As many of you probably know, Google officially announced the arrival of its Chrome operating system this morning. Now, there are plenty of people who can’t wait to start using it, and just as many who pooh-pooh the launch of an OS that basically just operates in the cloud.
The thing about Chrome OS is that essentially, you essentially don’t have desktop apps anymore. The Chrome OS will operate essentially like a browser; specifically, Google’s Chrome browser. To boil it down:
In Chrome OS every application is a web application. There are no native applications. That gives us simplicity. It’s just a browser with a few modifications. And all data is Chrome OS is in the cloud. This is key, we want all of personal computing to work this way. If you lose your machine, you just get a new one, and it works.
Sounds pretty groundbreaking, if you ask me! Although… as of this point in time, I don’t feel like this model is going to be applicable to full-performance laptops and desktops, or enterprise-level setups, which are rather complex and require compatibility with existing hardware and software. What does sound like a huge opportunity, however, is in the netbook market, which I’ve been reading a lot about lately since I’ve been searching for one myself.
The Netbook Factor
Why might Chrome OS be a game changer for netbooks? First of all, because netbooks are by nature lower-performance machines, a super-light operating system like Chrome OS won’t suffer in the way that Windows Vista or Windows 7 might. When you’re only working with an Intel Atom N270 or N280, having an operating system that runs perfectly on low performance specs is a godsend.
But wait, there’s more! Here’s the part that I find very interesting–TechCrunch claims that Chrome OS will drive netbook prices below the $199 mark. Nuts!! Netbook prices these days are already super-affordable, but have you ever wondered why netbook prices aren’t even lower? It’s because of the Microsoft tax! The what??? The Microsoft tax, alternatively known as the Windows tax, is the “small cost manufacturers pay for OEM licenses,” and the argument is that it may very will disappear basically disappear now that Chrome OS is available.
For manufacturers of netbooks, the fastest growing segment of the laptop market, this is a a double bonus. In one operating system, they get two boosts:
- An OS that doesn’t move at the pace of a snail on slower netbook hardware, and
- Emancipation from the Microsoft tax
PCMag says that nearly 38 million netbooks will be sold by the end of 2009. For 2010, an estimated 35 million netbooks will be sold. Now, Chrome OS won’t actually be shipped for maybe another year, so by that time, we might be talking about a market of 40 million. This is a not-insignificant amount of sales, so it should be interesting how everything shakes out. Has Google planted a ticking time bomb at Microsoft headquarters? We’ll see!
For those interested, here’s a super-simple video, one that even grandma can understand (My apologies if you are a tech-savvy grandma):
For those who want a preview of the actual Chrome OS user interface, go here:
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Just wanted to point out — there have been Microsoft-free netbooks under $200, since a year or two now. Unfortunately, most people who are perfectly happy with netbook specs also happen to be people who stare at Ubuntu like a three-legged green rooster that appeared on their doorstep. Perhaps Chrome OS will not inspire as much xenophobia. As for netbook evolution… maybe we’ll start seeing budget-level, built-in mobile broadband hardware — better yet, Google should offer cheap mobile broadband service to go along with it. Maybe then the public will have a chance to be freed from the Microsoft tax (and voluntary Apple robbery alternative). Hopeful?
Yes, Sam I think you hit the nail right on the head. There are other open source operating systems out there, but like you said, I think the Google name will be a source of comfort and familiarity, unlike crazy names like Ubuntu. Speaking of mobile service, did you hear about how Android and Chrome OS are not designed to work with each other?