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Introducing the Google Chrome OS

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Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#141

Post by jacquesm »

stcredzero wrote: post #122
derefr wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd enjoy replacing the "instant-on OS" partition on my notebook with this.

What I want is a good enough "instant-on" that it's my only partition, and I no longer have to worry about hibernation or sleep mode ever again. Have orthogonal persistence for everything, so I never even have to save. Just open the clamshell, or hit the on button. Something comes along to distract me, I snap it shut, take care of whatever it is, then open it up again, wait a half second and continue on where I left…

the ideal laptop / internet pad would behave like an animated piece of paper.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#143

Post by socratees »

koepked wrote: post #66

I'm not sure if I like implications of a web-centric OS, especially when its producer is as rich and powerful as Google. I see the market for it, and I think it will be a huge benefit for the average user. However, I see the transition from desktop-based software to web-based as a loss of user control. Today, when governments decide that mp3 sharing, porn, articles of political dissent, or news from non-national sour…

Maybe Google should enable the users to save their data to whichever place they wish. And the web OS, or the authorities who're running it should never have access to users data. The OS should just be the communication interface. Maybe this is utopian, but i guess its the right way to go from here.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#144

Post by beta »

bendotc wrote: post #117
cmars232 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much anticipating that "new windowing system". If you wonder why Linux has never claimed the desktop, look no further than X.

I'd be interested in hearing your reasoning on that one. Lots of people complain about X in various ways, and while a couple years ago I would've agreed, these days, I'm no longer entering my monitor's vertical refresh rate manually, and X is pretty transparent to me. And on the up side, it's nice to be able to run a GUI app remotely, though I'll agree that that's not winning over too many desktop users.

bendotc is right.

In the past 3 years X has improved tremendously. I recommend anyone check it out for themselves.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#145

Post by sahaj »

access_denied wrote: post #72
Micand wrote: post #67

If ARM and x86 are targeted, this means no Flash (not surprising, given how poorly it runs on Linux), which presumably means YouTube will be operating in full-on HTML 5 video mode by the time these devices launch. If netbooks continue their meteoric ascent, and if Chrome OS grabs a significant share of the market, we may finally see the realization of the mythical Year of Linux On the Desktop. The ironic aspect, of c…

I enjoyed your narrative.

i agree with you. the comment with the large number of votes is a fearmongering comment, while the comment that you are referring to is actually a technical comment (the kind that i think is more relevant at HN).

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#146

Post by calcnerd256 »

koepked wrote: post #66

I'm not sure if I like implications of a web-centric OS, especially when its producer is as rich and powerful as Google. I see the market for it, and I think it will be a huge benefit for the average user. However, I see the transition from desktop-based software to web-based as a loss of user control. Today, when governments decide that mp3 sharing, porn, articles of political dissent, or news from non-national sour…

The FUD is strong with this one. If you want to run your own apps, run your own server. Those who don't care will use the public cloud. Nobody controls the whole Web, and as long as your ISP is reasonable (which none are), hosting your own private app is still possible.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#147

Post by grellas »

The key to supremacy in the enterprise market is to seize control of the entry point.

IBM did it in the 1960s and 1970s with the entry point being a highly skilled personalized sales force in an era where relationships established the trust needed for enterprises to commit to large systems.

Microsoft did it in the 1980s and 1990s with the entry point being its proprietary API for its desktop OS which, with the help of OEM hardware partners, it used to choke out anyone who sought to compete with it in the desktop applications market. It then tried (and failed) to use its desktop monopoly as a vehicle by which to dominate the back-end of enterprise computing.

Google now seeks to gain similar supremacy with the entry point being superior proprietary products ultimately derived from or at least capitalizing upon Open Source in a web-centric computing environment. What form this will take, I don't know. But it will take a form by which Google tries to seize and maintain control of the entry point and ultimately bend the world's primary computing environments to its proprietary advantage. The Chrome OS is one piece of this effort.

The question is one of which company will become the ultimate gatekeeper to all or most of enterprise computing, which is where the money is. Google wants that role and that is where its fight with Microsoft will lie.

As they say, "The law of human nature - it ain't been repealed yet."

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#148

Post by colins_pride »

koepked wrote: post #66

I'm not sure if I like implications of a web-centric OS, especially when its producer is as rich and powerful as Google. I see the market for it, and I think it will be a huge benefit for the average user. However, I see the transition from desktop-based software to web-based as a loss of user control. Today, when governments decide that mp3 sharing, porn, articles of political dissent, or news from non-national sour…

But what if there are web-centric OSes and desktop-centric OSes?

In a world where the OS market is fragmented, centralized control and opression becomes even more difficult than it was in a desktop-centric world where one OS had huge market share.

Now that's not the case if we end up with one web-centric OS, but I don't see that happening any more than I see Bing taking over 65% of the search market without any response from Google.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#149

Post by jsz0 »

trickjarrett wrote: post #106
koepked wrote: post #66

I'm not sure if I like implications of a web-centric OS, especially when its producer is as rich and powerful as Google. I see the market for it, and I think it will be a huge benefit for the average user. However, I see the transition from desktop-based software to web-based as a loss of user control. Today, when governments decide that mp3 sharing, porn, articles of political dissent, or news from non-national sour…

I concur. I've become more and more aware of the looming Google benevolent giant, but one day that giant's going to get angry and by that point it may be too late. That being said, I still use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader, Analytics, and other services. So I'm not exactly avoiding the apocalypse here.

As long as Google doesn't do anything to limit my access to competitors or otherwise punish me for opting out of a Google service then I am not concerned at all.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#150

Post by jackchristopher »

The danger is and always has been centralized control (and not just in software). No one should own the web OS — the web is ours.

Stallman & Co. foresaw this (at least) a decade ago. He's right to be worried. The real issue is: what are rights in the digital age? Who has control of what?

I might not back everything he's done. And he sometimes dismisses technical issues as trivial over political ones unnecessarily. But he is having the conversation at the right level of abstraction.

We'll keep facing the pitfalls of centralized power until we collectively decide to kill that beast permanently.

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