The Beginning Of The End For Windows?

[Steven Carl Kelly]

Originally Posted by Kezz

They're targeting laptops to start with aren't they?

Netbooks.

And Windows 7 will be out LONG before Chrome OS hits the market.

[garyv]

While Google is working to take over the OS - Microsoft has been working on taking some search engine share. Bing is incredible in my opinion, and should have google thinking more about their core bread & butter programs.

I think they're both trying to undercut each other. It's a great time for a third company to come right up the middle and take some share from both sides.

[Kezz]

Ah right. It will be interesting to see how Windows 7 performs.

That said, I'm looking forward to K2SMedia's video about Ubuntu. Maybe some of my trepidation can be alleviated

[Croque]

Originally Posted by Jon Steel

I tell you this will be interesting. Just like when Microsoft pushed its way in the the gaming industry with the X-Box. Compatibility with other programs/software will be the biggest issue at first. But it will be interesting...

js

When Microsoft launch the Xbox, nobody anticipated the success of Xbox Live, which was their killer app. They were new in the market and a lot of people thought is was gonna flop.
However they had the cash and Live to gain a huge market share from the competition, in the case with Google they have the cash, but do they have the "killer app"?

[JoeCool]

Originally Posted by Black Hat Cat

Better hope you never lose internet access then.

From the TechCrunch article...

"...Chrome OS will be all about the web apps. And no doubt HTML 5 is going to be a huge part of all of this. A lot of people are still wary about running web apps for when their computer isn’t connected to the web. But HTML 5 has the potential to change that, as you’ll be able to work in the browser even when not connected, and upload when you are again."

"We’re starting to see more clearly why Google’s Vic Gundotra was pushing HTML 5 so hard at Google I/O this year. Sure, part of it was about things like Google Wave, but Google Wave is just one of many new-style apps in this new Chrome OS universe."


Best Regards,
~ JoeCool

[JennJessop]

Originally Posted by WareTime

This is PURELY a play to push Chrome so Google has better information on browsing habits etc to make their search engine better.

I dont think you could have said it any better.

I think this COULD be the BEGINNING of the end of Microsoft, but I think it will be years before we see Microsoft truly fall. I think the only thing that could truly bring Microsoft down is if they continue to think Google is not a threat. If Microsoft underestimates Google, just like if any company underestimates there competition it will be there down fall. But that is just my two cents. Either way its going to be fun to watch it all unfold.

[Rob Whisonant]

I love these Windows Linux debates. Viva La Linux!

I always had problems with Windows and moved to Linux. I then started playing around with virtualbox and boy was I shocked!

Windows XP ran better on Linux in a virtualbox then it did standalone on the PC. Shocked me big time.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

[mr.schutz]

If you compare IE and chrome in using internet browsers, chrome is faster than IE. IE takes so much time loading a site.

[InternetMarketingIQ]

The "Flip Side" to this is the additional competition in the OS space my get the Government off Microsoft's back and that would open up a whole new world of opportunity for Microsoft.

Microsofts Revenu's a nearly 3x what Google's are... and it's not all about great products, it's about picking your distribution partners carefully. Those who are making money and in bed with Microsoft will be hesitant to jump ship for a product which is not proven.

How is the Chrome Browser doing? I see very few people using it to visit any of my sites.

[Good News Now]

It is going to be challenging to overcome Microsoft...but surely will not let Microsoft to relax.

Less monopoly is better for all. I am looking forward to this new launch.

Vadimus

[garyv]

Originally Posted by InternetMarketingIQ

How is the Chrome Browser doing? I see very few people using it to visit any of my sites.

I think that may be the whole reason behind the OS. Microsoft has been able to force their browser on to people because it comes pre-packaged w/ their operating system. If Google can get a decent operating system going, and can start packaging it w/ some major computer outfitters, then they could start eating away at not only Browser share, but they could also prepackage their other softwares as well.

Microsoft was able to win the browser war, simply because they had a monopoly on Operating Systems. If they weren't able to prepackage IE onto Windows, Netscape would be the browser of choice right now.

The Operating system is the key to everything and could be huge for Google. Even if they only have limited success with it.

