Bill Gates calls Chrome OS more of the same, "surprised people are acting like there's something new"
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jul 15th 2009 5:46PM
posted Jul 15th 2009 5:46PM
We've already heard from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Chrome OS, and it looks like Bill Gates has now had his say on the upstart operating system as well. Speaking with CNET News, Gates more or less described Chrome OS as just another Linux distribution, saying that "there's many, many forms of Linux operating systems out there and packaged in different ways and booted in different ways," adding that, "in some ways I am surprised people are acting like there's something new. I mean, you've got Android running on Netbooks. It's got a browser in it." Gates further went on to get another dig in at Google by saying that "the more vague they are, the more interesting it is," before getting a little philosophical by asking: "What's a browser? What's not a browser?" His answer? "In large part, it's more an abuse of terminology than a real change."
[Via Digital Daily]
[Via Digital Daily]
PIMP HAND SLAP!
GEEKY PIMP HAND SLAP!
-fixed.
You got to give it to Bill, he got a point.
Looks like he's doing the hoola.
Or the zombie dance from "Thriller".
Yes, but unlike Microsoft it may have some nice native Operating System like features like oh, a SPELLCHECKER.
Its been 30 years and I have to run OSX to have one or shell out for Office -yet still don't have native textbox support? Guess blog posts are still something new to Microsoft. C'mon, hopefully in another 30 years?
if you are lazy enough to:
1) make no attempt to learn to spell
2) avoid the 1000000000000 spellcheck websites on the internet
3) and still complain on a blog that microsoft isn't helping you act smarter,
then spell check is the LEAST of your problems
I have a problem with spellcheckers, it makes people rather oblivious to the fact that they can’t spell. Its rather sad how bad our spelling is, but people don’t seem to really care because, don’t worry. Spellchecker will get it. Down with Spellchecker, Up with Spelling!
Yeah, lets use the same argument to pull the calculator feature from your tax accountant's desktop... dumb ass
So are you actually comparing being able to communicate using your native language to doing complex equations?
oh sorry steveorevo i didnt realize bitching on blogs was your day-job
"Its been 30 years"
Looks like you need an integrated grammar-checker as well.
Windows 7 = more of the same
IE 8 = more of the same
Office 2010 = more of the same...
Do Gates and Ballmer actually hear the words that come out of their mouths???
Naw, just being more efficient than you, and in 5 different languages. Good luck with the one you're trying to master with a paperback dictionary and flash cards! And as far as 'complex equations', its just adding, subtracting and multiplying... duh -you've missed the point. Its called a 'computer' and we use it to get work done.
Well really all OS's and Web Browsers are all more of the same, yet people seem to still have preferences. No real innovation has come in a while. Same could be said for Cellphones, its all more of the same, yet it makes people happy. We have low expectations.
so your bitching on blogs in 5 different languages more efficiently than i am... congrats...
at least i can spell
How is it more efficient if you have to come back and explain what you mean? Also why are you resorting to a personal attack when we are just talking about how spellchecking, and I’m going to say texting also has killed peoples ability to spell.
Look my name's Steveorevo, you have to believe everything I say because I'm on the Internet! Everything is true here!!
Regardez mon name' ; s Steveorevo, vous devez croire que tout que je dis parce qu'I' ; m sur l'Internet ! Tout est vrai ici ! !
Schauen Sie mein name' s Steveorevo, müssen Sie glauben, dass alles, das, ich weil I' sage; m auf dem Internet! Alles ist hier! zutreffend!
Osservi il mio name' s Steveorevo, dovete credere che tutto dica perché I' m. sul Internet! Tutto è allineare qui!!
Olhe meu name' s Steveorevo, você tem que acreditar que tudo que eu digo porque I' m no Internet! Tudo é verdadeiro aqui!!
@Captain Planet
Not really, because this is just a lame excuse not to dump Windows NT.
Just like spellcheck and texting have been the death of peoples ability to spell. Puffing your chest and resorting to personal attacks (in text no less) seems to be the death of discussions.
@Quix
I don't get your points. I hope you aren't (but assume you are) saying that the aforementioned pieces of software are nothing revolutionary. I am also going to assume you're comparing them to either the previous incarnations. Accordingly, these are the next generation of their respective product lines unequivocally adding features and functionality.
