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Nov 19, 09 - 05:19 pm Comment from: NCIceman

Being browser and cloud based, it's a completely different beast than say Windows or OS/X. Therefore I don't see it as a direct competitor.

I'm not going to like it (way too marginal/bottom-tier), and I don't think most of you (us) Mac-types are going to like it, but I think this will be huge over the next couple of years.

We'll see.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:29 pm Comment from: bjh

40 years later and we're back at time-sharing...

There is no way I would ever fully trust my important stuff residing only in The Cloud.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:31 pm Comment from: bjh

..not *quite* timesharing of old, of course, since the executing code runs on the local machine, rather than on the host with the user using a dumb terminal, but the paradigm is not dissimilar.

Yeah... whatever... this is an OLD CONCEPT of everything is on the MAINFRAME and you just have a DUMB TERMINAL to access it..!!!!

I will never trust "the Internet" with all my personal stuff.... totally nuts....

The Internet is the least secure place ever, nor do I trust Google with snooping through all my stuff to show me the right ads.

AND what if the "Internet" is down???? U R TOAST

1984 at its best.... BIG BROTHER is not only watching but OWNS ALL YOUR STUFF!!!

Imagine a hoard of mindless drones depending on the BIG computer for everything.

Never for me!

Nov 19, 09 - 05:32 pm Comment from: Amazin1

I believe that the whole "cloud" thing is useful in limited situations. Like Google Maps, it is useless unless you have an reliable, fast internet connection. This kind of thing is a great fit for those people who, as the article eludes to, use netbooks, which already have limited hardware capability, and thus the only way to add function is through use of the "cloud".

Appealing to the lowest common denominator does not necessarily translate to intelligent use of the OS. To attain intelligent use of an OS requires a mixture of Hard drive, CD and cloud storage systems. (e.g MobileMe) Only then can you hope that the community using your product will develop software to augment and compliment your OS thus increasing your OS's appeal. (e.g Apps) in relation to iPhone SDK.

Nope. Don't want. I want to keep my files private, my files accessible quickly, my music as mine, my browser history as mine, ad-nausium. It's a long way off before you can get high end games and applications running off the internet. ChromeOS is going to be great for internet cafés and for people who want a cheap netbook. But it won't serve as a full computer OS until we have atleast 5Gb direct internet connection with low contention ratio's and low latency.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:37 pm Comment from: the other steve jobs

a single security problem, and all of everyone's individual data is everyone's data.

sorry - i trust no company, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Sun - no company to hold my data FOR me.

Other People's Hard Drives = they have your data and it can get out.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:39 pm Comment from: zmarc

For certain types of users (i.e. those with minimal needs and minimal content), this could work. But since it's basically a web OS (see the mention about offline use not being the focus), how is this different from a mobile OS?

As mobile devices (i.e. phones) become more powerful (hardware-wise) over the new few years, they'll be the netbooks of the future. Then Google will have a dilemma: they'll have split the market into Chrome users and Android users.

Long-term, I don't see this as a good strategy going forward. Google would have done much better to roll both OS strategies into one: a single web-based OS that would work for both mobile devices and as a desktop OS. That would be a huge market and could attract developers interested in hitting both.The way Google is doing this, it's too split and confusing: develop for Chrome or Android?

Google is really starting to resemble Microsoft: just throw a lot of darts on the wall and see what sticks. That's unlike Apple, which actually has long-term strategies.

Good for Session Computers. But else... it doesn't have many applications, so F it

I don't like this concept, even though I find it a little bit interesting. They should do the Operating Systems out there more compact, simple, secure and efficient. I think Snow Leopard is going in the right way. I hope Mac OS 10.7 to be the lightest and fastest OS ever!

I think this could be huge.

You don't want your important files in the cloud? Shouldn't be problem - a drive for external local files will surely be possible.
You're not connected to the web? Shouldn't be a problem - only need a setting for making local backups of all important files, which sync to the cloud when you get connected again.

