Washington - Search giant Google's recent announcement that it was would enter the operating system arena with its newly unveiled Chrome operating system (OS) caused quite a buzz in the tech world. That's not surprising: when Google announces a new product, people generally listen, in large part because of Google's programming muscle and its reputation for boldly venturing into untested waters.
But the world of operating systems is untested for Google. In fact, the overriding question for many is whether Google will succeed. And, if it does, what would that success mean for computer users like you?
Read on for some answers.
Q: Why is Google releasing an operating system?
A: The primary reason, according to Google, is users' frustration with the speed of today's operating systems and the computers they run on. The number one gripe of many computer users, says Google, is that their netbooks, notebooks, and desktops take too long to boot up, too long to open applications, and are fraught with too many problems.
Few can disagree with that, of course. So with the Chrome OS Google is attempting to do with operating systems what it has done with search, its Chrome browser, and many other Google-branded tools: get out of the user's way. Today's computer users, says the Google blog entry that announced the new OS, "want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them" and "they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware."
The Chrome OS, then, will be about speed, simplicity, and ease of use. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Microsoft has been beating that drum for years with Windows, and Apple has as well with the Mac OS. The definitions of "fast," "simple," and "easy," though, tend to change over time - and depending upon who is using the terms.
So given that the Chrome OS is so far just an announcement, only time will tell whether Google can make good on its goals. Two things are certain, given Google's history: the company has done well with speedy, spartan interfaces; but the company also has a history of making a big splash with product announcements, only to de-emphasise those products six months later.
Q: How will Chrome be different from Windows?
A: The Chrome OS will be an open source project, first of all, meaning that the company will allow outside developers to work on it. Through the power of the development community, Google hopes that Chrome will quickly become available for a variety of PCs and devices.
As an open source project, the Chrome OS will be free, as well. This fact will already make it worth investigating for many. Linux has proven that a capable, stable operating system that's available for free can represent meaningful competition for Microsoft and other operating system vendors.
Google's statements about Chrome also lead one to suspect that the OS will be built from the ground up to be at home on mobile and Internet-connected devices. Windows and the Mac OS grew up as a desktop-only operating systems, and all things online were built into these behemoths only after they were mature. That fact has sometimes left both companies playing catch-up with other vendors whose products were designed from the get-go to address issues that online computing presents, including security and conformance with Web standards.
Q: Will Chrome compete directly with Windows?
A: Not initially. The Chrome OS will be unveiled first as an operating system for the rapidly growing netbook market. Netbooks are svelte mini-notebooks designed primarily to get people online - both wirelessly and through wired connections - and supply them with the tools to do most of what people want to do online these days: everything from banking to television watching.
Google, of course, sees the computing world of the future built around online applications - specifically its own Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, and others. The current world of computing, however, revolves as much around desktop-bound applications as it does around the Web. How the Chrome OS will handle existing offline applications remains to be seen.
Q: Can Chrome really compete with Windows?
A: That's the million dollar question. Developing and marketing an major-league operating system is no small venture, and it involves far more than writing good code and signing agreements with computer equipment manufacturers.
Microsoft runs a huge customer support operation for its Windows operating systems, and it has learned that no matter how "friendly" the OS is, users will demand support, especially at the corporate level. For Google to ramp up all of the operations required to =compete seriously in the OS market will require a serious investment in both time and resources.
Q: Will the Chrome OS be compatible with my current applications?
A: If your current applications are Web-based, then it most certainly will. If they are not, the question cannot be currently answered. One thing is clear: there are a growing number of Web-based applications that are now designed to run offline as well. So Google's Chrome OS will probably tap into that trend, at least initially.
Many people today are buying netbooks with the intention of using them primarily as an Internet device, which is the purpose for which they were designed. For that reason, they can freely choose a non-Windows operating system such as Linux Ubuntu. Chrome is clearly going after that market first, where users are already relying primarily upon Web-based applications.
--- Have a computer question? Send it to the Computer Helper at jd@mailcavern.com
