Archive for November, 2009
Google Chrome OS – Everything You Need To Know
Google gave the first public look at its Chrome OS four months after declaring its intention of developing the PC’s main software, a move that pits it directly against Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc.
Google gave the first public look at its Chrome OS four months after declaring its intention of developing the PC’s main software. Here’s everything you need to know about Chrome OS.
I’m a Mac……… I’m a PC.……… I’m a Cloud.
Google, a company born and bred on the Web, has a mighty challenge ahead of it getting into the PC business. Aware of this, Google does not have grand ambitions to take over PCs with Chrome. It’s a browser and cloud-based OS for netbooks designed to be fast, simple and secure. Chrome will not support hard drives, only solid-state storage, and it will only run Web-based applications. There will be no desktop-type software programs allowed.
I’m a Mac……… I’m a PC.……… I’m a Cloud.
Google, a company born and bred on the Web, has a mighty challenge ahead of it getting into the PC business. Aware of this, Google does not have grand ambitions to take over PCs with Chrome. It’s a browser and cloud-based OS for netbooks designed to be fast, simple and secure. Chrome will not support hard drives, only solid-state storage, and it will only run Web-based applications. There will be no desktop-type software programs allowed.
What about Security?
If any application is in danger of being corrupted by malware, Chrome has been designed to reboot itself, after which a clean version of the OS is downloaded. Nearly all user data will be stored in the Google’s cloud computing service and will be encrypted and synchronized constantly between the netbook and the cloud.
Can I Install Applications?
Sure you can, but only one that are available in Android App Store.
Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin, spoke to some reporters yesterday, after the Chrome OS presentation. Citing the common WebKit and Linux code found in both operating systems, he said “Android and Chrome are likely to converge over time.”
“We’re reaching a perfect storm of converging trends where computers are behaving more like mobile devices, and phones are behaving more like small computers,” Google said in a statement responding to questions on if and when the two operating systems would converge.
What about speed?
It’ll boot up within 7 seconds.
Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management for Google’s Chrome OS, said that computers running Chrome OS will be able to start in less than seven seconds.
“From the time you press boot you want it to be like a TV: You turn it on and you should be on the Web using your applications,” Pichai said.
Here is a comparison between the boot up process of a normal OS (Windows/Mac) and Google Chrome OS.
When will it be available?
According to Wired, the first netbooks to run on the Google Chrome OS will be released by late 2010. The operating system will not be made available for download; it will only come pre-installed on certain hardware from those who have partnered with Google for this OS project.
If you decide that you wish to get Google Chrome OS, then you will have to purchase a device with it already on. Google is now working with a number of these new partners to discuss hardware features and specifications. What we do know is, these netbooks will be larger than usual and will come with large trackpads and full-size keyboards.
Chrome OS will not work with a standard hard drive, instead only SSD is supported. Google will also use internet-based storage; this will help to save space on your hard drives for more important things, such as videos, photos and music.
Is this the dumb terminal we’ve been waiting for?
Yes and I think that if done correctly, a pure dumb terminal approch would be amazing. Imagine a small netbook with following features:
1. Unlimited storage
2. No hardware restrictions (it would kill the need for new hardware overnight).
3. Proper control over software licencing via Android Appstore.
4. No viruses.
5. No Risk of Data loss (All data stored in cloud).
Reality Check
Google’s vision for Chrome OS isn’t going to replace what is on your desk now…unless you are working and reading this on Netbook that is.
If you are – my condolences – that’s no way to live. Netbooks are good for fun stuff, but they aren’t great for getting work done. Cramped keyboards, slow processors, small screens are no way to live. If you spend time on your computer, as lots of us do, every optimization saves us lots of time and money
It reminds me of the Chris Rock sketch where he mentions that, “you can drive a car with your feet, it doesn’t mean it is a good $#@#%ing idea”.
Google is realistic about this though. Google doesn’t want the desktop market, at least initially. They want to own the Netbook market. Even with (or should I say because of) the lousy economy, this market has been blowing up for the past few years and continues to do so.
One major reason is because most Americans already have a PC, but more and more of us are opting for that second machine. The machine to take on trips, to use before going to bed or outside on the deck (and yes the bathroom, so I’ve heard).
Windows wasn’t meant for Netbooks. XP was designed in 2002, 5 years before ASUS delivered the first Eee. Vista was a dog on Netbooks and 7 isn’t much better (and is being crippled by Microsoft). There really just isn’t a match there.
Google hopes to exploit this by not just designing an OS for today’s netbooks. They are designing an OS for tomorrow’s netbooks. By only utilizing SSDs and running all of their applications in the cloud, Google’s OS will have a slew of advantages over Microsoft and even some solid Linux variants that don’t have the mainstream branding that Google has.
But, like I said earlier, if you spend your day working on a computer, you are still going to want native apps for a lot of what you do. Even things like email and calendar often work better with a native application even though Google’s work almost as good.
As a second computer however, Google’s product seems perfect. Especially at the low netbook or lower prices.
What about Security?
If any application is in danger of being corrupted by malware, Chrome has been designed to reboot itself, after which a clean version of the OS is downloaded. Nearly all user data will be stored in the Google’s cloud computing service and will be encrypted and synchronized constantly between the netbook and the cloud.
Can I Install Applications?
Sure you can, but only the ones that are available in Android App Store.
Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin, spoke to some reporters yesterday, after the Chrome OS presentation. Citing the common WebKit and Linux code found in both operating systems, he said “Android and Chrome are likely to converge over time.”
“We’re reaching a perfect storm of converging trends where computers are behaving more like mobile devices, and phones are behaving more like small computers,” Google said in a statement responding to questions on if and when the two operating systems would converge.
What about speed?
