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Google's Chrome OS To Launch In Fall

Kidfork writes "On Wednesday Google's vice president of product management said that this fall Google will launch Chrome OS to compete with Microsoft Windows. More than 70 million users already use the Chrome Browser, and Google expects at least 1 million users of the OS by day one of release."

375 comments

  1. hmm... by Pojut · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Gonna give this one a try on the ol Dell Mini 9. I wonder though...how will gamers respond?

    1. Re:hmm... by Mouldy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They'll probably response by not trying to use it to play games.

    2. Re:hmm... by Vanderhoth · · Score: 2, Insightful

      With the way the game industry it trying to ruin PC gaming with DRMs these days I don't think it's going to matter.

    3. Re:hmm... by Alphathon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Probably by asking "But will it run Crysis?"

    4. Re:hmm... by V!NCENT · · Score: 0

      Most gamers are young people that didn't loose their interest in games yet. They will complain for being too stupid to understand that downloading a webbrowser OS is only useful to browse the wbe with.

      Adults will hopefully not make the mistake for downloading Chrome OS to play Win32 games and the ones who do not will hopefully make the idiots realise that they are idiots.

      --
      Here be signatures
    5. Re:hmm... by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm sure farmville and mafiawars will get higher framerates on these systems and have a totally unfair advantage

    6. Re:hmm... by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Gamers won't use it.

    7. Re:hmm... by Rogerborg · · Score: 0

      Most gamers are young people who have not lost their interest in games yet. They will complain because they are too stupid to understand that downloading a web browser OS is only useful to browse the web with.

      Adults will hopefully not make the mistake of downloading Chrome OS to play Win32 games and the ones who do not will hopefully make the idiots realise that they are idiots.

      Fixed that for you.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    8. Re:hmm... by V!NCENT · · Score: 4, Funny

      Fixed that for you.

      Thank you, slave.

      --
      Here be signatures
    9. Re:hmm... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's a hacked up version of linux. Even if you could get WINE working with it, You're only going to be able to get a few windows games working. However, that's not what the OS is intended for. It's a platform for a web browser. It's the most minimalistic OS since the 80s.

      It'll probably run flash games just fine, but you can do that with any existing system so why go to ChromeOS just for that?

      Actually, considering you can get Chrome on all 3 major OSes as it is, I don't understand why anybody would use ChromeOS on a real PC at all anyway. Maybe on a little netbook or something... but on a real pc/laptop? why?

    10. Re:hmm... by macraig · · Score: 1

      Well, of course... his name ends with Borg.

    11. Re:hmm... by TheKidWho · · Score: 1

      DRM is the future. Get used to it.

    12. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most gamers are young people that didn't loose their interest in games yet.

      I did. My interest in games was too tight.

    13. Re:hmm... by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      Actually - that's just plain wrong. According to the organisors of the international gaming olympiad - the profile of the typical hardcore gamer is 40+, single, high-earning with significant disposable income and not much to spend it on but gaming gear.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    14. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Other than the hardcore 'nerd' gamers (the ones hanging out on TomsHardware, etc.) I don't think gamers really care about the hardware or OS they are using. Look at the number happy to play on consoles vs. PCs. If the game is compelling, they'll buy whatever device they need to play it. Right now, its probably not going to be Chrome OS device however if Google do succeed with NativeClient (and I have a pretty good feeling that they will) and the gaming industry get their way, games will be downloaded from the cloud and will play in any browser that can run NativeClient. They've demonstrated this with Quake running in the browser and as long as games are willing to conform with OpenGL, then its probably going to make the hardware/OS even less important if you can run NativeClient on the device.

    15. Re:hmm... by Pharmboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It'll probably run flash games just fine, but you can do that with any existing system so why go to ChromeOS just for that?

      Because if that is all you do, then it *will* do it better, as that is all it can do, making it faster. One example of a perfect place is my netbook, that I only use when I travel. I only check email, browse and hit facebook. Of course, this is after I spend a couple of hours updating Windows XP because I hadn't used the thing in two months. I'm also trying to get us to move our accounting software to something that is web based, on our intranet server. If I could do that, then this is all we would need in the office as well, as everything else we do in via the web. Even MS *.doc files can be read online, which is fine as we don't generate many of those.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    16. Re:hmm... by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Piracy is the future, get over it.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    17. Re:hmm... by StayFrosty · · Score: 1

      Just like DRM is the future of music...Oh, wait. The DRM fight can be won.

      --
      "Frequently wrong, never in doubt."
    18. Re:hmm... by pinkj · · Score: 1

      You're both right.

    19. Re:hmm... by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      the profile of the typical hardcore gamer is 40+, single, high-earning with significant disposable income and not much to spend it on but gaming gear.

      They also must have low IQ's as well... Not much to spend it on? are these people brain dead meat puppets? Motorcycles, Cars, Jetpacks, Overpriced stereos... I can list 90,000 things other than videogames to spend my high-earning money on that is not only more fun, but get's you way more chicks...

      A sports car is more impressive to a lady than a 6 digit Xbox achievement point number.
      A motorcycle is far more fun than ANY driving game on any gaming platform.
      Racing with your local racing club on a real track is far more fun than any game. $10,000 can get you a nice Miata and all the racing upgrades to really tear it up at the track. a 1.8 with a turbo in a miata makes for real fun on a real track (not a redneck oval)
      Hang gliding is an absolute rush.
      etc....

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    20. Re:hmm... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They also must have low IQ's as well...

      Depending on which test you believe, 127 to 132. Hi.

      Not much to spend it on? are these people brain dead meat puppets? Motorcycles, Cars, Jetpacks, Overpriced stereos...

      You can't have both? I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD 650s with a pretty impressive amp and source, had a modified LS1, have a 21" speed boat, and own a Ps3 and wii (360 redringed on me), and two computers.

      I can list 90,000 things other than videogames to spend my high-earning money on that is not only more fun, but get's you way more chicks...

      A sports car is more impressive to a lady than a 6 digit Xbox achievement point number.

      depends entirely on the lady in question. I submit that you're going to want to spend more time long term with the lady who digs gaming than the one who's only interested in you because you can afford to drive her around in an M6 or 911.

      Playing a single player video game is no different than reading a book or watching a movie except that the experience is interactive. Playing a multiplayer video game is a lot more interactive with your friends than sitting around watching the game.

    21. Re:hmm... by silentcoder · · Score: 3, Informative

      >They also must have low IQ's as well... Not much to spend it on? are these people brain dead meat puppets? Motorcycles, Cars, Jetpacks, Overpriced stereos... I can list 90,000 things other than videogames to spend my high-earning money on that is not only
      more fun, but get's you way more chicks...

      All of which has this in common: they are LEISURE items - why does choosing one leisure item over another define your IQ ?
      Also - most high-earning men that age are married, presumably this at least marginally reduces the number of additional chicks they actually NEED to get.

      >A sports car is more impressive to a lady than a 6 digit Xbox achievement point number.
      To some ladies. Perhaps even a significant majority - but most certainly not for ALL ladies.

      >A motorcycle is far more fun than ANY driving game on any gaming platform.
      To you. To me. Not to everyone.
      Besides, much as I prefer my bike over driving games, I prefer WoW over golf - tastes differ. Why the aggro dude ?

      >Racing with your local racing club on a real track is far more fun than any game. $10,000 can get you a nice Miata and all the racing upgrades to really tear it up at the track. a 1.8 with a turbo in a miata makes for real fun on a real track (not a redneck oval)

      To you. To some other people. Not to everybody. A helluva lot of people will think THAT is the sign of a low IQ. Choosing to risk your life at high-speed in the real world (where you do NOT respawn).

      >Hang gliding is an absolute rush.

      Again... to you. I think RAIDING is an actual rush.

      I don't fit the profile, I've just turned 30, but I am a high-earning single male without much other financial responsibility. I pay my bond and since I don't have other debt - I got plenty of cash to burn even after making investments. Why the hell should you get to decide that burning it on hanggliding is smarter than burning it on the Cataclysm expansion ?

      Talk about having your head so far up your own ass you can't see the crud for the dingleberries...

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    22. Re:hmm... by bmwEnthusiast · · Score: 1

      It rains out sometimes, I can't run my R-Compound tires in the rain.. I'd rather play Tiger Woods 2010 on those days.

    23. Re:hmm... by imakemusic · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm also guessing (perhaps naively) that it will boot much faster.

      --
      Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
    24. Re:hmm... by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      Just noticed a minor oversight in my post. The profile specifies 40+ and single so that married majority don't apply. But then again high-earning 40+ singles tend to be divorcees - in case you missed it, 40+ divorcees pretty much the bottom-feeders of the gene-pool anyway - so if they enjoy blowing up heads in halo rather than another bar-pickup tonight... who are you to judge ?

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    25. Re:hmm... by dzfoo · · Score: 1

      Via GMail, or Wave, like everyone else.

              -dZ.

      --
      Carol vs. Ghost
      ...Can you save Christmas?
    26. Re:hmm... by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2, Insightful

      >Of course, this is after I spend a couple of hours updating Windows XP because I hadn't used the thing in two months.

      Is the Chrome OS wont need updates? I have an old ubuntu install I boot up every so often and the updates are just as bad, if not worse. Modern OSs require updates. Theyre all moving targets.

