Somewhere in America, Steve Ballmer is chucking chairs and bellowing the C-word: Chrome.
Chrome is no longer just a browser: it's a heat-seeking missile heading straight for Microsoft's core business. If it's good, it could transform the PC industry; even if it's just Quite Good, it's going to be bad news for Windows.
Chrome OS is essentially Android for computers, an open source operating system that hooks you up to the cloud. It'll be faster than Windows, we're sure, and it won't suffer from the same problems of viruses and malware that plague Microsoft's platform. Of course it won't. It's Linux.
Google is bringing two things to the party: Google's expertise, and Google's brand. The latter is probably the most important. Linux's abject failure on netbooks isn't because Linux is bad; it's that the plethora of distributions is utterly confusing.
Google changes everything
Sticking the big G on top of Linux changes that. Most people don't know what a Debian is, or a Red Hat, or an Ubuntu, or a SUSE. But they know what a Google is, and they already use Google's stuff every day.
Targeting netbooks is a smart move, because they're selling like hotcakes. Right now, they're running an ancient OS in the form of Windows XP. That'll change in October when Windows 7 ships, but as Google's Sundar Pichal explains: "We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds."
Unless Microsoft has done something astonishing since the Release Candidate, Windows 7 doesn't do that.
What Pichal didn't say was equally important: Chrome won't cost firms money, whereas Windows 7 will. You can just imagine the scenes in PC World: "OK, that one's running Microsoft, and this one's running Google. Wow, it's pretty fast, isn't it? And it's a lot cheaper. You say it doesn't get viruses? Wow. Google one, please!"
Google Chrome OS on desktop PCs
Where things get really interesting is in the increasingly blurry line between netbooks and "real" computers. If Chrome is nippy on netbooks, it'll be even faster on fully-fledged PCs - and once again Google's brand could finally persuade average PC users to install a Linux OS rather than a Microsoft one.
It won't tempt the hardcore gamers or the video editors, but they aren't the mass market. Joe and Jane Punter do most of their stuff online, with the odd bit of media, photo uploading and document editing from time to time. You don't necessarily need Windows for that.
The big question isn't whether Google can make Chrome OS work: of course it can. It's whether the general public is ready to fully embrace cloud computing.
If Google can make the offline experience as good as the online one and get decent application developers on board, Chrome's future could be as shiny as the metal from which it takes its name.
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Your comments (9) Click to add a new comment
lukeow
August 4th
9. Im just annoyed its going to cost to upgrade to Windows 7 from vista.Vista has compatibility problems which i have experienced when trying to connect some devices to my laptop also its pretty slow.
So i was looking forward to getting windows 7 but not to sure with the price i have to pay by not being eligible to get it for free.
So google bring an OS out is good news because its supposedly faster and free.
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liliec
July 9th
8. There are several reasons why you should get this new Google Operating System or Chromes OS. Google Chrome is designed for those who are searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. The Google operating system is being released as a competitor to Windows 7, and the Google OS, or Chrome OS, bears the same name as the internet browser they released last year, and best of all will be free. It's good to know that you can get the Google operating system without needing much money and the unending amount of registration that comes with Microsoft products. It is set to begin debuting on netbooks, and its primary focus is online applications. Press for it has said that they geared it to plug the gaps in internet security of most OS packages. It's good to know that you can get the Google operating system without needing <a href="http://personalmoneystore.com/Payday-Loans/">payday loans</a> and the unending amount of registration that comes with Microsoft products.
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lovlid
July 8th
7. What I want is an OS that not only runs all my hardware, but also runs the latest games on the day they are released, and that OS is windows. No other OS is going to do that.
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kasino72
July 8th
6. tfawcett: "I love the way you guys write these articles to get the Windows fan's blood boiling!"
Not at all - I (I'm Gary the writer btw) already run a Vista PC and a Win7 laptop, and I've just built another Vista PC. Definitely no Microsoft hating from this quarter.
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d4lien
July 8th
5. Years ago I want the company I was working for to adopt Linux but that didn't happen either. The fact of the matter is that current business systems are so entwined with Windows it would be nigh on impossible to move to a new non-Microsoft OS.
I applaud the competition and will probably create yet another boot sector on my already 5 way boot machine at home but I really can't see the powers that be that head up my IT dept moving. I could be wrong and it would be interesting to see.
It is worth noting that we are moving to Windows 7 we have been wined and dined by MS and the directors were suitbaly impressed by the shiney colours on display enough to ensure MS stays our main OS.
I do wonder what the EU will say to this though... Chrome OS is allowed but must be without Chrome?
All in all I would be happy if we adopted Open Office as opposed to MS Office...
Oh and TR aren't you keen on saying we should all be using Apple Snow Kitty Wolf OSX or whatever it's called now? Haha.
tfawcett: I have been running 3 laptops and 1 PC with Vista and find it faster than Ubuntu and XP so you're not alone.
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mattgothard
July 8th
4. This is brilliant inevitable news. Google Wave will catapult this project quicker than the next version of their current browser.
Once again however an entire industry will be brought to its knees. Like the newspapers, video and music; apps will pretty much be devalued to zero. Questions of antitrust are going to be a hot topic but if google deliver an apps marketplace that anyone can join then and install but we will see companies like download.com ...pardon the pun but diss-app-ear.
Windows will not die but their 90% share is likely to drop to or below 50% in five years time. Excel is still hand over foot better than googles spreadsheet when it comes to marcos and pivot tables, but as we know and are getting use to, things will and often change when google is in the mix.
On another note, thank goodness I don't have to read another duff blog entry about goobuntu.
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