Google Chrome OS - Anybody interested?

[evil wasabi]

not interested. I don't trust google anymore.

 

[Ruell]

So are they trying to make it a cell phone without the phone or something. I'd like to see how it works if you have to be connected to the Internet in order to use it. I won't make any judgements until it gets released though. Seems like the same concept as the OnLive thing thinking about it. I actually haven't heard anything about that since they made the huge hype over the media last year.

Google just finished their presentation on their forthcoming flavor or linux and it was pretty damned interesting. For those that didn't follow it, here are a few take aways:

- All applications and data will be stored in "the cloud", i.e. at Google.
- The file system is encrypted, auto-updating, and read only, all major facets of the OS will be online through the chrome browser.
- Can't install binaries on the system.
- It will support HTML 5 and thus hardware acceleration, so 3D graphics and games will still be possible despite being an entirely online OS.
- Existing peripherals (usb drives, phones, etc.) can still be used.
- The OS is smart enough to know where to open a file, i.e. an xls will open up in Excel on Microsoft Office Online, PDF's open in Google Docs, etc.
- It will not support hard drives of any kind, all will be SSD's.
- Designed to run on Netbooks and push a new type of computing.
- You can already compile this yourself if you want, but you'll need to mod a netbook to get it to run perfectly as they're restricting hardware to a specific set of components to make sure everything runs perfectly ala Mac's and OSX hardware optimization.
- It's strictly going to be a companion device, not a primary computer.

Seems kind of interesting, I'm personally curious if this will eventually be able to tap into cloud compute services well, so that you could actually do serious, hd video editing on a netbook and only pay for the instances or compute cycles you use.

The next question is whether plugins are going to work properly ala Silverlight. Flash works though.

I'm intrigued, how about you guys?

 

[brentsg]

Ha.. that was my initial response.

What do you specifically work with?

Well my company does all sorts of stuff but lately my security work has been primarily helping state colleges get compliant for various security and internal controls audits (PCI-DSS, State PII regulations, etc).

Actually after thinking about the intended purpose, I really don't have any objection to the concept. It's a companion device, much like the netbook that is living out its life on my kitchen counter. There's no data on that machine, so it wouldn't matter. But on the flipside, my apps run fine locally.. thanks, and if I did want to do something real on it then I have my own cloud here that suits me just fine. So basically it'd have to be a pretty awesome PowerPoint presentation for me.

 

[OrochiEddie]

If you are using your computer for simply internet browsing then I see no issue with this OS. IT's an internet machine...as anything else its kind of pointless.

 

[famicommander]

If you are using your computer for simply internet browsing then I see no issue with this OS. IT's an internet machine...as anything else its kind of pointless.

You can browse the web on any of a large variety of already free and established operating systems which aren't a massive invasion of privacy.

I already run Ubuntu, PC-BSD, OpenSolaris, and Puppy Linux. Plus Windows XP Pro SP3 and Mac OS X 10.5.8.

 

[rarehero]

not interested. I don't trust google anymore.

seconded.

 

[BoriquaSNK]

Well for those interested, GDGT has a direct link to VMWare, VirtualBox, and usb key versions.

I'm installing the VirtualBox variant right now, the USB key version is Linux only and apparently not for the feint of heart.

Also, heres a compiled torrent via PirateBay.

PC's need winrar, Mac's should unzip it automagically.

EDIT: FYI, for the GDGT link you need to sign up. It's free and kind of a geeky social network that can be fun, but kind of pointless.

 

[cannonball]

If I had a netbook I'd play around with it just for fun. I can't see it being used for anything important though.

 

[Nesagwa]

Since all you do is log in with your Google ID from the main screen, the only thing I can really see this being useful for is a public terminal at say a library or maybe like an airport or something.

Outside of that, not sure why anyone that owns a computer would want to stream apps and data from the internet, which is almost guaranteed to be slower and more error prone than reading from an HD.

 

[BoriquaSNK]

Since all you do is log in with your Google ID from the main screen, the only thing I can really see this being useful for is a public terminal at say a library or maybe like an airport or something.

