Slashdot Mirror
Google Releases Source To Chromium OS
Kelson writes "Google has released the source to what will eventually become Chrome OS, and will begin developing it as an open source project like Chromium. The OS differs from the usual computing model by (1) making all apps web apps (2) sandboxing everything and (3) removing anything unnecessary, to focus on speed." Reader Barence adds "Google said consumers won't be able to download the operating system — it will only be available on hardware that meets Google's specifications. Hard disks are banned, for instance, while Google said it will also specify factors such as screen sizes and display resolutions. Google said it plans to officially launch Chrome OS by the end of next year."
Interesting
I think most people will stick with Windows and proper GNU/Linux netbooks.
... to divers attention away from their Androids platform. When google merging voice, blog, mail, video, and talk all into wave, it will become the real OS.
Doh! I can't run Chrome, so I wasn't fast enough to make the first post!
So what, does my computer boot up to magic, or are they building a BIOS or LiveCD specific to Chrome?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
1 - build a competing OS
2 - offer the source code free
3 - don't allow people to download it
4 - Profit! (by writing off the failure as a loss)
Seriously.. what? I can't download it?
----------------------------
Esobofh - Currently drinking fresh mango juice.
So basically it sounds like everything will be stored on Google's servers in some way to me. So everything I do they will know.
I don't like it I like to control things that are mine!
Everything runs in the cloud? Hard disks are banned? Wow, they are aggressively pursuing their thirst for all of the world's data. No thank you.
-Chris (aka Lenwood)
Of course, if they keep releasing the source it may not stay limited.
I wonder if this is going to stay a genuine Open Source OS or if Google will pull an Apple and gradually go back on the openness.
C - the footgun of programming languages
How do we reconcile this with slamming Apple for trying to maintain 100% control over the OS/hardware combo?
Norman ... coordinate.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
If it's open source, the only enforcement they'll have over things like hard drives being banned, screen size restrictions, only web apps, etc. will be control of their trademarks. If Chrome offers something sufficiently compelling that people want to run it on "noncompliant" hardware, or run non-web-apps, they will fork it.
The OS differs from the usual computing model by (1) making all apps web apps [...]
Well, I guess we were overdue for another well-funded attempt to flog the dead horse of thin clients again. I'd read the press release to see how many lines I have to scan before the first appearance of the word "convergence", but I feel too overwhelmed by indifference...
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
I wonder if this is doomed to become a niche operating system that doesn't even scratch the surface of the market. Preventing your most enthusiastic linux base from trying out your software unless they purchase a new computer will prevent a large majority of people from playing with Chrome. The main thing I'm afraid of is that we're brewing a new Apple. At least they're not going for the single mouse button (yet).
This looks a bit like the OS used on the litl webbooks. It's an interesting idea, to choose a specific niche with specific constraints, and really target it. I'm still unsure whether this precise niche (almost-always online, only apps that can be delivered via the browser) is a large enough niche to be useful.
No hard drive, and it's useless without the cloud?
There are many college campuses where this would not work. I can't use it while on the road without tethering (or in a hotspot), and I can't use it for anything work related because it all goes to the cloud.
That fast boot is all for nothing.
consumers won't be able to download the operating system
What kind of open source is this if you can't download it? Looks like Google is calling it open source but trying to control Chromium OS like it was closed.
Can I play Nethack in the cloud?
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
This is the infamous network appliance made real. The OS is a simplified kernel with a specific set of supported hardware with a simple interface and no on-system storage for data. All apps and settings are "in the cloud" i.e., on google's servers.
For likely 90% of home users, this will be perfect. A relatively dumb device that only runs a web browser to use web apps (googles or anyone else's provided their signed by google) to do their work.
It takes user-friendly to an extreme and makes everything just part of the web browser experience.
The root OS partition is read only and the selection of hardware is prescribed by google. You can download the source to hack it, but you can't make an installable image as you can't cryptographically sign it for their okay. They're only planning this to be a bought with hardware purchase.
Sound familiar? It should, it's basically the Apple experience made into a net appliance.
... in order for you to use the software when you aren't plugged into the net, you'll have to download some bloated piece of kludge like Gears, which won't actually give you the seamless experience you crave, but will make you wish for the days of Windows 3.1.
I'm pretty sure there is going to be a rather small permanent storage capability for the offline (but still in browser functionality) that Chrome allows for. Currently this functionality is provided by Google Gears, but once HTML 5 has matured they will be using that. All I know is that I can open up and use Gmail in the browser offline, and Chrome OS is supposed to provide this functionality. I can't wait to see what the open source community does with the Chromium OS. Either way, MS needs to fix IE. It is horrible. Comparing it to Firefox makes it look bad. Comparing to Chrome makes it look completely irrelevant and obsolete. Now they're going to be eating it in the Netbooks market too.