[johnsloan74]

Sorry to say guys but you can speculate all you want to but Windows isn't going no where anytime soon. You guys may like other operating systems better but you guys have alot more knowledge than the actual people who make Bill Gates pockets bigger. Fact is the typical consumers like the status quo and most are set in their ways and aren't very computer savy. The technically challenged people are gonna stick with what they know and that is Windows and in my opinion it will probably be around forever.

[garyv]

Originally Posted by johnsloan74

Sorry to say guys but you can speculate all you want to but Windows isn't going no where anytime soon. You guys may like other operating systems better but you guys have alot more knowledge than the actual people who make Bill Gates pockets bigger. Fact is the typical consumers like the status quo and most are set in their ways and aren't very computer savy. The technically challenged people are gonna stick with what they know and that is Windows and in my opinion it will probably be around forever.

That's what they said about yahoo.com as well not too many years ago.

[misterwrecker]

Originally Posted by garyv

That's what they said about yahoo.com as well not too many years ago.

I'm sorry Gary but you can't compare Microsoft with Yahoo. Microsoft has a proven track record and has been around for decades. They have money, power, and connections, experience, you name it. People may also tell you facebook and twitter aren't going anywhere either. I can't say Microsoft will rule forever but they aren't going anywhere soon.

[garyv]

Originally Posted by misterwrecker

I'm sorry Gary but you can't compare Microsoft with Yahoo. Microsoft has a proven track record and has been around for decades. They have money, power, and connections, experience, you name it. People may also tell you facebook and twitter aren't going anywhere either. I can't say Microsoft will rule forever but they aren't going anywhere soon.

It's true, Microsoft has a much deeper infrastructure than does Google or Yahoo. However it wouldn't take much, especially in an economy like we have now, to get a few big companies to start prepackaging a new OS into their systems.

Microsoft may never go away, but no one stays on top forever.

[JoeCool]

Originally Posted by InternetMarketingIQ

Microsofts Revenu's a nearly 3x what Google's are... and it's not all about great products, it's about picking your distribution partners carefully. Those who are making money and in bed with Microsoft will be hesitant to jump ship for a product which is not proven.

Here's a few "rats" that have already jumped ship...

From Google's FAQ's on Chrome OS:

What companies is Google working with to support Google Chrome OS?

"The Google Chrome OS team is currently working with a number of technology companies to design and build devices that deliver an extraordinary end user experience. Among others, these companies include Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba."

Best Regards,
~ JoeCool

[QualityCopywriting]

I am eagerly waiting to see just what this operating system can do and just what it can accomplish. I have been wanting to switch from windows to another OS for years. Now google is making one as well.

It just can not get any better than that.

[Joshua.E1]

Well that will Mircosoft problem, but for all who use computers, we stand to gain from this movement.

Yes i will use it, if it is better than windows and it does not have so much of hackers problem.

[Kezz]

I use Chrome myself. It still has a number of bugs, but it is so much faster that I'm compelled to use it anyway. I spend so much time online that the difference in load time between Chrome and Firefox, hugely so between Chrome and IE is too good to pass up.

But, it sucks for anything where you are putting information onto the web, such as using WYSIWYG editors and so on. It also doesn't handle video well sometimes.

Basically my rule is if I'm getting information out of the web, I use Chrome as it's lightning fast. If I'm putting information onto the the web, I open up Firefox and use that.

IE I never use unless I encounter a site that has been coded to solely work with the browser, as its both slow and buggy - the worst of both worlds.

When the bugs are ironed out of Chrome it will be the superior browser. I did have to manually remove Google Update after I installed it though. Meh.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly

There's already a tool out there that will allow you to carry around essentially your PC on a USB thumbdrive: Windows, Linux, whatever. You plug it in and that machine becomes your PC until you unplug it.

You can do that with your external hard drive too.

I have a Seagate external hard drive I bought a while back because I had a panic attack and worried about losing all of my stuff on my computer. After asking for some recommendations here, I bought an external Seagate hard drive. Getting everything in My Documents onto the Seagate wasn't quite as inituitive as I would have liked, but once I figured it out, it wasn't hard.