Could be that Google is about to frog-leap both Microsoft and Apple in the coming years, with this more "simple" OS.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:51 pm Comment from: pastrychef

I still don't trust cloud computing and probably never will.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:53 pm Comment from: eon2010

After the whole SideKick debacle and the continued development of consumer server hardware with cheaper HDD and SDD drives, it will be interesting to see what will be the overall cost to privacy and trust. Also there is the legal side as to what does the user really own if everything is in the cloud on an external media owned by someone else. How do you SEE that your data is only viewable by you? How will they appease our distrust of outside control? The concept of public and private ownership is blurred. If all aspects to one's life is truly derived from one's own capabilities and external duties passed off to those that one has absolute trust in, then all would be right in the world but that is not the reality. As we've moved away from self sufficiency we've been bombarded by various attacks on person property, identity etc. Sense of community is there but who can truly be trusted 100% when you've left your jewels to others to maintain? There are things that are fine left in the hands of others if those we trust are keeping an eye on things. Trust in religious authority, police authority etc. People that we don't know but put our trust in. The clown that plays with our children but has bodies in the baseboard. The nanny that abuses our children. The restaurant that serves the toxic mussels that paralyzes your father. The bank that took your taxes to recover from their bankruptcy then gave out-of-this-world bonuses to their top executives as people have been moved out of their homes. I don't think we are really in a position to give our trust to corporations to handle your private life unless we really know them and what their full intentions are.

Nov 19, 09 - 05:55 pm Comment from: HolyMackerel

This is like Apple saying they are going to delete Mail from all out Macs so we can use the web-based MobileMe interface.

Thanks but No thanks Google!

Google wants to be the next Microsoft. (Only with a kinder face. But it's just a face.) They want to control EVERYTHING. That's Microsoft. No wait, that's Google, no that's Microsoft, no that's Google.

Google wants to know all about you, all your habits. All your web page visits. All your searches. All your phone calls on Android. All your contacts. All your activities. All your web software and phone software... and now your online OS!

While Microsoft wants to control all your software, all your file standards, all your interoperability... and of course your phone and desktop OS...!

Nov 19, 09 - 06:10 pm Comment from: eon2010

Short story: I was working as part of an IT staff at a hospital. My friend got me the job and he was my supervisor. I trusted him, however, he was reading my email about a project that we were working on that I had sent to a 3rd party. The email was personal but yet, he read it and asked me about it. This was my friend whom I trusted but he decided to take it upon himself to read other people's emails. What is personal is not personal if it is on the enterprise network. You wouldn't set your jewels on the sidewalk in front of your house. Why? Because it is assumed by others that you don't feel that it has a personal connection to you any more. These concepts that are being presented since the Network Computing concept back in the days of terminals keep being refreshed. It's a major change to make people consider that their thoughts and data should be remote. It is like the movie Unleashed where a man has be bombarded over and over until he believes he is a dog. Banking gave use the feeling that our money can be trusted in the their hands. People lost some of that trust recently. The Sidekick debacle showed people that personal data is just as personal as one's money and it's value is greater when it is local as money in your wallet or backed up locally on your Time Capsule.

Nov 19, 09 - 06:18 pm Comment from: ericdano

Man, pair this with a Sidekick and click screen and life would be sweet!

Nov 19, 09 - 06:23 pm Comment from: Mac-nugget

What I don't get is it's value. Booting fast? That is it? If it is web base and cloud dependent, why not run on any browser on any host O.S. What is the value of this when your internet is down? Yea, that is right, you can't do shit then. I guess in Googles world, nothing ever goes wrong.

Nov 19, 09 - 06:25 pm Comment from: GizmoDan

Sounds a bit like litl, except that litl includes the netbook hardware.

http://litl.com/

Are you sure this thing is built on Linux? If it is, and if the browser is considered "linked" to the underlying Linux OS, won't the GPL crowd be coming at Google with pitchforks? Demanding that Chrome OS be locked down under the GPL, instead of the more generous license Google currently allows?

Looks like Windows 3.1's Program Manager all over again. And what happens when you come home to your Google OS and plug in your iPod....like millions do? No local apps = no iTunes. Or how about installing your printer software/drivers? Or how about your camera? And oh, no traditional hard drive either. It's only coincidental that Google is DICTATING no local IDE storage on the device and forcing you to upload EVERYTHING to them. Combine all that with Google's past history in mining your personal data along with handing it out to authorities, and this is one thinly veiled scam that makes Microsoft look heavenly.

Nov 19, 09 - 06:33 pm Comment from: Mac-nugget

What about multi gigabit files. Will this OS simply not cater to this market? I think it's forward thinking, but just like people like to own there music not rent it, I think a lot of the same has to be said about applications.

