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BLOG: TechBlog: Such a shiny, shiny (but limited) Chrome OS! [Updated] [Houston Chronicle]
(Houston Chronicle (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 20--On Thursday, as Google gave the tech press its first real look at its upcoming Chrome OS, I was as much interested in the reaction to the operating system as I was in the product itself. Google, like Apple, is a darling of the geekerati, and almost anything the company does gets more than its share of ink and pixels.
For example, take a look at the coverage the Chrome OS announcement had on Techmeme [http://www.techmeme.com/091119/p38#a091119p38] about seven hours after the dog-and-pony was over.
I thought about joining the fray, but I decided I want to sit back and think about what I saw in the webcast [http://investor.shareholder.com/googpr/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=75092]. I'm in the process of downloading copies of Chrome OS [http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/] compiled to be run in VMware and VirtualBox machines, and later I'll share my impressions of actually using it.
For the basics on Google's operating system, I highly recommend Gizmodo's excellent Everything You Need To Know About Chrome OS [http://gizmodo.com/5408504/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chrome-os].
But for now, here are some morning-after thoughts on Chrome OS. :
--Less is more. As it did with its Chrome browser, Google is taking the stance that simple is better and fewer features mean a more usable, zippier product. However, that's harder to do than it sounds. One user's bloat is another's must-have feature, and by making the Chrome OS what's known in the trade as a "thin client", it runs the risk of leaving out something a lot of people think they might need. At the outset, this is not going to be a mass-market OS.
--Online only. The Chrome OS is a browser with enough code to handle interaction with the hardware running it. There will be no on-client applications for it; all the programs you'll use will be run from the Web. That creates even more limitations. You can only do what the current state of Web programming allows, and you can only do it when you're online. Google argues that 90 percent of what most users do is online now, anyway. But that other 10 percent can be just as important as the 90.
--Security rules. There was a big emphasis on security during the announcement Thursday. A lot of people -- me included -- are not comfortable with their data living in The Cloud. Google promises the data generated by Chrome OS' components will be encrypted. In addition, there are some interesting, self-healing features in the OS that will detect possible malware, reboot the system and replace the infected components with fresh, unblemished ones. Also, as is the case with Chrome browser tabs, each application page in the OS will run in its own code "sandbox", preventing it from interacting with other apps and with the system itself. While this is secure, it also creates yet another limitation. Client-based software that can interact with hardware can do some really interesting things, though the trade-off is a potentially less secure system.
--Fresh hardware. The first iteration of Chrome OS is designed to run on netbooks, low-powered, small devices beloved by geeks and bargain-hunters. However, you won't be able to download and install the operating system on your current systems. Google is going to limit the hardware it can run on, and is working with unnamed manufacturers to create Chrome OS devices that won't be out until this time next year. In other words, unless you're willing and have the skills to perform some serious hackery, you're going to have to buy new hardware to run Chrome OS.
--New playa. It's clear that, initially, the Chrome OS is not going to be a big market-share thief, but that doesn't mean the developers of full-featured operating systems don't have anything to worry about. Like Microsoft, Google is relentless and will keep pushing the capabilities of Chrome OS over time. Sure, it may not even have drivers, and it may not offer support for hard drives (only Solid State Drives), but that's now. Over time, expect more capabilities to come to Chrome OS, either through Google's effort or through those working with its open-source code.
At the very least, Google's Chrome OS puts Apple and Microsoft on notice. More competition is a good thing -- it's one of the reasons why Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) and Windows 7 are so good right now. Google's presence will only intensify its competitors' need to improve.
In addition, go back to my first bullet point: Less is more. Both Windows 7 and Snow Leopard are slimmed down in specific ways from their respective previous versions. Google's presence in the market will force them to continue that trend. In the end, all computer users benefit, whether they're using Chrome OS or not.
Welcome to the party, Google. Here's hoping Chrome OS kicks butt, despite its large limitations.
Update: I successfully got Chrome OS running in VMware Fusion on my iMac. It took a little tweaking -- I had to use Bridged instead of Shared networking, for example -- but I got it running.
Here it is with chron.com loaded:
Yep, looks like a Web browser.
It crashed once, going to a black screen and coming back to the login prompt. It's very slow in the virtual machine -- there are no VMware Tools drivers for it -- but it does boot quickly, in about 10 seconds. I'm still playing around with it. Look for more in a day or two.
Technorati Tags: google [http://technorati.com/tags/google],chrome os [http://technorati.com/tags/chrome+os],operating systems [http://technorati.com/tags/operating+systems]
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Copyright (c) 2009, Houston Chronicle
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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