Should Microsoft Fear Google Chrome OS?

Everton | Oct 16, 2009 | Comments

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Over on Connected Internet, Mike has posted some screenshots of what is rumoured to be a leaked early build of Chrome OS.  From the Google Chrome OS screenshots you will see that it is very, very basic although Google have always said that Chrome OS would be a very lightweight OS for netbooks, so this is to be expected.

chrome01

Should Microsoft be worried by Chrome OS?  I think they are, because in order to keep the costs of budget devices down hardware manufacturers want low OS costs and we can see this in the number of devices already shipping with Linux, and this is why Microsoft created Windows 7 Starter edition to try and keep these manufacturers within the Windows fold and to counter this threat.

Google Chrome OS could be ideal for 2nd/3rd devices in the home, where customers do not want to pay for an additional copy of Windows 7.  In fact, it could even be suitable for a main device –  I now work full-time online for a living and a rebuilt my main PC a few days ago using the free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate I was given last week.  I was in a rush so post installation I only installed the essentials – Google Chrome, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, iTunes for my iPhone 3GS, Filezilla and Notepad++.  So far I’ve survived, and apart from iTunes I’m sure I would be able to install or support similar applications and file formats with Google Chrome OS.  Long-term I know I won’t be able to and I’ll have to complete my PC build, but if it meant saving a few hundred dollars maybe I would rough it out.

Do you think Google Chrome OS will be a threat to Windows 7?

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About the Author: Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University, and currently runs the Portal and online operations for one of the largest ISPs in the UK.He also writes for Windows 8 News, Connected Internet and One Tip A Day.

  • Pike
    Not at all... Unless it can run Every program that windows and Mac can run...
  • Name
    No. Linux on netbooks didn't go down well at all, so I have trouble seeing why something that is capable of even less is supposed to do much better.
  • google os is no threat at all....not even close. maybe for the netbook market, but that is all. it will not have the features to compete with microsoft. no way , no how.
  • i've tested this crap! its horrible! you know...its a simple (re)distribution of Suse (a simple linux based os) made with suse studio (which can be used for any child to design its own system -suse based-) and it includes YaST (a simplified setup asistant for noobs)... my internal questions after that were... "this is really?" "its a joke?" "i can not believe!"

    this os is only a stupid system which can be done by a child! its the worst system ive ever seen before!
    im seriously talking, WITH THIS, GOOGLE NEVER ABSOLUTELY NEVER WOULD TERRIFY MICROSOFT! its only marketing and rumors to make the things appear big and amazing...

    i repeat...this system for now...its only crap...

    see you soon!

    Zo0m_Z3r0 - www.evolusoft.net
  • Gabriel Ortiz
    Google should stay an online e-mail account and search engine. They've done great with google desktop and such, but they've gotta remember that to incorporate EVERYTHING in a *GOOGLE* web browser, everyone's gotta switch to google based software.
    QUOTE from http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/09/youre-...
    ""If you use Google Chrome and Google's web applications, then you're already running Google Chrome OS. Just maximize Google Chrome's window and imagine that each tab is an instance of an application. Gmail is your mail client, Google Calendar is the calendaring application, Google Docs is the office suite and the file explorer. Google Chrome's new tab page is the desktop, the dashboard that lists frequently used applications and lets you add widgets.""

    No way. You cant have everyone fully switch to google based software just because you launch a new browser. I'm telling you, they're gonna have a LOT of compatibility issues.

    P.S. No offense but google chrome isn't all that popular, at least not for non-technical users. Some web developers use it, but if Google OS wants to really compete, they need to make Chrome popular first.

    (see http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/06/29/googl... for reasons why chrome isn't that popular.)



  • After looking at this initially and thinking "gee, it's too bad someone leaked these photos before they had integrated the new windowing system", I now think this is nothing more than some linux distro with a Google Chrome GRUB graphic. I bet if you dug around in /etc you wouldn't find a single file with the word Google in it.

    Nothing to get excited about here, move along.

    I still am looking forward to see what Google does come up with. Using the linux kernel and userland isn't necessarily a Bad Thing. For one, it gives them a lot of hardware support out of the box. They already made the wisest move they could have by announcing it would use a proprietary windowing system instead of X. This means it will be missing a lot of what desktop linux users take for granted, but it also means that it won't be carrying around 25 years of X baggage. Also, the last thing the world needs is yet another Gnome or KDE desktop.

    If Google is smart, and we know they are, they have some smart people working on interface design. If they can deliver a desktop that makes people want to use it, and strip away the things that make linux unattractive (why is linux slower and more of a resource hog today on hardware we couldn't have dreamed of 10 years ago, when 10 years ago it was renowned for being snappy on slow hardware?), they may make their own niche. I'm not talking threat for desktop dominance, but a market share that would justify the effort. Now, throw some hardware vendor relationships into the mix and....
  • Ieso Nagata
  • Google need to stop trying to take over the world! Ok maybe it's an exaggeration but they do, email, web content, google docs, google voice,google maps, android, picassa, sketch up, you tube, google books, Google Chrome, Chrome OS and theres more that i just can't think of right now.

    The only way chrome OS is going to offer competition is in the netbook market to keep netbook costs down. Unless Google come up with a fully rich interface and new functionality and something new, they won't be able to compete with Microsoft or Apple for that
  • Chrome OS is just a linux distro (just like Fedora, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Suse, etc.). Other than the browser and the background, it's just linux.
  • janis1989
    It's fake chrome OS LOL. It's remake of suse :D :D :D :D :D Can't belive u made a topic of this :D
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