Google Chrome OS – What’s Next?

Today, Google has finally shared its plans to develop and introduce Google Chrome Operating System (OS). Taking into account that over 30-million people already familiar with Google Chrome browser, I should note that Google Chrome OS is entirely different project even though in the end, the new open-source operating system will include Chrome browser.

While the idea of developing Web OS is not new, Google most certainly has the capacity and the expertise to make it a reality and finally compete with and beat Microsoft. According to the Official Google Blog the all new Google Chrome OS will be available to the public in the second half of 2010.

“Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.“ Read full story.

So, what’s in it for you and your business? While Software as a Service (SaaS), and Cloud Computing are gaining momentum becoming mainstream, not that far down the road web OS will be all you’ll ever need to run your business. Consider this; at present, many small and medium businesses have legitimate concerns around business continuity and disaster recovery planning to ensure that the business survives during natural disasters, pandemics etc.

Business owners are concerned because majority of businesses are tied to a particular geographical location, i.e. “the office” Hypothetically speaking, if you were to move all the existing business application to the “Cloud”, you won’t need a full-blown Windows operating system to successfully operate your business or even for your home computer. You won’t even need to keep Windows disk images or own any Windows servers simply because Google Chrome OS might run directly off a memory stick or your computer connected to the Internet will simply boot into the web OS.

The idea I have been toying with for the past 4-5 years is to develop an operating system that is small enough to fit on the smallest available thumb-drive, and has a Firefox browser (remember, Google Chrome wasn’t available 5-years ago). One of the key reasons it never materialized is that even with the web OS, you still need an always on mobile broad-band connection and some sort of hardware that’s truly portable. As a logical continuation of events, Google introduced Google Apps, and then Google Chrome. Today, I can say with 100% certainty that the time for the web OS is NOW!

However, considering wide adoption of mobile computers, specifically netbooks, it’s ridiculous in this day and age to be tied down by a specific OS simply because all you really need to access and manipulate your information is a simple web browser.

For example, my company is powered by Google Apps Premier, and personally, I hardly use any other features of the pre-installed OS other than Google Chrome browser. In all honesty, at times I do use Internet Explorer and/or Firefox but only when I have to. I even tried Safari on the PC, and while it’s a great browser for MAC platform, it does not even compare to Chrome and Firefox on PC. But that’s another story.

Don’t get me wrong, I do listen to music, actively participate in social networks, watch movies, edit photos, play games etc. But all these activities are done online.

There are companies and individuals that over the years have developed Linux-based operating systems that can be named true web OSs today. There are even virtual appliances that allow you to safely the web using Firefox browser. How Google Chrome OS will distinguish itself, time will tell.

We look forward to reviewing Chrome OS and sharing the experience with our dear readers and customers. For further information, or to subscribe to our newsletter, please contact us.

Until next time,

Steve E. Driz

Google Chrome is out of Beta

Now that Google Chrome is out of beta, it is time to draw some conclusions. As I already mentioned in my previous article posted on EZine Articles, Google Chrome was destined to succeed. The question is if it’s ready for its primetime and adoption by an enterprise.

Having followed new browser’s evolution, I must admit that Google has put serious efforts into Chrome’s development, and while there are still many annoyances, overall performance as well as user experience has been great. The browser is definitely a breeze to launch, with hardly any loading time which puts it in the lead compared to both Internet Explorer, and Firefox (sorry folks, no Opera or Safari comparison).

In all honesty, I have been trying to use Chrome exclusively since day one of beta launch, and it was a success for the most part. Once in a while however, I had to launch either Internet Explorer or Firefox for variety of reasons.

One of the strangest things is that Google Chrome seems to be having rendering issues with its own Google Apps. I should note that I have been using Google Apps for almost three years now. If you don’t know anything about Google Apps, you can find additional information here. The most annoying issue is working with tables in the word processor.

When you insert a table into a document, the mouse cursor conveniently resides outside of table margins and you almost have to guess which cell it is in. It only becomes clean when you start typing. However, if you want to format your table just a tad differently, trying to place mouse cursor within different cell may present a challenge. Likely, when you switch to Forefox 3, things truly start looking up. In short, Google should try to do a better job at least making sure that its web browser works flawlessly with its own online collaboration toolset such as Google Apps. After all, Google tries to secure leadership position within Software as a Service (SaaS) niche, and it was my understanding that Chrome was supposed to provide complete integration with Google Apps, amongst other things, allowing to create web application shortcuts on your desktop.

By the way, undeniably, Google achieved major milestones with its Google Apps offering, therefore, watch out Microsoft!

Additional issues include Chrome’s inability to properly display Outlook Web Access pages, meaning that the standard OWA sidebar seems to be in its place, however, all your folders line up at the top of the main frame and you have to scroll down just to see your Inbox items.

Does it seem like I am trashing this great product? Generally, we only criticize things that we truly care about. Positive criticism normally supports and enhances creative and development processes allowing us to solve problems making things better.

In my view, enterprise adoption of new technologies solely depends on its ability to see tangible benefits. For example, if we adopt Google Chrome browser, what kind of positive impact it’s going to have on our business. Will it save time? Is it more secure and reliable? Is it easier to deploy and use?

But the first question enterprise IT should ask is what issue we are trying to solve by introducing any new technology, in this case, new web browser. If there not no business issues, why make the change.

Bottom line is – if it isn’t broken why fix it. In years to come, Google must capture the hearts of CIOs, and present a compelling reason why any organization would consider going through deployment pains including user training and adoption, to switch to its new browser.

Until next time.