      I'm also very skeptical of the claims of "I just need a browser!" Every user who told me that or something similar adds "Oh and yahoo chat, and my toolbars, and it must work with this shitty printer/scanner combo, and run this old crap software I've been using since 1998, and quickbooks, etc etc."

    27. Re:hmm... by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      Just noticed a minor oversight in my post. The profile specifies 40+ and single so that married majority don't apply. But then again high-earning 40+ singles tend to be divorcees - in case you missed it, 40+ divorcees pretty much the bottom-feeders of the gene-pool anyway - so if they enjoy blowing up heads in halo rather than another bar-pickup tonight... who are you to judge ?

      Well he might be a 40+ divorcee who has dedicated his life and wealth to the betterment of others.

    28. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "not much to spend it on but Gaming gear" is the source of the "low IQ" statement. and he is 100% right in that context. Now you show that you have an IQ because you can think of more things to buy. Low IQ types cant understand there are things outside of what they know. I think you read lumpy's post wrong. He's pointing out low IQ = cant think of other things. Which is completely correct in his context.

    29. Re:hmm... by the_one_wesp · · Score: 1

      IIRC, Blizzard doesn't feel DRM is necessary, and recently made a statement to that effect.

    30. Re:hmm... by Compholio · · Score: 1

      Even if you could get WINE working with it, You're only going to be able to get a few windows games working.

      1) Wine runs plenty of games, provided that you have a good enough video card. I personally use it for Supreme Commander, Borderlands, C&C3, and the StarCraft II Beta - and I'm only using a GeForce 8600M.
      2) Linux has it's own games. In addition to the FOSS games there are plenty of indie titles, all of Id's games support Linux, and we're anticipating Steam for Linux in the near future.

    31. Re:hmm... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Wine's nice and all, but if you're really going to be gaming you're probably better off splurging on crossover games or when possible just buying the Linux version.

      That being said, wasn't the point of Chrome to be a sort of cloud OS? Given that Larry Ellison predicted that we wouldn't be using PCs well over a decade ago and we're still using them, I'm guessing this is going to be more of a clod OS than a cloud OS. And such a thing will probably not be any good for gaming any time soon. Well, at least for things like FPS and other latency sensitive gaming.

    32. Re:hmm... by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      Absolutely - but that's hardly typical. When trying to analyze the motivations of a "profile" - you're already dealing with a massive generalization, the only useful conclusions you could draw are those that apply to the majority of the people in that generalization, edge cases are negligible by the very definition of a profile.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    33. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      recently made a statement

      Yet simultaneously, they do not allow SC2 to be played via LAN without phoning home first. But hey, words speak louder than actions or something like that.

    34. Re:hmm... by Vanderhoth · · Score: 1
      Blizzard: DRM is a waste of everyone’s time

      Although they say DRMs are a waste of time the articale also says:

      ... Its DRM is rather simple: a one-time online activation. After that, you can play online or off without having to worry about Blizzard’s mommy-state servers keeping tabs on your authentication status. ...

      That being said, I have no problem with a one time activation as long as is in twenty years when I want to sit down a play the game again I still can, which I doubt will be possible. Eventually they will decommission the sever thus rendering the game useless unless it's cracked.

    35. Re:hmm... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      I've got a GTX 470 now, although most of my Wine experience was on an 8800 GTS.

      I got WoW working well enough. it would still have graphical glitches and the occasional crash now and then that it's windows counterpart didn't have.

      I couldn't get teamspeak to recognize a microphone (which is better than I did with the linux native client).

      I got graphical corruption on 2d graphics in EVE.

      I couldn't get mass effect 1 or 2 working at all.

      I got homeworld 2 to start, but not play well.

      I couldn't get freelancer working correctly.

      I couldn't get diablo 2 working.

      I couldn't get World in Conflict working.

      I had to resort to VMs to run diablo 2, alpha centauri, civ 2, full tilt poker etc.

      The linux native version doom3 worked quite well actually though. That's about it.

      I tried a couple open source games, and while they were admirable attemtps, none of the ones I tried had anything like the finish or polish of a commercial game... which is understandable of course. Maybe I didn't try the right ones, but none of them really grabbed me at all.

      After a year of this, I decided to just dual boot into the OS that the games I wanted to play were meant to run on. Things have been so much better since.

    36. Re:hmm... by Pharmboy · · Score: 1

      Is the Chrome OS wont need updates? I have an old ubuntu install I boot up every so often and the updates are just as bad, if not worse. Modern OSs require updates. Theyre all moving targets.

      I'm also very skeptical of the claims of "I just need a browser!"

      1. Updating any Linux based system is trivial compared to Windows, particularly when it is a stripped versions. You won't be updated BIND, Samba, Apache, etc. on a Chrome OS system.

      2. On my regular desktop, no, it would not be enough. For some of my needs, it would be more than adequate, as I explained in the original post. I won't be using my scanner and old dot matrix printer when traveling. I don't need to run the same operating system on every computer I own. As a matter of fact, I never have.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    37. Re:hmm... by Pharmboy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That is supposed to be one of the main benefits, and additionally, it will sleep/wake up in one second. More importantly, with it running so little software, sleep mode should be more reliable, although that isn't the problem it used to be even with Windows. For kiosk systems, basic access systems, "mom's first computer" (and I don't want to have to maintain it weekly), and plenty of other limited use applications, this could be a good thing.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    38. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Piracy leaves no future. Accept it.

    39. Re:hmm... by sortius_nod · · Score: 1

      I dare say by that stage it'd be abandonware.

    40. Re:hmm... by ArcherB · · Score: 1

      Gonna give this one a try on the ol Dell Mini 9. I wonder though...how will gamers respond?

      Flash gamers will probably love it.

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    41. Re:hmm... by sortius_nod · · Score: 1

      Well, I'm not young, a heavy gamer, and fully understand what Chrome OS is for.

      Your move troll.

    42. Re:hmm... by Spewns · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Piracy leaves no future for outdated, dinosaur business models. Accept it.

      Fixed that for you. And I've long accepted and praised it.

    43. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Best response to a FTFY comment ever. Well played, sir.

    44. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that's kind of what he's saying, dude.

    45. Re:hmm... by twidarkling · · Score: 1

      I dunno, I think it'd depend on video playback abilities. In addition to websurfing, a lot of people want to watch movies and similar on their mobile platforms. I know video playback isn't really tied to the OS directly, but if there's a lack of quality compatible playback software, or if there's some quirk, it would hurt the numbers in the short-term.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    46. Re:hmm... by Vanderhoth · · Score: 1

      I had a friend who use to say, "It's not polite to point out he plot holes."

    47. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed. All three Linux games work fine. But in real life, people have stopped playing Abuse, Doom, and Quake.

    48. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you must have a small cock

    49. Re:hmm... by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      An ex girlfriend of mine once wrote a tiny, minimalist OS that does even less than Chrome OS.

      Then again, all it was was a special version of the bootsector that trashed my partition tables, and displayed a message, "I'm leaving you, you asshole."

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    50. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Piracy is the future, get over it.

      Says the thieving piece of shit.

    51. Re:hmm... by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Insightful

      don't understand why anybody would use ChromeOS on a real PC at all anyway. Maybe on a little netbook or something... but on a real pc/laptop? why?

      My netbook has as fast a processor, three times the drive space and twice the memory as the desktop I built five years ago. It streams fullscreen videos flawlessly. Hell, the PC I use at work is ten years old and running XP. My netbook is running Windows 7 (starter). If it won't run any version of Linux out there (which I fully intend to install once I get a thumb drive) I'll be greatly surprised.

      It's far more powerful than the IBM thinkpad I paid $20 for (bad battery and hard drive is shot, I'm going to fix it and give it to my oldest daugher).

      But anyway, a netbook IS a "real computer", far more capable than anything made just ten years or even less ago.

    52. Re:hmm... by warrior · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I am very impressed with your 21 inch speed boat. Do you have a tow bar set up for some hard core wakeboarding? Sorry for being pedantic, couldn't resist. Side note, I'd prefer the lady who would want to work on said hot car rather than ride in it or play video games.

      --
      Intel transfer the difficult from Hadware to software, for get more power, programmer need more technology. -- chinaitn
    53. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, pirating DRMed stuff leaves no future for DRMed stuff. Take away the DRM, and people can buy something that works, so that they don't need to pirate it in order to be able to use.

      I haven't bothered to pirate any music, because the CDs Just Work. I haven't needed to pirate anything in the Ubuntu repository (or any commerical Linux games, like what Loki used to sell), because it all Just Works.

      Cable TV: can't record it on my PVR, so I cancelled my cable service and bittorrent the shows, which causes them to Just Work. Movies: I can't play Blurays, and the DRM is the only thing stopping them from working, so I bittorrent them instead of buying, resulting in files that Just Work. Release video without DRM, and the motivation for piracy disappears. I'd love to be able to walk into a store and leave with tens of gigabytes on a disc I can immediately play, instead of waiting days sometimes for a torrent download, having to keep a ratio up, etc. But that isn't offered.

      Failing to offer working products in exchange for money, has no future. Accept it. Piracy -- showing them all the people they could have had as customers -- is one of the solutions. Repealing DMCA or denying copyright altogether for DRMed works, would be an even better solution, resulting in everyone (sellers and buyers) winning.