I don't see myself using this type of "OS" anytime soon, and I imagine a lot of other people are in the same boat. Who would use this? I guess schools would be a good candidate. It seems like they could use lower quality hardware, and most schools have awesome internet connections.
This is being targeted at netbooks and ONLY netbooks. They are expecting customers to be folks who already own a main computer for dedicated application needs.
Hard disks banned? I can't decide if this is a bad thing, it could be interesting model of computing outside the cloud. For example, an offline desktop experience could be provided by a local or lan server that uses web protocols. I'm sure the community will do some really intesting things with this freshly opened source.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
...are belongs to us!!
Can I still run IE in a Chrome frame?
consumers won't be able to download the operating system for long
TFTFY
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
It's a lot easier to upgrade a datacenter
And harder to upgrade the last-mile pipe between the datacenter and the terminal, at least until other countries follow the lead of Finland and Spain in mandating a better-than-dial-up level of Internet service. If you're using a web-based operating system, you do not want to be stuck with 0.05 Mbps.
Hard disks are banned
But not floppies!!
I new sticking with the Amiga all these years would pay off!! I finally have a use for all these "Floppy" disks!!
If the OS can't be downloaded, it's attached to the hardware 1-to-1.
The hardware can't cost a penny more than a netbook ($250-300) or we'd just get a netbook.
Removing the harddrive, or putting a small 4gb SD drive, will put it around $200.
$200: Meh.
$150: I'd rush the doors like a Walmart on Black Friday.
After finding this link: http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chromiumos-design-docs/security-overview
I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting that much in the way of security in this offering, but I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how much thought Google has put into this, both from remote attacks and local (stolen computer/device).
Three notable things:
I like is the fact that items that log on and use Google's authentication mechanism work online, and offline by using a local cached hash table.
The segmenting of the Web browser. This is something every Web browser should do, so one buggy plugin doesn't mean a completely rooted system.
Very well thought out boot path with initial key values stored in an unalterable chip. Next to a TPM boot, this is a good way to protect against corrupted boot attacks.
My only wish is that the device didn't use an Owner/user priv model. This is just fine for devices and home computers, but when you get to the enterprise where you have to have machines have a "master-root" user (usually an Active Directory) admin, there will be issues.
"Google said consumers won't be able to download the operating system -- it will only be available on hardware that meets Google's specifications. Hard disks are banned, for instance, while Google said it will also specify factors such as screen sizes and display resolutions. Google said it plans to officially launch Chrome OS by the end of next year."
So I cannot even store my favorite pictures on the device because everything had to be stored in the "cloud?" What if I am to go upcountry?
I would like to see opinions of coders on Google's product. Any ideas?
But only Google's cloud.
Say what you will about Windows, but I can install Chrome, Gears, and bam -- I can use Google's 'cloud' infrastructure.
ChromeOS? I can only use Google.
I'll stick with Windows for now.
On a related note, this is one of the most underwhelming releases I've ever seen. Way to blow the hype.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
Android is necessary as-is for what it is.
But I think you've almost hit it on the nose with the rest. This OS/platform is the underlying architecture for a Google branded wave platform on which most (if not all) of their software applications will eventually reside. But Wave is available now, without Google's 'OS' and is a generic real time data sharing platform. Google OS is (near as I can tell) a business solution for those that want Google's tools and complete control of their data in-house.
They go together like PB & J but they are distinct.
Platform advocacy is like choosing a favorite severely developmentally disabled child.
The difference:
I can download the Chrome OS source code and do whatever I want to it, and run it on whatever hardware I want.
Apple gives NO ONE any choice, you either buy Apple hardware or you are S.O.L.
While I extensively use Google's products, I find that GMail is still wanting in terms of searching for email.
Here's why: You search for all mails containing some word...Gmail returns all mails having such a word with no obvious categorization. It would be better if it can return emails categorized as follows:
Those with attachments and what type of attachment it is, those sent last week, last month, last year, 2 years ago etc...those sent by who...and so on.
Right now, the interface sucks big time. Anyone agree? Yahoo does a better job at this.
Unlike traditional operating systems, Chrome OS doesn't trust the applications you run. Each app is contained within a security sandbox making it harder for malware and viruses to infect your computer. Furthermore, Chrome OS barely trusts itself. Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code.
The developers barely trust themselves to write secure code so they decided code will not be writen at all. Not trusting themselves with this even they have scrambled their passwords and erased their door access cards. Security has been further enhanced by all staffers being locked up in the basement behind a externally locked door. 6 weeks later the only issue is now is the smell.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
Perhaps they are trying to be a bit like Apple... you can get their software in conjunction with their approved hardware for a seamless experience.
Let's hope seamless means reamless. Unlike the Apple experience.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Why on Earth would I use this with a portable device? A lot of the times I'm on my notebook I don't have a network connection, but I can still use my applications and be productive until I get around to a net connection and waste my time on the web.
