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They can take a junk out of MS's market share with a text link on their home page! Download New Operating System!
Might not be too hard for them to whip up their own [heavily branded] linux distro..."Googlinux"? "Blue-red-yellow-green-hat/dog Linux"? "Googlows"? "OS 10^100"?
Hm.
-B
Imagine a PC that would allow you to log into your "account" from any browser. There, your hoarde of files, email, software, photos and whatever else you decided to contribute would be waiting for you to work with, to do whatever it is you do with your data. Built on a Kazaa-type every client is a server data distribution, you might be able to commit a certain amount of hard drive on your own system that would give you roaming storage on other systems, you could have massive amounts of data available to you from anywhere in the world, and no one could stop you from accessing your data through a secure channel, and when you closed your session, you would no longer have that data on your person and it would all be securely stored away from your person.
I don't think it's an issue of will it happen, just a matter of when. I think google is in the best position to take advantage, to be there for the transition. M$ is becomming a juggernaut and will grow more sluggish over time as a victim of its own entrenched code distribution. Google has no such weights holding it back.
The implementation of the internet in other countries, particularly in asia, is quite a bit difference than what we americans experience, where most of us have PCs in our offices and homes. In China and other nearby countries, most people don't have their own PCs and so there are many internet-type cafes where people can access the internet. Already, many, many people in these countries store large amounts of information online and access it and manipulate it in an online environment. Some governments, like China, which seems to like to play an active role in monitoring content accessed by its citizens, may largely be responsible for this implementation or it could simply be passed off as a culteral heritage. I dont know. What I do know is that this has been coming for some time now and google is about to make off with the basket, the baby and the fried chicken. Don't think it's some surprise and remember where you heard it first.
I feel that your idea is pretty much only a feasable one to become popular when we have internet connections that are way more than this puny 400kbps-1mb avg internet I'm on now. Whereas we could be able to run Photoshop from a different country, with it being as fast to use anywhere, as in our own home.
Sure. They might create a new division (or buy an existing company) to make their own version of Linux. Or some of the employees might get together and spend their 20% time on the project.
A slim, fast Linux. (Remember all those old, slow computers out there with small harddrives and too little RAM.) And of course the possibility of easily building more advanced features into it.
And Gmail and the Google toolbar. And Google search on your own computer....
I doubt that Microsoft would like the idea.
I would be one of the very rare feeling I would share along with them.
If ever, to for some years.
atob.c
Don't think it's some surprise and remember where you heard it first.
C'mon, neuron -- the web-as-platform and Google OS talk has been going around for quite some time. Battelle's been chatting it up for quite a while. Richard Skrenta published a great piece on it a month or two ago, and Kottke has posted on it, too.
It's great stuff, and anyone interested in learning more about it may want to know that a "Web 2.0" conference is being planned for further discussion.
I doubt that Microsoft would like the idea.
And this is a concern because........?
;)
However, any crack in the system and a virus could exploit the fact that the OS is remotely accessed and infect millions of host machines as soon as they logged in to the system.
Also, in commercial terms, individual OS subscribers would have far less say in what they actually had active on their operating system or not - since the OS itself doesn't reside on the user's terminal.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Who watches the watchmen?
If Google were to protect its users from scumware, virii, spyware etc.... who would protect those users from Google?
How about "Googlings" or "Googlinx" or "G-line"
:-)
But if Google launches an OS, I'd prefer it to be its original one - rather than a version of Linux (don't we have too many of those?).
Maybe even a one which supports files supported by Windows (.exe, .dll etc.), or has MS even copyrighted those?
Anyway, a faste-r,stable-r and bette-r version of Windows would be great :)
But I personally have a feeling Google will go alongside Mac.
Sid
But if Google launches an OS, I'd prefer it to be its original one - rather than a version of Linux (don't we have too many of those?).
I like Windows; it's a good operating system, and personally consider it the best one for me; Macintosh's operating system isn't as customizable, Linux is too customizable, and both take too much effort for me. I'm lazy, and therefore choose the one that requires the least work to do what I want with it.
I just don't like the errors, which aren't rampid in ME like they were in 98 SE, or in 95. Those ones would have to have a fresh install of everything every 2-3 months. I've been running for a good 9 months--no re-install, or anything. Though I guess that my rampid virus-installing brother doesn't live here anymore, so that might have been the problem.
A Google os? Why bother, unless it runs Windows apps it will never get any more market share than Corel Linux or BE OS or OS2 etc etc, now if it could legally run Windows apps, then we might have a real horse race on our hands....
Imagine a PC that would allow you to log into your "account" from any browser. There, your hoarde of files, email, software, photos and whatever else you decided to contribute would be waiting for you to work with, to do whatever it is you do with your data.
If you have a high speed always on connection at home, this is already pretty standard. I can VNC into my home box any time I like, my desktop is displayed within the browser window and I have full access to the box.
I use remote admin on my local network because it is of higher quality, but VNC allows you to connect via any browser, whereas remote admin requires a client on the local machine.
Give me a time-frame and you've got yourself a bet.
after the SES conference in Toronto; it seems Google has a few things to worry about before venturing into the OS world
GOS
GOS - I like it!If there was a name, I'd like it to be that, or maybe GOSS!
What, will it just happen to be fully microsoft compatible? Or do you really feel there is no need for software?
To be a niche OS success you have to pander to a market, and do it well, like BEOS. Search is not a market, it's a portal to markets.
You think Google is going to announce its intentions of going into the OS business just after SES in Toronto? Now we'll have to go to sticky mail, because I'd bet the farm on that one.
mm.. how about GhOSt :)
;)
