According to a report in the
Financial Times, Google is making a full-throated move away from Windows PCs for the company's workforce. Apparently the big G is now giving staffers the option of a Mac or Linux rig as an alternative to a Windows computer. The
FT article suggests that the move is spurred on by security concerns -- some specifically related to a flurry of attacks against the company which emanated from China, a country Google has recently been
at odds with over
censorship. Although security could be at issue, some of the employees interviewed for the article seem to suggest the changes -- which mean staffers require CIO approval for a Windows PC -- might actually be geared towards bringing
Chrome OS into the Googleplex full-throttle. "A lot of it is an effort to run things on Google product," said one unnamed source, "They want to run things on Chrome." Another employee is quoted as saying that, "Before the security, there was a directive by the company to try to run things on Google products. It was a long time coming." Regardless of the reasoning behind the move, if Google is moving the company to Macs and Linux instead of the world's most popular computing platform, it's certainly notable. We've reached out to both Microsoft and Google for comment, and will update you if and when we have word.
Update: We finally got some word (albeit not much) from a Google spokesperson: "We're always working to improve the efficiency of our business, but we don't comment on specific operational matters."
posted May 31st 2010 10:45PM
Brace yourselves, gentleman... the battle has definitely begun.
@buoy Begun? Where the hell have you been?
@buoy
And so the Windows era has started its decline....
@buoy
I have a feeling you're comment is going to be "highest ranked" very soon...
@buoy
If your OS is categorically forbidden by a massive corporation, you blew it.
well, now that they have Google OS it's probably a good reason to use your own company's software...I mean imagine Microsoft employees using all Macs.
@buoy Let's Get Ready to RUMBLLLLEEE!!!!! *espn Jock Jams starts playing in the background, laser lights flash, crowd roars*
I chose my analogy using the word 'battle' for a reason here! A war is made up of many battles. I'm referring to a battle here which is representative of the desktop marketshare of Microsoft being challenged, if only internally at Google - and if Google can run itself sans Windows, other companies may follow suit.
Thus, there are many battles which constitute a "war". The "war" between Google and Microsoft has been going on for a while. I'm sure that is what you were referring to but these analogy's are sometimes not that clear.
@Programmer
His comment won't be highest ranked until Lord Vader replies....
*looks over shoulder*...
@MoreGoogleAds
hackers will be shifting sides too, yay
whooops, I was just clarifying my post for Teslanaut! That was quick, like half a dozen comments in 2 minutes were shoved inbetween lol.
@TomSawyer
Yes Tom, this is why it is common business practice to be running Mac OS
Wake up. Mac OS only has 5-8% of the business market.
Categorically forbidden that, mufu.
@buoy
Really? This is somehow representative of the global marketshare of Microsoft? Or is this just a misguided attempt to prevent another loss of sensitive data?
My vote is for the latter. I support the idea that if the hackers want secrets bad enough, they'll get them. Doesn't matter if it's Mac or Windows.
@buoy I would think they would dump Mac OSX, since Apple and Google are rivals now..
@buoy
It's funny because Microsoft finally put out a genuinely good version of windows and just now there is a pretty big push towards macs and linux, not to mention mobile devices.
@buoy :: I didn't even know they used Windows. I thought they did everything in Linux and occasionally used MACs for multimedia.
@MoreGoogleAds
Do they have those funny hats that look like Baseball caps, but are made out of denim, and get dirty real fast? Do they also have tight jeans, and have huge black circles around their eyes? Oh, you also mentioned the glasses...now THAT is classic.
The perfect picture of an Apple fanboy...
PS: Oh wait, doesn't Joshua look like that too?
@MoreGoogleAds Wow... I am really surprised. I thought that only "grandma" types or yuppie types used macs and the technically sound preferred Windows or Linux. Hmm... perhaps Google engineers are not as technically savvy as average commenters on Engadget.
/sarcasm (I know Mac has UNIX roots)
@DrDr What push?
As of April 2010, per statcounter, Microsoft OS marketshare is at 92.2%. If that isn't total and utter market domination, I don't know what is.
