No offense guys, but these comments are barely better than the ones over at YouTube. I expected more...
Let me get the ball rolling: I have no doubt google will include .zip archive support in the final release. Chrome[ium] OS is slowly turning from the brunt of steve Ballmer jokes to a very real competitor for the netbook market. Windows 7 Starter is ok, but its not fast at all. Most people have accepted the fact that netbooks will be slower.... But when people see an OS that actually runs great on a netbook, then I think Chrome OS will actually play a huge role in the future of mobile computing.
@brockorr for the record, i started typing my comment before the smart people came... It took me a while to get the wording right, so by the time I submitted it, there were plenty of comments far superior to youtube....
@brockorr No problem here, mate. Often tends to get a bit crowded with biased opinions. Not that is not supposed to be, brand fidelity is something corporates work for after all.
Anyway, I think it has potential, but on niche segments mainly. As another commenter stated, you need native applications for offline work as well. In some situation, a web-based OS would be all I need, but it would be rendered useless when I go out to work in the nearest Café where there is no Wifi.
The coolest aspect of Chrome OS is that it can run NATIVE code using sandbox execution and specially designed APIs to access system resources in a safe way. That means that not all apps *need* to be web apps, but also means that installation (just as in web apps) does not have to be a user defined step; you just navigate and use.
The benefit of this system is simple, you have access to apps like you have access to the web. These can be as complex as 99% of the apps that you would find on your desktop OS without the tedium of management, installation, and OS maintenance. Games will be FULL 3D games, video editors will be true video editors, and media players will be true media players. For most users, this will be an 'it just works' system, rivaling all other OSs in terms of sheer simplicity.
Another benefit is the Chrome Market which will launch with the OS, which gives users access to a bevy of applications (web and/or native), further making applications more visible and more usable. This is like smartphone app markets, which have shown to be extremely effective.
Chrome OS is a DAMNED good idea, and it seems as if it will be extremely well executed. I suspect that the Chrome browser will include the same functionality and provide a good transition point for users of window-based OSs (Win7,OSX,Ubuntu).
As I spend 95% of my time in browsers, if I had access to a good video player (say, vlc port for ChromeOS), a good audio player, games, a good text editor and terminal, a torrent app, etc, etc, I wouldn't really *need* a window based OS. I could do it all out of the ultra-quick chrome browser -- and would gladly do it.
This is the first desktop OS concept to come around that actually changes things extremely drastically since the xerox-inspired Macintosh OS first hit the scene. The benefits of simplicity, portability and the tight-integration with the internet, ensure that this OS will be something worth consideration. While I don't believe that it will displace 'traditional' desktop OSs, and certainly not the server, I wouldn't be surprised to find many users running chrome OS.
Now, if only google would challenge apples macbook line, with a thin, light, attractive chrome OS machine, with insane battery life... A manufacturing collaboration (ala the Nexus One) is in order.
@MagnetMan Dude, it's a BROWSER OS! You are talking about a real Desktop/Gaming OS. Chrome OS will not do the things you are talking about. It doesn't even support Zip or Winrar.
Sorry, but Chrome OS is not designed for you. It's a OS for small netbooks.
Clearly you've never heard of NaCl for chrome, and by extension, chrome OS. It is a native client that allows for the execution of NATIVE CODE in the browser in a safe and portable way with minimal performance penalty (avg 5% impact). This means that apps can be written in c++, x86 assembly, etc, and run in the browser as effectively as Javascript webapps.
Recently Quake 2 was ported as well as a modern 3D lego game, and it was run in the browser as efficiently as a 'native' application. As a test, the team ported a bunch of linux libraries and applications (incl. gzip) to test it out.
The best part? NaCl is open source and not restricted to Chrome. In fact it has been implemented in firefox.
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No offense guys, but these comments are barely better than the ones over at YouTube. I expected more...
