Chrome OS: ...but I want to run Firefox!
<p>Google has announced its entry into the operating system market with the Chrome OS. It promises to be a Web-based operating system that has a Linux kernel, but everything else is stripped down except for the Chrome Web browser that will be the window f
Google has announced its entry into the operating system market with the Chrome OS. It promises to be a Web-based operating system that has a Linux kernel, but everything else is stripped down except for the Chrome Web browser that will be the window for productivity. Google's idea is that people basically boot to the Chrome browser and then run all applications via the Web.
Given the popularity of the Web and the development of highly sophisticated accounting, office, and even drawing applications built on JavaScript, it's great to see this effort by Google and, hopefully, it will lead somewhere. However, while this effort tackles a niche of computing (albeit a large niche), it shies away from the years of other aspects of computing that have developed for good reason: Games, scientific software, virtualization, 3D-design, graphics, and numerous others. All of these solutions require highly optimized code and access to computing resources that are just not available to the browser.
CNET's Stephen Shankland's recent article on the upcoming OS provides a good assessment of the reasons for using the Chrome OS, and drawbacks to it that cannot be addressed by Google's approach to making the computing experience solely via the Web.
In addition to the questions and discussion that Steven brings forth in his article, one additional question we might add is the very long-standing argument over what browser is best? For years, people have argued over this: Netscape versus Internet Explorer, Safari versus FireFox, Opera versus the world, and so on. What happens if you are running an operating system built around a browser? Microsoft tried something similar to this by implementing Internet Explorer into Windows 98, and antitrust lawsuits had them remove this feature in future versions of Windows. Heck, even now in Europe Microsoft is being forced to remove IE8 altogether from retail versions of Windows 7. Maybe we'll soon see Firefox OS, Opera OS, and Safari OS in addition to Chrome OS.
It seems that Google's OS may fuel the antitrust fires with this effort, though perhaps if they keep the operating system free then they can avoid legal hardships. Perhaps keeping Google's OS in a virtualized environment will be the best solution, at least for now. We're looking forward to this effort of Google's, but it appears a full implementation that can challenge the standing of Mac OS X, Windows, or Linux will be a long time coming.
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