Is cloud computing returning our computers to the dumb terminals once were? A login and password anywhere will take you to ALL your digital media.
Let's face it, most of us are scoffers. But moments before zero hour, it does not pay to take chances.
Might not be so bad if they have some plan to let people to set up their own little "mini cloud".
Otherwise things like access to data when unable to access the internet, backups, and loss of access to service will be a problem.
Privacy could become a big problem too. You want your pr0n stash stored on the cloud?
The OS differs from the usual computing model by (1) making all apps web apps.
DO NOT WANT!
I do not like this, Sam I Am. I do not like green eggs and ham.
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds"
Gmail wins mail.
Google docs provides a position in the office market.
Google Wave provides a shared, collaborative team synchronization system.
Google Voice provides a complete solution replacement for all phones.
Android positions Google in the handheld market.
Cell providers cut Google a sweet deal for ad revenue sharing (well documented already)
Cell providers cut Google a deal to resell wireless at their whim. (well documented)
Chromium OS excludes local storage, relies on cloud computing, ties to ubiquitous wireless data access resold by Google.
Screw the future. It's not "still coming." With Chromium OS, Google just implemented ubiquitous, disposable, always-on, wireless computing, collaborating, and calling for the masses, who need never again fear their computer breaking, their hard drive eating their data, or nearly anything else.
...and from this future there will be no escape.
This basically opens up multitudes of possibilities for offline apps. If you can plug in a USB flash drive, why not a USB hard drive? If you can store and listen to music offline, why not video? And if everything runs in the browser, it just means that the API is javascript. You can do a lot with javascript.
Also, being open source means that forks can add whatever regular linux functionality they want.
I'm interested in what they're doing with X11. Anyone looked at the code?
Its Android for Netbooks. Meh. Sticking with Ubuntu, thanks.
And once they've released the source, they will enforce these no hard drive / approved hardware only rules... how?
Is this some MS-esque definition of "releasing the source"?
Currently, you can run Google's web apps offline if you have Google Gears(Chrome Browser has it built in). According to them, this is a temporary move until HTML 5 matures. The difference is that the apps, whether you are online or not, will run in the browser.
"[Netscape will soon reduce Windows to] a poorly debugged set of device drivers." 1995, Marc Andreessen
"All your data are belong to us"
Will it have Java? I'm wondering because it's still the only way to do decent architecture-independent games without 100% CPU usage 100% of the time.
Or does it support the Native client stuff?
Instructions on creating (downloading and building) your own chrome os are available here & http://www.chromium.org/. You can build a disk image and mess around with it. Right now they recommend building on Ubuntu 8.04 or higher 9.10 recommended. It seems well explained and shouldn't be a problem.
I might give it a try on my Acer Aspire One netbook tonight or this weekend...
Just because they open source it doesn't mean they don't prohibit you from modifying, distributing, or otherwise using it as you wish.
Allow me to quote the Open Source Definition (from http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php)
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software [...] The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software [...] The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
If they truly Open Source it, then in fact it does mean they allow you to modify, redistribute and use it for whatever you want.
(and people complain that "free software" is easy to misunderstand...)
Bitches! Fuck yous @ all shitty slashdot editors.
"Hard disks are banned" seems like it would be a show-stopper for many folks.
Really, what does an OS need to do? It needs to manage the network, talk to devices and launch applications. That's it, isn't it? By specifying "no hard disk" Google is cutting out a major part of the device chat. Displaying a folder hierarchy is essentially a search, format and display application. They're good at that.
A large part of the Windows code is managing a large variety of devices, from displays to USB devices. If Google specifies the display format, then there's another large chunk of code dropped. The UI is an application, pointing devices are - devices.
Add an IP stack for the network and stick a security layer in somewhere, if you still need it.
By limiting configuration choices to those that have a broad appeal a *huge* amount of OS can simply go away. You have less local IO, less device chat, and no local disk latency to worry about.
People know how long their network takes to react, and will accommodate that. In contrast, a very thin OS will be very quick and will compare very favourably to a thick OS in response. And if most of the IO is server-side in the cloud, you won't see a lot of IO delays (source of most hangs) and response should be smoother overall, because servers tend to have the best IO controllers and enough spindles to stripe (not that Google would resort to actual hard drives!) Where's the beef?
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Is it just me, or do the following 2 statements contradict one another?
(1) making all apps web apps
(3) removing anything unnecessary, to focus on speed."
So you're focused on speed, but dont allow native code? Seriously, what has happened to computer science degrees, and why are so many software engineers so freaking lazy (like using webapps for security rather than NATIVE security)???
Maybe too early to be sure but it does sound very similar to what I saw on DF yesterday.
How will I ever pirate my movies now?
