Was Chrome OS a Disappointment?
It's the morning after the big Chrome OS event where Google executives and engineers revealed a myriad of details about the company's first attempt at creating their own operating system. The highly anticipated news conference was tracked all over the web, liveblogged by technology sites, and Twittered so much that it's still listed as a "trending topic" as of this morning.
But now that the news is out, has Chrome OS lost its shine? People had high expectations for Google's new operating system but the end result doesn't look like the revolutionary, "change the world" product many had hoped for.
Yes, Chrome OS is Different
Don't get us wrong - Google's OS is different than whatever Windows, Mac, or Linux build you have running on your computer today. The new OS does away with desktop applications entirely - everything you use on Google Chrome OS runs on the web. Of course, the company hopes you'll use a lot of Google products like Gmail and YouTube, but it doesn't limit you to just Google-branded services. In the built-in applications area, there are also links to other web apps like the online TV streaming service Hulu.com and music sites Lala and Pandora. To be fair, Chrome OS even links to Yahoo and Microsoft's webmail offerings right out of the box.
Google's major goal with Chrome OS is to moving computing off our personal hard drives and into the cloud...the Google cloud. To accomplish such a feat, they've made the web browser the OS. Everything you need (in theory) is accessible through the included Google Chrome browser, the same browser the company currently offers to Windows users with Mac and Linux versions expected by the end of this year.
As exciting as that vision is, we have to wonder if people - especially the mainstream netbook users the OS is aimed at - are ready for this big of a switch. And more importantly, is the technology itself ready to make the change a comfortable and seamless experience?
...but is it Better?
After digesting yesterday's news, some lingering questions remain. Was this the OS everyone was hoping for or has Google let us down?
You Can't Just Install Chrome OS - You Have to Buy a New Netbook
To begin with, one of the more surprising reveals that came out of yesterday's news is that the OS cannot be installed on your own computer. Oh sure, there are downloads available that use Google's open-sourced code to create bootable builds tech-savvy users and developers can play with, but the official word from the search giant is that anyone wanting to use the "real" Google Chrome OS will have to purchase a new netbook to do so. You cannot simply download it from the web and install it on any machine.
Part of the reason for this restriction is driver support. Google is working with carefully selected manufacturers to offer a handful of netbooks running the OS in the coming year. By going this route, they don't have to provide an entire ecosystem of drivers for every piece of hardware out there - they can pick and choose which ones to support. They'll likely limit the number of peripherals supported, too. According to what was said yesterday, the company will support "mass storage devices" (think USB flash drives and digital cameras) but were cagey on how they plan on offering printing support. All they would say is that they're planning on an "innovative approach" when it comes to printing, whatever that means. Hopefully, they're planning to do something more than just integrating with Kinko's and FedEx's online document services, for example. Printing, (sorry Google) is not a web app just yet.
No Other Web Browsers Supported
Another big disappointment is the company's decision to limit all web surfing to the one included browser, Google Chrome. Firefox and Safari users are out of luck - no other browsers will be supported. But before you cry out "antitrust!," be warned - Google has this covered. The code base used to build the OS is open-source - that means anyone take the code and create their own version of Chrome OS. As was carefully - and haltingly - explained by Google's VP of Product Management, Sundar Pichai, other browser makers can take the code and build their own OS if they want to. But let's get real - Firefox Chrome OS? We don't think so. The reality is that fans of other browsers are simply out of luck if they want to use this operating system.
Offline Access is Limited. Your New Netbook is Now a Brick.
One of the questions that got glossed over during the Q&A session at the end of the event is how Google's OS plans to deal with offline access. The world is not blanketed in Wi-Fi yet, so what can this web-based OS do without the web? Surprisingly, the answer given didn't refer to any subsidized deals with cellular providers regarding deals to offer built-in 3G connectivity for the new netbooks. Instead, Pichai explained that the OS was built for use with Wi-Fi.
Of course, a handful of Google products use Google Gears, a technology that makes websites available offline. For example, Gmail uses Gears to create an offline version of your webmail inbox which you can use to read and respond to email until internet connectivity becomes available again. At that point, all the changes are synced back to Google's servers. Although Google didn't specifically refer to Gears when answering the question, there's no reason to doubt that it will work in Chrome OS's web browser the same as it does now in the standard Chrome browser.
However, Pichai did make note of Chrome OS's support for HTML5, an upcoming revision to the core markup language used to build the web. In the new specification, a key feature is offline support for web apps. However, web application developers will have to rebuild their apps in order to use HTML5, so users will be dependent on each individual company to make this change. While it's believed that one day this spec could make the whole web an offline app, the reality is that most developers have yet to implement this technology in their services yet. Even by Chrome OS's launch next year, there's no reason to believe the landscape will have changed significantly by then.