I'm very non-techie and I love the idea that I can carry that little hard drive around and plug it into any PC anywhere and essentially have access to my own computer. (My most important documents, anyway.) I've never actually done it, but if and when I need to, I can.

That little hard just kills me too, it looks so funny: a little black box with USB plug-ins. No buttons of any type at all. :P

Michelle

[AndrewCavanagh]

Originally Posted by JoeCool

I predicted this about 4 years ago (to a few of my colleagues) stating that, one day, the web would be our operating system (and also home to all of our apps) driven by Google in an Open Source browser. Our hardware, whether a laptop, a desktop, a netbook, or even a cell phone, will soon be just dumb terminals, with our hard drives used mainly for local file storage.

Things are going to get real interesting about this time next year.

Oh yeah, one more thing... Google is making this totally Open Source. Can you imagine how many apps will be written worldwide for this new operating system?

Yes I agree with you. I've been saying pretty much the same thing for quite some time.

Why use a limited home computer to store data and run applications when you can have what for most home users amounts to almost unlimited data storage and rapid apps hosted online.

This would also eliminate most viruses (a huge issue).

People will still want to save some files at home but the nature of the computers they buy will change radically.

Also all those $100 laptops being built for the third world and poverty market will become a whole lot more powerful which is probably a good thing in most ways.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

P.S. If you doubt this change will happen think of this:

How quickly did a whole pile of peopl realize that gmail was a superior option for email than using outlook express as long as you have an active internet connection?

These people have been pre-educated in using online applications.

Modern blogs are the same. We interface with them almost entirely online...we don't really store our own data unless we choose to back up.

It's not a huge leap.

[Dan Grossman]

There will never be a computer on a store shelf running ChromeOS. Simple as that. And Google never intended for there to be one.

Read any competent analysts' opinion, they'll all agree on that.

This isn't how Google launches real products, this is how they drum up press and rile up Microsoft.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/op...3cringely.html

[Josh Anderson]

For me the operating system does not matter one bit.

The only thing that matters is the specific software that I can run on it.

If I want to use an app... and if that app is valuable enough to me and helps me accomplish a goal that makes me more money...

I would buy or build an entire new computer if I had to just to use that app.

Now having said that...

I built a box that can boot windows, osx, and linux from one machine, with three drives inside, using the effix dongle.

Even so I never have needed linux for any reason, I rarely use osx, and I accomplish most of my work on windows.

However, what gives my company power is the web and 90% of our development is focused on web based services and applications so the Google browser os concept sounds like it will open some doors for us... not for me as a user but for my company to market to browser os users.

[Revolves]

Chrome is trying to capture the netbooks segment. The problem is that the price difference between a linux netbook and a windows one isn't enough to justify an OS shift. Secondly, while many of us can manage with a linux desktop, majority of the users still prefer windows as their operating system.

Lastly google will have stiff competition from popular linux distros like mandrive, suse, ubuntu and many others...

[BIG Mike]

While anything is possible, it's highly improbable that Google will ever gain a significant foothold in the OS market. It's not Microsoft's market share - which is something like 94%; it's not just their partnerships with major PC manufacturers; it's the availability of 3rd party applications and deploying it to the business world.

Let's assume that Chrome is a kickass OS for a moment and light years ahead of Windows. Let's further assume that we're all on a committee for a corporation with 10K employees.

Issue number 1 - training; we safely assume that the typical employee will require 8 plus hours of training time of using the OS. using a very conservative average pay of $10 per hour, that puts training costs alone at $800,000, not mention the cost of lost production time.

For the first 90 business days, you can safely assume that each employee will lose an hour of productivity per day due to the differences in the OS. At that same rate of pay, you could lose an additional $9,000,000 in lost productivity, and that's without factoring in the cost of benefits in either example.

Then you get into the IT infrastructure, hardware support, etc., extensive re-training of IT staff, significant downtime the first year due to support issues and so forth.

And good luck getting all your vendors to switch and/or provide custom interfaces to work with Chrome.

Then you run into the privacy and confidentiality issues of storing corporate data online - that ain't ever going to happen.