"All applications will be web apps, all data will be stored in the cloud and the operating system will be booted from Flash - no hard disks will be supported." "Google will also allow some data and applications to be accessed offline. Users will be able to listen to music and read eBooks without an internet connection," Since apparently there is no problem accessing music that is stored in the cloud while offline, I can only assume that they are referring to some other form of 'cloud,' such as a cloud of gnats that follows you around your head. It wouldn't be the first time biology inspired swarm techniques have been used in computer science.
To slightly reword a quote by The Great One (that's Wayne Gretzky to everyone else :)... a quote that also happens to be one of Jobs' favorite.
Looks like Google is building an operating system in anticipation of the ubiquitous Internet and optimizing it for that purpose alone. That's to say, wireless available everywhere and hopefully dirt cheap. Maybe they believe that's gonna happen just about late 2010.
Wouldn't be surprising given competition by upcoming networks like Clearwire WiMax.
No desktop apps. Less hard drive space than an iPod. Lame.
Today users can still get at least *some* work done without being connected. This is another big step towards a single point of failure the likes of which we have never seen in entire human history.
Yay, it's TCPA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Computing_Group all over again. And why exactly would we want it this time around?
In reference to people being concerned that they'd lose access to data if their internet connection were down:
'"If your cloud is down it affects any computer you're on," he said. "I'd like to see a comparison of the cloud with what you have today. I think the cloud will compare very, very favourably[sic]."'
Um, no. If my "cloud" is down, i.e., my internet connection, my laptop or desktop can still run everything. I can still work on my visio diagram, I can still listen to music, I can still do my taxes.
I can do all of that because the bleeding data that I need is on the damn machine.
Not to mention, why would I EVER entrust any corporation to safeguard or ethically use any data that I store on their "cloud"?
Can I create my own 'local' "cloud"? What will the EULA terms be? Can Google decide to start digging through your data to send advertisers your way?
Does Google now own the data?
Pressing questions.
If we're not allowed to install anything locally how are printers going to work? How will that work when HP is telling me I have to download 600megs for a freaking injet printer driver. I need grandma to be able to print her xmas emails on a printer she picked up from Walmart and pictures to print correctly.
I hearby announce the very first fork of ChromeOS.
I have replaced the entire source with:
#include
main()
{
for(;;)
{
printf ("Natalie Portman and hot grits, oh my!\n");
}
}
I will be providing a full patch shortly.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
With the OS effectively being a thin client and both applications and data on the server, the question is "who controls the server?"
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
Google's been pushing offline support pretty strongly on a number of devices. It would be a real waste if my computer were inoperable if the network were down. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to play chess, or write a document or take notes when I'm on a plane or far away from civilization. Even phones have airplane modes these days. I wonder if there is any sort of a file system at all on the Chrome OS. If not, it will be raise the bar for writing apps (even with offline mode support) since you simply have to write code to sync data as well.
I don't want to read
Are there more web-browser-based operating systems yet other than Palm webOS and Google Chrome OS? I am not going to look through the architecture right now but I expect it to be quite similar; certain applications will be built upon browser plug-ins, but fundamentally still be "web apps", and there will be numerous non-web-app services running natively on the Unix part of the platform, along with special extension objects in the JavaScript engine to allow access to these services via a message bus.
Brian Fundakowski Feldman
Then where will the OS go? Does it always sit in the ram or is it on a small read-only chip, either way it will need some sort of memory to write to if they want to be able to distribute updates. Do they plan on streaming parts of the OS over the net? What if you need to check an old email and you are somewhere in the vast majority of the planet where there there is not wifi available to you at that instant, you can't just use offline mode like you can with a regular linux distribution? Also if Google is exerting all this control over which laptops can run it, this is just as bad as Apple. Even Microsoft lets you install Windows on any PC you want if it will work. It may be opensource, as in the source is viewable to others, but it is not "Free as in Speech" and as long as Google wants to use this OS simply as a means to lock you in and get access to all your information, I will NEVER USE CHROME OS! I want to be able to control which information Google can have, not make it an all or nothing deal. The only good news about the no hard drives is this could be Google's way of saying "G-Drive" will be ready next year,
The Palm Pre philosophy is similar to ChromeOS. Google has stated that they love the Pre and no wonder: Palm Pre launching with Google Search, Google Maps, and YouTube
I wonder if Android's browser will start taking on some ChromeOS functions. The Pre and Android could become more and more similar over time.
Oh look, they've re-invented the X Terminal yet again. So thin-clients are up for another go-round, are they? How long before they go out of fashion *this* time?
---dragoness
Yeah, this is an open-source OS with very interesting solutions and oriented to the internet.
But what about heavy flash sites? Will it include a binary from a company not related to google? Or will they push open-source alternatives to flash?
I hope its the second alternative... or maybe there is a third one: push for HTML5.
contrasting (for example) the Xbox Live network with DLC to the Chrome OS;
How is the Chrome OS different than a game console?