Do You Really Need an OS or Just the Chrome Web Browser?
Finally, the big question regarding Chrome OS is why? What can the OS do that any operating system running the Chrome browser cannot? Based on what was shown yesterday, the answer is very little. Chrome OS's brand-new features consist of two things: application tabs and panels. The panels are persistent windows that pop-up in front of your web browser's main window. For example, Google Chat, the company's IM service, can live in a panel that stays on top no matter what window you're viewing.
Application tabs, meanwhile, are special tabs that give you easy access to your most frequently used web apps from the browser. Any page tab can be made into an application tab with one click and the resulting "tab" is represented with the colorful icon for that site or service. While that's certainly a cool feature, it alone isn't a major selling point for the OS. That would be like saying you have to buy Mac OS X because of the dock or Windows because of the taskbar. You need a million of these little features combined to add up to a compelling reason to buy an OS.
That's not to say that Chrome OS itself doesn't have worthwhile features of its own - like its built-in security mechanisms or its auto-update system, it's just that these aren't the kinds of things that sell it to an end user. The questions consumers want answers to are what does it do that's special? What does it look like? And for now, the answer is "it's basically just a web browser."
Revolution? Maybe Not Just Yet.
At the end of the day, Chrome OS is an exciting, but not fully realized, vision. Although it has potential, the world may not be ready for a web-based netbook right now. Also, the technology needed to make the Wi-Fi only netbook useful without an internet connection isn't up to full speed either. At the end of the day, the netbook will be marginally more useful than an iPod Touch - when connected, it's amazing. Offline, not so much.
While you might not rush right out to buy a Chrome OS netbook when they first launch, there could come a time - sooner than you think - when it becomes a reasonable choice. When the majority of apps work offline and you've fully transitioned away from desktop apps, a web-connected netbook, especially one that's affordable, could easily become your everyday computer. That day hasn't arrived yet. For now, Chrome OS is an exciting glimpse at the future of computing, but not a practical device for the majority of users.
Disclosure: Sarah Perez freelances for Microsoft's Channel 10 blog, but is not a Microsoft employee. Her primary web browser is, in fact, Google Chrome which she uses exclusively.
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I agree with you in most points.
For me, the main thing is the open-code so people can find new uses for it.
kthnks
bye
Thanks for posting this one. I agree with you, for now Chrome OS is not considered as competitive yet, but I look forward to more improved Chrome OS soon.
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I'm not even sure if ChromeOS is an entirely new idea either. There are other things such as goodOS, eyeOS, etc, the so called "web desktops".
Could someone educate me on how ChromeOS is different compared to these?
Not a myriad of something, rather you mean simply myriad. Don't worry its a tricky concept even without the considerable grammatical burden of having been born an American.
I think Google pushed too hard and too soon for the browser OS. The main reason for a possible failure would be that Google Docs is not compatible enough with Office and not adopted enough to get rid of the traditional desktop OS. I wish good luck for Google.
I would like to see this on my fridge... or maybe even my tv. I think it's great for appliances or thin clients in general, but not a computer.
If their is OS is anything like iGoogle - ugly, clumsy, and geeky - then good riddance. At least MSFT gets it right on their fourth attempt... I think Google will need longer.
@ano: Oooh, an appliance OS! That's a cool idea.
The main thing that Chrome OS touts to differentiate itself is its speed. I can see it as an instant-on solution while a real OS (that can do some heavy lifting) loads in the background, but not as a only on a system. It will be interesting to see if/how Google improves Google Gears to have better application persistence when the device is not connected to the network.
Application tabs? Yawn. Ubuntu's netbook build "Easy Peasy" already does this. In fact, these are applications that can be added to any Gnome desktop in Linux if you know where to look.
Google got clear ideas about webtop and this OS is the key of all that, from appliances like sai @ano and removable media like usb flash because i can borrow any computer and access all my cloud data from one point.
dont think in this os like a main personal os, is a "keychain os" to access data on the cloud from any personal or public computer.
"You Can't Just Install Chrome OS - You Have to Buy a New Netbook"
And there lies the issue with ensuring an operating system is stable. I am sure Google wants to make their OS 100% stable. If any computer or laptop can do that, drivers would be its downfall for stability and security. See why it's so hard for Microsoft windows to be stable and secure?
The only way to do that is to work closely with each company to make sure they comply.
I think it's a smart move.
I've seen this "You have a buy a netbook" nonsense on a bunch of sites now. Where the hell did this come from? No you don't. You can compile it from source and run it on whatever you want, just like very other Linux distro. The version that you compile from source is no less "real" than the version of this OS that's going to come on netbooks.
The issue here is that Google has chosen not to maintain a massive driver library for Chrome OS. They are probably going to work with a few manufactures and create a specific set of drivers, which will likely be available as well. Or perhaps they'll just leave it up to manufacturers to develop the drivers.
