Googles New Operating System?

Well, I have to admit that I'm probably one of the few people who hasn't tried out Chrome yet. I just can't bear to load up my Parallels installation and run Windows as I know it's been so long that there will be a ton of updates to install. I'll give it a try once the Mac version is out (or I may bite the bullet if curiosity gets the better of me).

The announcement of Chrome, Googles new open source browser pretty much stole most of the headlines this week and the usage of the comic book approach to relay some pretty heavy technical information was a masterstroke.

I remember listening to the Gillmor gang, two years ago, debating whether or not Google would create a free to install PC operating system. The premise would be that they would give away the Google OS for free to PC manufacturers to install on PCs removing the burden of shelling out for a commercial OS and reduce costs. Google in exchange, would get the opportunity to deliver more ads in some fashion via the Google OS. The gang were always split on if they would release a full blown OS. I always thought that Google really wouldn't want to go to the complexity of supporting various hardware platforms and writing code to handle i/o routines - it just didn't seem to fit.

But as of this week, they have launched a new operating system, an operating system for the future!

Chrome is Googles new operating system, built from the ground up to run web applications in the most reliable, stable and secure manner possible.

So why is this an operating system for the future?

As more and more service are ported to the web, and more and more sophisticated web applications are developed (have you seen Acrobat.com and Buzzword?), it's entirely feasible that within the next 3 years a large percentage of your average computer users computing needs will be available from the cloud, for both commercial users and consumers. Yes, we still need to sort out reliability and connectivity issues, but over time they will be resolved to a level where these are no longer limiting factors.

So Google have started on their new "Web Operating System" and included some pretty powerful features to enable web applications be treated just like normal applications:

• Super fast Javascript V8 engine
• Multiple and isolated Processes for Web Applications
• Efficient Memory Management
• Chrome Task Manager
• Integrated Search
• Web Application Sandboxing

All in a first release beta product.

So how can this be an OS as you can't run it directly on a computer?

OK, so you'll need an underlying PC OS to run Chrome, but just look around and see how many consumer appliances are running a version of Linux that the customer never sees or needs to access - Tivo anyone? Why not a sealed consumer unit running a version of Linux to provide the basic platform but with Chrome running the show - giving you access to all the applications you need on the web straight out of the box.

No configuration, no tweaking, no viruses, no malware, just utility computing, the holy grail of thin client computing for everybody.

It will take them a while to establish Chrome in such away, but in the mean time, we'll be able to run Chrome as a standard browser (the Mac and Linux versions can't be that far away). A nice little bonus for Google will be that they'll reduce their costs as people move from Firefox and Safari to Chrome. As both these browsers use a Google search box, Google pays both Mozilla and Apple for searches from these browsers. A recent ZDNet article suggested:

Let’s be clear: Google bankrolls Mozilla and accounts for most of its revenue. Google pays to be the leading provider in the Firefox search box. Sure, you can pick other search engines, but few do. As a result, Google accounted for 85 percent of Mozilla’s 2006 revenue of $66.8 million.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8286

Even on the basis of cost savings alone, it's no surprise Google have made a move in this space!

Technorati Tags:
Apple, Chrome, Firefox

Comments

[Paul Shadwell]

I see your first mistake, your using Parallels, VMware Fusion 2.0 is much better :-)

I also remember the debate rgarding an OS from Google. It would certainly put the cat among the pidgeons, especially if it installed easily on all platforms, makes and models and was thin and fast.

Maybe that's why we're getting all thes apps, we get used to using them ahead of an OS release where they will run at their best. Hmmmmm...

[Fat Yank]

"... the holy grail of thin client computing for everybody." This sounds like another step towards an Orwell's world. Can you imagine the control that could be accomplished though such a box?

[Peter M]

Very interesting indeed, and kind of makes sense!