Apart from the inherent $50 console game purchase (did someone say App Store during the Chrome Show); Would a Nintendo DS + 3G be the same thing??
due to poor cable/ POTS infrastructure, places in africa and india and central/ south america experience the internet pretty much only through their cell phones
of course its not 4G speeds, but its something, and it isn't a market to be ignored simply because the signal is slow and weak and intermittent. in fact, its a huge market with no other options. build their favorite gateway, and you have a captive audience of billions
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I just need someone to write a vim/latex web app, and somehow access all my music movies and picture.
I find it pretty pathetic that comments which misscharacterize things mentioned in the article or in the various links are so highly moderated.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
they did talk up HTML 5
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Maybe the knee jerk slashdot technopessimists will be right this time.
STFU about slashdot bias.
This would be nice if it could be compiled for now on more than just Ubuntu. Can't the devs just write generic scripts?
Perhaps by 2010 we will all have access to Neutrino networks, which will solve the problem of dead spots.
Isn't this web tv again?
Having read (most of) the comments, I wonder why no one has mentioned that Chrome OS will be the perfect OS to run the fabled internet-fridge and similar not-quite-*books... As I see it, this could be huge.
The next obvious step would be a good support for touch screens, on-screen keyboard and such...
...goes the hopes of millions, that Google OS would kill MS. You may as well run Win Mobile or Moblin or iMacOSX.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
"it's very simple to use, there's nothing to maintain. It should just work." HA HA, oh wow.
"All user data will be stored in the cloud, with the operating system only using local flash memory for caching data such as settings."
Why? I have good internet but it doesn't have 100% uptime or no lag. So every personal photo will be uploaded? and if I want to edit it, re downloaded or at least a snap shot of it? Will the editing happen in the cloud, meaning lag before I see every crop and color adjustment? or will it download and have my low grade cpu do all the processing then reupload it every time? not to mention God help you if you have a porn collection like 99.9% of guys with computers I know. so all my legally bought and ripped dvds will have to be uploaded to a cloud? Then streamed back to me?
"If your cloud is down it affects any computer you're on," he said. "I'd like to see a comparison of the cloud with what you have today. I think the cloud will compare very, very favorably."
Ok now you are just lying through your teeth or are just really dumb [marketing]. I can work or play for hours without my internet plugged in, thank you. Also my laptop does the same in or out of wi-fi.
all the kids have 500 gigs of porn, I'm not joking. They are not going to save that in a cloud and have it streamed to them
Guess how I learned the news in P.R.China? I learned the news on the Google Blog, browsed chromium.org, and watched youtube videos, all through Tor.
The Google Blog which is on blogspot.com, the chromium.org which is based on AppSpot, and youtube.com itself, are tightly blocked by some 'relevant department'(, which is the code for gvn't sometimes). Looking forward to the blocking for Wave some time in near future.
The reason Android is picking up so well within cellphone manufacturers is that it allows for customization without the burden of maintaining a full OS. Google plan is to have another platform designed around their very profitable services. There is no need for Google to get money from device makers, the use of services would amply justify the profits. In a way, it's the same philosophy phone carriers use in subsidizing devices to make you use their network. Google has the inherent advantage to allow customization, so every device maker can have their own skin. At the end, Google wants to control the key parts that make you use their services. So no hard drive (everything is in their cloud), Small, efficient screen (long battery time), reliable connection. I am sure it won't care what chip you use, because, from their perspective, that is totally irrelevant.
Why would Google just target netbooks? In some ways, desktops are just as good a place to put Chrome OS, since you tend to have perfect, uninterrupted wired internet on desktops, so you can do much of your cloud work with the same stability you would get from offline work.
Count me out. Their browser wouldn't work on any of my pcs (work or home). Plus what happens if you don't have a network connection?!? You guessed it a netbook brick that can do nothing. No thanks. I will stay with a system that has the OS on a local drive so I don't have to rely on the internet to do anything. This will fail.
With Linux and GPL3, you have anti-tivo provisions making them sort of vertical carrier intergration unfriendly. With ChromiumOS, you don't necessarily have these same restrictions (just google restrictions on ChromeOS).
It remains to be see if this is better or not...
No filesystem access. Less space than a hard drive. Lame. :)
(For the record, I think this sounds very exciting -- the first truly new OS idea in a decade).
Remember, Google doesn't build Chrome OS primarily for today's infrastructure. They build for the future, with tomorrow's technology.
A few early adopters will take the hit, accept the flaws of an OS runs best when online in a world where the infrastructure doesn't support it everywhere. These are probably mostly going to be urban people in areas where Turbo 3G and WiFi connections are no problem.
You don't even have to visit the future in order to experience a world where you are can be online virtually everywhere - even in rural areas (and for peanut money). Just visit Scandinavia for instance.