    54. Re:hmm... by tattood · · Score: 1

      Eventually they will decommission the sever thus rendering the game useless unless it's cracked.

      This was already discussed in the original Blizzard announcement thread. Whenever Blizzard decommissions a server, they also release a no-CD patch to allow play without the DRM.

      --
      WTB [sig], PST!!!
    55. Re:hmm... by yurtinus · · Score: 1

      Ah, clearly better pursuits of the mind because they get CHICKS! Yeah dude, chicks.

      Nice toys bro, but really get over yourself. Some folks play games, some folks race cars, some folks do both, some folks do neither. Nobody's right or wrong until you start claiming your way is the best way.

      --
      +1 Disagree
    56. Re:hmm... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Name one content model that works in your ideal world. How can the initial outlay for a $200M movie ever be recouped?

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    57. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, considering you can get Chrome on all 3 major OSes as it is, I don't understand why anybody would use ChromeOS on a real PC at all anyway. Maybe on a little netbook or something... but on a real pc/laptop? why?

      Faster boot times.

    58. Re:hmm... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      IIRC, Blizzard doesn't feel DRM is necessary, and recently made a statement to that effect.

      For single player. Because 90% of their RTS sales (at least) play online (verification), and WoW is also played online (verification). Single-player games would need DRM, but Blizzard makes multiplayer games. Essentially, if you pirate the single-player version, you'll probably end up having to buy it to get to the good part of the gameplay anyway.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    59. Re:hmm... by Vanderhoth · · Score: 1

      Sounds fantastic.

      Did they happen to mention where you can get these patches? Will the have a server that distributes them?

    60. Re:hmm... by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 3, Insightful
      1. Cinema tickets still sell even though everyone is torrenting movies.
      2. Pay actors 5 digit wages instead of 7 digit wages.

      TA-DA!

      I wonder what the movie industry could come up with if they spent more than the 30 seconds it took me to pull that out of my ass?

      --
      (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
    61. Re:hmm... by Pharmboy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Google owns YouTube, they likely are pretty set when it comes to codecs. And with HTML 5 coming on strong, they would be positioned pretty well.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    62. Re:hmm... by sarysa · · Score: 1

      I had this argument with someone else recently who hates Valve's model. It ended as an "internet required vs. cd required" argument. Not enough people are bothered by "internet required", especially with multiplayer-focused games, for it to ever go away. Unreal games require neither internet nor CD to play, and I like them for that, but CS, TF2, and L4D have far more players.

      I'm part of the problem. As a laptop gamer with limited space, I'll take internet required over CD required any day.

      --
      Charisma is the measure of someone's ability to lie with a straight face.
    63. Re:hmm... by twidarkling · · Score: 1

      I apologize, I was referring to DVDs/avi/mp4/etc type movies stored locally. But the access through YouTube to codecs would put Google in a strong position even with that, I suppose.

      --
      Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
    64. Re:hmm... by theskipper · · Score: 1

      As long as he doesn't talk about his 9' penis, we're ok.

    65. Re:hmm... by alexo · · Score: 1

      Name one content model that works in your ideal world. How can the initial outlay for a $200M movie ever be recouped?

      Let's try a mental experiment:

      1. Piracy becomes so widespread that "initial outlay for $200M movies" cannot be recouped.
      2. Studios stop making $200M movies.

      From here we have several possibilities. One:

      3a. Society gets over it.
      4a. Nothing of value is lost (for the majority of the population, at least).

      Another:

      3b. There is still demand for "$200M movies".
      4b. Somebody finds a way to leverage that demand with a new business model. For example, they may realize that *modest* profits are better than none and find ways to provide attractive content with lower costs.

      Personally, I believe that, given the chance, option #b will emerge as a viable business model, because:
      - There will always be people willing to pay *reasonable* amounts for content, particularly if the alternative is that the content will not otherwise be made.
      - There is no mandated requirement to pay $20M/movie to the Daniel Radcliffes and $100M/movie to the Michael Bays. There are enough talented people that will gladly do it for <10% the amounts.

      To summarize:
      If people want your content badly enough to be willing to pay for it, you will find ways of monetizing it even without artificial protection. Otherwise, you should choose another line of business.

    66. Re:hmm... by tbannist · · Score: 1

      It's an interesting question with many interesting answers. For one there are serious reasons to believe that piracy may have little effect on sales. The people most likely to pirate something are already the people least likely to pay for it. What this means is that even if 90% of the people who see a move (for example) have pirated it, less than 10% of the people who would have seen the movie in theater may be watching the pirated version instead.

      Now that may still sound bad, but the interesting thing is in practice, unless your movie is terrible, that huge audience will actually drive more people to see your movie than otherwise. So the movie might lose 10% of it's potential audience and simultaneously double the potential paying audience. Resulting in a net increase of around 80-90% over what the audience would have been if there was no piracy. The problem here is that there are no really effective ways to measure these contradictory effects. However, the anecdotes from music performers who have tried releasing their content for free have been overwhelming positive. They have seen increased sales of their CDs and increased attendance at their concerts.

      As long as content owners are allowed to push legislative agendas we will never get the truth out of them, as their maximal benefit will always be to claim the largest losses possible and it's no coincidence that that is what we see most of them doing.

      The best solution may be for the content industries to give up on certain revenue streams and focus on the ones that prosper in a digital environment. For movies this means focusing on making the theater experience attractive and profitable, possibly focusing on tie-on products that are not easily distributed digitally, and cashing in on the reputation of the production houses by exploiting public appearance fees and monetizing interest in the film as it's being developed.

      In the music industry it could mean big changes, perhaps the musicians are the ones who should be paying the publishing companies and not the other way around. For this to work, it has to become the norm that the musicians own their own music, they could generate their primary revenue from public appearances. It would then be up to the musicians to pay for the creation of publicity campaigns to promote their music and ultimately the concerts. They would also own the trademarks on their likenesses for ancillary products. Of course, the current music publishers do not want that at all, not the least reason is because it would make them beholden to people they have often abused in the past. In this world view pirated music is good for the owner of the music, because it's free advertising which drives the sales of the products they do make money off of.

      And that's just what I can think of right now.

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    67. Re:hmm... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      To be (somewhat) fair, I don't blame Daniel Radcliffe for asking for 20m/movie cause it isn't likely he's ever going to break that typecast. He's pretty much making his life's salary right now.

    68. Re:hmm... by Zerth · · Score: 1

      Name one content model that works in your ideal world. How can the initial outlay for a $200M movie ever be recouped?

      According to most production companies, never in any world.

      Otherwise they might have to pay those suckers who agreed to work for a percentage of the net profits.

    69. Re:hmm... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      I knew someone would notice that. The shift key is apparently my enemy today.

    70. Re:hmm... by Urkki · · Score: 1

      Probably by asking "But will it run Crysis?"

      HTML6 will have <application> tag, which will allow streaming any native software inside a web page, of course provided that the application is encoded with a compatible operating system codec. HTML6 working group is currently thinking to put just VMS into the standard to provide a baseline codec for streaming native applications over the web, but of course a browser is free to support other codecs.

      So to answer your question, we can be pretty confident that Google will provide WindowsNT-family codecs in Chrome by the time HTML6 standard is ready and web pages start supporting it in... 2020'ies, then yes, it will run current version of Crysis without problems, even over wireless connection, just like current mobile devices run software from 1990'ies.

    71. Re:hmm... by Urkki · · Score: 1

      Gamers won't use it.

      Why not? Having one next to your gaming PC will allow doing all the other stuff more easily and efficiently and in a less distracting way.

      By which I mean, the gamer could take the Chrome OS netbook/tablet with them on toilet and fridge trips, thus improving overall gaming efficiency.

    72. Re:hmm... by Simetrical · · Score: 1

      1. Cinema tickets still sell even though everyone is torrenting movies.
      2. Pay actors 5 digit wages instead of 7 digit wages.

      TA-DA!

      I'm pretty sure that seven-digit wages for actors is the least of the movie studios' problems. The special effects, sets, extras, etc. all must cost a lot more in the end, no? Not to mention, movie studios colluding to fix actors' salaries at below market rates sounds like a violation of antitrust law to me.

      --
      MediaWiki developer, Total War Center sysadmin
    73. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is this? A speedboat for ants?!?

    74. Re:hmm... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      First, most $200M movies are shit anyway. Secondly, piracy raise as been followed by constant movie profit records by the MPAA.

    75. Re:hmm... by PBoyUK · · Score: 2, Funny

      She sounds awesome.

    76. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I knew someone would notice that. The shift key is apparently my enemy today.

      I don't wanna hear your excuses! The boat has to be at least... three times bigger than that!

    77. Re:hmm... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      Both my computers (desktop running Windows 7 and laptop running Debian) wake up in less than two seconds, unless you're talking about hibernation.

    78. Re:hmm... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      I still play Wolfenstein: ET. But I keep Windows 7 in my desktop for gaming. Luckily I got it (legally) for free. And yes, really, free, not those "it's free because it comes with my PC" bullshit (I've bought the PC in parts).

