I don’t get it.. why is ChromeOS so exciting?
It sounds like a dumbed down version of Linux – why would taking the operating system that has failed to gain significant traction on the desktop (Linux) and then removing the apps suddenly make it more appealing?
I’m not drinking the Google Kool-aid on this one – I call bullsh!t.
How is ChromeOS different from/better than Android, that other stripped-down, portable Linux distro from Google that actually has some market traction?
How is it better or more interesting than the ubiquitous installs of Windows XP on Netbooks today that comfortably run Chrome or Firefox alongside full-featured apps? Or better than the upcoming Windows 7, currently being optimised to run on Netbooks and other low-end hardware?
Or a serious challenger to first-class Linux distros optimised for Netbooks like Ubuntu Netbook Remix?
Netbooks are still linked to Linux in the press and in public perception, but the truth is that those days are over – most Netbooks sold today are really light, cheap laptops running full OS installs, and with sizeable internal storage.
Linux is not even installed on most Netbooks today – Asus has stopped installing Linux on Netbooks in some territories.
More detail on the decline from IT Wire:
Yesterday, executives from Acer, Toshiba and Dell told iTWire that Windows XP had now established the same sort of dominance in the netbooks space as it has long held in the desktops and notebooks markets. Both Acer and Toshiba indicated that more than 90% of their netbooks shipped were Windows XP models.
ChromeOS makes good press, but I don’t think it makes a good product.
Even references to Cloud Computing are classic misdirection – running applications in the cloud simply means that server infrastructure becomes a utility that can be paid for based on usage. Web-apps that used to need a datacenter to run can now be run on Amazon or some other infrastructure. It doesn’t fundamentally change the behaviour of end users of the applications.
In my opinion, this is more of a pop-gun warning shot across the bows of Apple and Microsoft, not the heavy artillery. Device manufacturers will continue to use Linux as a stick to keep Microsoft pricing down, but they have no real interest in offering consumers an operating system they don’t want. Customers have already voted with their wallets and demonstrated that they are prepared to pay an extra $50 to have Windows on their Netbooks. Those are the facts, and I can’t see Google changing that picture no matter how much they hype ChromeOS.
Not buying into the ChromeOS hype
I don’t get it.. why is ChromeOS so exciting?
It sounds like a dumbed down version of Linux – why would taking the operating system that has failed to gain significant traction on the desktop (Linux) and then removing the apps suddenly make it more appealing?
I’m not drinking the Google Kool-aid on this one – I call bullsh!t.
How is ChromeOS different from/better than Android, that other stripped-down, portable Linux distro from Google that actually has some market traction?
How is it better or more interesting than the ubiquitous installs of Windows XP on Netbooks today that comfortably run Chrome or Firefox alongside full-featured apps? Or better than the upcoming Windows 7, currently being optimised to run on Netbooks and other low-end hardware?
Or a serious challenger to first-class Linux distros optimised for Netbooks like Ubuntu Netbook Remix?
Netbooks are still linked to Linux in the press and in public perception, but the truth is that those days are over – most Netbooks sold today are really light, cheap laptops running full OS installs, and with sizeable internal storage.
Linux is not even installed on most Netbooks today – Asus has stopped installing Linux on Netbooks in some territories.
More detail on the decline from IT Wire:
ChromeOS makes good press, but I don’t think it makes a good product.
Even references to Cloud Computing are classic misdirection – running applications in the cloud simply means that server infrastructure becomes a utility that can be paid for based on usage. Web-apps that used to need a datacenter to run can now be run on Amazon or some other infrastructure. It doesn’t fundamentally change the behaviour of end users of the applications.
In my opinion, this is more of a pop-gun warning shot across the bows of Apple and Microsoft, not the heavy artillery. Device manufacturers will continue to use Linux as a stick to keep Microsoft pricing down, but they have no real interest in offering consumers an operating system they don’t want. Customers have already voted with their wallets and demonstrated that they are prepared to pay an extra $50 to have Windows on their Netbooks. Those are the facts, and I can’t see Google changing that picture no matter how much they hype ChromeOS.
from → Industry comment