computerwoche.de

Archiv

Google's Chrome OS stands to make waves

19.11.2009
Google is ambitious, there's no question about that. It has both the privilege and necessity of being so and, given its position as a major player in multiple facets of the technology arena, it's got resources and opportunities that most other companies can't hope to match. So if you had to pick one company to enter the operating system market, a product category that's been largely bifurcated for the last two decades, Google's a pretty good bet.

While Google's Chrome OS-- on Thursday--, it's still worth talking about now. Why? Because despite Google's attempt to downplay the importance of the "operating system" as a concept, the OS defines the computing experience, and the introduction of a major force like Google in that space is unquestionably going to shake things up. Even a year out, I have to admit a certain amount of excitement about Chrome OS if for no other reason than the change it brings to a long stagnant market--it's a viable third-party candidate.

Chrome OS is a product of ambition, but it's also tinged with a certain amount of idealism: that this is how computers today work. The way Google explains it, these days most people fire up their computers to get on the Web, so why not eliminate all the cruft between them and that experience?

In theory, it's a great idea: out with the old and in with the new. As Google's introductory presentation took great pains to repeat, in Chrome OS the browser the operating system. Your "applications" are the Web apps that you're already using: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, YouTube--even , as Google executive Sundar Pichai showed off. All your data is stored in the cloud, meaning it's accessible wherever you go. (Apps can store data on your computer for use when you're offline, but they must specifically be designed to take advantage of the feature.)

You might very well call Chrome OS the killer app for the netbook--or, if you're somewhat more sanguine about the netbook's place in the market, a vindication of its concept. Chrome OS may also be the fulfillment of the much-bandied concept of appliance computing, in which your computer experience is more like that of turning on your TV--another comparison Google took pains to hammer home during its presentation.

As a tech-savvy computer user who frequently deals with less-confident users--hi, mom and dad!--I can see Chrome OS's appeal. For one thing, just eliminating the step of launching a Web browser will probably save time and headaches as in avoiding having to distinguish between Web sites and files and programs on the computer itself. For another, users are already accustomed to managing their data via applications like iPhoto and iTunes instead of via the filesystem, so off-shoring that one step further isn't going to add a lot of confusion. And heck, while Chrome OS doesn't entirely get rid of the need for data backups, considering that most people don't back up their data it doesn't really make the situation any worse.