Let me get the ball rolling: I have no doubt google will include .zip archive support in the final release. Chrome[ium] OS is slowly turning from the brunt of steve Ballmer jokes to a very real competitor for the netbook market. Windows 7 Starter is ok, but its not fast at all. Most people have accepted the fact that netbooks will be slower.... But when people see an OS that actually runs great on a netbook, then I think Chrome OS will actually play a huge role in the future of mobile computing.
That was a comment.
@brockorr for the record, i started typing my comment before the smart people came... It took me a while to get the wording right, so by the time I submitted it, there were plenty of comments far superior to youtube....
My comment is withdrawn.
@brockorr No problem here, mate. Often tends to get a bit crowded with biased opinions. Not that is not supposed to be, brand fidelity is something corporates work for after all.
Anyway, I think it has potential, but on niche segments mainly. As another commenter stated, you need native applications for offline work as well. In some situation, a web-based OS would be all I need, but it would be rendered useless when I go out to work in the nearest Café where there is no Wifi.
@brockorr
The coolest aspect of Chrome OS is that it can run NATIVE code using sandbox execution and specially designed APIs to access system resources in a safe way. That means that not all apps *need* to be web apps, but also means that installation (just as in web apps) does not have to be a user defined step; you just navigate and use.
The benefit of this system is simple, you have access to apps like you have access to the web. These can be as complex as 99% of the apps that you would find on your desktop OS without the tedium of management, installation, and OS maintenance. Games will be FULL 3D games, video editors will be true video editors, and media players will be true media players. For most users, this will be an 'it just works' system, rivaling all other OSs in terms of sheer simplicity.
Another benefit is the Chrome Market which will launch with the OS, which gives users access to a bevy of applications (web and/or native), further making applications more visible and more usable. This is like smartphone app markets, which have shown to be extremely effective.
Chrome OS is a DAMNED good idea, and it seems as if it will be extremely well executed. I suspect that the Chrome browser will include the same functionality and provide a good transition point for users of window-based OSs (Win7,OSX,Ubuntu).
As I spend 95% of my time in browsers, if I had access to a good video player (say, vlc port for ChromeOS), a good audio player, games, a good text editor and terminal, a torrent app, etc, etc, I wouldn't really *need* a window based OS. I could do it all out of the ultra-quick chrome browser -- and would gladly do it.
This is the first desktop OS concept to come around that actually changes things extremely drastically since the xerox-inspired Macintosh OS first hit the scene. The benefits of simplicity, portability and the tight-integration with the internet, ensure that this OS will be something worth consideration. While I don't believe that it will displace 'traditional' desktop OSs, and certainly not the server, I wouldn't be surprised to find many users running chrome OS.
Now, if only google would challenge apples macbook line, with a thin, light, attractive chrome OS machine, with insane battery life... A manufacturing collaboration (ala the Nexus One) is in order.
@MagnetMan Dude, it's a BROWSER OS! You are talking about a real Desktop/Gaming OS. Chrome OS will not do the things you are talking about. It doesn't even support Zip or Winrar.
Sorry, but Chrome OS is not designed for you. It's a OS for small netbooks.
@Spindel Chrome OS is just the beginning. It may be a Browser OS, but the browsers are getting smarter and smarter..
@Spindel
Wrong.
Clearly you've never heard of NaCl for chrome, and by extension, chrome OS. It is a native client that allows for the execution of NATIVE CODE in the browser in a safe and portable way with minimal performance penalty (avg 5% impact). This means that apps can be written in c++, x86 assembly, etc, and run in the browser as effectively as Javascript webapps.
Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgng4C18nNk&feature=player_embedded
Recently Quake 2 was ported as well as a modern 3D lego game, and it was run in the browser as efficiently as a 'native' application. As a test, the team ported a bunch of linux libraries and applications (incl. gzip) to test it out.
The best part? NaCl is open source and not restricted to Chrome. In fact it has been implemented in firefox.