What Gates is saying in the context of the article is that Google is presenting their Chrome OS as being something new that's never been done before when really it's just another flavor of Linux, albeit a more interesting one. Regarding the vagueness, he's right on the mark.
I have no idea why people are jumping on Steveorevo. Native spell check is the best built-in feature of Firefox. If you spend as much time on a browser as I do, whether it be browsing Facebook or Engadget, filling in official web forms, editing Wikipedia or paying bills, you're probably typing thousands of words a day and typos WILL happen. Spell check just makes sure you notice them before you press send.
Speaking the English language with perfect spelling and grammar is not unlike performing complex equations without a calculator.
I'm not actually against spellchecker, mostly against the fact that spelling seems to be deteriorating and I think one reason is people figure spellcheck will take care of it. It wasn't after him specifically just the side he was defending, I found it to be an entertaining discussion but it ended like so many do, with personal attacks. Sure you could respond to those with more personal attacks but then it will end up being about Hitler and we don't want that.
Yawn... anyways... back to the subject matter. 30 years and its still an 'un-operating system'. Hopefully Google can bring what other more expensive OSs can without the headache. Like spellcheck or a native dvd decoder, these should be considered main features to assist in 'operating the system'.
im sorry, but an "un-operating system"?! I can't stand how much people take technology for granted. "Operating the system" does not include doing your job for you, so get your ass off the couch, learn to spell, download FREE dvd decoders that litter the internet, and do something productive instead of typing "Yawn" into a text box. If you REALLY need a DVD decoder to do your work then you should know where to get one anyway.
@pete
"so your bitching" .... "at least i can spell"
And where did you learn to spell so well?
Yep, and firefox was just another browser. Nothing new and open source at that.
@ Pete
Your post there made little sense. I've been working in a local PC shop for a few years now and I can tell you that nearly ever customer that buys a computer with a DVD drive expects that it can play DVDs, out of the box, no problem. It doesn't make sense to attribute the desire to make DVD playback seamless to laziness.
he's obviously doing the hula-dance
Chrome has a really bad spell-checker, and I find it pretty annoying anyways when browsers draw red squiggly lines under words that aren't incorrectly spelled but are either brands or just more technical words not in their dictionary.
Chrome even flags "aren't" and "doesn't" as a misspelled word. And for some bizarre reason it tries to correct Tiananmen to an incorrect spelling of Tienanmen even though even Google itself will suggest with "did you mean Tiananmen" if you search for Tienanmen.
And it really is sad how bad people's spelling abilities have gotten because of spell check...it's like half the people are illiterate idiots.
Not too far off. In Windows '95-2000 wasn't explorer and internet explorer pretty much merged, making it so that if you put a web address in an explorer window it would go to the webpage? It really does seem like it's been done before but then Google has been pretty vague about it so we'll see how it works out.
(Note: I'm certainly not anti-google, just observing that Chrome OS didn't strike me as anything totally revolutionary.)
nope, that feature in explorer didn't come until XP
By my understanding of Chrome OS, it is actually pretty novel. Sure, the ideas have been around for some time, but no-one has yet brought them together into a single product (and i've no idea if google will succeed at it, of course).
The thing which unites all the popular operating systems to date is that most of the action happens locally - files and programs are generally installed on your machine and the internet only gets involved occasionally. Chrome OS, as I understand it, is trying to get away from this paradigm and into one where nothing lives on your computer - all your programs and data exist on the internet and, as such, are accessable from any computer. The computer is relegated to being an almost-dumb terminal connected to a large group of machines in cyberspace ('almost-dumb' because, presumably, the web apps require significant amounts of client-side grunt). There are quite a few advantages to this - software piracy is almost impossible, and you don't need to worry about carrying up-to-date version of your files back and fourth from work to home. There are massive challenges too - security and availability are going to worry people, and the idea of trusting a third party with my data really scares me.
@ j_g_puff
I suppose that would kinda take some of the meaning out of the term "Personal Computer", eh?
