Google to launch operating system

[Praxius]

BBC NEWS | Technology | Google to launch operating system

Google is developing an operating system (OS) for personal computers, in a direct challenge to market leader Microsoft and its Windows system. Google Chrome OS will be aimed initially at small, low-cost netbooks, but will eventually be used on PCs as well. Google said netbooks with Chrome OS could be on sale by the middle of 2010. "Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS," the firm said in its official blog. The operating system, which will run on an open source licence, was a "natural extension" of its Chrome browser, the firm said. The news comes just months before Microsoft launches the latest version of its operating system, called Windows 7. 'Back to basics' "We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you on to the web in a few seconds," said the blog post written by Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management, and Google's engineering director Linus Upson. Both men said that "the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web" and that this OS was "our attempt to rethink what operating systems should be"........ ..... Stephen Shankland at CNET said the move had widespread implications. "One is that it shows just how serious Google is about making the web into a foundation not just for static pages but for active applications, notably its own such as Google Docs and G-mail. "Another, it opens new competition with Microsoft and, potentially, a new reason for anti-trust regulators to pay close attention to Google's moves." Some commentators said Google's motivation in all this was pretty clear. "One of Google's major goals is to take Microsoft out, to systematically destroy their hold on the market," said Mr Enderle. "Google wants to eliminate Microsoft and it's a unique battle. The strategy is good. The big question is, will it work?" At the popular blog, TechCrunch, MG Siegler said: "Let's be clear on what this really is. This is Google dropping the mother of all bombs on its rival, Microsoft." Microsoft releases Windows 7 later this year to replace Windows Vista and Windows XP, which is eight years old.......

So do you think this will be something you'd be interested in getting?

What I'm wondering is yes, it'll be good for the internet and such, but what about other things like graphic design, video games, movie and music playing, and other programs?

Will there be enough programs available for it, or will this just be some basic web browsing OS that doesn't do much else?

I wasn't all that impressed with their web browser.... it worked, but nothing really stood out for me.

[Jack]

If they had wanted to contribute to the open source community, they would have been better off adding their expertise to the Ubuntu community. Linux distributions are fractured enough already. There's no indication it will be able to run the apps that keep people tethered to Windows, like Photoshop. So it will turn out to be more of a rival to Ubuntu, Red Hat/Fedora and SUSE than to Windows at the expense of the open source movement.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Jack If they had wanted to contribute to the open source community, they would have been better off adding their expertise to the Ubuntu community. Linux distributions are fractured enough already. There's no indication it will be able to run the apps that keep people tethered to Windows, like Photoshop. So it will turn out to be more of a rival to Ubuntu, Red Hat/Fedora and SUSE than to Windows at the expense of the open source movement.

I was thinking the same thing, but at least around where I live, there arn't many computers sold with Linux OS's installed and either come with Mac or Windows. People around here have to manually put a Linux based OS on their systems.

Actually thinking about it, I kinda find it funny that in the report, there's not one mention of Mac, whom I would have thought would be the second largest OS supported around the world next to windows.

But indeed.... if there isn't much support for things like Photoshop, Maya, AutoCAD and video games for the younger folk.... I wouldn't expect much from this attempt and Windows will still be pretty dominate

[Muckraker]

Quote by: Praxius But indeed.... if there isn't much support for things like Photoshop, Maya, AutoCAD and video games for the younger folk.... I wouldn't expect much from this attempt and Windows will still be pretty dominate

Yep. Every "new" OS will be seen as a cheap knockoff until one of them comes with a "compatibility mode" that works flawlessly with all Windows apps and games.

Windows-based programmers already have enough of a headache as all of their work is instantly pirated upon release. They aren't going to expend much energy/cash trying to rewrite their apps to work with every hodunk OS that comes down the pipe.

Consider how many years it took for Mac versions of games and apps to become more of a standard and less of an oddity. Users of Google's new OS should expect to only be playing Google's version of Oregon Trail for the next twenty years.

[Praxius]

You know, speaking of which, I haven't heard anything from the Mac or Goggle people.

Are there actually such a thing as Goggle people?

[Jack]

Goggle people? Lots of folks wear them, but I'm not sure they identify with them to that degree.

As for Google people, some of them write the Google blog.

[gallo]

Quote by: Praxius What I'm wondering is yes, it'll be good for the internet and such, but what about other things like graphic design, video games, movie and music playing, and other programs?

All of those are, of course, massively profitable. But a more important question is if it will run business software. I presume that it won't run data base management applications. While Microsoft made an effort to offer a DBMS (SQL Server), it only achieved limited success. I worked with it (in fact, certified DBA) and the spin-off when the partners in the development went their separate ways - Sybase as I recall. (Also certified DBA in Sybase.) But the real stopper to a new OS are data bases like Oracle and Progress (also certified DBA in Progress). They run on UNIX. Lots of major accounting software (my experience was with PeopleSoft) that accesses these data bases are Windows GUI applications that generate SQL commands that update and report on the UNIX data base. These applications have end user applications as well as programmer/manager applications. There are also several report and update programming languages (called SQLR) that are windows based and are used for producing specialized reports and update/correction abilities. These languages compile code that accesses SQL data bases. I suspect that the Google OS won't be developing any meaningful data base or any UNIX interface or SQLR application any time soon.

[Jack]

MySQL and PostgreSQL are both open source and excellent. Both should work well with Chrome OS if it runs on a Linux kernal. Open Source Database Software Comparison
I agree about the office apps. Open Office, though very capable, still isn't as fully compatible with Windows doc types as it would have to be to replace Office entirely. Working within the Linux environment is one thing but being able to integrate with the rest of the network is more important.