I was on a train between Gothenburg and Stockholm about two years ago. Too cheap to pay for the Internet connection on the train, I used my ~$12/month unlimited Turbo 3G with my laptop. I dropped connectivity 3 times, the longest time was about 5 minutes. That was two years ago and that train goes through some very rural areas!
4G is around the corner, and that is probably what Google has in mind for Chrome OS. High-bandwith and low-latency connectivity available virtually everywhere.
In the near future, Internet connectivity will not be an issue 99.9% of the time in any places most people are ever likely to go. With Google Gears as a backup-solution for those few occations, I don't really see connectivity as being a major problem.
A hardware vendor can already put a tiny installation of Linux + X11 + Firefox or Chrome on small flash drive.
Congratulations, you just told us what Chrome is. You didn't think they would write the whole thing from scratch, did you?
For some reason, it reminds me of the classic "Have you tried JavaScript?" WTF.
I mean, the concept of a terminal is a good one (and not new), but why do we have to rewrite a bunch of reasonably optimized UI remoting protocols that we have -such as, well, X - in HTML/CSS/JavaScript? It doesn't really solve anything, but it creates a bunch of new problems that are then hurriedly solved (such as writing state-of-the-art JavaScript JIT compilers with whole-body type inference so that JS scripts run fast). Why?
I guess that, if all you have is HTML and JavaScript, everything starts to look like a web page.
I imagine you're aware of this, but with Linux, you could do all this for free. Citrix'll cost you a ton for client access licenses, and Linux has this kind of thin-client support built in.
Of course, you must be replacing a traditional Windows desktop-centric network, and I guess you have some need for Windows-only apps with no viable Linux equivalent. But don't you wish you didn't have that requirement? Maybe one of these days...
Interestingly, maybe ChromeOS will support a citrix client (or X / NX server). Maybe the new devices built around ChromeOS will make really nice thin-client terminals for more than web-only use. Not clear yet, but that could be enough of a niche to keep the hardware manufacturers onboard. Maybe even Wyse...
Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
I saw it at http://chromebook.blogspot.com/2009/11/chrome-os-has-been-released-introducing.html
there is a torrent to a .vmdk file which should boot up in virtualbox or vmware,
have fun!
We moved away from mainframes and dumb terminals to desktop computers and now we are moving back again... (cloud computing and the like) after the love affair has ended with that we will be moving back to the equivalent of the desktop computer.
http://www.coolforsale.com/ Christmas is around the corner: And old customers can also enjoy the gifts sent by my company in a can also request to our company. Gifts lot,Buy more get the moreOnly this site have this treatmentOur goal is "Best quality, Best reputation , Best services". Your satisfaction is our main pursue. You can find the best products from us, meeting your different needs. Ladies and Gentlemen weicome to my coolforsale.com.Here,there are the most fashion products . Pass by but don't miss it.Select your favorite clothing! Welcome to come next time ! Thank you! http://www.coolforsale.com/productlist.asp [coolforsale.com] [coolforsale.com]? id=s76 (Tracksuit w) ugg boot,POLO hoody,Jacket, Air jordan(1-24)shoes $33 Nike shox(R4,NZ,OZ,TL1,TL2,TL3) $35 Handbags(Coach lv fendi d&g) $35 Tshirts (Polo ,ed hardy,lacoste) $16 free shipping competitive price any size available accept the paypal Thanks
http://www.coolforsale.com/ Christmas is around the corner: And old customers can also enjoy the gifts sent by my company in a can also request to our company. Gifts lot,Buy more get the moreOnly this site have this treatmentOur goal is "Best quality, Best reputation , Best services". Your satisfaction is our main pursue. You can find the best products from us, meeting your different needs.Ladies and Gentlemen weicome to my coolforsale.com.Here,there are the most fashion products . Pass by but don't miss it.Select your favorite clothing! Welcome to come next time ! Thank you! http://www.coolforsale.com/productlist.asp?id=s76 (Tracksuit w) ugg boot,POLO hoody,Jacket, Air jordan(1-24)shoes $33 Nike shox(R4,NZ,OZ,TL1,TL2,TL3) $35 Handbags(Coach lv fendi d&g) $35 Tshirts (Polo ,ed hardy,lacoste) $16
free shipping
competitive price
any size available
accept the paypal
Thanks
Guess what: Chrome OS happens to use Chrome as a browser. Yes, we know it's surprising. We can hardly believe it ourself.
Trusted Computing rocks!
USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
I think my mom is a typical Joe Sixpack computer user. She uses Firefox to access Gmail and read some newspapers. Chromium would be great if this was all she did. However, she also uses the computer to store and view her photos. Does Google seriously want us to upload all this data to the cloud? Several gigabytes every time you empty your camera or digital camcorder? What's Google's plan for multimedia?
Google ISP next?
