A friend asked me a simple question. Here’s my input :]
“Hey Jamie, what’s your opinion on Chrome OS? Just out of curiosity. Like, do you think it’ll be widely adopted in the netbook field or will Android overtake it as the operating system of choice?” Jagjit Singh
It’s hard to say anything about the Google Chrome OS because it’s still under development. We don’t have any details or previews yet but the only thing we can expect is that it’s going to be blazing fast!
I think that the minimalistic approach that Google is taking to the OS is what will ensure its survival in the netbook world. Since the netbook computers can’t take an Operating System that requires a lot of resources, Chrome OS would be ideal for them since it would be stripped down to the basic essentials, at least for the time being. It’s the same approach that Chrome (browser) was driven under and it seems to be working well so far.
If Chrome OS does pick up in the netbook world, prices for those small laptops will drop even further because it would be stripped of a lot of the proprietary software such as Office, XP, Vista, etc. I’m sure companies will find some way to hide that extra money by probably making the screen bigger or putting more ram and disk space in there to compensate.
I don’t think that Chrome OS has a chance right now to take over as a Desktop class operating system. They have two major competitors to overcome before they even stand a chance with Microsoft. Apple has a little less than 10% of the computer market share and Linux has around 2%. That still leaves Microsoft with a solid 80+% percent of all the companies in the world. What’s going to even make it more difficult for Chrome to pick up as a desktop OS is compatibility. Being a new OS, developers are needed for that OS to build applications. Many businesses will see it as a hassle to change their infrastructure for that. For instance, most programs are made only for Windows, or only for Leopard.
But again, you never know, it could all change again in a decade. It already has :]
I agree when you say that Chrome OS’s small footprint will be one of the main reasons why it will be heavily adopted by netbook users. I also think that it will be because of all of the other features Google offers as a company that will be easily integrated into the OS, such as Gmail, Calendar, Youtube, and Docs. These are the features that netbook users will be using the most, and Chrome OS will guarantee those features, like you said, in a very very fast manner.
Chrome OS will probably make netbook prices drop, and here’s hoping that they drop by quite a bit.
I definitely agree that Chrome OS will not, as of now anyways, be suited for the desktop PC market. But I don’t think that Chrome OS is going to try and aim for that market, I believe that they are only aiming for the netbook market here. They emphasize the speed and the minimalistic nature, as you said, and I think that for that very reason, Chrome OS won’t be suited for desktop PCs.
Then again, like you said, Google could pull something and go all out with Chrome.
Personally, I’m looking forward to Windows 7. Not only will it be good for desktops, it will run well with netbooks too. However, I am mainly looking forward to Windows 7’s functionality with tablet PCs, as I am looking into buying a tablet PC for college. But I admit, if I were going for a netbook, I’d probably lean towards Chrome.
My dream would be a ThinkPad X200T with Windows 7 and Office 2010 installed :). Dual-booting Chrome would be nice too. Windows 7 for schoolwork and Chrome for the light web-browsing stuff. I heard the boot-up time is going to be in the single digit seconds.