    79. Re:hmm... by Pharmboy · · Score: 1

      I'm talking about more than the desktop looking "normal", I'm talking about all hardware being fully functional. They did a good job in getting Windows 7 to "look" booted several seconds before it is actually usable, and yes, it does wake up much, much faster than XP. That isn't cheating, as it adds to the user experience, but it isn't the same as being fully operational either. Regardless of the system, it always takes several seconds for DHCP to acquire an address as well. There have been several articles on Windows 7 "looking" booted when it actually is still cranking away and initializing hardware.

      Honestly, it might BE 2 seconds (excepting DHCP) but I'm betting it takes longer for full hardware initialization after sleeping, for both OSs.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
    80. Re:hmm... by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      To be (somewhat) fair, I don't blame Daniel Radcliffe for asking for 20m/movie cause it isn't likely he's ever going to break that typecast. He's pretty much making his life's salary right now.

      But he can still work. My life's salary would be about 2 million. Conveniently one tenth his income from one movie.

    81. Re:hmm... by alexo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      To be (somewhat) fair, I don't blame Daniel Radcliffe for asking for 20m/movie

      I don't blame him either. Hell, If I could get such an amount, I'd be asking it as well.

      That was not my point.

      You don't *need* a $20M Daniel Radcliffe to make a good movie.
      The Blair Witch Project had a total budget of $22K.

    82. Re:hmm... by icebraining · · Score: 1

      But if I never feel it, is it really there? As long as it gives me the password input box rapidly, I don't care what it's doing while I type it.

      As for DHCP, that's true, but Chrome OS can't fix it either. In my house I use static IPs, but it's annoying in other networks, no doubt.

    83. Re:hmm... by Daengbo · · Score: 1

      And here I thought you were just an RC fan.

    84. Re:hmm... by metacell · · Score: 1

      As a laptop gamer without a CD drive, I download cracks for the games that I've legally bought.

    85. Re:hmm... by metacell · · Score: 1

      Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to to the poor.

      Pirates give to everyone, including themselves, without taking away from anyone. That's the beauty of sharing.

    86. Re:hmm... by metacell · · Score: 1

      But will it be abandonware anyone can actually use?

    87. Re:hmm... by metacell · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, as long as they actually release those patches, they will be mirrored on plenty of pirate sites. :)

      As usual, pirates provide a valuable service to the community.

    88. Re:hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. You're stealing profits from the record companies and the artists. You really should make sure an argument is valid before you blindly reguritate it.
      Hell, I'm a pirate, too. At least I ain't lying to myself in a hollow attempt to justify the immorality of it.

    89. Re:hmm... by metacell · · Score: 1

      The artists are making more money than ever. CD sales are going badly, but that is more than offset by the increase in sale of downloadable music, and the increased revenues from collection agencies (like ASCAP) - which the RIAA carefully avoids mentioning when they present their statistics.

      At the same time, more and more studies show that pirates are the ones who spend the most money on music and movies. In other words, it seems that most pirates pirate not to save money, but to get access to a wider assortment of media.

      It seems that the most fanatical pro-pirates, the ones who said that the industry as a whole would not lose a dime but instead be forced to renew itself, were the ones who were right.

  2. Not me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I prefer to keep my data where it belongs, on my machine and encrypted on backup servers.

    1. Re:Not me by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Lucky you! That is exactly what Google thinks!

      --
      Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
  3. Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We can only guess what information it will suck up and report back to Google.

    1. Re:Can only guess... by minus9 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "We can only guess what information it will suck up and report back to Google."

      We can only guess what information $PROPRIETARY_OS will suck up and report back to $VENDOR.

    2. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 0

      We can only guess that you haven't analysed every component in your CPU, and every line of source in the compiled version of your copy of Lunix which you run (betcha didn't build from source from scratch).

      This is why, contrary to Google's nonsense about Windows being too insecure to use, it's never appropriate to decide that one operating system is too insecure because it may be made to leak data while another implicitly will not. You should assume that every workstation may leak data, and deal with the problem at the border by analysing everything going in and out using sophisticated off-the-shelf and custom IDS, etc.

      This is also why Google Apps are *never* appropriate.

    3. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Except it's open source. And it can't suck up any information you don't enter. If you're worried about people spying on what you do online, either use encrypted connections, or don't go online.

      You might want to check over your shoulders whenever you go out in public to make sure nobody is following you - you never know, they may find out what brand of toilet paper you buy, or see what type of films you enjoy watching at the cinema!

      --
      which is totally what she said
    4. Re:Can only guess... by V!NCENT · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Browse the source code line for line to know exactly how it behaves, you mean?

      --
      Here be signatures
    5. Re:Can only guess... by minus9 · · Score: 1

      "We can only guess that you haven't analysed every component in your CPU"

      I can safely guess that the processor in my computer doesn't even have a networking stack built in.

      Perhaps if you're so confident in the security of windows you'd like to explain why 98% of the email hitting my server comes from windows botnets?

    6. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 0, Troll

      Except it's open source.

      Wait, Google's servers (where the data is stored) are open source? Can I audit their deployment too?

      And it can't suck up any information you don't enter.

      What? Afaict, your argument reduces to, "It's secure because at least if I want to keep something private they don't force me to give it to them." Similarly, every government guarantees freedom of expression because they can't do anything about internalised expression (dreaming?), I guess.

      You might want to check over your shoulders whenever you go out in public to make sure nobody is following you - you never know, they may find out what brand of toilet paper you buy, or see what type of films you enjoy watching at the cinema!

      Ah, the second prong on the anti-privacy trident. When it's not, "If you have something to hide, you shouldn't be doing it," it's, "actually I've decided you have nothing worthwhile to hide anyway!"

    7. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First of all, how will an encrypted connection protect you if your browser reports what you are seeing?

      Second, VISA (AmEx etc) already know what movies you see at the cinema and what brand of toilet paper you buy (unless you pay by cash as people used to do in the 20th century "as I've been told").

    8. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      I can safely guess that the processor in my computer doesn't even have a networking stack built in.

      Why? Did you analyse it? Do you have a good reason to trust AMD and Intel? You're constructing a strawman, anyway, as you don't need something that sophisticated to backdoor a seemingly secure system. What would be entirely unreasonable to "guess" is that there are no undocumented opcodes or sequences of fetched memory values which will cause the processor to bypass its current protection settings.

      Perhaps if you're so confident in the security of windows you'd like to explain why 98% of the email hitting my server comes from windows botnets?

      Because 90% of unmanaged desktops run Windows.

    9. Re:Can only guess... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps because 98% of the people out there who are retarded when it comes to securely using their PCs happen to use windows?

      Also because 85%+ market share is where the money is? I guarantee you that if Linux or OSX had 85% of the market share, Either OS would be identically compromised on a similar widespread basis.

      Speaking of which, at hacking competitions, which OS is usually the one to fall first?

    10. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 1

      Wait, Google's servers (where the data is stored) are open source? Can I audit their deployment too?

      Obviously that information has already been "sucked up" if it's on their servers. OP seems to have been thinking more of what info it will suck up even when you're on non-Google owned websites.

      What? Afaict, your argument reduces to, "It's secure because at least if I want to keep something private they don't force me to give it to them." Similarly, every government guarantees freedom of expression because they can't do anything about internalised expression (dreaming?), I guess.

      I didn't say it was secure. I said that if you don't want people to know certain info, don't give it out on unsecured connections or using software that you haven't vetted for security. This has nothing to do with government, because you don't have the option to opt-out of your government (unless you move country).

      Ah, the second prong on the anti-privacy trident. When it's not, "If you have something to hide, you shouldn't be doing it," it's, "actually I've decided you have nothing worthwhile to hide anyway!"

      Yep, I pretty much think that every time I see someone on /. whine about their privacy and security. American liberties are being eroded on many fronts with stuff like the PATRIOT act, and these guys are more worried about Google improving the relevance of their advertisements instead of going out and killing the government, or doing whatever the hell else you're meant to do with the 2nd amendment. Note: I am not American, I'm just pointing this out as the majority of posters here probably are American.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    11. Re:Can only guess... by new+death+barbie · · Score: 1

      Actually, no. Visa and Amex -- and MasterCard and Discover -- only know how much you pay in total at the checkout. Even if you're buying a lot of tinfoil to make your hats. They know WHERE you shop -- and when -- but not what you buy.

      The MERCHANT knows the details, though. But they can't tie it to you, specifically. Oh, unless you use one of those VIP cards...

      --

      It's supposed to be completely automatic, but actually you have to press this button.

    12. Re:Can only guess... by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      Browse the source code line for line to know exactly how it behaves, you mean?

      Yes, exactly. What, you think that's unpossible? There's a legion of nerds out here who will prove you wrong.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    13. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If your browser is open source, you can change its behaviour to be in line with what you want. Duh. Then you just have to worry about the security of your actual connection, and what any person or machine at the other end of your connection is going to do with the data you are transmitting.

      Yes, I don't care who knows what I like to buy or do at the cinema. Though I haven't entered any supermarket incentive card schemes because I know they're pretty much just for marketing schemes, and I don't feel the need to squeeze 0.1% extra value or whatever out of every purchase I make.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    14. Re:Can only guess... by FooAtWFU · · Score: 1

      I dunno; "Never" is a pretty strong word. Google Apps are certainly fine for my little sister typing up her homework assignments and writing bad poetry. It's certainly a far cry from that to Business, though (including sensitive personal business).