The computer they envision is just a glorified dumb terminal. There's nothing wrong with that, but there it is.
I was really excited about this, until I tried to actually use it. It gave me an important lesson about open source and cloud computing. The frontend can be open source, but all the apps below it can be easily locked out. From what I can see, normal users can't actually get at a lot of the goodies. Like the application section.
Everything will be taken away from you.
Google's already got an OS, Android. It's already shipping, it's FOSS, it's got a huge developer base with tools since it's really Linux programmed in Java with a different compiler generating different bytecode for a different JM (Dalvik). It runs on mobile phones and netbooks, and probably PCs, too - and will soon probably run on anything Linux runs on.
What possible strategy could come from also releasing a ChromeOS that is different from Android? Does Google expect lots of people to develop for both Android and ChromeOS? Google surely realizes there are only so many developers, even if ChromeOS is easy and more new developers spring up for it.
Launching one new OS is gutsy, and succeeds about once every couple of decades. Launching two within a couple years is foolhardy, and undercuts each of them.
--
make install -not war
How the old is made new once more. Back in the early '80s we were only too happy to get away from that model... Just goes to show. Just as well I kept that card-punch (a Burroughs equivalent of this), maybe I'll need it again in a few years.
Screw 32G, it sounds like all they need is about 4G.
I thought that Apple was bad about wanting total control, but they've got nothing on Google.
My response to this crap is the same as my response to the failed monopolists in Cupertino: I simply don't buy their shit under any circumstances.
Muslim community leaders warn of backlash from tomorrow morning's terrorist attack.
I'm utterly speechless as to who they think would actually use a system so cripped that it could only run a browser and was not even capable of storing files locally?
I'm sure Microsoft is feeling the pressure now.
Can games be played on this OS? (Given large enough physical memory and graphic card)
Every time I hear about thin clients and distributed computing, I always find myself thinking about one thing: Joe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Logic_Named_Joe
Am I the only one? I'm surprised no one has made this connection yet.
I dont see to much of a future of Chromium OS, yes google is behind that thing, but linux came first. It will be hard to gain that terrain, and there is BSD. I dont think they are going to be able to bit Windows. And you are going to need internet everywhere you go. Maybe i am wrong but i dont think the current internet connections are fast enought to allow you to access big files over the internet. How about big files like movies? The only thing i can think of is that their target is netbooks in first world countries, and maybe hoping that in the next 5 years internet connections will speed up, so they can handle that huge amount of data transference. Having everything in a cloud seems what technology is aiming in the future but it doesnt seems practical for me, at least for the next five years. Maybe with Internet2 (yes i know is mainly for educational and research porpoises)or when everyone uses IPv6.
AND NOT NO FUCKING SOLITAIRE!
So I will outsource that to Google.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
.... that is all the reconciliation we need.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
how is there a monopoly in a market that nobody else wants (or can) offer the same product?
In any case having a monopoly is not evil, abusing it is.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Open Source licenses (like the GPL) are not EULAs in the traditional sense, they are copyright agreements.
If Google release the code then as long as you respect how the code is copied and modified (Copyright) I don't think they can dictate how the software is used (EULA).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
For creating one of the most limited PC operating systems of all time (with ads too) !
There have been several of those "dead horses" in the past.
Apple's Newton comes to mind, where an idea was way ahead of its time.
In this case everything seems to be in place: people are already doing most of their work online (email, webs surfing, now even document editing, presentations and basic photographic and video editing) and we have broadband, something we lacked during previous attempts.
When Sun tried the idea they didn't have desktop applications in offer. It all worked great, but the only thing you could do is run an X application back in your display.
Now you have all applications online, even in corporate networks.
You are also underestimating the frustration in many companies with the asinine maintenance cycle of Windows based desktops. In many companies they are trying to use things like Citirix and bizarre Windows thin clients in order to minimize maintenance costs, a thin client with credible applications is a holly grail, not a dead horse.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
They can no longer install programs they find in the net, download and watch videos and pictures, and run that funny program that was sent by a person they have not met before.
Computers are not in an office to satisfy employees aesthetic tastes, they are there to accomplish specific tasks, so frankly I would not be particularly concerned if users feel frustrated, there are enough people out there that would be grateful to have a job, so they can give their place to somebody else if they feel aggravated by using restricted computing resources.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
iPhones are luxury items, most people don't have one, ditto for iPods.
Play video games? Buy a console.
As for the rest, I fail to see why you can't upload pictures from your camera (have you heard about this little thing called Picassa?)
And of course if you have a web browser+flash+java you can work from home (there are several solutions out there that will work for you).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Read the specs:
http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chromiumos-design-docs/software-architecture
> It is not using X11 in any form, it is using it's own graphics + windowing api.
Stop spreading rubbish. What else graphics technology do you expect it to use?
