Google is developing a new operating system, called Google Chrome. Chrome will compete with other operating systems like Windows, Mac's Leopard and desktop Linux. For purposes of this blog, the question is: how does it compare with Windows, and should you consider moving to it?
In a word, No.
This isn't to bash Google; it makes very good products. But for now, the use cases for Chrome are very narrow. It will find a niche, but is not -- nor is it intended be -- a replacement for a desktop operating system.
Chrome is an operating system primarily for netbooks -- those small, inexpensive computers designed mostly for things like Internet surfing, emailing, social networking like Facebook and Twitter, and so on. Google itself positions Chrome as a web operating system.
That means it will work well, as long as you're online. Applications, like Google Docs (a Microsoft Word-like word processing program), will be available. If you're not connected, Chrome will be of little value.
Chrome will have some nice features. For instance, it will boot up in seconds, and your work will be backed up separate from your computer -- so if your computer dies, you will still have access to your data through another computer or smartphone like the iPhone. And given the high quality of most Google products, I expect it to be well-executed and stable when it's officially released, sometime in the second half of 2010.
But a replacement for Windows or Mac? Not yet. Google could add more features in the future -- if it does that, however, it risks losing many of the advantages it touts now, like working on low-end hardware, faster operation and quick startup and shut down.
If Google holds to the vision of a web-based operating system, it has a chance to become a solid product with a well-defined market. If it tries to take on Microsoft and Apple in this space, it's in for an uphill climb.
Underestimating Google would be a colossal mistake. Frankly, I think Google has always been on the bleeding edge of technology and I think both Apple and Microsoft need to be worried.
I can see a future where people access software as a web service, not as software physically installed on their own computer. Google is staking their claim in this frontier.
A lot of people scoffed at the Chrome Web Browser when was introduced but it has been eating away marketshare from IE and Firefox.
Google also intends to offer the Chrome OS on Android cell phones.
Hi John,
I agree that Chrome (the operating system) will find an audience. I just wonder how wide that audience will be, given the narrow capabilities.
I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?
Yes, you can quote this post.