      --
      The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
    15. Re:Can only guess... by minus9 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      "Perhaps because 98% of the people out there who are retarded when it comes to securely using their PCs happen to use windows?"

      I don't think calling all windows users retarded is entirely fair. Some of them have no choice.

    16. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Obviously that information has already been "sucked up" if it's on their servers. OP seems to have been thinking more of what info it will suck up even when you're on non-Google owned websites.

      But the purpose of ChromeOS is to ensure that all your data - documents, spreadsheets, etc. - are stored/manipulated/analysed by Google's servers. Current Windows systems aren't like this. Unless you are really interesting, what's on your drive remains on your drive.

      American liberties are being eroded on many fronts with stuff like the PATRIOT act, and these guys are more worried about Google improving the relevance of their advertisements instead of going out and killing the government,

      Who do you think builds the tools that government uses to follow and exploit its people? Would you like a list?

    17. Re:Can only guess... by kthejoker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Since Google's entire business model revolves around advertising (and thus, customer targeting), while Microsoft, Apple (and Linux, in a fashion)'s business model revolves around selling OSes, I think it would be pretty easy for MS or Apple to simply say, "We will never collect any data about our OS users' application usage, browsing habits, or other personal information."

      Google simply can't afford to say that. So no, not exactly the same thing at all.

    18. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 1

      Who do you think builds the tools that government uses to follow and exploit its people? Would you like a list?

      Yes, please, that sounds like fun :p

      --
      which is totally what she said
    19. Re:Can only guess... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No no, don't get me wrong. I use windows at work because I have to as well. I dual boot it at home to play games because most games I want to play are windows native and I got tired of fighting with WINE and VMs trying to get 80 to 90% functionality... I boot into Linux for web browsing, email, IM, i.e. essentially everything but gaming.

      I neither love nor hate windows. It is what it is. It's a mature, robust OS that covers the vast majority of needs of most people... just like the other two do.

      My point was that most people who don't know anything about how to properly use their computer when it comes to security (don't click on the flashing ads on the suspect web pages. don't install software you don't know the source of. don't click on links in emails from people you don't know. scan for malware on a regular basis, etc. etc) are using windows.

      These same people would, in theory, be just as careless under OSX or linux, the difference is due to the lack of viruses/malware/developed exploits for thsoe operating systems (currently), those users would be playing traditional russian roulette around with a gun with only 1 bullet instead of the fully loaded gun that windows represents.

      I man the systems support line for a major software company. I work with these people every day. They're not bad people, they just have never had any training on how not to be security retarded, and they don't really want any training because they have other stuff to worry about... until they find out they have a massive security breach and they're about to get sued.

    20. Re:Can only guess... by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1

      ChromeOS will update automatically like Chrome does, so at some point you just have to decide if you trust Google or not. If not then I'm sure Apple and Microsoft will happily take control of your computer instead.

    21. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You obviously fail to understand the issue of privacy.

      In the physical world, there's privacy in numbers. Nobody is following you to see what toilet paper you buy, because you are not special. That little piece of information about you is worth much less than the required surveillance. BTW, the same may be false for a celebrity, hence paparazzi.

      But in the virtual world, the situation is reversed: privacy may be compromised *because* of numbers. You see, that little piece of information is not worth much, but it's worth *something*. Multiply that something by millions of people, and you get far more than the cost of writing automated tools to utilize this data.

      Now, you may not care that someone somewhere is storing that information about you. But remember: once you reveal it you can't unreveal it. You have no control over who buys it and for what purpose it is used. How sure are you that this moment of enjoyment won't lead to a lifelong of some harm you can't currently imagine?

    22. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 1

      Yep I really don't get the distinction you're making there, because companies already can track stuff like toilet paper sales on a massive scale, it would still be collected even if you were entirely anonymous. I think people are (or at least should be) more concerned with the ability to be anonymous than outright hiding everything that they do.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    23. Re:Can only guess... by Daniel+Phillips · · Score: 1

      at hacking competitions, which OS is usually the one to fall first?

      Pwn2Own 2010: Google Chrome is the last man standing

      --
      Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
    24. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      That was to be read in the sense of, "Would you like me to wipe for you, or can you wipe yourself?" You appeared to choose the former :-).

      Why don't you pick a country, select a particular aspect of the country supposedly managed by the state (e.g. prison, military, police, security, healthcare) and find out who are the major government contractors. Identify symbiotic lobbying efforts. Identify individuals on boards of directors who have had previous involvement in government.

      N.B. Don't assume that a Western military merely affects people abroad. Apart from the direct cost in soldiers' lives and national debt, you have resultant hostility toward your country and, most insidiously, an inability to compete locally with firms with ties with the military.

    25. Re:Can only guess... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      If it's mature and robust, explain to me why it is that MS is always reinventing it in drastic ways? Or why they seem to be constantly fixing it's bugs. I don't have problems with that on FreeBSD, because it is mature and robust. Very little changes without good reason. MS OTOH seems to change things all the time, even when there isn't a particularly compelling reason to do so. Even OSX hasn't been through any major changes of UI since they admitted that the old system didn't work properly and decided to fix pretty much all of it in one go.

      I guess I'm sort of old fashioned for thinking that a mature OS isn't going to have to go through a radical redesign with every major release.

    26. Re:Can only guess... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      I'm guessing that before long somebody will come out with a version similar to what they did with Chrome. Basically removing a lot of the spyware. I get the sense that it won't be as easy with Chrome as presumably most of the scanning will be done on Google's end of things at the server level, but I'm sure some enterprising programmer will figure out a way of replacing Google apps with say dropbox or something else completely.

    27. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just like most OS and virtual platforms do already? Like Steam, Windows and others?
      Yes, i think that would be a good guess.

      And since the OS is open source, you are more than happy to read through it yourself.
      It won't differ much from the usual Chrome stuff.
      Google might do some stupid stuff behind closed doors, but they aren't that stupid.
      It won't exactly be hard to monitor any connections it makes to see if it does phone home.
      And considering it is Linux, it will probably be pretty trivial to block said transmissions, if there aren't any options to do such a thing in the first place, which there is on Chrome.

      Chrome's "privacy" issues only come from idiots not R'TFM or setting things up. Everything can be disabled, including the RLZ thing that people thought wasn't possible to disable.

    28. Re:Can only guess... by Dog-Cow · · Score: 0, Troll

      Windows changes so Microsoft can make more money. This is why MS is worth billions, and you, presumably, are not. Nor are the FreeBSD developers.

    29. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 1

      I know how you meant it, but I though some kind of citation would be nice rather than just making broad implications. While government agencies probably do make use of commercial companies from time to time, or at least consult with individual employees who may happen to work for those companies, I would have thought that they have enough clever people of their own that they'd be able to write surveillance software. I had the impression that it's more their style to let other people (ie ISPs) do the surveillance and then gather from them anyway.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    30. Re:Can only guess... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      If it's mature and robust, explain to me why it is that MS is always reinventing it in drastic ways?

      So they can resell windows to people who already own it?

      Windows 7 is essentially vista with a new coat of paint, just like XP was a new coat of paint on top of windows 2000. Microsoft doesn't want you getting too used to your current experience, or else you won't buy the new one.

      Vista was a fairly big upgrade over XP, but it's bad press (some of it fairly deserved, some not) somewhat obfuscated that.

      Or why they seem to be constantly fixing it's bugs.

      I get probably 3x as many update notifications for ubuntu as I do for windows. Hell my android phone bothers me more about updates than my copy of windows 7 does.

      MS OTOH seems to change things all the time, even when there isn't a particularly compelling reason to do so.

      As someone who works on 4 or 5 different versions of windows, I agree on this completely... However, it isn't because they HAD to change it. It didn't NEED to be changed. They changed it, as I said above, in order to sell it to people who already owned it. It's no different than honda making a new accord sleeker and sexier than the old one, or mountain dew slapping fancy graphics and a huge "NEW!!" lable on their newest flavor. You've got to find a way to convince someone that what you have to offer them now is somehow improved over the old product if you want them to buy it.

      Some people look at the old product and say "there is nothing wrong here" and continue to use it.

      Hell my version of XP at work is still using more or less the same theme and interface that I got used to in windows 95... and it's been 15 years.

      I will say that I have come to like a lot of the stuff that windows 7 does though.

    31. Re:Can only guess... by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      I'll let you in on a little secret (from someone who has worked in the software business for many years) - all semi-advanced software has bugs - even Notepad has bugs (Google it!).

      Now the nerd in many of you are saying - what about hello world? Well sure - I could write a simple 5 line routine that doesn't have any bugs in it, but I'm talking apps that actually do stuff.

      I don't have problems with that on FreeBSD, because it is mature and robust. Very little changes without good reason. MS OTOH seems to change things all the time, even when there isn't a particularly compelling reason to do so. Even OSX hasn't been through any major changes of UI since they admitted that the old system didn't work properly and decided to fix pretty much all of it in one go.

      So Mac OS 9 was a bug? I think scrapping the entire OS, look and feel and architecture is the ultimate admission that what you have doesn't work. Since Windows 95 the MS-Windows look and feel really hasn't changed - it just looks prettier.

      Oh and Windows works perfectly fine for me - even on a semi-exotic PC like an Intel Skulltrail with 8 cpu cores. The last time it had any issues there was a hdd that failed on the attached raid.

