built-in.

"Google says the software architecture will basically be the current Chrome browser running inside “a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.” So in other words, it basically is the web as an OS. And applications developers will develop for it just as they would on the web"

OK so it should have be a linux based system (perhaps trimmed, and so with only basic requirements). And perhaps the browser will be able to do more than current browsers.

[teamindia]

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

There're no "programs" as such besides native linux file-managers and windowing systems. The OS is just an interface to the web. So you might get a fancy excel client, but it'll be an interface to the google docs with probably more syncing/sharing features built-in.

"Google says the software architecture will basically be the current Chrome browser running inside “a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.” So in other words, it basically is the web as an OS. And applications developers will develop for it just as they would on the web"

OK so it should have be a linux based system (perhaps trimmed, and so with only basic requirements). And perhaps the browser will be able to do more than current browsers.

If you are talking about existing Windows Apps, it would not work on Chrome. But Google will create a set of applications for its OS and it would involve the open source community for that. And as per Google all its apps will be web-based so you can run them on any browser on any OS.

[LosingNow]

what happens when you are not connected to the web?

[kingcool1432]

what happens when you are not connected to the web?

It's like what google does with google gears. You can already use gmail offline (for the most part). The OS just syncs with the cloud when you do get connected.

[kingcool1432]

SSL: OK I should have been clearer. Obviously closed source software are out. But my questions were about using open source software. Clearly, these are software that you can compile using the compilers in the system.  However, the
statement I bolded does not distinguish between open-source and closed-source software ... but simply says that one would not be able to use software that one is used to. It may just be poor phrasing on the part of the article writer, but if one truly cannot install custom software, then this would not be a serious OS (if at all it can be called an OS). I am hoping it is the first rather than the second. But honestly, I am not aware of the possible restrictions (or even the advantages) that a OS based on a web browser.

1) Does this mean that it will not be possible to install software of the user's choice?

Well, the text you bolded in the article makes the point that folks who use existing programs may not have the luxury of using those programs on the Chrome OS. E.g., if you love Microsoft Excel and use it heavily, you will be out of luck on Chrome OS unless you can make do / transition to Open Office or Google's application. Until Chrome OS becomes more popular, vendors are unlikely to start providing software compatible with Chrome OS.

2) One of the major problems today of switching OS is that one gets into using programs that are not cross-platform. How will people get across this.

Or even the same vendor program does not behave in identical, familiar ways when it is supported on multiple platforms. One tactic some folks have been using is to emulate the familiar OS on a virtual machine or VM and run the application within (e.g. I can run Windows XP in a VM on Mac OS and run Quicken Turbo Tax within that VM if I want the PC flavor of that program only). There is no easy way to solve this problem and it forms the barrier for entry for any new OS. With Chrome OS, the threat to Microsoft is the cost equation. Chrome OS could be free for a very long time, perhaps ever!

I think it satisfies a certain target audience who basically live on FB and twitter [And CVoice of course]. But if they can make it snappy and load up almost instantly I can see people using it as a secondary OS or on netbooks which have limited hardware.

[WicketView]

...
I think it satisfies a certain target audience who basically live on FB and twitter [And CVoice of course]. But if they can make it snappy and load up almost instantly I can see people using it as a secondary OS or on netbooks which have limited hardware.

I see. There is clearly a fairly large market that can benefit from this kind of a device ... particularly if compared to the Windows stuff which must be adding a significant fraction of the price to the cheaper netbooks. On the other hand, this would not be a significant competitor in the open source sector which is  mostly used for serious computing (apart from some versions that have been built for netbooks), as claimed in the article.

[teamindia]

what happens when you are not connected to the web?

You think someone can live without web, five years from now?

[LosingNow]

what happens when you are not connected to the web?

It's like what google does with google gears. You can already use gmail offline (for the most part). The OS just syncs with the cloud when you do get connected.

hmm.. so a copy of the doc is sitting on my computer somewhere then? How will I even access the application - say Google Docs - because I thought that application was loaded in the browser when connected.

The whole point is this - if I am traveling (say on a plane) or away from my office/home.. how will I work on the spreadsheet, document or presentation?

[kingcool1432]

The whole point is this - if I am traveling (say on a plane) or away from my office/home.. how will I work on the spreadsheet, document or presentation?

You can already do that. If you install Google gears from http://gears.google.com/  and just go to gmail.com from a plane and it recognizes you're not online and just loads previously downloaded mails (i think it downloads your last 500 mails or something for offline use when you install it); then you read/reply/compose while still offline and then when you get back online it syncs read messages/ sends unsent.

This probably explains it better http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/03/google-docs-pulls-head-out-of-the-cloud-goes-offline.ars

[kingcool1432]

Also Prism http://prism.mozilla.com/ is pretty neat if you're interested in the whole web-app as a system application thing.

[LosingNow]

Thanks KC.. this "concept" explains it.

Bottomline : it does "store" stuff on your desktop, and correct me if I am wrong or simplifying this too much -  it is just that the whole "file explorer" concept of storing/finding files is being made obsolete. Interesting concept..makes sense.. will need some "de-programming" for us Windows users.