Most companies around the world are firmly entrenched with Microsoft products, including server software, custom window applications, extensive training and licensing contracts - it goes on and on and on.

And considering that many employees today perform part of their work at home, they're going to install what their employer uses for an OS.

Google's approach to Chrome isn't a new idea - it's not even a novel one. Back in the mid to late 80's as companies began to decentralize, i.e.; putting PC's on employee's desktops and getting them off the mainframes for everything but data storage, they married themselves to Microsoft.

A lot of IT departments resisted this strongly right up into the late 90's and one approach was to use a "Thin Client" - which is a lightweight PC running applications off the company servers. Sort of coming full circle - leaving some flexibility for the employee to run non-server apps but control 99% of their computer use.

The concept is still in use, but having a PC with it's own OS that runs independently of the server is still the dominant model.

While Chrome is one more option for individuals that don't have a specific OS requirement, I suspect it won't take off just as Linux never really took off on the desktop.

[stephenraj]

Originally Posted by CDarklock

The surprising fact about Amazon and Google and Microsoft is that they're not really competitors. None of them is going to dethrone the others, because no matter how successful one of them might be, the other two simply aren't in that business.

Amazon does shopping. They're pretty much the best there is. Microsoft and Google will never beat Amazon at shopping, and they're not even trying.

Google does advertising. They're pretty much the best there is. Amazon and Microsoft can't possibly beat Google at advertising, so they're not even trying.

Microsoft does software. They're pretty much the best there is. Do you honestly expect Amazon and Google to try and beat Microsoft at software?

Pull the other one.

It's like worrying about whether Joe's weight loss site will impact the revenue of your golf site. Yes, I'm sure many golfers would like to lose some weight, but they're still golfers.

You are 100% right.
These three companies are on different tracks so there is no any kind of rival b/w them...

[Pattaya-Addict]

ill stick to ubuntu thanks.

google record way too much info about their users as it is

when im off on hols i put my OS on my keyring and then just plug it into a pc in an internet cafe

for those interested in reading more about this goto:

Boot and run Linux from a USB flash memory stick | USB Pen Drive Linux

[CDarklock]

Originally Posted by SurviveUnemployment

If I could buy a computer with the Chrome OS for a couple hundred less than the same computer with Windows, I can't think of any reason to go with Windows.

I can.

"Version 1.0"

Remember Vista? All the problems, all the complaints, all the trouble people had?

That was from a company that makes operating systems.

You want your next operating system to come from a company that sells ads?

Good luck with that one.

[BlackWaterBlog]

It really looks promising, I just can't wait for it to be available for PCs. That's when Microsoft is going to be in trouble.

And I laughed at the image, that's great.

[Tyrus Antas]

The end of windows? Wishful thinking. Competition is good, but Chrome has no competitive advantage other than price. It could force Microsoft lower their prices but that's it.

Tyrus

[MichaelHiles]

The only company that ever could give Microsoft any substantial run for the money for commercial operating systems was Oracle. And that is because the theory behind what Larry Ellison proposed was superior to the technical foundation of the basic building blocks of DOS & Windows (the registry should be a database instead of flat text files). Even then, Ellison realized the futile effort for what it was and abandoned the project.

People don't realize the interconnected requirements to develop and OS, particularly in hardware driver areas. In the early days of Linux, the hardcore geeks like me would dabble with it, but found that hardware vendor support was spotty at best. Hardware APIs are proprietary, and the partnering requirements to create an OS with mass support is a huge effort all unto itself.

Google can make all the claims and choose it's path for its own reasons. As a shareholder, I'd be concerned because it's going to cost a lot more, and they will sell far less than estimated. It's great that the geeks and tinkers have another tiny tool and reason to bash MS, but when your printer manufacturer chooses not to release any support for it, well you might find that total cost of ownership model to not be quite so attractive after all (as many corporate CIOs did with Linux).

It's definately something for everyone to talk about, but I certainly wouldn't run to the trading account to place a big buy order on the news.