It’ll boot up within 7 seconds.
Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management for Google’s Chrome OS, said that computers running Chrome OS will be able to start in less than seven seconds.
“From the time you press boot you want it to be like a TV: You turn it on and you should be on the Web using your applications,” Pichai said.
Here is a comparison between the boot up process of a normal OS (Windows/Mac) and Google Chrome OS.
When will it be available?
According to Wired, the first netbooks to run on the Google Chrome OS will be released by late 2010. The operating system will not be made available for download; it will only come pre-installed on certain hardware from those who have partnered with Google for this OS project.
If you decide that you wish to get Google Chrome OS, then you will have to purchase a device with it already on. Google is now working with a number of these new partners to discuss hardware features and specifications. What we do know is, these netbooks will be larger than usual and will come with large trackpads and full-size keyboards.
Chrome OS will not work with a standard hard drive, instead only SSD is supported. Google will also use internet-based storage; this will help to save space on your hard drives for more important things, such as videos, photos and music.
Is this the Dumb Terminal we’ve been waiting for?
Yes and I think that if done correctly, a pure dumb terminal approch would be amazing. Imagine a small netbook with following features:
1. Unlimited storage
2. No hardware restrictions (it would kill the need for new hardware overnight).
3. Proper control over software licencing via Android Appstore.
4. No viruses.
5. No Risk of Data loss (All data stored in cloud).
Reality Check
Google’s vision for Chrome OS isn’t going to replace what is on your desk now…unless you are working and reading this on Netbook that is.
If you are – my condolences – that’s no way to live. Netbooks are good for fun stuff, but they aren’t great for getting work done. Cramped keyboards, slow processors, small screens are no way to live. If you spend time on your computer, as lots of us do, every optimization saves us lots of time and money
It reminds me of the Chris Rock sketch where he mentions that, “you can drive a car with your feet, it doesn’t mean it is a good $#@#%ing idea”.
Google is realistic about this though. Google doesn’t want the desktop market, at least initially. They want to own the Netbook market. Even with (or should I say because of) the lousy economy, this market has been blowing up for the past few years and continues to do so.
One major reason is because most Americans already have a PC, but more and more of us are opting for that second machine. The machine to take on trips, to use before going to bed or outside on the deck (and yes the bathroom, so I’ve heard).
Windows wasn’t meant for Netbooks. XP was designed in 2002, 5 years before ASUS delivered the first Eee. Vista was a dog on Netbooks and 7 isn’t much better (and is being crippled by Microsoft). There really just isn’t a match there.
Google hopes to exploit this by not just designing an OS for today’s netbooks. They are designing an OS for tomorrow’s netbooks. By only utilizing SSDs and running all of their applications in the cloud, Google’s OS will have a slew of advantages over Microsoft and even some solid Linux variants that don’t have the mainstream branding that Google has.
But, like I said earlier, if you spend your day working on a computer, you are still going to want native apps for a lot of what you do. Even things like email and calendar often work better with a native application even though Google’s work almost as good.
As a second computer however, Google’s product seems perfect.
Why Internet May Be Tiered In Few Years And Why Murdoch Is To Blame
Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corporation, is preparing to de-index his news sites from Google in the next few months and is also trying to get other media companies on board.
I didn’t really believe him at first, as I couldn’t figure out how a company would profit by making its content hard to find.
Then Jason Calacanis, who used to work for Murdoch’s Digital Chief Jonathan Miller when the two were at AOL, posted a video last week with a simple suggestion: Not only should Murdoch de-index from Google, but he should get Bing to pay him for the exclusive right to index it.
Tech Pundits may be thinking that if other media companies joined Murdoch, Google could actually find itself in a very difficult position, where Bing had content that Google didn’t. Due to this, mainstream search users would suddenly have a big reason to go to Bing.
But this is not about Bing or Google or “Shift of Balance of Power” in search. This is significantly bigger. If News Corp goes through with the de-indexing and then goes and sells the rights, there will finally be a business model for both small and large content producing entities.
All websites will start participating and content will once again cost money. Following that, the major search engines will become subscription style services with niche search engines being a big new industry and the whole landscape turns into cable television through your computer.
As a knowledge repository, the content of the web is useless once information is not being indexed or put behind pay walls. This wall creates scarcity, which creates demand, which creates value, which creates pay walls.
Here is a conjecture on how it’s going to play out:
- Twitter licenses content to search engines.
- News Corporation and others in media industry license content to search engines.
- Soon, medium sized blogs want money for getting their content indexed.
- Google and other search engines come up with a “ContentSense” program to allow everyone on the Web get paid to provide content.
- Back to SQUARE ONE. Zero Sum Game.
There is nothing smart or ingenious about Murdoch beating the big bad Google or siding with Bing in an attempt to leverage a business.
The implications should be considered which are far greater than a school yard fight.
A kinder, gentler philosophy of success
Here is a talk that Alain de Botton gave at TED, which is food for thought and a manifesto for everyday living.
I just have one problem with the slogan de Botton was saying, “we need to define success according to our own terms and not according to expectations of others”. But what does “our terms” really mean? All in all, we only have two sources of goals: genetic and social. (That is, if you are a secular-minded person like de Botton and myself.)
If we renounce any notions of success that are “imposed” on us by society, that only leaves us with our innate, animal objectives: survive and leave offspring. There may not be anything wrong with that in itself, but it’s hardly the unique individual vision de Botton would like. The idea that any one of us can set her or his own objectives as opposed to taking them from other people is pure self-deception.
The honest view would be that we can choose which socially suggested goals to pursue and what priority to assign to each of them; and even that choice is not free from social pressures.
Still, his talk is optimistic and refreshing. This is what TED should be. Pure ideas. Succinct, powerful, clear.