People will develop their own drivers. Give it 6mo, and you'll have a Chrome OS fork that runs on most Intel x86 hardware without issue.
Chrome OS is different, yet a market share of even 10% by 2013 is a challenge .. http://tinyurl.com/y8sf3g5
Chrome OS is a netbook-geared OS that runs ONE application. Less is more sometimes. I'm sure it will be reasonably popular.
Chrome OS enables 50 dollar laptops. ARM and SSD-only makes it far cheaper than existing Intel netbooks running Windows.
What can Chrome do that ANY $300 netbook running ANY OS with ANY browser can't do? NOTHING!
Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Flock, Safari can all run any of those apps. Plus, you get storage and other applications.
Don't forget, Chrome OS netbooks will boot in around 5 seconds!
@Blah - So what that is boots in 5s! How many times a day do you boot a machine so that time savings can be substantial? How about all your data residing somewhere you have no control over at all - not now, not anytime soon - how COOL is that, fanboy?
good concept but uncomfortable user interface ... cheer up!! google.
It is free, has no viruses, and is great for browsing. Even windows was not that good on it's start
re: " the big question regarding Chrome OS is why? What can the OS do that any operating system running the Chrome browser cannot?"
Possibly run on a cheaper, lighter chunk of hardware.
I downloaded ad installed Chrome, which I run (or ran, rather) in VMWare Fusion on my Mac.
I gave it more than the resources it said it needed, and despite a broadband connection the operating system was very, very slow - considerable mouse drag as well as the OS repeatedly requiring I sign in. I found it disappointing; tbh I was expecting more from Google, even this first time out.
In the end it really is a noble vision, but it is readily apparent Google is run by programmers and engineers - not designers. I thought more attention should have been paid to the look & feel, and in my (as of now) limited experience, also to the software itself.
Its little sad to see how much you don't understand Chrome OS. 'Network is the Computer' is what Chrome OS is showcasing.. Chrome OS in essence is the start of Utility based computing which literally is going to reach the masses.
You dont need to have gazzilions amounts of CPU or Memory to do basic things. Imagine buying a full-fledged computer for
After reading this, I wouldn't use Chrome if it was free.
I really don't understand who the target audience could be. It's certainly not kids. They like to play games (I doubt EA will be pumping out any Chrome versions soon), adults want powerful, well known, and non-limiting PC's like Apple and Windows. Older adults don't trust doing many things online, not even using things like open office. So who is left? Tech people?
"Yes, I would like an operating system that does not support many of the devices I use, and only loads applications that are found online please."
I bet computer sales reps here that all of the time, NOT.
Comparing a free operating system like Ubuntu, Chrome doesn't seem have anything on it. Even cpu speed will be limited to the machines Google is picking out. Think HP or Dell will be chasing this dragon? I think not.
An iPod Touch without wifi, yes, you're limited, but I'd rather have an iTouch given the current version of Chrome OS.
One of the things you find out when you're limited by a lack something is surprisingly how much you can get around it.
You can do *alot* without a wifi connection on an iTouch.
I've shown seasoned iPhone users an obvious a great feature they overlooked because they take their connected access for granted and never bothered to look for.
It's great Google are getting in early with emerging markets, but people are going to continue head-scratching over Chrome OS/Wave etc. until it has practical context. Good luck with this Google, I'll check out Chrome OS again in a few years.
@25
Usually proper device drivers (video,network,etc) are needed for VMware to be fast. Hackintosh anyone?
Chrome gives us an idea of how a future where all (most) apps are web apps might look like. The OS is the browser and the browser is the OS.
"it's basically just a web browser."
Why is this surprising? Don't you think the clue is in the name?
@Charbax brings up an excellent point: It seems the cost of building a machine tailored to Chrome OS would be significantly cheaper. It's easy to forge that MOST of the world's population considers $300 a huge sum of money (developing countries, etc).
Also keep in mind the "release release often" maxim of software development.
*Edit...
That was supposed to say: "release EARLY release often"
"It is free, has no viruses, ..."
Haha! Let me stop you there and inform you that 90% of threats today are web-based. So don't get any false sense of security like the Mac fanbois just yet.
Chrome OS has been out a day and already you can tell it's a disappointment, all without doing any real research or communicating with the endusers or developers.
It's exciting in that it genuinely provides a new software option for hardware manufacturers; it's well placed between smartphones and full desktops.
It's disappointing in that it doesn't "do much", but the same can be said for a refrigerator - it's still possible to combine form and function -and pricepoint- in novel ways.
People need fridges, people need the web. Chromium is an appliance OS, and it's specifically designed to give you a desktop-like web experience on the cheapest and most reliable hardware possible.
