Google held a Chrome event today, and the rumours had suggested we might see the launch of Chrome OS today. This turned out to be nonsense, and in all honesty, the entire event didn’t really deliver much in the form of new information. The Chrome Web Store has been opened, and the first Chrome OS netbooks will arrive in the middle of 2011.
Google held a long presentation showing off Chrome OS, but in it, I discovered little new information. It’s impressive for sure, though; they demonstrated Chrome running on a Windows machine next to a Chrome OS netbook, with the same user logged in on both machines. As soon as a change was made on one machine (theme change or application removed), it only took a few seconds for the changes to arrive on the other machine. True internet computing.
For the rest, it’s all stuff we already know. The entire machine is encrypted, and the operating system is loaded from read-only memory, so it’s can’t be altered (although there will be a jailbreak switch to you can install whatever you want). Of course, auto-update works as it does on Chrome. There’s also a guest account which runs entirely in incognito mode.
HTML5 offline was demonstrated as well, which allows web applications to be cached on the machine for offline use. This feature was demonstrated with Google Docs; changes are uploaded to the server once connection has been re-established. Cloud Print was also demonstrated, and it looks pretty handy.
All Chrome OS netbooks will come with mobile data connectivity (3G or 4G), and you’ll be able to buy prepaid cards from Verizon. Google used a prototype model dubbed Cr-48, a model beta testers can get their hands on via a pilot program. The machine is entirely brandless, and only comes in black.
It’s interesting tech for sure, but I’m not particularly interested in what is essentially a thin-client. I want a real, grown-up laptop (I actually have one), but I also know I’m a dinosaur. On top of that, there’s no 3G in my small redneck hometown.
This is just the first step. The next step is putting this into a phone. Then all you need is a dock for your keyboard/mouse/monitor. When you’re out it’s your phone, when you’re in it’s your PC. If it gets lost just reset your password and buy a new one. Life in the cloud. I believe we’ll see this very concept before the end of the decade. Whether it takes off or not is another story.
I think the next step would to release an actual working product and then sell it successfully.
I won’t be adopting it, if Google is the only cloud where I can store the data.
I’ll only use it, if I can create my own private cloud based on an open source implementation (not sure if their is a “ChromiumOS”)
But that private cloud still needs a lot more apps before it is ready for me.
First thing that I need is a much simpler server for running SkyWriter (webbased programmer editor):
https://mozillalabs.com/skywriter/
Edited 2010-12-11 12:24 UTC
Just so you know, running a private cloud isn’t anything as exotic as it sounds.
I already run my own Firefox Sync ‘server’. It is just PHP/Apache server in my home which is regularly backed up, accessible from the internet. Firefox Sync uses https, http-authentication and encrypts the data before storing it on the server.
You could run the same on a $100 US “Wall wart” (read small, low power computer).
I’m fairly certain ChromeOS isn’t all that much more exciting. You only need a way to be able to point it to some other server.
Your hyperlink is missing the “r” in “href”.
It’s funny to me that the laptop is practically identical to the discontinued black MacBook.
It’s also kind of funny to me that with all this Tablet craze, a laptop is getting a lot of press. Anyway, hope it all goes well.
Once people stop playing videos and browsing news websites and want to do some actual work, laptops are still the way to go by far
And you think majority of people are looking to do some work on computer at home… you are very optimistic person.
I don’t see the point of it. Another OS for PC, and second OS from same company…
I see some similarity with other Google project:
“What if we will reinvent e-mail…” – we close this project after half a year.
“What if we will reinvent PC OS” – we close project after… we will see, but it will die – I hope soon, so they concentrate on Android.
Yes, people will always need PC (laptop or workstation) but people are happy with Win, Mac and Linux. You must be more innovating then removing “Caps Lock” to introduce new OS.
Maybe, but I really do think that people would miss the creative aspect of computing. There are so many things which required expensive hardware or hours of work in the past and can be done quickly with software costing around a hundred dollars now… I have a hard time imagining that people would be ready to give up on that now.
Apart from that, I agree with you : chromeOS sounds just too unambitious to be worth making the switch for its targeted audience. Web-based services are just too inferior to desktop applications now, even if they could reach minimal feature parity with them later.
If I buy one of these Windows 7 netbook, I get a web browser AND a real operating system underneath. I don’t think that the improved security alone can compensate for this basic observation.