    32. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 1

      Great, slashdot appears to have barfed my comment somewhere.

      I know fine how you meant the statement, I'd just like to see some kind of evidence rather than accepting vague conspiracy statements as fact. I don't think it's so much that the government would get Google to build special government surveillance software as that the government would just request already available data from Google, ISPs, etc.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    33. Re:Can only guess... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      Well, the article is flawed in their understanding of "first browser to fall", but even so, note that the hacker interviewed said that google chrome was so hard to hack because of a combination of the browser's sandboxing and windows 7's OS protections?

    34. Re:Can only guess... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Though I haven't entered any supermarket incentive card schemes because I know they're pretty much just for marketing schemes, and I don't feel the need to squeeze 0.1% extra value or whatever out of every purchase I make.

      The only "nice" supermarket in my area is Slaveway and I sometimes "save" 5% on the whole thing by using the card, which is tied to some address and phone number of long ago and far away.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    35. Re:Can only guess... by Turzyx · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think it would be pretty easy for MS or Apple to simply say, "We will never collect any data about our OS users' application usage, browsing habits, or other personal information."

      Except they have never said that, nor will they ever.

      Chrome OS is also open source, maybe there will be some nice branch projects in the future. I'm concerned about how their OS is so entwined with Flash though, it hardly has a stellar reputation for security.

    36. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      It seemed pointless to highlight one as any more significant than the other. But if you want at least one related to application layer surveillance, how about ex-Chancellor Lamont and ex-Ofcom (UK telecoms regulator) executive Meek - who was IIRC before that at BT! - on the BoD of Phorm?

      It'd be a lot scarier if government did have enough clever people that there wasn't an exchange between elected ministers, civil servants and industry directors, as then no-one would be able to follow the flow of power.

    37. Re:Can only guess... by jvkjvk · · Score: 1

      We can only guess what information $PROPRIETARY_OS will suck up and report back to $VENDOR.

      Except with a "normal" OS one can check what is in every single IP or other connection that $OS does that you did not request. Either they will be encrypted (which should surely raise some flags!) or if not, readily readable.

      So no, in general we don't have to "guess".

      However, if you upload $ANYTHING to someone else's servers (and this OS appears to store your data remotely) "they" have the ability (which does not connote legality) to do anything with it. Unless your data appears in an advertising campaign or is published in a book, you can only guess. If they sell some advertisers your prediliction for stuffed unicorns, or a psychological profile you'll never know it was based on that data.

      Regards.

    38. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      If Google's holding all the data and not throwing up a fuss when any agency demands access to the data without judicial oversight then it's providing the tools - i.e. storage, network connection - to help government surveil you. Whether it has actually written down that it allows ABC to use its datamining tools or just gives them administrator access to read whatever data and take whatever code they want is entirely irrelevant - in the same way that a bribe is a bribe even if I just drop an envelope on the floor and shuffle my feet.

      If it bothered Google (or any other information dataminer, though I am not sure there is any overt operation as large), it could tomorrow stand up and say, "I'm not giving any more help to any government agency, here or abroad, without judicial oversight." Then it has the opportunity to rally public support, or force a change in America's approach to surveillance, or die. Of course, it will do none of these, and even if it did its directors might change policy in the future, which is one why it's impossible to consider allowing Google to process all my data.

    39. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 2

      I guarantee you that if Linux or OSX had 85% of the market share, Either OS would be identically compromised on a similar widespread basis.

      That myth would make sense except for the following facts. OS8 and OS9 both had less marketshare than OSX yet they had viruses and OSX has none. I would even believe it if OSX had a few viruses but it doesn't. If it were that easy to get something in the wild as you say it is, some hacker somewhere would have done it already just to say they did. Pwn2own is a game, not the real thing. Don't confuse the two.

      Also, consider this. People running macs obviously have more disposable income. And since you seem to think OSX is so easy, they should be sheeps lined up for the slaughter right? That would amplify the effect of their marketshare and since you're pulling numbers out of your ass, I'll say that gives them the effect of having at least 20-25 percent. That's untold millions of credit card numbers, botnet nodes, etc. Why isn't it happening?

      Speaking of which, at hacking competitions, which OS is usually the one to fall first?

      Er, you're mixed up there, skippy. The guy you're responding to isn't defending OSX which is the first OS to fall at the competitions. And if you're speaking of pwn2own, OSX fell first, then Vista. Ubuntu didn't get hacked at all.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    40. Re:Can only guess... by mlts · · Score: 1

      OB Car analogy: There are far more wrecks done in Honda Civics than Chevy Corvettes. Therefore, Hondas are not safe. This logic is flawed because there are a lot more Hondas on the roads than Corvettes, so if a Honda is a lot more safe, because there are far more people driving them, they will have more smash-ups.

      I'm not a MS shill, but this applies to Windows. There are a lot of people out there who don't care to, or don't know how to properly admin a computer. This is why on Windows Phone 7, Microsoft chose a completely locked down app model, so they don't continue to get brickbats for security issues that are not their fault.

      Statistically, MS gets some very unclued users. People buy a cheap PC at Wally World, plug it in, maybe get their IT bud down the street to get it on some form of broadband (or have the cable/DSL company do it for them), and they start browsing pr0n. Eventually they will click on some site that requires a "nudie viewer" or something like that that requires installation. From there, their machine is compromised and handed over to botnets. The only way to deal with the dancing bunny problem is either user education or wholesale lockdown of machines. And user education does not work for a lot of people.

    41. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Google Apps are certainly fine for my little sister typing up her homework assignments and writing bad poetry. It's certainly a far cry from that to Business, though (including sensitive personal business).

      If you're running a business with Google Apps, you aren't just using the free service at docs.google.com. You pay just like you do with everything else and you get guarantees about the confidentiality of your documents. We took a long hard look between Google Apps for Business in conjunction with our current Office 2003 install base vs upgrading to Office 2010 with Office Web Apps and found the former to be a much more compelling alternative not only for cost savings but in functionality. Have you compared the features of Google Apps vs Office Web Apps? I dare say not.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    42. Re:Can only guess... by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression it was open source. If so, you don't have to guess. Unlike Apple and Microsoft OSes, you can look at the source code yourself (unless I'm mistaken about it being open source).

    43. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      OS8 and OS9 both had less marketshare than OSX yet they had viruses and OSX has none.

      In case you didn't notice, viruses written in the '80s and '90s were mostly by cheeky kids looking to get a kick out of finding vulnerabilities and frightening clueless users. Today, that's very rare when compared to the organised efficiency with which fraudsters deploy botnets for profit.

      IOW, when you're doing it for fun, you write a virus for whatever machine's sitting on your desk. When you do it for money, you write a virus for whatever machines will guarantee you a good RoI. Why would eliminating 19 of every 20 targets be a smart move? Especially when your remaining 5% includes an awful lot of laptopping students and hipsters who aren't providing you with hours of continuous botnet operation. Win32 is familiar, widely available, and everyone seems to have cycles and bandwidth to spare. A few iMacs are of no use.

    44. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...Apple's business model revolves around selling OSes...

      Pretty sure Apple's business model revolves around selling devices. If it cared about selling software, Apple wouldn't put restrictions on what hardware you could run its OS on.

    45. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Everything you've said is a great theory for why there would be few propagating viruses for OSX. Reply if you need me to explain why it is inadequate in explaining why there are no in the wild viruses for OSX.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    46. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CPU... you know, ComPuTer. Sheesh.

    47. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guarantee you that if Linux or OSX had 85% of the market share, Either OS would be identically compromised on a similar widespread basis.

      Even with stupid users, an average-security OS like Linux wouldn't get near the number of compromises as a vastly-below-average-security OS like Windows.

      How to get a Windows user to run malware by emailing them: tell them to save the file and then click it. How to get a Linux user to run malware by emailing them: tell them to save the file, chmod +x it, and click it. How to get a Windows user to run malware from a CD ROM: tell them to insert the CD ROM into their drive, and the by-default-enabled autorun will take care of the rest for you. How to do the same to a Linux user: tell them to edit /etc/fstab and remove the noexec from the CD ROM mount options, insert the disc, open it in their desktop software, and click the malware.

      Average quality OSes like Linux, unlike Windows, don't go out of their way to help users shoot themselves in the foot. You can write malware for Linux, but Linux doesn't support malware. And sometimes dumb users need Windows' support because they can't figure out how to launch their malware on their own.

      Identically compromised? Not a chance.

    48. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      C'mon, a moderate usage of tcpdump or other, more sophisticated tools on your router will tell you quite enough.

    49. Re:Can only guess... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Second, VISA (AmEx etc) already know what movies you see at the cinema and what brand of toilet paper you buy

      I'm know that the grocery store knows what brand of toilet paper I use, and VISA knows when I pay money to the grocery store, but I don't think that the channel for "specific item" exists.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    50. Re:Can only guess... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      If your browser is open source, you can change its behaviour to be in line with what you want.

      Assuming you know enough about programming to want to do so. And you want to invest the manual labor in making sure each patch didn't revert your changes or add new ways of reporting back... oh, and the initial cost as well.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    51. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Go for it. But as part of your answer, and without desperately researching (you seem fairly confident of your reasoning, so I assume you're knowledgeable on this topic!), please name 8 in-the-wild viruses (i.e. not trojans) written in the past 5 years which targeted post-Vista SP1 workstations/desktops in their default configuration and which were not ostensibly written for profit.