The google OS is no competition, lets be realistic, but OSX absolutely could be if Steve Jobs would see reason and license out OSX to a few manufacturers that are better suited to making affordable quality machines like Asus. This would not only make OSX more appealing for developers by having a broader audience even if not at Windows level, but would give OSX fans more than just the limited arguably overpriced hardware selection that Apple happens to offer at the time.
Competition improves the breed. =)
@n8equalsd
WTF is wrong with you? He hasn't said anything that is offensive or trollish. Everything he said was logical and based on facts.
I think you need some anger management seminars. I got a free ticket.
@TomSawyer thats pretty much exactly what i would expect from a moronic troll like you Tom, congrats on being a failure at life.
@MoreGoogleAds
Those smart engineers at Google must know something I don't!! If the best in the business use Macs why don't we all?
@buoy Do they really think they will be safe from China with Macs? China will stop at nothing... NOTHING!
@TomSawyer
Seriously? Are you the front running cheerleader of that FUD parade? If this means MS blew it, then imagine what a monumental failure those other OS' have been.
Incidentally, hasn't Mac OS X been hacked in record times these last couple of years in that hacking competition? Was Google's decision strictly based on technical reasons or on principles?
@buoy
If Adobe started supporting Linux, there'll be no reason to switch to stick with Mac even.
I keep having to update my mac .. so I don't know what the big deal is with having to update windows. I have snow leopard and have to update it regularly .. those "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads were misleading because I got the impression I wouldn't have to do regular updates.
@iamnotjamesh that be awesome :)
@MoreGoogleAds
They're not secure through obscurity, they're secure through a completely different OS design that doesn't allow destructive events to occur unless you say "yes here is my password please do this right now because I'm a moron". That said, Google employees are probably "computer savvy" (and not in the "13 year old that can clean install Windows XP" sense I know you want to strike back with, you prick) at least, and as such are probably not ever going to do such a thing. That said, it's probably a perfectly logical move. Coming from an ex Windows user who left the OS during the blaster/sasser worm era.
@JS yes but they are few, unintrusive updates. not "please shut the hell down and wait 10 hrs" updates
@JS not that i'd place too much faith running Photoshop CS4 on Ubuntu via WINE, but I think Adobe should definitely consider supporting other platforms. I'd love to run Ubuntu as workstations myself and run creative suite natively - I'd say porting the CS to other OSs (or fingers X'd, adobe makes CS6 in HTML5! :) ) would really cause a potential detatchment away from Mac and Windows and ultimately free the end-user (or give them the choice) from their underlying OS..
@Kaz Pinkerton The same destructive events don't occur in Windows Vista/7 either unless you click Yes on UAC prompts. Running a decent AV, avoiding porn sites and dodgy software torrents also helps. Never had a virus personally, even in the Windows 98/XP days as a result.
@iamnotjamesh they cap mac usage at 50% at microsoft and its already at 50%
@buoy Probably this move is for their Chrome OS netbooks coming on 2011. Well, its their choice. http://j.mp/chrome-netbook
@Kaz Pinkerton
Lol, I have never replied to anyone who hasn't responded to one of my post's, but I had to give you a thumbs up. Reading your post made me feel as if I was listening to you live. I realy liked the "you prick" part and if I could some how befriend you on a tech post I would. You rock!
@Drybones5
"Decline of Windows"... what every linux user has been claiming since Linux's total use (across all distros) reached 0.01 percent of the market.
This is less significant for "beating Windows" than it might be to say how stable Chrome OS is internally.
@Kaz Pinkerton But you forget that there are all sorts of other vulnerabilities, not just trojans, viruses, and worms. There are all sorts of security vulnerabilities that need to be patched in OS X, and there are always new ones being found. Don't buy into that whole "Macs are more secure than Windows PC" garbage. Less than 20 security patches have been released for Windows 7 since its release, yet Snow Leopard has had more than 100 patches (all wrapped into large, lumped together updates) since its release, and Leopard has more than 200. I wouldn't necessarily call that security.
@Drybones5
That can be traced to the departure of Sir Bill Gates.