Oh, and caps lock sucks, too.
And also, an OS is a collection of software that actually does something, not just runs a damn browser.
The Internet is a damn network and the web is fcking platform, they are not meant to replace computers and operating systems.
Ability to run the google office apps offline is real good news.
There is probably going to be a fast evolution of the platform like Android. Not four year cycles.
The CR-48 itself is a thing of minimalist beauty.
Photos
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/07/google-unveils-cr-48-the-first-c…
20 bucks says at least half of those will be running a full Linux distro or Win7 within a year.
This mass-oriented attitude is kind of pissing me off. It’s clear that Google wants to run/supply/know everything, but ..meh, it’s just annoying.
Also, I don’t think I’ll ever use a machine which I can’t customize significantly, and I’m not talking about themes, personas or whatever.
This whole Chrome OS preview looks pretty limiting to me. I’m curious whether or not other people think that way.
I like the concept of being able to instantly browse the internet since that’s mostly what I use my computer for. I just don’t want to have to login into a online account just to use bookmarks/history/password manager etc.
I’m looking to toss my PC out in favor of one these new fangled tablets. I’m just waiting for someone other than Apple to come out with something acceptable. I’ve lost all hope in Nokia, I’m thinking maybe HP (WebOS), or a Android 3 device.
Technically, passwords are stored locally, you just need an internet account to initially set up the device. It is encrypted, however, via ecryptfs.
Couple this with HTML5 api’s relating to offline browsing, and local storage etc, and it becomes fair simply to envision most every task being viable using only the browser.
If it has a real keyboard and a real screen, I expect it to run a real OS. That sums it up for me. And also, most real operating systems have this thing, you know, a web browser I think it’s called, that lets you access the cloud or whatever the buzzword is these days.
Edited 2010-12-08 11:33 UTC
I fully expect these to end up just like the current ARM netbook attempts — stuffed in the back of a sock drawer somewhere alongside the Atari Portfolio, Newton, Pippen and those silly little AMD Geode powered boxes.
It’s trying too hard at being a dumbed down tinkertoy OS — and while that’s fine for goofy handhelds and overpriced tablets, the moment you put a full size (or even 2/3rds size) keyboard on it people expect a real computer; and I’m not convinced ChromeOS would deliver that.
Much less that it’s going to be restrictively locked down — which also might fly with the handheld crowd (which all the jailbreaking out there would disagree with) likely won’t be tolerated by people expecting a minified laptop.
God forbid you buy a device and then try to install whatever you want on it for software.
Edited 2010-12-08 00:00 UTC
This would be great for an in-school device. We have several classrooms with managed wireless access points, with the students using Asus eeePC 701s. For educational purposes, they worked nicely:
* creating documents in OpenOffice.org
* creating drawings in Kolourpaint
* accessing school Moodle sites for online courses
* accessing educational websites for research
* accessing educational websites for games
* etc
Unfortunately, the horrid, broken Xandros that came with the 701s is showing it’s age (Firefox 2.x for example) and it’s getting harder and harder to use them for anything.
Using the unofficial Hexeh build of ChromiumOS works fairly well on these things. Hopefully there’s an upgrade path to ChromeOS or a newer version of ChromiumOS with the improved Chrome browser.
Anything that allows us to squeeze one more year of use out of these things is appreciated.
Trying to run a full-fledged Linux install is possible, but not worth the headaches of maintaining. And running a full desktop env (even LXDE or Xfce) is not fun.
I have an eeePC 701, and the solution to the horrid Xandros was to install Puppy Linux. It gives these slow machines a second life.
I signed up for the pilot program! Hoping to get one those ChromeOS netbook.
I downloaded the beta and have it installed on a VM in Parallels. I like the concept, but the implementation leaves me cold. Perhaps there’s an audience for this thing, but it seems to me that if you’re going to spring for a low end laptop, you might as well get something that offers a bit more flexibility.
I installed it, poked around for a few hours, and then went back to using my regular laptop. Whatever audience this thing might have, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include me.
I’m sure this will be modded down like nobody’s business, but… boooooooooring.