      IOW, they must cause some sort of apparently pointless mischief, but do not either include a payload for botnet/similar operations or open a backdoor for later payload delivery.

      I need to understand whether you're coming from the position of someone who is aware of recent virus trends, or who just likes the fact that Macs have fewer viruses.

    52. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These same people would, in theory, be just as careless under OSX or linux

      We got it the first time. Mac and Linux browsers and email clients, weren't designed to, AFAIK, silently download and run native code. And Mac and Linux software doesn't assume users run as admin, so it doesn't prompt you for admin privileges before it saves a text file or prints a photo (yes, there are Windows print drivers that pop up UAC prompts every time you print). For all of the security features, like DEP, that Windows provides, there are baked-in design choices that keep it from being as secure as other OSes. It's not just a numbers game, it's also that Windows is the low-hanging fruit. My users are all running IE8, as limited users, with anti-virus, anti-malware, etc, etc. And I still spend a ton of time cleaning crap off of their computers. I don't know how Microsoft manages to keep making their browser so fragile, but they do.

      You know those sites that pretend to be running a hard disk scan or something on XP? They're incredibly common now. But when they pop up on me, nothing happens, because I'm not on Windows. There are no Mac "fake scan" sites, and it's not because Apple doesn't have any marketshare (for instance, there are a few Mac trojan horses). It's because non-IE browsers don't need to run sandboxed just to be safe... they're just fucking browsers.

      I mention IE because it seems to be how most of the badware gets in. But I'm constantly approving patches in WSUS for programs that simply should not "allow an unauthorized user to take control of the system" just by virtue of the fact that they shouldn't have that level of access during normal operation. On other operating systems you have people running as regular users and elevating privileges temporarily for admin tasks. And it happens so infrequently that people are not conditioned to just blindly click through it.

      Whatever. Use another OS seriously for a while, and then see if you still believe that malware only exists on Windows because it has more installs.

    53. Re:Can only guess... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Not a virus (really, this isn't 1998 anymore). But an honest to bog, real, live trojan running in the wild on OS X. Just like on Windows, it picks on clueless users intent on picking up something for free. TANSTAAFL.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    54. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course Google can afford to say that. They can't afford to do it, but they can afford to say it.

    55. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Not a virus (really, this isn't 1998 anymore). But an honest to bog, real, live trojan running in the wild on OS X. Just like on Windows, it picks on clueless users intent on picking up something for free. TANSTAAFL.

      BritneyNekkidPics.sh

      #!/bin/sh
      gksudo rm -rf /

      Any dope can write a trojan and find somebody dumb enough to run it. Trying to conflate that with a propagating virus is a bit of a reach.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    56. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Any dope can write a trojan and find somebody dumb enough to run it.

      And this is how almost every single recent client machine infection begins.

      Why would you go to the effort to outsmart technically adept developers when there are so many ways of exploiting technically less able end users? I really don't see the point. There are enough proof of concept exploits out there for every operating system, but there is very little reason to turn them into workable viruses when their method of entry will be blocked at the next patch Tuesday - or patch rar-e-ly for Apple. Since a combination of MS and router vendors getting their shit together means that the average computer had no open ports open to the net, there's less benefit in replication intelligence. (This was all way different 5-10 years ago, of course, and the mainsteam Apple and Microsoft operating systems in 2001 both were as holy as the average Church minister isn't - XP kinda lingers, but SP2 + home routers made things sane.)

      The only time it may be worth it is when you're attacking servers, which potentially give you access to a potentially great amount of data and bandwidth - hence viruses for Linux and Windows but barely any for OS X, which has an almost invisible server marketshare.

    57. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Go for it. But as part of your answer, and without desperately researching (you seem fairly confident of your reasoning, so I assume you're knowledgeable on this topic!), please name 8 in-the-wild viruses (i.e. not trojans) written in the past 5 years which targeted post-Vista SP1 workstations/desktops in their default configuration and which were not ostensibly written for profit.

      Another time. Right now, I'm really just talking about OSX though I may tangentially refer to other platforms.

      Now, where to start? This is going to be mostly a logical argument since there are no real viruses for OSX, there really isn't any experimental data to pull from.

      Let's start with Charlie Miller, the vaunted pwn2own OSX cracker. Mr. Miller wrote a book on hacking Macs (which should have read OSX) but is himself incapable of developing a remote exploit for OSX. I don't read a lot of treeware but if his previous writings contain similar fallacies perhaps his name already has a dissuading quality.

      Now onto some arguments (mostly his since he seems to be the patron saint of anti-OSX FUDmeisters). The first one is that Macs running OSX are safer because few malware programs target them. This is true. Unfortunately the theory veers off course from here by assuming that this is because of OSX' lesser market share.

      Now, the most obvious problem with this argument is that is is unprovable. It assumes the intentions and motivations of malware authors. Unless someone has spoke with every malware author on the planet there is no way to know with absolute certainty why these authors target Windows OS's.

      Sure, we can guess but I find it curious that when left to do so, people choose market share over simple vulnerability counts. My sensibilities tell me that the sheer number of remotely exploitable vulnerabilities found for Windows versus those for OSX might be a more likely reason for Windows to be the more common target. But I would never state that as fact because I simply can't know the truth.

      Although we can set aside this argument on the basis of its unprovability alone, I'll offer another in the form of an example: Apache vs. IIS.

      Apache has roughly twice the market share of IIS, last I checked (and it used to have much more) yet as far as I can recall there has never been a devastating Apache exploit. Need I mention some of the immeasurable damage done to servers across the world as a result of IIS exploits? I'm sure you've heard of them but if not just Google "code red."

      Before I move on, I'll reiterate one more small point about market share: OS 8, 9 etc. had even less market share yet they had their share of malware. If Mac-based OS's are a fruitless target why would these versions have any at all? You assume that motivational factors are the differentiator. I offer an alternative explanation: it's because they had inferior architectures.

      Some people assume Snow Leopard lacks security features that are built in to Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 resulting in Macs being more vulnerable to attack.

      Frankly, no it doesn't, that's faulty logic. An operating system can lack all of Windows' security features and still be more secure. Are we to conclude that the ways Microsoft devised to plug up the holes in its software are the only way to secure an operating system? They aren't.

      This is like making a safe out of cardboard, lining the inside with glass, then disparaging metal safes because they don't have a layer of glass.

      I'm not saying that ASLR, for example, isn't a good thing to have anyway but it's hardly reason to go around planting seeds of distrust is it?

      Some also say they are much farther behind the rest of the industry because they got a late start.

      A late start? Apple has been writing graphical operating systems for longer than Microsoft, and Windows has always

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    58. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1
      Scenario:

      We're taking a road trip from Redmond, WA to Cupertino, CA. Suddenly, we hear a weird slapping noise coming from the front left fender.

      Me: Shit! Flat tire.
      You: Yeah, we better make sure we keep the oil changed or the engine might seize.
      Me: ???

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    59. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Another time. Right now, I'm really just talking about OSX though I may tangentially refer to other platforms.

      If you have no evidence that people are still writing purely mischievous viruses for recent Windows versions and releasing them into the wild such that they're picked up by antivirus researchers, then it's fairly certain you've not done enough research or are misidentifying the problem.

      Recall that before the late '90s, a virus "in the wild" meant on install/magazine floppies/CDs or passed between friends - every virus essentially began as a trojan, in that the user explicitly executed a piece of software which at some time did something sneaky. With networked computers, no more.

      Let's start with Charlie Miller [zdnet.com], the vaunted pwn2own OSX cracker.

      He's worth reading, but I'd not read anything into what he doesn't say. The man's a previous employee of an intelligence agency, and knows where his bread is buttered.

      Unless someone has spoke with every malware author on the planet there is no way to know with absolute certainty why these authors target Windows OS's.

      But that's, of course, ridiculous - no test involves measuring every member of a population. OTOH, you can ask malware authors about the kind of successes they achieve with Windows botnets, and whether there's a dearth of machines to fulfil their needs. If supply of exploitable Windows boxes outpaces demand, there's absolutely no reason to even consider targeting alternative platforms for botnet zombies.

      My sensibilities tell me that the sheer number of remotely exploitable vulnerabilities found for Windows versus those for OSX might be a more likely reason for Windows to be the more common target.

      Except that most vulnerabilities refer to services which are disabled (and which wouldn't be enabled in the average client scenario), and we can't tell how many vulnerabilities exist on either platform because neither MS nor Apple give full disclosure. MS is known to fix apparent security bugs without announcing them, and Apple have been known to not issue a response to some critical vulnerability announcement with some BSD utilities (e.g. ssh/ssl), but Darwin and binaries are magically updated months later at the next point release.

      In some ways, then, it's easy to target a particular Apple system you know is configured a particular way, because you know it has a still vulnerable version of some software installed - I tried this on my own Apple workstation using a published ssh vulnerability years ago. So anyone with sufficiently valuable data is at risk, as always.

      Apache vs. IIS.

      Apache isn't OS X or even much to do with Apple at all, and IIS isn't Windows. Evidently Apache's historical security record beats IIS into the ground - not sure about recently, as I've not touched IIS in a few years.

