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Google Chrome OS - Drops in late 2010


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Google announced that the Chrome web browser will be the focus of it's Chrome OS, with a linux core. See the google blog post here:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

Definitely excited about it.

Hope it will play nice with MSN stuff, like Hotmail. Other than that, I love Chrome and I'll probably love Chrome OS.

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The web browser is pretty good I think. But I'm not terribly excited about this.. I read about it at Engadget last night, and I wan't too fazed.

I don't think it'll just be a GNOME skin... it might be something 90% based within a web browser, making everything use HTML/CSS/javascript, similar to WebOS. It sounds inventive but i'm not going to get excited till I see some code/prototype/actual os to play with.

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I saw a video discussing Google's domination a "long" time ago. An OS for "general" computing use is definitely a step in that direction (although this is targeted at netbooks mostly, which like the Android for smartphones is not the average "computer" and would be used for different ends).

One might not consider Google to be a monopoly because their services are generally free and people have to choose to use them, whereas an operating system like Windows is arguably the end-user's only choice for an operating system on an x86(_64) computer.

Anyway, I'm not too worried... not until they start physically manufacturing their own devices.

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I find it funny how people will say how Microsoft is a monopoly, yet Google has the most popular search engine, both Google Video and Youtube, their own browser, and now an OS. Does no one see that Google is quickly becoming a major force in anything to do with computer software?

Also, it's not so much whether a company is a monopoly or not... It's what said company does with its monopoly power.

So far, Google seems to be far less into market-abuse than Microsoft. Hell, the company has been quite pro-consumer! Just take a look at some of Google's recent initiatives if you need any proof. They've lobbied for net neutrality, they've been advocates of open source long before Microsoft begrudgingly began its OSS initiative, they've lobbied so consumers can in the future use -any- compatible device on a wireless phone network, they're trying to assemble the first complete-text library catalog of all published books, and they're giving this all to the consumer for FREE (as long as you can handle some ads).

Honestly, I don't understand how people can equate Google's dominance with Microsoft's anti-competitive monopoly.

I, for one, am looking forward to seeing exactly what shape this new OS takes.

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  • 10 months later...

So, I downloaded the browser a couple of hours ago, and I must say I am surprised. Its pretty good and works well with all of the websites I frequent.

And yes, its faster than Firefox. But the only thing that sucks is the fact that I can't install it on my laptop with a 64-bit processor.

I can't imagine what the OS will be like.

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http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os

At least I think that's the appropriate link. Looks like it's not really intended for anything more than what google's own services offerings are. Simply, and probably a little inaccurately, one can assume that the chromium OS is a lightweight hub designed to be run on netbooks so that access to the internet and internet-browser-related activities (website, flash, video, docs, web games, IM, email, calendar, etc.) is quick and efficient.

I wouldn't make any bets that it would support stuff like Sonar or whatever, though I haven't fully read the documentation. Think of it this way: why would people want to run Windows, or even some flavors of linux, for doing things with their google accounts and internet browsing if google designs an OS designed specifically for those things and only those things?

Edit: I was mistaken. I haven't read up on this lately. Look like there is the chromium unofficial project for making a google open source OS, while google chrome os is just a flavor of linux that will ONLY RUN the chrome web browser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS

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I find it funny how people will say how Microsoft is a monopoly, yet Google has the most popular search engine, both Google Video and Youtube, their own browser, and now an OS. Does no one see that Google is quickly becoming a major force in anything to do with computer software?

It should be no secret to anyone by this point that Google is out to own the internet. If it weren't for Facebook, who knows, they might have pretty much had it by now. Both companies are very, very, serious about controlling what the internet looks and functions like; really, to define what the internet is, the whole experience; hence the aggressive expansionism of both companies into all sorts of places. Chrome OS is just one example on Google's part. They'll quickly become a major force in anything that has anything to do with the internet. And so will Facebook.

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how did facebook go from some student's personal address book to being some kind of internet supercompetitor

I mean all facebook has really done is stick a bunch of buttons on every god damn web page that let's you let everyone know you like things

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Google's browser hasn't taken off either.

Chrome is doing really well, actually. It hasn't been out that long and it's already more popular than Opera. If I'm not mistaken it's the most popular browser besides IE, Firefox and maybe Safari.

It hasn't become the new IE, but I like to think that's a good thing.

Personally I'd consider using it if it didn't insist on uploading my browsing habits to Google. Google doesn't need to know which sites I visit.

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Chrome is doing really well, actually. It hasn't been out that long and it's already more popular than Opera. If I'm not mistaken it's the most popular browser besides IE, Firefox and maybe Safari.

it was 10 months ago that zircon said that :<

edit: one too many "that"s ...

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actually chromium now supports running x86 code in tabs (http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/13/googles-native-client-sdk-developer-preview-provides-helpful-re/), which means Chrome OS should be able to run linux programs - which in theory could include Wine and windows programs. exciting.

Why? How is that at all exciting?

Couldn't you just use another Linux distro on a netbook?

I just don't really see the appeal besides maybe fast boot time.

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I love chrome, and I love all things google. If they took over the world, it'd be fine with me.

I on the other hand would be appalled. They've ruined Youtube, Chrome never worked right for me when I tried it a few months back (normal sites would crash the browser/not load constantly) and I DL'd the google 3d earth app the other day ad it crashes firefox pretty regularly.

I do like gmail though, so that's one thing they've done right.

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Trying Chrome for the first time on the laptop - I'm amazed at how fast it is! Google impressed me with how functional they got Chrome to be yet still keep that blazing speed that's significantly faster than Firefox. It reminds me of when Firefox first came out.

I use Chrome as my primary browser for that reason -- I love the low load and fast speeds.

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For me, the reason why I enjoy Chrome is because of the independent process-per-tab feature. I'm not sure if other browsers have caught up with Chrome there yet, but the fact that I can have a tab crash and still have the rest of my browsing be uninterrupted (95% of the time, a few crashes have frozen the gui for it whole) is great. I'll admit not everything Google has done is a golden egg, but with Chrome, at least for me, they got it right on the money.

If there's a linux flavor out there designed to run pretty much just Chrome, and all the features therein (playing music, email, docs, streaming video, etc.), I'd probably be much more enticed into getting a netbook with a small SSD and taking it around where I know WIFI is. Basically: if Google's OS delivers in the same vein that their browser has impressed me, I'd highly consider going for it. If/when Baltimore gets city-wide WIFI, then it'd be a must-have for me.

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