Perhaps Google should not bother with these things doing backwards things like booting and launching browser... If they implant a "Google chip" into our brains, we will wake up and whatever we wonder will be searched in Google properties and injected into our thoughts with Google adsense mixed in middle of them.
Calling this insane? Watch people lining up for Google powered FREE netbooks next year, especially 8-13 year old kids...
Dear EFF: Remember what you are supposed to do? That "powered by Google" searchbox on your site, start with removing it.
Yet, most people don't get it. Historically, the main motivation for the birth of the internet was specifically to avoid the dreaded Single Point of Failure. What we see in the cloud concept is exactly the opposite. The cloud can (and statistically it will) eat your data, along with everyone's else. What if a whole contry's data infrastructure is in one failed cloud?
Do you trust one company to be better at handling YOUR data than yourself? Do you trust it will never be hacked? Do you trust it will always be online? Do you trust nobody will access it without your consent?
I don't. You shouldn't.
Also, what happens when you get without internet access? What happens when power is out? (my laptop can run for two hours on battery, my router won't)
What happens when the three-strikes law passes? Not if, given current state of affairs. Will you be locked out of all your data? What when you put all your family HD movies in the cloud, will you need to have fiber to watch it with good quality?
Also, economically that's a catastrophe. The cloud will maintain some companies basically with a monopoly on YOUR data. It will destroy the whole industry based on standalone software. Don't be mislead: you WILL have to pay to get even the most basic software running. Many companies already do that with auto-deactivating software. The cloud will only make it easier.
And for those who think the comment above looks like some doomsday dark sci-fi story, I advice to take a look around. Things are already happening. One doesn't have to dig deep to find news of what's already happening.
Maybe they'll use this:
http://dev.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/software-updates-courgette
So this is just Pyro Desktop using webkit instead of gecko?
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1435180&threshold=-1&commentsort=0&mode=thread&cid=30021114
Per my subject-line: Read that, & get back to us (since you are allegedly a dev mgr. @ MS)... this isn't to "antagonize you", but, rather to help you folks @ MS spot possible problems in Windows VISTA/Windows Server 2008/Windows 7 especially, due to their WFP/NDIS6 firewall design, problems in the local DNS cache client, & in HOSTS files.
Thanks for your time.
APK
P.S.=> I am not sure WHY you've avoided my points, because they are to help "make a better Windows" is all, but I assume because of your being busy. However, your business is making Windows allegedly, so why not take a peek @ something that may point to issues!
(Definite possibles per:
1.) ROOTKIT.COM's findings on unhooking the WFP/NDIS6 firewall easier than the older Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 setup apparently, WITH CODE THE SAID DOES SO NO LESS in the url pointing to it
2.) Problems in the local DNS Client cache (fails/lags for folks that use "LARGISH" HOSTS files (plenty of us, many 1000's, per Spybot S&D users + folks @ mvps.org (to only name a small few) & even folks like Mr. Oliver Day espouse the use of HOSTS files, finding they make him go faster, AND SAFER, online by far as evidence to it, as well as users who have used a security guide of mine, of which HOSTS are a major part, not seeing any malware intrusions AND GOING FASTER ONLINE TOO)
3.) MS seemingly intentionally removing the ability to use the smaller & faster 0 based blocking IP address in a HOSTS file (when it was MS who put it into Windows, from 2000 in a SERVICE PACK, not its original OEM CD release distro mind you, & leaving it there clear into VISTA, until 12/09/2008 MS patch tuesday, when it (a good thing) was removed for SOME reason (makes no sense, unless somehow the dual IPv4 + IPv6 setup in VISTA onwards facilitates the need for this, & I do NOT think it does @ this point)
AND, more...)
Again, thanks for your time, & I hope this aids MS in "making a better Windows than Windows is", per those points... apk
I think he fails to understand it because of a simple reason. Apple, with a CULT base, not a customer base couldn't get away with "web apps only" on a tiny device.
Lets see what will people say about "web apps" on a fscking 12 inch screen and a real keyboard.
Steve Jobs couldn't make people convinced about it. You know, the Reality Distortion Field guy, CEO of Century or something... Apple didn't dare to claim people's personal data too...
BTW, I wonder when will US Govt. ask Google about how far they will go?
You know, there is something called Linux and entire tree of BSD which is free to do anything with. I can find 10-15 elite guys and start my own BSD Distro and if it is better than FreeBSD (imaginary speaking), it can have potential to grow bigger and perhaps make a multi billion enterprise giant (Red Hat).
Why don't contribute time and resources to them and play with a giant information monopoly toy instead? Return? More 13 year old clueless kids personal info?
Apple can't and won't port iTunes to Chrome OS since they won't be able to run their own schemes of communicating with their devices.
iTunes.html can be done, usbmuxd.html can't.
In theory, if there is enough market, Apple can release iTunes for Linux, a closed source binary but on a WebOS, they can't even if they want to.