New Google web-based operating system is coming!

FILE PHOTO: Google Q1 Earnings Beat Expectations
I know this is technology related and may not be of particular interest to gossip fans, but I cannot contain my excitement at this news. A new Google web-based operating is coming! For frustrated PC users like me it could offer a viable alternative to Microsoft Vista and the other crappy MS operating systems that have continually failed to perform, crash seemingly at random and download updates with little if no warning. (My husband keeps recommending that we switch to Linux, but I’m daunted at the task.) I love Google’s browser, Chrome, and find that it has slashed a huge amount of wait time out of my work day compared to slower IE and Firefox. I’ve replaced all Microsoft Office products with Google Documents and refuse to shell out the money for Office. (There’s also free alternative from Sun Microsystems, OpenOffice, but it seems to be incompatible with Vista in practice and crashed my OS, and a friend’s OS, after we installed it. Go figure.) Google products are intuitive, user-friendly, and they work like they’re supposed to. I cannot wait to see what they come up with. The only thing is – will it be completely dependent on internet connectivity and what happens if our connection is down or if Google is experiencing problems like that difficult day in May?

“The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no Web,” the blog post said. “So today, we’re announcing a new project that’s a natural extension of Google Chrome–the Google Chrome Operating System. It’s our attempt to rethink what operating systems should be.”

Among the benefits Google touted are “speed, simplicity and security,” Pichai and Upson said. “We are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware, and security updates.”

Google is talking to Netbook partners now, and the project will become open-source “soon.” It will run on members of the x86 and ARM processor families, Google said.
Google declined to comment on its plans beyond the blog posting.

The company also didn’t mention how exactly it hopes to profit from Chrome OS, but it seems likely it’s the latest variation on trying to get more people using the Web more often and more deeply–behavior that correlates with more searching and more search advertising.

“Any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet,” Upson and Pichai said.

Hints of Chrome OS
Hints of the direction have been abundant, but it wasn’t clear Google would go as far as creating a product branded as a full-on operating system.
On the software side, one hint was Gears, a plug-in to give browsers the ability to run Web applications even when offline.

Next came Chrome itself in September 2008. Google said its ambition with the open-source browser was to make the Web a faster, richer foundation for Web applications. Naturally, Gears was built in from the outset, and Google continues to bang the Web-applications drum loudly.

Next came Native Client and O3D, plug-ins that let browsers tap directly into the power of local processors and, if all goes according to plan, match the performance of PC-based applications. Native Client is for the main computing chores, and O3D is for hardware-accelerated graphics, and Google wants to build Native Client at least directly into Chrome.

The other set of clues came from the Web side of the company’s operations. Google’s cash cow is selling ads alongside search results, but the company has been trying for years to build a portfolio of Web-based applications that people could use for everyday computing. Google Docs offers a Web-based word processor, presentation, and spreadsheet, and Google Apps bundles that along with Gmail and Google Calendar.

For others trying to make a run at Web-based applications, Google offers Google App Engine, a foundation for online Python and Java programs that can run at the scale of Google’s own computing infrastructure, though free use is more limited.

One of the primary advantages of Google’s cloud-computing approach is that data is available from anywhere you can find a networked computer–or, increasingly, mobile phone. It also permits more natural collaboration, since multiple authors can work on the same document simultaneously rather than e-mailing variations or sharing them on a central server. And with data stored on the Net rather than on a PC, upgrades and laptop theft are relatively painless issues.
The disadvantages are abundant, though. Web applications are slow and primitive compared to those that run on PCs, network access is far from ubiquitous, familiar applications are missing, years of accumulated files and data must be migrated to a new system, and not everybody is prepared to have precious corporate or personal information housed at Google or other companies.

The Net is a different place than when the Sun’s JavaOS and network computers flopped in the marketplace, and Google is powerfully profitable. But many of the original challenges remain.

