Is stripped user agent data pointing to a Google OS?

Here we go again. It seems like just yesterday we heard the first whispers of a Google desktop OS, and products like Chrome stoke suspicions that the Mountain View-based company is setting itself up to invade the PC. Although Google insists that it's focusing on the cloud, since Android was announced, the feasibility of a Google-branded desktop OS has certainly increased. Now, market research firm Net Applications is reporting that it has seen a third of the traffic from Google's employees with intentionally blocked identification strings. This could be a real indicator that the big G is hard at work on a desktop OS -- or just a sign that folks at Google don't care to share their OS of choice. Hopefully, we'll be hearing more sooner rather than later, but feel free to chime in with your Google global domination theories and rabid speculation in the comments.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 10:00AM]

you must use linux........

because their Business Model is far off from M$

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 11:07PM]

Linux has a business model?

[linhares Posted Dec 27th 2008 7:47PM]

"Linux has a business model?"

Of course it does. Phase one is collect underpants.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 7th 2008 9:47PM]

If google makes a OS, it will never come out of beta. *cough gmail cough*

[2late2die Posted Dec 7th 2008 9:49PM]

I love Google, but most of their products seem to be always in beta. What's more, their UIs are usually very minimalistic, which is good in some cases but in case of OS it's not. An OS should be a complete package with good, full-featured, UI, not a beta product which needs to be improved by way of user addons. Google creates great products, yet all the stuff they've done so far, none of it points to the ability to create a good OS - and if they are in fact planning on making one I hope I'm wrong.

[M3Ki Posted Dec 7th 2008 9:59PM]

good thing I bought a massive amount of google stock back when it was cheap. Now when they take over, I may be killed painlessly.

In reality, I'm hoping for a beta of their new OS since my stock is worth more than my car. and it's not a beater, either.

[crow610 Posted Dec 7th 2008 10:33PM]

SNAP!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 7th 2008 11:29PM]

I enjoy Gmail and Google Calendar, even the online editing of documents is nice, but there are already some bagillion linux distros out in the wild that are already filling any voids I could think of. Seriously what is wrong with Ubuntu or Fedora, the wheel can be created an infinite amount of times but it's always going to be round and it's always going to be susceptible to flats.
I'm not a fanboy of M$, linux or apple honestly, I just use what works for what I need to do so please don't flame. Google is good at what they do but I wish they would focus on some main things and make some home runs with them.

[ijoebot Posted Dec 7th 2008 11:39PM]

just checking in to insert a joke about the incipient google AI project taking over the world an enslaving all y'all.

[Tohe Posted Dec 7th 2008 11:40PM]

Why don't I just brand that Goole logo onto my forehead?

[ijoebot Posted Dec 7th 2008 11:46PM]

or you could brand a "google" logo onto your forehead and really be meta.

[Tohe Posted Dec 8th 2008 12:31AM]

Google is starting to feel like a stalker. They need to either go undercover with their new products, or focus in what they already do.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 2:45PM]

All your whereabouts, are belong to us.

Supercomputer database for the world, we has it. Everything you search, where you go, what you buy, who you talk to, are belong to us.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 2:25AM]

cool!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 2:22AM]

During a conversation last month with a Google engineer/product manager, I was told that the company's working on a PC operating system. He might've had faulty information or been making stuff up, but I kind of doubt it.

[RobertBruce1975 Posted Dec 8th 2008 6:51AM]

Great. So when you delete something from the trash it stores it on their servers forever? Good luck with any privacy. Sounds like most of you already are foolish enough to use gmail.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 8:20AM]

I use Gmail, but mainly as a bait, one day they'll use my personal data, I'll sue and get millions!

[x3qt0r Posted Dec 8th 2008 2:58AM]

google + ubuntu = gubuntu ..
hmm

"gu" in some languages means "poop"

change the name.. i bet the combination of ubuntu and google aint gonna be bad.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 7:10AM]

I am wondering if Google is going to use UNIX as a base for their operating system or it will try to create something new(well, at least they advertise them self as an innovative company). How long time could it take for such a big company to create an operating system from scratch? 1-2 years? And we heard some roomers about Google OS a while ago. Anyway PC users might have more choice.

[Popple3 Posted Dec 8th 2008 7:48AM]

I'd love to see a Google OS, even if it was only intended for netbooks. The main things I do on my laptop are Google related - Chrome, Reader, Gmail, Search, YouTube... I'm really looking forward to Google's version of OpenID (however Friend Connect was a bit.. meh). Imagine if your operating system could handle your identity rather than OpenID providers, or Facebook... That's a step I would like to see, although I know others may feel differently.

[7egend Posted Dec 8th 2008 7:58AM]

well unless you have been under a rock you would know that gOS has been using several of Google's little applications for a while, and they even named their latest version of their OS after their gadgets "gOS Gadgets".

Also they have been distributing their OS through Wal-Mart, probably to test out the user reaction and get feedback on how well people actually liked the OS.

Plus the name gOS oozes Google all over it so when they buy out the brand the developers get to stay on board or leave and get loads of money and Google gets a good OS

[l337r3dn3k Posted Dec 8th 2008 10:27AM]

Yes, there are certainly interesting parallels here. But please keep in mind that gOS is not written or supported by Google (or if it is, Google doesn't want to admit it yet).

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 8:54AM]

The world's largest spyware company is going to make a desktop OS to spy on everything you do.....no thanks!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 3:38PM]

I believe that that the Market is ready for the another company to fight Microsoft. I often debated that while Mac OSX is my choice of OS. Apple is to agressive in pushing their own idea of what is "innovation" down our throats. My dream would be an "Open OS" that would be Supported by Heavyweights Adobe, Maya, Sun, Dell, Pro-Logic, HP and etc. If these companies will write code and distribute same distro, let's say of Ubuntu, and tweak it for High End graphic. Microsoft and Apple are going to be out of business.

[ytilanigiroon Posted Dec 8th 2008 1:12PM]

Simple. Haiku OS.

The BeOS shall rise again!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 2:46PM]

Isn't it more likely they are testing a port of chrome on a new OS?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 3:58PM]

I call rule 34 on Google OS.

[badgaz Posted Dec 9th 2008 8:10AM]

I respect Google for embracing open source and generally not charging for their services but both Chrome and Android haven't even felt like betas, more like alphas. They just seem to be half finished and lacking things all their competitors have but oozing with potential. Hopefully if they ever do release an OS they put a little bit more effort into making the released product feel polished and completed, for a change.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 9:55PM]

The funny thing about gmail being a beta.. My school uses the gmail interface and infrastructure for it's email system... Nowhere in the email application does it say beta... It doesn't say google either which is weird. I attend the
University of Texas at San Antonio FWIW.

[Chinpokomon Posted Dec 11th 2008 4:13AM]

IIRC, Google was *going* to make it's own, cloud based OS that would run in nearly all browsers. The problem they ran into, was that they couldn't write a browser for it. :-|