1. Mozilla (with google) broke IE’s hegemony.
2. Google creaded Android to rule the mobile market.
3. Google create Chrome and Chrome OS.
4. Google will kill desktop (both windows, linux and Mac)
5. Google will give very cheap server hosting to enterprises to replace their own servers to virtual machines.
6. Servers will be wery rare and expensive, all server will be virtual, owned by Google and other big companies.
7. Google will increment the virtual server pices, and give very cheap web hosting to replace virtual servers to simple web sites. At this point google kill the open-source movement, because you can’t compile anything without computer.
8. Google will give pre-build solutions to the frequental used things like webshop, forum, blog, or any business software.
9. Google will rule the word. You can’t do anything without google.
mmmm the chromeos netbooks have cpus, so they’re computers, you can program and compile software on them
also you can program and compile on a smartphone too
however the best thing of chromeos is, imho, the encrypted operating system installed into flash rom….this way google will kill a lot of the malware out there
How many people create and compile program on smartphone ?
I can see the potential of this product, but there are problems.
It’s not going to replace desktop computers, but it will make life / computing easier for a vast number of users. My father only ever uses two programs on his laptop: a browser and an e-mail client. He can move to ChromeOS and never have to worry about updates and backups again. Or think about classrooms. I bet schools can save a lot on IT management by choosing ChromeOS. In a connected world, ChromeOS can even be a worthy (and working…) alternative to the OLPC initiative.
The downside? Well, the problem is that ‘web applications’ are generally VERY BAD…. (By application I mean a program that is used to create something, not a general web site like YouTube or Amazon that is meant for consumption only — I think this distinction is important). Much as I am not fond of MS Office on the desktop, I really hate Google Docs and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Google states ‘we have no SDK’, which translates to ‘we have no unified UI’. This will make it harder for novice users to use ChromeOS — a hotchpotch of web apps — and will make it harder to market the system because there is no visual unity. This is compounded by the fact that Google seems to let engineers do most of the marketing, like some episode of Dilbert gone wrong. Few potential customers will be fooled, let alone enticed by this presentation.
I think everything which is bad about the web will be less bad in the future. But the inconsistent UI will remain I think.
Many people already use jQuery, etc. as an API to get things done. This simplifies things.
And I hate the cloud too. I want my OS, my software and my data to reside on my own device not somewhere in the cloud in hands of some corporation which will rent me the right to access my own stuff if I agree with their TOS.
No capslock? What’s up with that.
How much data are you gonna use to keep you music collection in the cloud.
If you absolutely require a caps lock, you can change back the functionality of the search button.
Honestly, the only time I’ve ever even used caps lock is by mistake, having to erase a bunch of text cuz the case is all wrong.
I’m surprised to see so many comments talking about the disadvantages of a computer running Chrome OS and hardly any talking about the benefits.
First of all, anyone that makes reference to Chrome OS not being a “real operating system” just sounds silly. Of course it’s a real operating system. If you mean to say something else, then say something else.
You would (in theory) never need to go through something like a reinstall. During an upgrade, all of your data and preferences, by definition of the operating system, remain untouched. There are no viruses or malware. It uses a user interface (A web browser) that is familiar to many computer users.
I suspect Chrome OS would be used differently than other popular operating systems. For example, you would upload photos from a memory card directly to a website such as Flickr. You would listen to music from a website such as Pandora instead of having gigabytes of MP3 files.
Are there other major benefits that I missed? Are there any you feel that should be incorporated into other operating systems?
Anyway, I don’t think Chrome OS is for me. I’ll use Haiku instead. 😉
Many people here are looking at ChromeOS in the context of the web today. I believe this is seriously flawed. Things like NaCl are going to allow for serious performance on the web, things like WebGL are ensuring graphics on the web are on par with the desktop. Things like the Storage API of HTML5 are ensuring you don’t need to be online to do anything within the browser, other than the limitations of e-mail apps etc today – ie, you can’t update them… that is essentially it.
For me, ChromeOS is about making the web the primary application platform. Developers needn’t be locked in, and can still utilize the best language for a given job, but code will run on any operating system – never again will there be lockin. At least not at that layer, privacy laws are ensuring your data isn’t locked in also.
On todays web, even with modern browsers, things like JayCut are still rather painful to use, but this particular example shows the power that is already there, and just how much the web has grown up. At least in my view.
I agree with everything you said, but NaCl is dead.
It has already been shown that modern javascript engines are as fast, it not faster than NaCl without the disadvantages.