Outside of that, not sure why anyone that owns a computer would want to stream apps and data from the internet, which is almost guaranteed to be slower and more error prone than reading from an HD.

Well for most webapps it's actually running them natively via Gears.
According to Google, the advantage is that your data is available anywhere...so you don't have to be on your computer running Chrome OS to access all of your documents and data. If you were to lose your computer, you could remotely wipe it and have an exact replica on whatever machine you're currently using.

Now, this still requires enormous trust in Google which you may or may not have.

 

[Metal Slugnuts]

Well for most webapps it's actually running them natively via Gears.
According to Google, the advantage is that your data is available anywhere...so you don't have to be on your computer running Chrome OS to access all of your documents and data. If you were to lose your computer, you could remotely wipe it and have an exact replica on whatever machine you're currently using.

Now, this still requires enormous trust in Google which you may or may not have.

external HDDs say hi

 

[Nesagwa]

external HDDs say hi

32gb SD card says hello.

What the fuck kind of powerpoints presentations and word documents do you keep that it takes up over 10 gigs?

Even if you can access the apps without internet access your FILES are still unavailable which makes the whole idea of this being used on personal devices kind of silly.

 

[Rade K]

I'm against all cloud computing solutions.

 

[BigTinz]

I'm totally against this....but if anyone wants to mess around with it, here ya go.

http://www.ilovetorrents.com/details.php?id=146387

 

[cannonball]

I'm totally against this....but if anyone wants to mess around with it, here ya go.

http://www.ilovetorrents.com/details.php?id=146387

beware the fake google chrome os download

 

[Phyeir]

32gb SD card says hello.

What the fuck kind of powerpoints presentations and word documents do you keep that it takes up over 10 gigs?

Even if you can access the apps without internet access your FILES are still unavailable which makes the whole idea of this being used on personal devices kind of silly.

Replace PowerPoint slides with HD porn vids and word documents with high pixel count nude photos and you have your answer.

 

[Xian Xi]

Why is the Google chrome browser only for intel Macs and not PPC?

http://www.google.com/chrome/index.html

 

[P00t]

Google are watching you masturbate

 

[SML]

I would be more interested in a secondary OS that boots straight into a word processor. (Perhaps something with a Sugar-based desktop?)

 

[RabbitTroop]

@Nes - I think it's less about slimming down and more about changing the way we're used to using computers. I kind of agree with them on that. The OS boots in 7 seconds for gods sake and put's you right into a browser which is what I'm using 99% of the time.

Whether or not the cloud-style of computing is good, this isn't that impressive of a stat. Windows 7 on a SSD drive boots in well under 10 seconds. We actually have a laptop at work that I've never sat down with a stop watch, but it is around the 5 second mark. And we're talking like cheapo-Dell laptops here, not some uber-expensive ones. Regardless, instant on access and always on access is being embedded into a lot of Laptops as well. Going back to Dell, they're putting separate cell phone CPUs in their laptops (along with a phone OS) to allow access to network applications while the laptops are off. These devices typically have a standby time of 5 to more days on a single charge. This basically means you can send/receive email without even turning on the laptop. I'm actually trying to get one of the new boxes into my work sometime in the next few weeks to check it out, but... sounds kind of gimmicky/intriguing.

Back to cloud computing. As was said, I don't think I want to trust a server side for everything. On one hand, yes, I get to tap into their computational power. On the other, my entire session is dependent on my route and connection with them. I have no doubt in my mind that Google can pull this off. I know they have the expertise and the resources to build an amazing cloud back end. For me, though... the idea of saving all my important documents elsewhere just seems too risky. I do continuous backups onto a separate RAID 1 (so technically I have three copies of every file I deem important) drive as is, and most of those files are duplicated again on another USB drive (like movies and music that get shared to the xbox). I know Google will be doing continuous backups of my data, but my God I'm not sure I want them to have all the access to it. I'm not talking writing my next masterpiece... but I don't just use my computer for pure creation. What about the other stuff we do on our computers... do you really want Google storing your naughty-films? It's already bad enough they logged it when you searched for it now.

Count me out, I guess. At least for now.