Comments on: Google Chrome OS: My Concerns

By: Robomaster

Robomaster — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:07:50 +0000

If you’re worried about games, check out InstantAction.com

They’re doing a great job that you can have Halo Multiplayer-Like games in a browser without almost any trouble – it’s just that nobody’s utilizing the technology to do this except for a few people.

By: Thomas Wade

Thomas Wade — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:46:54 +0000

I think it is an excellent time for Google to get into the operating system market. However I tryed a version of Chrome OS in a virtual machine and I didn’t like it.

The newer concept of ‘cloud’ computing is interesting, but do we know for sure that it is the way of the future?

I believe we need a corporate linux operating system to hit the market. But chrome OS really strips down the capabilities of linux.

Linux is much more secure for two main reasons. The most important one is any thing that has to do with changing the system around requires an admin password. Contrary to how movies and tv shows about password breaking…IT really is a much more difficult task than you ;may realize. Effective Linux virus’s would have to break a password to be effective.
The other thing is software comes from repositories. So it is tested before it hits your machine.

Why can’t google come up with its own version of linux that supports applications? I think this would be a much better direction for google.

By: Jojo

Jojo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:19:53 +0000

A couple of links worth reviewing!

Privacy & Google Chrome Browser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncerhCLi2o0

Google Gmail/Chrome privacy issues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg7pVFVqMMg

By: Google Chrome OS: First looks, first impressions

Google Chrome OS: First looks, first impressions — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:13:46 +0000

[...] has posted his concerns about Chrome OS in his insightful “Google Chrome OS: My concerns“. I am in full accord with Martins’ take on cloud computing. But instead of discussing [...]

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:12:47 +0000

Bill I meant Mac OS, not Safari. Not sure how I ended up writing Safari, will correct it asap. Thanks for spotting it.

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:11:16 +0000

Dotan, think of camcorder videos or video and audio rips. Even if they offer a media library it is most likely not a global one. What if I prefer English TV shows but cannot watch them because I’m living in a country where they are not offered? I’m really skeptical about exclusive cloud storage space. Don’t think it will work at all unless the user only wants to do something that can already be done today and does not need a lot of (if any) storage space locally at all. How many users do you think that will be?

By: Dotan Cohen

Dotan Cohen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:53:05 +0000

> Chrome OS will be a very specialized operating system in my opinion and
> not the Microsoft Windows killer that many users hope it to become.

Actually, it looks like MS Windows will become the specialized OS, only for use by those who need local storage and offline access. And what about media, you ask? I would imageine Google having their own media library, all users could access what they want for a price.

By: bill

bill — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Your statement, “Chrome OS is not aiming for the same market that Microsoft is targeting with Windows or Apple is targeting with Safari” may confuse some readers, as Safari is only a web browser – not an operating system such as Windows or Chrome OS. I use Windows, with Safari and Chrome web browsers, which sounds even more confusing, but I understand it (mostly…I think…….).

By: ku

ku — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:01:52 +0000

I totally understand your concerns about Chrome OS, and several of my friends take your point of view as well.

What I think Chrome OS is trying to do is, as you’ve noted, targeting the netbook market. And in doing so, I think they’re hoping to revolutionize that niche market: create a snappy, conveniently portable computer that does one thing but does it damn well.

The biggest concern that I’ve encountered is that Chrome OS’s limited set of functions are already carried out partly by smartphones and partly by laptops. A smartphone is fully capable, if not superior, in serving to quickly check one’s e-mail or look something up on Wikipedia and the like. A laptop is far superior when working on large or professional documents and such (unless they can somehow make great strides on cloud-based word processing).

That said, I think the most crucial factor in Chrome OS’s success (other than that it does well what it’s supposed to do) is the pricing point of these machines. But given the general range that was mentioned (comparable to the current prices of netbooks on the market), I’m a bit worried that it’s value would be marginal considering the growing prevalence of smartphones and falling laptop prices. In my personal opinion, I think the sweet spot would be $150, give or take $50.

But I’m no expert, so we’ll see what happens. I’m very excited, though, to say the least.

By: Nephersir7

Nephersir7 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:47:18 +0000

Chrome OS is made for netbooks (although it could be of some use on my 8 year old pc)

Offline usage concerns:-”net”-book = connected to the internet? And when its not, gears, html 5 offline storage, etc will come to the rescue..

Multimedia concerns: -who watches hd video on a netbook?

Gaming concerns: -who uses a netbook to play games?

Also, because its open source, there will probably be community builds addressing the lack of local storage, etc.