Google to launch own O.S.

[Smeggle]

A direct challenge to Microsoft? hmm I'll watch this one avidly....


http://technology.timesonli ne.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6665703.ece

[daithi81]

Bye, Linux...

[TastesLikeChicken]

Bye, Linux...I don't think so, the initial release of this is netbook only. Linux will always have a huge place in the server market.
I haven't read anywhere what the underlying OS for this will be. I assume it will be a linux of some sort which means a port of Chrome to linux should be pretty soon then.

It's MS that are gonna lose out badly here, have a look at the videos for Google Wave then you will see just what a browser is gonna be capable of in the near future. MS have nothing even approaching this sort of pzazz!

[daithi81]

I don't think so, the initial release of this is netbook only. Linux will always have a huge place in the server market.
I haven't read anywhere what the underlying OS for this will be. I assume it will be a linux of some sort which means a port of Chrome to linux should be pretty soon then.

It's MS that are gonna lose out badly here, have a look at the videos for Google Wave then you will see just what a browser is gonna be capable of in the near future. MS have nothing even approaching this sort of pzazz!

Then why are they saying that they are building this OS from scratch? Lies?

[TastesLikeChicken]

Then why are they saying that they are building this OS from scratch? Lies?They did? Do you have a link?

edit: They didn't...
The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. (http://googleblog.blogspot. com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html)

[daithi81]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8139711.stm

[TastesLikeChicken]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8139711.stmThat link doesn't say they are designing the OS from scratch. Anyhoo check my edit above, the underlying OS will be linux..

[Proinsias]

Bye, Linux...

It technically will be Linux.

I'm really looking forward to this, should be excellent.

[daithi81]

Me too.

[i_didnt_do_nawtin]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[TastesLikeChicken]

Interesting take on it from the register today
http://www.theregister.co.u k/2009/07/08/google_microsoft_pho ny_chrome_war/

[daithi81]

Linux is a fine OS until you get to the applications - ah, yes... GIMP - and integration with the real-world, doing stuff your Mum needs to do. To make Linux n00b-friendly, Google would need to impose Google UI guidelines and do the hard work itself on a range of applications, because the cloud equivalents aren't there and Linux consistently fails to pass the consumer test.

hehehe

[Proinsias]

Google has a fine cloud equivalent to Office, if they tweaked Thunderbird, it could easily be a mile better than Outlook, especially if properly integrated with Gmail, their calendar works very well online (although the offline better needs improvement) and firefox isn't exactly a big departure. In fact, I think my mum uses Firefox.

So really, Google do have to bring about some improvements to some linux apps but not many.

[Proinsias]

Interesting take on it from the register today
http://www.theregister.co.u k/2009/07/08/google_microsoft_pho ny_chrome_war/

Incidentally, this:
It's a pity, really. There's certainly a gap in the market for new classes of devices, somewhere between a phone and a full-blown laptop. Pocket communicators with built-in connectivity, and a better keyboard than a phone, could be far preferable to any "converged" device on the market today, even the sainted iPhone.

Think of the old Psion 3 or 5 pocket computer on steroids, offering a lovely QWERTY keyboard for messaging, a screen that's good enough for browsing and a photo album, and small enough to fit in a jacket pocket. Today's netBooks really don't have instant-on yet, nor an optimal UI - and in a pell-mell competitive market where margins are squeezed, they're getting bigger, heavier and more expensive.

But these are both niches, at the end of the day, and don't need Linux underneath.

----
I've got a Nokia N800 which, when combined with a fold up bluetooth keyboard does the job fantastically. I carry the N800 everywhere with me, using it as my MP3 player and, if I need to do some work, I'll bring my keyboard too, which has full sized keys, but folds up to the size of an iPhone.

A solution with both together (like the N810) will either suffer from a crap keyboard or be too big. The only solution I can think of is using laser keyboards.

[i_didnt_do_nawtin]

'The cloud' is great until someone suffers a power cut.

As for netbooks, ya, i saw an interesting presentation yesterday.

[Proinsias]

'The cloud' is great until someone suffers a power cut.

As for netbooks, ya, i saw an interesting presentation yesterday.

Or doesn't have an internet connection.

I rely on slightly iffy mobile phone connections, so I couldn't possibly use cloud computing right now.

[TastesLikeChicken]

Google has a fine cloud equivalent to Office,They don't have anything even approaching excel though. This is the real battleground in getting Office off the PC.