Or maybe that's Google's goal anyway.
j_g_puff
That sounds like some big brother junk if I ever heard it. I mean all my applications and all my files stored in the cloud. Sounds extremely intrusive and the end of personal privacy. Yet that's exactly what I would expect form the Google Apple conglomerate. Though we really can't prove anything. It's not like Apple and Google share board members, and any reports of their government contracts keep getting deleted minutes after they have appeared on Engadget.
Btw j_g_puff I wasn't calling you out, just that the thought of not being in control of "My personal data" sounds like a bad idea. The end of application piracy that in it's self would be a good thing, but the rest not kosher. I mean what's the next step after that?
"Note: I'm certainly not anti-google"
No, but your history shows you very pro-Microsoft so it doesn't surprise me that you'd support anything the founder would say.
pah! don't bash his history- iRok makes a good point. I'm very nervous about my data - the most important bits of it are distributed over three file servers, each using RAID0, in different geographical locations (belonging to me), as well as being on google's storage system (which is probably distributed throughout the solar system). I don't even have anything that important - just some sentimental stuff and a few bits and pieces that would be really inconvenient to loose. The thought of giving up control of this does terrify me though. I know it's a bit illogical, as the storage systems employed by Google et al are infinitely more robust than anything in my house.
Regardless, if all your apps are on the internet, a network failure would make you totally useless. My ISP trips up about once every 2 months, for anywhere between 10 mins and a few hours. Not good.
Bear in mind that my understanding of Chrome OS might not be correct -- my last post was extrapolated from things i've gleaned from various stories.
Umm... did you actually look at my history? I own a G1 and have pretty constantly been very supportive of Google(to my knowledge this was my first somewhat negative comment I've posted about google).
hey bill is right,that's not something new and the problem is not google itself.why this hyping is not happen to slax?why not mandriva?but a google release of linux that not even exist when we are talking about it. the problem is that media's want to shit microsoft so they hype competitors works.
Keepin' that hand strong!!!
And the bitches working long.
Going to have to say I agree with this reasoning on this issue.
I agree. I mean I don't think the logic is really all the strong in having an OS that is a web browser. What happens when you don't have a net connection? Are all your apps going to be Java and HTML?
I think this whole cloud computer concept is overrated. There will always be room for local software and powerful operating systems. I was really kind of hoping that Chrome OS would be a serious competitor to Windows for those of us on regular PC hardware that don't want to buy macs. Regular linux distros are fun and all, but they need some serious commercial software. Google is a company with some real clout that might just be able to make it happen. But it sound more like Chrome OS is just a watered down Linux distro meant to turn computers into net appliances. Net appliances failed years ago and so have a lot of netbooks with a stripped down linux OS. I don't see how google is going to do much with it. I think Bill is right.
More of the same, meaning another worthless operating system made by a heartless corporate giant bent on controlling the worlds information?
Gee, wonder where Google got that inspiration from, M$.
Go crawl back under whichever rock you came out from, Bill.
Wow, you are trying REALLY hard. Hate to inform you but most big companies are "heartless corporate giant[s]"(Apple included). It's called running a business.
I didn't realize it was still 1997 and it was still cool to spell Microsoft/MS with a "$" in place of the "s".
you mean GO BACK TO YOUR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MANSION, BILL, SIR
M$? Really? Can we also say Goog£e?
hey now, bill is a cool guy. he's given/giving virtually all his money to charity.
Multiple $clerosis?
Don't forget Appl€
melloncollie:
Damn those wheelchair-bound money grubbers!
@Alan Strangis, you can, but it's really hard to type Goog£e when you're not using a Mac.
The guy's got a point. everything Google does is so hyped, but they really haven't done much which is new and different.
totally agree, btw is there anything except serach they make money on? I don't think there is. Even Youtube is in dark red numbers.
A bit defensive, aren't we, BILL???!!!
its called a competitive nature, and we can all benefit from the outcome of a corporate battle like this one.
EXACTLY Bill!
now, rant more about all those RAMs out there we don't need.
:)
He was misquoted.
With all the billions on his account, he can pretty much say anything about anyone and nobody could argue with that... :)
I can imagine him fighting with his accountant:
Bill: Why am I missing $57 billion from my account.
Accountant: $640,000 ought to be enough for anybody.
richb93, did any ex-CEO or CEO of any other IT company give as much to charity as Bill Gates?