[From News.CNet.com]

So maybe it will be a while before Google operating system completely replaces Microsoft. If people develop applications fast enough they’re poised to take a big bite out of their market share, though. I’m not ready to switch over to Mac OS and buy all new computers (we have a few and I prefer to upgrade where possible) along with all new software. This could be a very viable alternative and I hope Microsoft is shaking in its boots. Here comes Google, and they’re nicer, faster, and easier than MS by a long shot. Try to compete with that, Mr. Gates. A good start would be by not interrupting my work day to automatically install your damn updates. Still, Google could easily fall prey to the same arrogance that plagues Microsoft products, especially once they increase their hold over our daily lives. At least they try to think what their customers want first, though, instead of trying to make us adjust to their idea of what computing should be.

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12 Responses to “New Google web-based operating system is coming!”

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  1. Trish says:

    I would like to point out that the OS is intended for Netbooks. May not operate normally on a basic computer set up. Sorry to hear about your OpenOffice. I’ve managed to keep mine running though.

  2. Celebitchy says:

    Is it logical to assume that since it’s developed for a Netbook it could easily be run on a regular computer? From what I understand a Netbook is just a regular computer without all the additional resources. So that means that Google OS would run especially well on your average computer. They’re talking to Netbook manufacturers because they want to get their OS out there.

  3. Luci says:

    the end of microsoft!!
    hopefully!!

  4. SolitaryAngel says:

    I am right there with all of you who’re cheering at the thought of saving time, money (Microsoft Office Works=damned expen$ive!), and those fracking pesky updates! GRRRRR
    Add to that Firefox crashing all the damn time and I’m sick of it. I work from my computer at home, and I’m working on a Master’s Degree online, so Google just gave me something to look forward to.
    PS: F*ck you, Bill Gates.

  5. Iggles says:

    Wow! This is HUGE! Bigger than the Google phone by FAR!

    I gotta admit, a google OS sounds tempting. I love Google Doc and Gmail.

  6. Iggles says:

    However, I do see a downside. If Google OS connects with the web, it may be able to detect illegal downloads and cracked software (such as Photoshop!) This would be a HUGE issue if they interfere. Alot of people, myself included, will stay on PCs to keep their files private.

  7. Teddy says:

    This is good news, as I’ve tested Microsoft’s latest, Windows7, and it’s more of the same. People are calling it Vista 2.

    I can’t wait for the Google OS.

    BTW, I love Chrome.

  8. CeeJay says:

    Iggles makes an excellent point. If it is a web based system then the files are stored on the web, ultimately available to hackers/cookies/spyware who know what they’re looking for. A lot of the newer, seemingly advanced applications are web based and gives me cause for concern.

    By the way CB you can disable automatic updates in your advanced settings.

  9. Trey says:

    http://gawker.com/5310442/googles-war-with-microsoft-is-a-shell-game

    Fresh news. Apparently their “OS” is nothing but a shell using Linux. So CB, you might be in luck finally switching to Linux 🙂

    After I get another computer set up, I want to use my old one as a server running Linux (new using probably Microsoft). I still get the benefits of virus protection while being able to use a more compatible OS.

  10. Vibius says:

    Linux is a great operating system as long as you dont play ANY games. Thats not true. They do have some Atari level games built in (which is more than MS can say), but thats it.

    Its a great OS for servers/work PCs, and people who like to think that they are better than others.

  11. sergio says:

    I hope your information wasn’t on their Official Blog when you posted this!! We posted an entry at our blog seosumo.com quoting a Google news (between blockquote tags) and we’ve got penalized –The news we quoted was posted FIRST, of course!, at Google’s official blog– and immediately after that all the other pages suddenly lost page rank!
    We didn’t even talk negatively about them, we love Google’s future! (except freedom of blogging)
    The address of the page is http://seosumo.com/google-rethinks-the-operating-system
    I hope it doesn’t happen to you too.

  12. Docuter says:

    Hi,any software or tool or any thing from Google,is an interesting ,best that provides operating system will be an next platform all over the world