As anyone with an Internet connection has probably heard, Google took the first public wraps off of it’s long-awaited Chrome OS last month, giving a short demonstration, and even releasing the source code for the Open Source version of the OS, called Chromium. Bootable versions quickly appeared, first on gdgt and then a “diet” version from hexxah, available here. I tried unsuccessfully to get the version from gdgt to run, but hexxah’s USB-based version was very simple to get working.
My initial impressions is that everything about Chrome OS is still very much in development, and the versions available are pretty rudimentary, more of a proof of concept than an actual beta version. Nonetheless, there are some things to be observed, most notably the speed of the boot-up and the relative ease of use the base interface provides. Essentially, if you are able to use the Chrome browser application, then you should be able to use the Chrome OS, as the underlying philosophy of the OS is to bring everything into the browser anyway. Chrome is being presented as an essentially “cloud-based” OS, that recognizes the extent to which many users now basically live online, and to leverage that fact for performance and speed. Naturally there are all sorts of business ramifications of Google offering its own OS, but from the user’s perspective, the key is far more likely to be how well it serves their own needs.
That is the key issue for Chrome OS, of course, whether or not we are ready to embrace the cloud as the core of our computing experience. Personally, I’m of two-minds. One side recognizes that there are some undeniable advantages to off-loading a great deal of my computing elsewhere, whether it be via cloud storage, web-based applications, or even remote processing. Having used an Android-based G1 phone for almost a year now, I am already deeply involved in the Google-sphere, relying on Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Reader for much of my daily web-interactions. Yet I do try to retain some personal control over my cloud interactions, using both my own VPS server and remote desktop functions to keep some things out of Google’s (admittedly mostly benevolent) hands. And even more critically, a very large part of my online experience is based on media consumption, which at this point still operates from downloaded files stored locally. I listen to my MP3′s and watch my MKV’s at home, I don’t generally rely on streaming solutions like Last.fm, Slacker, Netflix or Hulu, even if it would be much cheaper from a storage and power consumption perspective. I tend to collect media that I find interesting, even if I don’t have immediate plans to watch or listen, and given the somewhat erratic nature of sites likeHulu, that put up and pull down content haphazardly, I much prefer to maintain my own measure of control.
Where do you see the future of your computing taking place? In the cloud, using low powered devices like smartphones and netbooks via Chrome OS, or will you continue to rely primarily on powerful local PCs and ever-expanding hard drives? Is it media consumption that drives your adoption patterns? Graphics-intensive gaming? Let us know if you see a future for yourself in a Chrome based world.
I see the chrome OS being most useful for public workstations. While most people are going to want to use their PC for storage, current gen games, etc. Libraries, internet Cafes, and private businesses with public areas may want to use Chrome on cheap computers to give their customers quick internet accessibility and basic usage without the headache of buying and maintaining a full PC and software suite.
Businesses may even be able to make some money charging for printouts. (at $1 a page it has the potential to be very lucrative)
Could be nice if I need information or a map somewhere to just go into a local store and quickly print it out.
Ah, the future, so full of possibilities…
For now, I’d say Chrome OS would be made for a niche market (I also disagree that Apple is a niche market, however).
I personally would not use Chrome OS, as I just feel better about having my own files in my locally-stored drives, for one. That said, however, I am happy to see Google pushing the technology and doing something very innovative. I’d say they’re in front of the curve with Chrome OS, and perhaps sometime in the future, that will be where many computer users will be.
The mugs may fall for this. Most users have clue zero as to where their data is, and webmail (eg) is just a word to them. Despite increasing connection speeds (well, outside Telstra’s Australia) the theoretically increasing viability of the Chrome OS approach is killed (for me) by the sheer stupidity of trusting distant strangers with my valuable data.
No way, not in this lifetime.
But Google may well have judged it correctly, and the mugs may fall for this kacky idea in droves.
Some of them even used that MS service that crashed, didn’t they? No surprises there, eh?
Play nicely now…. Ben
Sorry, but unless This OS can run the latest hardware drivers as well as the latest games, apps and anything a regular win based PC can do, I see it simply being another “niche market” like apple.
As it currently stands, this isn’t meant to be a full blown OS replacement. But as network speeds improve, net content becomes richer, this platform becomes more viable. Look back at computer 10 years from now, what kind of games could you play within a web browser? Server power, bandwidth, and human hording behavior are the only limits to this platform. Google is launching it now as a niche, but it allows them to further develop the platform and create a gateway into what many computer makers are pushing for the future of computing. Personally I don’t expect it to ever take over outright, but eventually it will become viable enough to own Chome OS desktop.
I think you picked the wrong OS to describe as niche as Apple is huge in the design industry at this point. A better example might have been the more obscure Linux distributions that I can’t even name (so Ubuntu, Red Hat and a few other larger distributions don’t count either as they are used by more than a niche audience too in my books)