Bill Gates calls Chrome OS more of the same, "surprised people are acting like there's something new"

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]

[Captain Planet @ Jul 15th 2009 5:49PM]

PIMP HAND SLAP!

[CleverEndeavor @ Jul 15th 2009 5:57PM]

GEEKY PIMP HAND SLAP!
-fixed.

[Techie @ Jul 15th 2009 5:58PM]

You got to give it to Bill, he got a point.

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 5:59PM]

Looks like he's doing the hoola.

[RobertT @ Jul 15th 2009 6:01PM]

Or the zombie dance from "Thriller".

[Steveorevo @ Jul 15th 2009 6:02PM]

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?

[pete @ Jul 15th 2009 6:09PM]

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

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 6:10PM]

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!

[Steveorevo @ Jul 15th 2009 6:12PM]

Yeah, lets use the same argument to pull the calculator feature from your tax accountant's desktop... dumb ass

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 6:13PM]

So are you actually comparing being able to communicate using your native language to doing complex equations?

[pete @ Jul 15th 2009 6:14PM]

oh sorry steveorevo i didnt realize bitching on blogs was your day-job

[Anthology @ Jul 15th 2009 6:14PM]

"Its been 30 years"

Looks like you need an integrated grammar-checker as well.

[Quix @ Jul 15th 2009 6:16PM]

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???

[Steveorevo @ Jul 15th 2009 6:18PM]

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.

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 6:20PM]

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.

[pete @ Jul 15th 2009 6:21PM]

so your bitching on blogs in 5 different languages more efficiently than i am... congrats...

at least i can spell

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 6:25PM]

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.

[Captain Planet @ Jul 15th 2009 6:29PM]

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!!

[redleader158 @ Jul 15th 2009 6:40PM]

@Captain Planet

Not really, because this is just a lame excuse not to dump Windows NT.

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 6:47PM]

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.

[derX @ Jul 15th 2009 6:47PM]

@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.

[guy943 @ Jul 15th 2009 6:50PM]

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.

[Josh @ Jul 15th 2009 6:54PM]

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.

[Steveorevo @ Jul 15th 2009 7:34PM]

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'.

[pete @ Jul 15th 2009 8:07PM]

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.

[giuliop @ Jul 15th 2009 8:19PM]

@pete
"so your bitching" .... "at least i can spell"

And where did you learn to spell so well?

[James @ Jul 15th 2009 11:13PM]

Yep, and firefox was just another browser. Nothing new and open source at that.

[Adam @ Jul 16th 2009 2:55AM]

@ 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.

[James Dumoulin @ Jul 16th 2009 8:34AM]

he's obviously doing the hula-dance

[the4thheat @ Jul 17th 2009 12:29AM]

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.

[Mark @ Jul 15th 2009 5:51PM]

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.)

[pete @ Jul 15th 2009 5:53PM]

nope, that feature in explorer didn't come until XP

[j_g_puff @ Jul 15th 2009 6:00PM]

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.

[Surfaced @ Jul 15th 2009 6:09PM]

@ 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.

[iRoc @ Jul 15th 2009 6:49PM]

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?

[Andir3.0 @ Jul 15th 2009 7:03PM]

"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.

[j_g_puff @ Jul 15th 2009 7:27PM]

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.

[Mark @ Jul 15th 2009 8:21PM]

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).

[arash @ Jul 16th 2009 1:28AM]

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.

[Nick Lipple @ Jul 15th 2009 5:51PM]

Keepin' that hand strong!!!

[Gabe @ Jul 15th 2009 6:15PM]

And the bitches working long.

[Kyle @ Jul 15th 2009 5:52PM]

Going to have to say I agree with this reasoning on this issue.

[Michael @ Jul 15th 2009 11:01PM]

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.

[Mikee @ Jul 15th 2009 5:53PM]

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.

[Mark @ Jul 15th 2009 5:55PM]

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.

[Captain Planet @ Jul 15th 2009 6:00PM]

I didn't realize it was still 1997 and it was still cool to spell Microsoft/MS with a "$" in place of the "s".

[I hate mingers @ Jul 15th 2009 6:01PM]

you mean GO BACK TO YOUR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MANSION, BILL, SIR

[Alan Strangis @ Jul 15th 2009 6:02PM]

M$? Really? Can we also say Goog£e?

[maveric101 @ Jul 15th 2009 6:43PM]

hey now, bill is a cool guy. he's given/giving virtually all his money to charity.

[melloncollie @ Jul 15th 2009 7:23PM]

Multiple $clerosis?