Actually, from what I've read, they will allow local files to be read from SD cards and external hard drives and such. So in theory it's possible to access any files you currently have stored on hard drives - Google's not demanding that you suddenly upload all of your stored files to the cloud.

Google is developing and marketing improvements to the way we interface with information of all kinds. Windows developed software. Apple develops software and hardware. Google appears to have an interest in development of software, hardware and information.

I perceive a threat to Apple, because eventually Google may offer the only device that can interface with information in exceptionally useful ways provided by only Google. We'll have the ordinary browser view of the Internet, and Google's enhanced view of the Internet, available only through Google devices. On the face of it, that could be a very shrewd move.

Nov 19, 09 - 06:50 pm Comment from: Mac-nugget

What problem does this OS solve? Smaller IT departments that deal exclusively with connectivity and hardware issues?

Nov 19, 09 - 06:51 pm Comment from: LordRobin

I'm not sending Google all my porn.

------RM

Nov 19, 09 - 06:56 pm Comment from: kenh

"40 years later and we're back at time-sharing..."
And just in the last week, I see articles saying that within the next year, the internet will be overloaded.

"shouldn't be a problem" I shouldn't even have to comment about that!!!!!!!!!! Whenever I hear it, red lights come on all over the place! You KNOW there will be a problem when someone says that!

"because eventually Google may offer the only device that can interface with information in exceptionally useful ways provided by only Google."

So maybe its time to get rid of Google!

Stick it where the sun does not shine!

Nov 19, 09 - 06:56 pm Comment from: Mac-nugget

@LordRobin

No, it would be the other way around, they would send you there porn, you just pay them for it.

I will say Google is smarter than most companies in tech industry. And their credo - everything as fast and simple as possible - appeals to a big segment. The thing that bugs me is that they are just a step above MSFT. Instead of directly copying, they optimize existing work - like using Java syntax but not Java for Android SDK. Taking WebKit and optimize it for Chrome and basically make it the default Linux desktop, which will probably irk some KDE and GNOME lovers, but will make Linux more easily acceptable by mainstream public. They also understand that to become a Microsoft you not only have to be good but be at the right place and right time like MSFT did. Cloud computing wouldn't work like when Oracle presented it more than 10 years ago, but today with a matured Internet and latest infrastructure it works to Google's advantage. What I do like about Apple is that they have technology no one has, and can design and develop in ways no one has. They also build better trust and customer service first, so it will always have a loyal customer base that is not influenced simply by the product price. Also I'm sure Clouded Leopard can do anything Chrome OS can, and MUCH more.

Nov 19, 09 - 07:00 pm Comment from: LordRobin

Actually, looking at this thing, I can see how it would be useful as a specialized device, maybe a portable panel thingy. I simply can't see it replacing a standard OS for home use, however. You're simply too restricted in how you can open apps, arrange them, and so on. It's either open in the browser-thingy, or with that pop-up thingy. It doesn't look like you can have two applications on the screen simultaneously, which would be a deal-killer for me.

------RM

Nov 19, 09 - 07:30 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

eon2010

Paragraphs!

Learn what they are. Use them.

Thank you.

this is very cool, and I have no idea why anyone thinks 'Mac users' wouldn't like it.

The reason we love Apple is because they have great ideas, they're exciting to follow, they're prolific, innovative and have great visions of the future.

The same could be said for Chrome. Even the Browser offered some very new , very cool ideas when it first came out. I'm running Chrome for Mac, and I love it.

This OS does look very exciting, and it is a real stretch to say this is time sharing. Look at your Mac. There's no reason why it can't be treated like a 'dumb terminal'.. isn't that more convenient? Imagine if you never had to take a laptop on a business trip because all your stuff was in your Google 'profile'.

Whereas today you can load up Google Apps (which are very basic), Google OS would have your entire User Profile saved in the cloud, so really your laptop can stay at home.

How is this not a huge improvement over local storage.

As for those who claim the internet might be down. First of all, that hardly ever happens, and is happening less and less. These new technologies always seed in big cities and then go from there anyway. If you're in NYC, getting Wifi is not a big deal.

Any offline usage, Google developed Google Gears a while back for that kind of thing.

Very very cool announcements Google. Love the work you guys are doing.

And I'm sure somewhere out there, Linus Torvalds is smiling.

