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Introducing the Google Chrome OS

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Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#61

Post by tlrobinson »

andreyf wrote: post #51
markbao wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if people will be able to take this new windowing system and use it for their own purposes. That would be fantastic, if the new windowing system is good.

Yes, as soon as it becomes open source later in the year. I'm not sure how fantastic it would be, considering it would be Yet Another Windows System which only runs on these netbooks. Instead, I'd be really impressed witha good windowing systems impemented using the canvas tag, something like: http://research.sun.com/projects/lively/

I think Lively uses SVG, not Canvas.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#62

Post by Jem »

I've an AA1 running Linpus, which is buggy and slower than I anticipated. It's bloated down with superfluous software that I don't need, and that you have to follow a series of complex guides to remove. (Even then you risk screwing up parts of Linpus which are dependant on it.)

All I use it for is browsing and light coding on the move. Windows, and the likes of Ubuntu Netbook Remix are all too 'big' for that.

It sounds like the Google Chrome OS is exactly what my netbook needs.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#63

Post by greyman »

Xichekolas wrote: post #12

I couldn't help thinking about the crunchpad when I read this. Slap this on a tablet with a hybrid display and you might have something very interesting.

Yes, that would be a perfect device for it. Because, when we talk about netbooks, I am not so sure I'd like to have Chrome OS on it. Ok, it would boot faster and maybe also run slightly faster, but the boot time isn't that much of a concern for me. On the other hand, I have a half dozen windows apps I want to run on it, since I don't live on the Internet only.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#66

Post by koepked »

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 sources should be eliminated, they quickly realize, if they don’t already know, that elimination is impossible, because no agency can track down and deal with every user who has decided to install software allowing him/her to do these things. When software moves to the web, I think it will likely end up existing on the servers of one of an oligopoly of computing providers, who will be much easier to influence because of their small number, and because they will have no choice but to abide by legislation if they wish to remain in business.

This may not seem like an issue right now, because there is still choice. But with Google pushing a web-centric OS, I think within a decade, many people will have a hard time choosing something else, much the same way they had a hard time choosing something other than windows until the last five years.

Maybe I’m just a Big Brother fearing nut, but I don’t like where we’re heading.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#67

Post by Micand »

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 course, is that even though a large number of non-technical users will finally be running on a fully open-source platform, they will use it to run applications whose workings are even more opaque than traditional closed-source, client-side apps.

I wonder what role, if any, Native Client will play on these devices. I understand Native Client to target only x86, but I find it difficult to imagine Chrome OS -- Google's first direct challenge to Windows -- not being able to run Native Client applications.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#68

Post by access_denied »

markbao wrote: post #38
mcav wrote: post #2

Key Data Point: > The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel.

I wonder if people will be able to take this new windowing system and use it for their own purposes. That would be fantastic, if the new windowing system is good.

If it frees us from X, that would be an improvement - I am holding my breath.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#69

Post by Raphael_Amiard »

tvon wrote: post #55
btw0 wrote: post #30

I wonder if there is possibility their new window system is going to replace the bloated X window system in other distributions.

The barrier to replacing X is not replacing X, it is the significant rewriting of software that uses X.

Wich is not necessarily a problem since they seem to be aiming for a minimal local software stack.

Re: Introducing the Google Chrome OS

#70

Post by mooism2 »

Jem wrote: post #62

I've an AA1 running Linpus, which is buggy and slower than I anticipated. It's bloated down with superfluous software that I don't need, and that you have to follow a series of complex guides to remove. (Even then you risk screwing up parts of Linpus which are dependant on it.) All I use it for is browsing and light coding on the move. Windows, and the likes of Ubuntu Netbook Remix are all too 'big' for that. It soun…

I get the impression that the only native application it will run is Chrome. So how are you going to edit your source code, push/pull your changes, test it, run it?

I've seen web-based ssh clients, and someone might be able to write a web-based vnc / remote desktop client, but I can't see it being useful for offline coding.

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