[Andy Hakeem]

I would try if it's free as Google

-Andy

[Steven Carl Kelly]

The real promise to knock off Windows was killed off years ago: IBM's OS/2. It was a far superior product and had it's spread not been thwarted, it may have done serious damage to today's MS market share. Now MS has built itself a nearly impenetrable fortress.

[Michael Motley]

No. Some will use it, most wont. Look at firefox and how many people still use i.e. 7/8. There are some people that will never give up xp until you pull it from their cold dead fingers

[Jeremy Morgan]

I use Vista, Linux and Mac on a daily basis, so I have no dog in this fight. Each one has it's purpose.

Chrome won't unseat windows. For one, it's basically a thin client for netbooks. It's no different that the stripped down linux distros they put on fry's $300 computers.

Yes, I think chrome will be great, and will probably get a good following, but It's no threat to Windows 7. Every windows challenger has failed to unseat them, because they are the status quo.

It's all about the soccer moms. As far as purchasing goes, they are the big market. In the average american family, the woman makes this purchasing decision, and she wants something familiar and easy. Guess what guys? Most of the "average joes" have no idea you can put something other than windows on their PC. In fact, they don't even think about it. To the average people:

Windows = Computer

They associate it with computers very automatically, and don't understand why you would need to use anything else. Geeks can howl and yell all they want about their superior OS and nobody cares. You can stuff a 800hp racing engine in your car too, and that's far superior to what you have, but how many average families do you see doing it? Most of them just buy their Rav4 and drive it around.

I guess my point is, Windows is here to stay, because they are so entrenched in the minds of the average person, and that's who dominates sales. I would like to see them crash and burn just as fast as the next geek, but I know it won't happen. I'm pretty content using Windows 10% of the time for .net stuff and using the mac or linux for the real work, but I'm not the average joe.

[la dominatrix]

Originally Posted by lklein

Hope it works out, but isn't it internet based?
Also won't Google know everything about you including what you had for breakfast? LOL

Lambert

YEP ..............it was fruit salad and yoghurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That fact alone will deter a lot of people from using it
La dominatrix

[Person]

I am using Ubuntu Linux, but have tried a lot of different distros. In the past, I had many headaches with Linux, but now the os is "just working". I am not really a geek. I use the GUI for most everything rather than the command line. I love it, and I have totally erased Windows from my box. All linux software is free, and open source. My linux system is fast, and does what I need immediately. And by the way, I have Never had a virus or malware on my linux system. I do virus checks just to protect Windows users in case I mistakenly pass on an infected file, but there are no infections on my system.
The MS business model selling licenses for limited use just frustrates me to no end. And Vista is unusable. Apple is better, but they really get you in the pocket. My daughter just bought a Macbook, and it didn't even come with a word processor. We had to buy that separately for $80. more. Ugh.
Anyway, thats my rant. Thanks for this great forum.

[Wakunahum]

There are already MANY viable non-windows netbook/notebook environments currently and it has not had an effect on windows sales.

In fact the linux on netbooks is less now after the windows push to put xp on the netbooks than when they originally came out.

[Mustafa Khundmiri]

I don't see this happening anytime soon ... Microsoft will put up a GOOD fight ... But still, the Internet is the future. And the Internet is Google

[Didier Faucher]

They will sell coffee and burgers soon.

Take care, because then you might have some unexpected Google-thing in your body.

I'll never use their products.


Didier

[Adrian Cooper]

Originally Posted by JoeCool

Could This Be The Beginning Of The End For Windows
As The World's #1 Operating System?

No way will Chrome affect Windows in the short term because there are no applications for it, and it is the applications that everyone buys a PC for.

Longer term Google's strategy is to put all applications on the Internet, so the O/S becomes the client, meaning that applications will always be available from any PC, Laptop or Netbook any time, anywhere, without the need for much computing power.

The Chrome browser, which I use, already has the client technology built in.

I would give Windows about 5 years. Windows is 90% of Microsoft's revenues.

[GarrieWilson]

5 years from now a CloudOS *might* be popular but not now.

Assus, (I think it was them) said that their netbooks with linux are returned FOUR times as much as the ones with Windows. And these are systems that are made mainly for surfing, chat, email, etc. Which IMHO is great for a netbook and why I purchased the one Paul talked about.