@buoy To expect anything else of a company that develops its own OS would have been foolish. Of course they want to push Chrome OS to their own employees. And when Chrome OS is out of it's development phase they will need CIO approval for the other two as well. Nothing weird or rebellious going on here.
@Ducman69 Apple tried this idea in the 90's if you recall. The company nearly collapsed, and the CEO got the boot. This is when SJ was asked to come back, and one of the first things he did was end the OS licensing. I think Apple is doing just fine since it is raking in record profits, and is now the second largest company by market cap in the US.
@Kaz Pinkerton No, you're simply confusing vulnerabilities and exploits.
OSX has demonstrated a LOT of holes and very slow response time to address them. But there isn't a lot of money in exploiting these holes, and thus OSX is in fact more secure.
http://blogs.csoonline.com/files/vista-90day-vuln-compare.PNG
Firefox witnessed this first hand when they went from relative obscurity to 20% marketshare and started running in serious spyware and security exploits, and imagine the constant updates needed if they had 60%.
From a vulnerability standpoint, Windows is extremely secure and patches are dealt with extremely quickly as they have had decades to get used to being the object of attack.
@buoy I can't believe engadget is listening to the FT about some ridiculous security claim when the developer workstations are in no way the same thing as their servers. I doubt that they'll be throwing out their existing very high end Windows-based workstations just yet and clearance is probably pretty easy to get if you already have a Windows machine-they just want more people on the other platforms.
@TomSawyer - This has very little to do with the security of Microsoft. In every hacker convention out there that has security tests, the Apple PC's always go down first.
This is nothing more than Goolge setting up to use their own OS. This move is not pro Linux or Apple, nor is it a slap on MS, it's a self promotion by Google.
@TomSawyer So I guess Apple blew it a long time ago and continues to blow it since there are thousands of corporations that don't allow macs.
@Ducman69
I agree. But it'll never happen for 2-3 reasons:
- As another commenter mentioned, this was tried in the 90s while Steve was away, and it failed miserably. When Steve came back, he ended it.
- Steve is just too controlling to ever let that happen. He insists on controlling as much of the "Mac experience" as possible. It's the same reason iPhone/iPad apps will never be available through any channel other than through the App Store. There's no reason Apple couldn't allow the iPhone/iPad to get apps from elsewhere on the Internet, like every other platform, with the caveat that those apps haven't gone through Apple's quality control and security review process, but it's not in Steve's personality.
- The third possible reason is that Apple may not have enough resources to support third party vendors. In order for OS X to keep its reputation for stability and "just working" (ignoring the fact that those aren't as true as the fanboys would have you believe), Apple would have to devote a lot more resources to development and testing to ensure that OS X users have a positive experience on platforms that Apple does not directly control. I don't know whether Apple currently has the requisite size and resources for this, but if not I suspect that's another major reason they haven't yet gone this route.
@MoreGoogleAds
what agenda? Reporting relevant tech news which is also being reported by major mainstream news outlets? Idiot.
@aschettler Mac OS X might not be "more secure" than Windows 7 but it's certainly "safer from actual attacks that the internet using public are exposed to". Why people are making that sound unimportant is beyond me. Since Mac OS X isn't exactly threatening to take over from WIndows in installed base any time soon, I don't see the "relative safety concerns" approaching Windows' either.
@buoy
It sounds like google is just doing this to add to their corporate hipster look, with those childish offices of theirs, and because they can afford to pretend implementing mac and Linux workstations is realistic.
Lol. I hate google and apple more and more as time goes on.
@Ducman69
Asus Macs?
Yes, and then maybe Hyundai could start making Mercedes Benzes as well...
@kapanak
So what is the perfect example of a PC fanboy? Short-sleeve button down shirt with clip on tie, pocket protector, wire rimmed glasses & Waldo haircut?
@Joao Cagao Asus are an ODM and if I remember correctly they used to make macbooks and macbook pros for apple (they may still do for all I know). Plus considering pretty much every laptop in the world is made by a handful of odms it's possible that dell/HP/Toshiba etc. laptops are made in the same factory as apple laptops.