Nov 19, 09 - 09:25 pm Comment from: alansky

Only an idiot would want all their apps and all their data to live on a server in the clouds.

"The reason we love Apple is because they have great ideas, they're exciting to follow, they're prolific, innovative and have great visions of the future.

The same could be said for Chrome."

Hahahahaha. No.

Chrome is an anachronistic throwback to the 1970's, when computing revolved around terminals connected to a mainframe. No matter how much Google clicks its heels together and says "there's no place like antiquity", people are not to rush to install an operating system that takes their personal computers and makes them crawl back into the primordial ooze. Any more retro and Chrome would be based on punchcards.

"How is this not a huge improvement over local storage."

How are horse drawn carriages not an improvement over automobiles? The "cloud" is a trendy new name for a musty old concept that was displaced a long, long time ago by the advent of personal computers.

To put it bluntly, Chrome OS is retrograde bullshit. Which is fine if you're into that kind of thing, but please don't be surprised when it fails to catch on outside of a very small niche of mainframe enthusiasts who pine for computing circa the 70's(whether they're aware of it or not).

MW: over. As in game over, man, game over!

Nov 19, 09 - 10:02 pm Comment from: CYxodus

@eon2010 & acid

One word...paragraphs!

Nov 19, 09 - 10:02 pm Comment from: eon2010

twilight, don't worry. You're not going to be charged as though this were an SMS message. Anyway, I didn't realize that I have to write like the journalist that I read. I'm an ordinary citizen.

This product, just like any other, has its place.

The concept its awesome, lets be honest. However, great concepts don't always make great products.

And I agree with the previous poster, looks like it all runs in a browser, so why not just make it browser based and run on any computer. That way it can run on a lean Linux distro and just run on the Google browser.

Bottom line, this concept works for me if I owb my own data. I think the Dumb terminal idea can work great. But the server and all the data needs to reside on my site and not in a cloud, so that if I lose connection, I am not fish outta water.

I think Apple is gonna move toward my model mentioned above, Mac Mini is possible evidence, where people buy a powerful pc (yes I know mini is not so power but its cheap) and store all there data on the server, run apps on the

Nov 20, 09 - 12:15 am Comment from: NikonFox

I'd rather keep my porn on my hdd instead of the cloud otherwise my bandwidth will skyrocket

I can understand the skepticism of those who do not work in an enterprise environment who balk at the thought of sharing anything that could be considered personal or private. For home computer use this may not be appropriate.

But this is a very powerful concept and it should not be underestimated. Those of us who have worked in large corporations can see the enormous potential of being able to temporarily download to RAM any application instantly from a remote server. With security, accessibility to those who need applications and data, and proper backups, it is highly desirable to have everything stored in a central location. A company could potentially reduce the number of software licenses it needs to have by having a certain number of application licenses available for use on demand instead of having all the applications installed on every single computer. And I've seen too many dunderheads lose priceless data because they foolishly kept it on their local drives.

We've got to rid ourselves of the illusion that "real" applications reside on the device their run off. The truth is that is doesn't matter squat where the application is stored as long as you can get the executable code downloaded to your device quickly. This is the future people whether you like it or not. Brace yourselves.

It will be illuminating to see how Apple responds or if they do anything to respond at all. MobileMe offers great potential for expansion in this space. Will Apple permit 3rd party developers to create software for MobileMe? Build an SDK and they will come. Look at the app store.

Nov 20, 09 - 03:08 am Comment from: Yours Smugly

Some of your apps and data in a cloud for you to access from any computer anywhere? Good.

A whole OS tied to the cloud? Bad.

sounds ideal for a tablet!

Nov 20, 09 - 04:06 am Comment from: HolyMackerel

Surely if the WiFi is running permanently to get pieces of my apps and data from the cloud (rather than every few minutes only for email) then my battery life will plummet.

I think it's perfect to netbooks and tablets, and those people that just want to browser, email. a light and free OS? I guess it's in direct competition with MS and Linux for cheap light devices. Liked it.

Nov 20, 09 - 10:29 am Comment from: UltraVisitor

They could be taking the iPhone path to apps. At first, Chrome OS will onlty suppor third party web apps, and their own core utilities. After a year of refining their OS to offer the perfect netbook experience, open an API so third party developers can create native apps.

It's definitely not going to make me give up my Mac any, but I like the idea and where this is headed.