No, so shut the fuck up.
@JimboJones: Let me rephrase that for you:
richb93, did any human give as much to charity as Bill Gates?
No, so shut the fuck up.
(Note: as I think you can see I'm not actually arguing with you, just think your point could have been even stronger.)
"richb93, did any human give as much to charity as Bill Gates?"
Obama... and we know how that's turning out.
Besides, giving people that won't work free stuff helps the world how?
Wow, a pointless and inaccurate political dig AND questioning the point of charity, all in the same post. I'm impressed.
So then.. what is the point of charity? So you can feel good about perpetuating the life of a person that unable or unwilling to help themselves? So you can feel good about yourself? So that you can please an invisible wizard in the clouds?
Charity breeds charity cases.
I presume you missed the joke then. It was a twist on Bill saying 640K ought to be enough for anybody. Don't get on your high horse about a joke by taking it the wrong way. Dumbass.
Do we even know that much about Chrome OS yet? Seems like MS is giving Google a whole lot of free press though =) And Android for that matter...as Android keeps getting brought up in all this as well.
surprisingly, when you lead or found one of the largest and most prominent technology firms in the world, people ask your opinion on things that are in the same field. If it was a press release, that would be much more confusing (and hilarious)
if you read the story, gates says, "the more vague they are, the more interesting it is."
Here's a major difference... ChromeOS is being made by one of the most well known technology companies in the world. Sure, maybe there have been a million minimalist Linux distro's programmed by a bunch of Swedes in a tea house (no offense to our Swedish friends!), but very few have been executed by a company like Google that turns most of their well-thought-out products into gold.
You could probably say "So What?" to all of Google's products and almost every major one takes off enough for Microsoft to try to come out with a competing one sometime later.
Google search? So what, we have Dogpile and Excite! already.
Gmail? So what, email has existed for years.
Chrome? So what, we've had browsers for ever.
GoogleVoice? I already have a cell phone...
Yet all of these become popular new apps and services, despite improvements seeming only minimal at first glance.
Sorry when did google voice become popular?
oh and when did chrome make a difference in the browser world?
and how many people do you see using one of the few crap phones available that actually run android?
stop sucking googles dick and realize that their clean interfaces and word-of-mouth cool-factor is not as catchy as it once was.
This is funny. Of your list, only Google's search and Gmail are any kind of popular. Chrome has a minuscule market share comparable to that of Linux's in the OS world. Admittedly, Chrome is great and fast and simple and I'm even typing this in Chrome, but let's be realistic here. Google Voice hasn't even been opened to the public yet. Google does make well-thought-out products, and I am fervently hoping that Android phones mature rapidly so I can buy a smartphone that's not a goddamn iPhone, but your hyperbolic view of "Google turns everything into gold" is laughable. Orkut, anyone?
Holy Christ... you take this whole "operating system" thing pretty personally, huh?
Google did not make Google Voice; it bought out Grand Central, sat on it for a while, then rebranded it. Of all the projects by Google, only gmail and their search engine itself could be called real successes, and both of those were pioneering in their techniques (gmail in particular is more or less the spark that began "Web 2.0"). Most of Google's products - while quite good at what they do, such as Google Finance & Google Checkout - are not runaway successes, and an operating system is not a piece of software that people will wantonly switch on a whim. Safari is by one of the most well known companies in the world that certainly has a record of turning ideas into gold, but that alone is hardly enough to force it into success. Chrome, likewise, has not taken the world by storm while Firefox, which is not by one of the most well known companies in the world, has managed to wrest plenty of marketshare from IE. Just because someone big is backing it doesn't mean it will succeed (Zune, anyone?)
the only thing i use google for is disabling safesearch and going to google video. free porn!
@John: Either you referenced a company I've never heard of or you called Apple's web browser a company.
"Safari is by one of the most well known companies in the world"
wheres the problem?
I like Google but saying Chrome and GV are successes already is a stretch. That being said Android has proven somewhat successful so far and does have some promising outlets in the future. I think I read somewhere that there have been a couple million Android devices sold worldwide...which is impressive.
Anyways...I like your gusto :P
I'm sure it will be interesting, but not revolutionary. Although you use a lot of google products in every day life, I don't know how much more the world of OSes will be improved with this.