However, if I like it, I'll get one with XP for about $100 more. That way, I can install the latest net aps that are not made with Adobe Aire. Which is most of them.

Visit NewEgg, look at the NetBooks and you will see ONE with linux. At least thats all they had a few days ago.

Now tell me a CloudOS will dethrone Windows.

gFans need to get off their knees before they get arthritis and lock jaw.

The only company who could even come close to dethrowning Windows is Apple. They will have to cut their prices in half and sell the OS seperatly so people can build their own though. Even then it might not gain any extra steam.

[MichaelHiles]

I'm pretty sure that Microsoft has the money, the time, the resources, and the ability to deliver.\

Everyone laughed their asses off when they announced they were entering the gaming console business.

Then they laughed again when they announced the entry into the MP3 player and content delivery network business.

The other advantage that Microsoft has over Google is multiple years of history and multiple technology cycles worth of reinventing themselves.

Something that Google can't match.

[Istvan Horvath]

Probably, it is not the "beginning of the end" for M$ Win.

On the other hand, I cannot understand the joy about switching from one monopoly to another one...
As so many others already mentioned above, giving up even more of our privacy to the big G should rather be cause for worries.

[Steve Campbell]

"In the year 3000, in the year 3000!"

Google will take over the world one computer at a time. People will begin to Google each other like never before, and the entire Internet as we know it will become one big cloud of information to be Googled.

[John Willer]

I do think Microsoft is going to lose a ton of market share within the next 5 years. Especially if they keep their existing strategy

[AtomicFlipper]

Originally Posted by MichaelHiles

I'm pretty sure that Microsoft has the money, the time, the resources, and the ability to deliver.

Everyone laughed their asses off when they announced they were entering the gaming console business.

Then they laughed again when they announced the entry into the MP3 player and content delivery network business.

The other advantage that Microsoft has over Google is multiple years of history and multiple technology cycles worth of reinventing themselves.

Something that Google can't match.

That's exactly right.

I noticed someone compared Microsoft and Yahoo further up about people saying Yahoo was going no where.

There is no comparison, it's about the OS not the search engine.

Well here comes Google, and people are saying they are going no where, MS will eat them too, MS are geniuses at making companies waste money.

Once MS get the Ad revenue right I suspect Google will start to lose ground. People are already liking Bing, maybe MS got it right this time, I for one have notice a lot of traffic coming from them in the past months.

[WareTime]

Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly

The real promise to knock off Windows was killed off years ago: IBM's OS/2. It was a far superior product and had it's spread not been thwarted, it may have done serious damage to today's MS market share. Now MS has built itself a nearly impenetrable fortress.

OS/2 truly was better. Remember what killed it? No apps. MS told IBM to build it and will supply apps. MS didn't hold their end of the bargain and without MS apps available, it wouldn't sell and since it wouldn't sell, there was no point in other vendors building apps either.

I work with Solaris in my day job and for 9/10 server applications it is far and away superior to Windows, but I'd never run a Solaris desktop for home use because there just aren't many common apps available. I guess I say this to point out and reinforce the idea that while Google could build something technically better than Windows in some respects. It just doesn't matter without apps.

[WareTime]

Originally Posted by Person

All linux software is free, and open source.

That might be fine for your needs but for 95% of the world Linux lacks apps to do what we need.

If you want 156 text editors with cool recursive names like JOE (Joe's Own Editor) you are in high cotton. Joe is pretty cool by the way. Just used it today. I love how when you go to save instead of saying "would you like to save changes? Y or N " it says "lose your changes? Y or N"

But where are the xsitepro's, the client side keyword tools, or client side anything internet marketing related? If you have limited client side needs Linux is good to go today. If you depend on desktop apps it's not.

Myself I run OS X and Windows and Linux on my Mac in Fusion and use Solaris at work. I'm not for or against any of them, they are all good in their own way, but I don't belive Linux makes sense as a desktop for most people yet, though Ubuntu is getting very good.

[Floyd Fisher]

This has already been tried before and failed miserably.

Anyone remember the promise of Java?