[Compugasm]

Google to launch operating system

I'll wait until it overtakes Microsoft before I even look at it. It's already hard enough to stay on top of all these programming languages. I simply don't have the energy to frustrate myself with a new OS. New interface, buttons all in different places, menus where you're not used to it... It's those little things you do lots of times a day that you will now have to learn all over again... no thanks. Not unless I have to.

[Jack]

Yesterday I was reading descriptions of Chrome that make it sound more like a windowing system than an operating system.

[RickSp]

The Google OS seems narrowly enough targeted at netbooks and other hardware where Windows doesn't play well, that it may establish some sort of a beach head. Until wireless access is more widespread I am not sure I would want to rely too heavily on cloud computing for a netbook.

The really interesting thing, at least to me, is what effect this may have on Microsoft and Windows.

Google OS May Force Microsoft to Reinvent Windows

Google's plan to exploit the popularity of low-footprint, low-cost netbooks could accelerate the need for Microsoft to reinvent the bulky, PC-centric version of Windows for consumers and businesses, as more people begin using applications that live on the Web rather than on their local hard drive. It could also eventually force the company to develop one core version of Windows that can be used on any device -- be it a smartphone, netbook or PC -- similar to the way Apple moved downstream by adapting its Mac OS X software for use on the enormously successful iPhone, analysts said. Microsoft has not been immune to the problem of marrying the increasingly Web-centric world with the desktop world, in which applications run on a thick client with a resource-heavy OS, but until now the company hasn't had to worry too much about it.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Jack Yesterday I was reading descriptions of Chrome that make it sound more like a windowing system than an operating system.

I never really heard much about that term before, looked it up on Wiki and it still doesn't seem to be clearly explained in regards to differences to me.

What's the difference between a Windowing System and an Operating System?

[Praxius]

Quote by: RickSp The Google OS seems narrowly enough targeted at netbooks and other hardware where Windows doesn't play well, that it may establish some sort of a beach head. Until wireless access is more widespread I am not sure I would want to rely too heavily on cloud computing for a netbook. The really interesting thing, at least to me, is what effect this may have on Microsoft and Windows. Google OS May Force Microsoft to Reinvent Windows

The interesting thing is that every laptop I have used or seen used after a period of time seems to bog itself down and slow to a crawl with windows, be that XP or Vista.

My mom's computer is an HP with two CPUs and Vista and used to run pretty snappy..... now it's a little over a year old and the thing is running like crap and if it were me, I'd reformat the thing.

Laptops also seem to heat up pretty damn quick to, to the point where if I have it in my actual "Lap" I begin to sweat due to the heat passing through my legs.

A lighter, less intensive OS for laptops seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

And while Mac Laptops don't seem to slow down as badly, they still slow down and heat up to a point over time.... and rather then slowing down to a crawl like Windows, you get errors galore.... can't stand Macs.... stable my arse, even the Desktops are wonky.

[Jack]

Quote by: Praxius I never really heard much about that term before, looked it up on Wiki and it still doesn't seem to be clearly explained in regards to differences to me. What's the difference between a Windowing System and an Operating System?

At its core, an operating system is an interface between the underlying hardware and the software running on the computer. Windows, Macintosh and Linux/Unix each handle the task of controlling the hardware a bit differently (see hardware abstraction layer or HAL). Above the code that handles hardware is the user interface layer, the parts of the operating system that provides our familiar desktop, shortcuts to applications, start menus, etc. This layer gives the user access to both the software and some control over the hardware. You could call this the "look and feel" aspect to an operating system. It's also the windowing part.

If Google builds the Chrome OS on top of a Linux kernal, it's using Linux to handle the HAL while Chrome will provide the windowing. The look of the desktop, the way shortcuts work, the way we access the hardware, all that will have a distinct "Google" look and feel. Google will in effect provide a unique window manager apart from Microsoft's Windows Manager (look at "Services" in the Windows Task Manager, you'll see an instance of WDM-Windows Desktop Manager-that is always running), Linux's Gnome or KDE (K Desktop Environment) or any of the other umpteen Linux window managers or Mac's OS X. The difference between how the menus work in Windows and Mac is a result of the difference between their window managers.

All indications are that Google intends to simply "paint" their window manager on top of a customized Linux kernal. Since the Chrome OS won't actually handle the hardware layer, just the windowing layer, some consider Chrome to be nothing but a windowing system, not a true and complete operating system. If we call Chrome an OS we might as well call Windowblinds an operating system.

[Jack]

I have to add that it's because of the manner in which each OS deals with the hardware layer that many of us prefer Linux or Mac over Windows. It's not (just) the perceived elitism, it's not that we enjoy having fewer apps and interoperability issues with Windows, it's not because we're just hate Windows for no reason. Linux and Mac control the hardware layer in a far superior manner to the way Windows does. That's the reason Mac's aren't considered "upgradeable" to the extent a PC is. Mac and Linux are tied closely to the hardware. They access the hardware more efficiently than Windows, thus there are far fewer system freezes or crashes.

Everyone appreciates an attractive desktop, but the true test of a computer is at the hardware level. The better the windowing system works together with the software and hardware, the better overall performance the user sees. A stable system allows the user to accomplish their tasks without having to think about what all is going on inside the magic beige box. An unstable system, like Windows, drives its users nuts by interrupting their work with freezes and demands to reboot (something only done in other OSs for changes in hardware) because the processes confuse the processor.

I also like the way the file system works in Linux better than the one in Windows (I'm still slightly confused by Mac's file system). And software generally installs better, more logically, in Linux and Mac.

No system is perfect though some are less perfect than others.

[RickSp]

Interesting perspective from Slate:

The Google OS Is Doomed
Five reasons why the new Chrome operating system is a bad idea.