Cheap #1: You can ditch x86 and run this whole thing on an embedded ARM for lower licensing costs (e.g. a high-end smartphone CPU with more ram than usual, e.g. 1GB)
Cheap #2: The CPU/RAM/Storage requirements are a small fraction of Windows XP, OSX etc. License is $0 of course.
Cheap #3: No hard drive NOR SSD required. OS runs out of ROM (flash), uses no (or minimal) swap space. Although browsers are memory hogs, 1GB RAM is cheap and if you're not running a fat OS you get most of it for your Browser.
Cheap #4: Google subsidized? (I doubt it; why? They'll be /very/ cheap to manufacture regardless)
Fast #1: Fast boot is obvious. No cruft.
Fast #2: User experience will depend on the chipset, but even cheap embedded chips have good h/w acceleration now; future browser versions will definitely improve visual slickness on Chromium OS hardware.
Fast #3: Possible to optimize the hell out of a single-minded browser-OS that runs entirely out of RAM. Disk swap delays and lags can just disappear.
Reliable #1: Long life; No moving parts except keyboard and display hinge. (No HD, no fan)
Reliable #2: Ultra-low power consumption means it's there when the user wants it (i.e. battery isn't flat)
Reliable #3: Stolen? Whatever, pick up another one on the way home, and log back in. Hey maybe you've got another two or three round the house anyway.
Reliable #4: "No installable apps" + system-wide sandbox = no viruses. Ok there might be just one or two in the early days, but it's clearly possible to fully lock the system down.
Nothing new to see here ; other than a big step towards the Cheap Throwaway Web Appliance.
Who will buy them?
Well, apart from individuals (and presents for kids...)
What about the market for public internet access providers - libraries, coffee shops, airports, bars, internet cafes, prisons, etc, etc.
All these customers want a system that is "Cheap" and "Reliable" as listed above.
...but the Apple Table will be the deluxe version, of course. ;-p
kthxbye
I am uncertain as to why they did this? They offer nothing that isn't already in the market. I understand why Google did this from their business model, it's just not clear they offer anything that I can't already get.
As to their reason, yeah I would love to have them snooping in ALL of my files. To me that's a no no. But apparently everyone in the world is just ready to roll over and let corporations and governments just stomp on their privacy. For me, I will use something other than ChromeOS or whatever it's called. It's enough for me to let them know what I search on much less what I write and what I keep laying around in my sock drawer.
Perhaps someday the general population will wake up and realize that they have given away much of the privacy and freedom that our fathers fought for. Who knows perhaps they never will. Sheep off to the slaughter, and the governments laughing all the way. By the way, this cuts across parties here in the USA, none of them are good at protecting our privacy and rights as citizens.
Wake up and Smell the Coffee...
i love seeing all the different responses. it's good to see other people's perspectives. this OS won't actually live up to its hype until it's 2nd update / upgrade (which i would hope are free). same as android, chrome OS will follow that same progression.
google mention that the official release is a year away. i seriously hope that they monitor these blogs and see what people are saying. i have no doubt that this OS will be good, and i will be one of the first to get it, but let's see in a year where it nets out. (pardon the pun)
...I'm a bit mystified what you expect to happen here; if you have anything to hide, hide it; it's easy. You could put a dozen bomb plots in a single vacation photo JPG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography) and nobody is going to find it.
If you don't have anything to hide, you use whatever service gives you the most for least:
For example the entire contents of my gmail account consists of nothing much but personal chatter, gossip, evite invitations and reminders to pick up my laundry.
- Feel free to use that to infringe on my liberty.
I think only one liberty has been really seriously eroded with technology of the last 20 years; the citizen's ability to successfully evade tax. I don't think that was in the constitution anyway...
in the end am sure this will be a second complementary instantON OS
imagine it on every windows pc. people would be on it 80% of the time, it's just fast and sleek (specially on the go).
sure google wants to push for dedicated devices like super inexpensive smartbooks and tablets
but being a secondary OS will be much more important.
i will be one of those buyers specially looking for a windows/linux pc that also comes with chrome OS preloaded
example i just bought an ASUS laptop over an acer one because it had expressgate (an instantON OS) as secondary OS
chromeOS will be a great selling point :)
I dont like the idea of putting personal info on a strangers harddisk.
And what are you going to do if you are in a zone where there is no internet. Is that laptop useless then?
It sounds to my like the internet provider helpdesk:
1.your internet stops working
2. you call helpdesk
3. helpdesk tells you to go online on their site
to find solutions to the problem.
4. You explain again that you have no internet :)
Just to be sure you're not running some modified code here's how to build your own version of Chrome OS:
http://www.grenadepod.com/2009/12/03/building-and-running-google-chrome-os-on-virtualbox/