But, it's competition and coming from google, it will be clever. Good for the customers, no?
Oh he is just mad they are saying the same crap about Win7.
Don't you mean Vista SE?
Linux is a joke as far as everyday computing is concerned. Linux, in my experience, is only a good idea/solution for businesses with specific needs in which case Linux can be programmed to do almost anything you want it to do. This Chrome OS is nothing more than another addition to long list of custom Linux operating systems out there now. Linux will ALWAYS be 10 steps behind Windows in just about every respect.
When it comes to servers, Linux is simply undisputably better at some things. I'm writing this from a VM running under Server 2008's Hyper-V, but you'd be hard pressed to persuade most people that IIS is better than Apache, or that Apache runs better on Windows Server than on a *nix box. Microsoft is making an effort through Server Core installations and PowerShell to offer a more linux-y interface, but the world runs on Linux servers.
@captain planet
Linux is a joke as far as everyday computing is concerned. Linux, in my experience, is only a good idea/solution for businesses with specific needs in which case Linux can be programmed to do almost anything you want it to do.
This is possibly the most absurdly stupid statement I have ever heard anyone make in reference to Linux.
"It's only a good idea/solution for businesses with specific needs"
I guess it will not be much good to all those businesses out there that only have "general" needs then.
"in which case Linux can be programmed to do almost anything you want it to do"
So apparently the only thing it can't be programmed to do is everyday computing.
I do agree with Captain Planet on one thing though. Linux will always be at least 10 steps behind Windows when it comes to security vulnerabilities. I don't think Linux could ever hope to match the number of holes in the Windows OS, it's just not a realistic goal.
I've been using Linux for years now... on a daily basis. I'm just not seeing your point here. I can read email, browse the web, open/close "office" documents sent to me via email... the only thing I haven't been able to do without booting up the old XP box is play some of the big title games and those are so watered down that it's not even worth the waste of money.
Funny, I switched my everyday computing to Linux several years ago.
The only thing I miss from Windows is bragging about my multi-antivirus setup.
Wrong in so many ways, ignoring the fact that Unix/Linux kernels are what makes your idiotic post possible.
There is 1 primary reason that linux will not take off in the serious consumer market, its greatest most user friendly version Ubuntu is really just a slightly better version of windows down to the 'Start' menu and general feel.
Its hard to convince your average person to switch to something else if there is no life changing wow factor. This is where chromeOS and Intel's Moblin will succeed, a paradigm change, it’s the only reason Apple has been successful with os x. Its different. I love ubuntu and i keep a ready to go livecd of it and now android on flash drives for troubleshooting purposes, but it needs to make itself different out of the box and make people excited to try it.
He has a point. There are already some distros out there designed in exactly the same way and Google already have android.
Postaged man....total postage! Bill totally sent them First Class man. Total Postage!
01010100011010000110010100100000011000100110100101101110011000010111001001111001
00100000011001110110000101110101011011100111010001101100011001010111010000100000
01101000011000010111001100100000011000100110010101100101011011100010000001110100
011010000111001001101111011101110110111000100001
What else can he say. He knows what Chrome OS might become. He didn't get this far, not understanding competition.
bill gates still exists?
It's funny he should say that. We used to say the same about Windows. Microsoft introduces "Windows" technology like it's something new. When in fact, it's been around on the Mac for years.
You really don't understand what happened with that do you?
The ghosts of xerox live to this day....
I do understand. It's just funny he said that.
"CEO Steve Ballmer and Gates also stressed the fact that Google now has two operating systems--Chrome OS and Android. Ballmer noted that Microsoft learned with the separate Windows 95 for consumers and Windows NT for businesses that having two operating systems isn't necessarily a positive thing."
It's also funny Ballmer and Gates made this comment, considering that Microsoft has many versions of the Windows XP and Vista operating systems, as well as Windows Mobile. Where Apple uses the same OSX on the computer and iPhone devices. They're basically proving that Apple has a better strategy about operating system than Microsoft.
Oh Bill.
Firefox, Chrome, IE8, Safari, and Opera are web browsers.
IE6 and IE7 aren't.
Agreed. IE is nothing but a spyware trap and a cookie hoarder.