    60. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Sorry, your arguments get weirder and weirder. This car analogy totally passes me by. If it helps, I know nothing about cars.

    61. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      That's my point. I'm talking about OSX, you veer off into Windows. I'm talking about viruses, somebody responds with crap about trojans. I just respond to point out that that isn't what I'm talking about and you just jump in like that's the whole conversation.

      The car analogy illustrates your tendency to go on about something else not even remotely relevant to the point.

      Sorry, your arguments get weirder and weirder.

      Back at ya.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    62. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      If you have no evidence that people are still writing purely mischievous viruses for recent Windows versions and releasing them into the wild such that they're picked up by antivirus researchers, then it's fairly certain you've not done enough research or are misidentifying the problem.

      You misunderstand. I'm staying on topic. You seem to be making the argument that since the security realities are blah blah blah on Windows, then we can draw similar conclusions concerning OS X. Do you not see the problem with that reasoning?

      He's worth reading, but I'd not read anything into what he doesn't say. The man's a previous employee of an intelligence agency, and knows where his bread is buttered.

      I don't know him. I can only take him at his word. And since people love throwing the pwn2own stuff around to slander OS X, I'd say his word is very relevant at least in those people's minds. He hasn't revealed any remote exploits for OS X. When he does, we can talk.

      But that's, of course, ridiculous - no test involves measuring every member of a population. OTOH, you can ask malware authors about the kind of successes they achieve with Windows botnets, and whether there's a dearth of machines to fulfil their needs. If supply of exploitable Windows boxes outpaces demand, there's absolutely no reason to even consider targeting alternative platforms for botnet zombies.

      Again, please stay on topic. I'm not talking about Windows. My opinion is that OS X is hard to remotely exploit. The fact that it hasn't been done even one single time backs that up. Otherwise, there would be at least a few vanity exploits just to show it could be done. People love a challenge. Especially ego driven nerds. That's just human nature. Surely you aren't arguing against human nature which encompasses much more than just profit motive.

      Except that most vulnerabilities refer to services which are disabled (and which wouldn't be enabled in the average client scenario)

      So, out of the hundreds of conceivable services of which only a few are enabled by default, a typical exploit targets one that isn't enabled. Really? Who'd a thunk it. Let me clarify: statistically speaking, of course, most exploits are going to be for services that aren't enabled if only 1 in say, a hundred are running OOTB.

      Apache isn't OS X or even much to do with Apple at all, and IIS isn't Windows. Evidently Apache's historical security record beats IIS into the ground - not sure about recently, as I've not touched IIS in a few years.

      No, it isn't. But it sure invalidates the myth that marketshare=exploits which is what practically your entire argument hinges on.

      Market share is irrelevant when discussing relative security of different OS's. An OS can conceivably have zero market other than on my own computer and be completely secure or not secure at all. An OS could have 100 percent market share and be in an identical situation. At the end of the day, the only way to prove an OS is insecure is to exploit it. Anything else is just talk. And from where I'm sitting, OS X looks pretty good.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    63. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      security realities are blah blah blah on Windows, then we can draw similar conclusions concerning OS X.

      I'm saying that you haven't disproven your arguments as equally applying to recent Windows versions. Client malware before 1995 or so was delivered almost exclusively through trojans (including bootsector etc); then there was a period of about 10 years where insecurities in networking stacks/client networking apps allowed a machine to be infected without a physical user action; and now we're edging back to where we were before 1995. Windows exploits today are mostly straight download-me trojans, with a sprinkle of browser/plugin exploits.

      My opinion is that OS X is hard to remotely exploit. The fact that it hasn't been done even one single time backs that up.

      I'll give you one to stop you whining. It's especially important because it describes what I've said about ethical hackers not being prepared to put their freedom on the line to impress kids. Contrary to what you think, many people care about the difference between showing that a gun can be guilt and building a gun for anyone to use.

      No, it isn't. But it sure invalidates the myth that marketshare=exploits which is what practically your entire argument hinges on.

      Argh. Webserver = server software. There are a few web servers most of which have administrators, many of whom will notice suspicious activity eventually. There are hundreds of millions of desktops/workstations on the net, very few of which have competent administrators. The content of an individual web server may be valuable, while the content of an individual client machine is likely not; the sum of bandwidths of web servers over time is likely not so impressive; whereas the sum of bandwidths of millions of distributed machines in a large botnet is very impressive.

      Targeting a server and targeting a client are two very different goals.

      . At the end of the day, the only way to prove an OS is insecure is to exploit it. Anything else is just talk. And from where I'm sitting, OS X looks pretty good.

      But it's been exploited many times in proof-of-concepts. What you're asking people to do is break the law and tell the world about it like the dumbest kind of criminal just to please you - not even for financial reward. That's not going to happen.

    64. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those large numbers work both ways, though - online, nobody cares about your information as an individual. They don't give a shit that you're John Doe at 123 Blah Avenue. Everything is aggregated and it's that aggregated information which is used.

      Even in the cases like ad targeting, the companies don't sit around saying "ha ha! Now we know where Jim shops!" - it's just a bunch of non-specific data flowing through a bunch of algorithms.

    65. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think calling all windows users retarded is entirely fair. Some of them have no choice.

      I agree. This is unnecessarily insulting to retards. Some of them do, in fact, use Macs.

    66. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      I'm talking about OSX, you veer off into Windows.

      I'm just pointing out that every one of your arguments applies to Windows. Your points may all be valid, and if you establish that they are, I may use them in advocating Windows.

      Also, when is a virus not a trojan, precisely? IOW, on a computer not connected to a network, how could any malware be classified as a virus? Consider that every software product requires you to consciously run some software with an overt legitimate purpose. You do also realise that many trojans end up spamming computers with attachments containing malware, yes? Isn't self-replication the definition of a virus? Or is it only a virus if the receiver doesn't have to do anything to execute the malware? But then we're back to the initial problem that no virus can be received on a non-connected computer.

      Perhaps you about to define a virus as, "something an OS X machine could never get".

    67. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      I'll give you one [carrel.org] to stop you whining. It's especially important because it describes what I've said about ethical hackers not being prepared to put their freedom on the line to impress kids. Contrary to what you think, many people care about the difference between showing that a gun can be guilt and building a gun for anyone to use.

      From that advisory:

      A series of seemingly innocuous default settings can cause an affected Mac OS X machine to trust a malicious machine on a network for user, group, and volume mounting settings.

      I'll be sure to get the message to myself living in 2006 not to let anybody untrusted on the LAN. Again, how can this be exploited over the internet?

      Argh. Webserver = server software. There are a few web servers most of which have administrators, many of whom will notice suspicious activity eventually. There are hundreds of millions of desktops/workstations on the net, very few of which have competent administrators. The content of an individual web server may be valuable, while the content of an individual client machine is likely not; the sum of bandwidths of web servers over time is likely not so impressive; whereas the sum of bandwidths of millions of distributed machines in a large botnet is very impressive.

      Targeting a server and targeting a client are two very different goals.

      You just made my point for me. You freely admit that saying software is relatively unexploited because of its market share is a fallacy. You also freely admit that you have to actually judge the software's security on its own merits. Obviously the blanket statement that Apache is more or less secure than IIS based on market share is ridiculous. Goes for any other piece of software. Including operating systems.

      But it's been exploited many times in proof-of-concepts.

      Doesn't mean jack until it's in the wild. A proof-of-concept set up in somebodies computer lab with controlled circumstances do not a real exploit make. Surely you realize this.

      I'm going to do you a favor. Remember back in that one fateful class when you were working on your CS degree and the professor brought up a little thing called recursion? Remember how no matter how much he explained it, you just kept getting that funny feeling in the back of your brain and you just couldn't get it? I'm going to kill 2 birds with one stone here. Check it out:

      Market share is irrelevant when discussing relative security of different OS's. An OS can conceivably have zero market other than on my own computer and be completely secure or not secure at all. An OS could have 100 percent market share and be in an identical situation. At the end of the day, the only way to prove an OS is insecure is to exploit it. Anything else is just talk. And from where I'm sitting, OS X looks pretty good.

      I want you to read that. Then, go on ahead and read it again. And if you still don't get it, keep reading it. Eventually it'll click.

      You can thank me later.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    68. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      you get guarantees about the confidentiality of your documents

      Just to check, what proportion of Google's yearly revenue comes from you? That may provide an accurate measure of how likely it is they'll help defend against private or government requests for data access. Or even hint to you that it's happened.

      Also, how often are you allowed to audit their systems? See, most professional industries have independent external auditors/inspectors when third parties provide services, so it'd be almost insane if the answer were "never".

      For all you know, I could be sitting right now with access to Google's intranet, having identified who you are by correlating your search behaviour with certain Slashdot postings, giggling at your porn browsing history and noting down some less-than-savoury links you clicked on. See, I might want to tip the police off if you ever happen to compete with my family's area of business (I mean, I could just look at your work directly to gain the upper hand, but then it might be too obvious what's going on - much better to get you discredited with the Sex Offender card).

      Why exactly do you trust me not to do that? It's not as if I'm planting evidence - I'm just hypothetically pointing out one or two pictures you might accidentally still have in your cache because some bastard on some site posted something illegal and you didn't realise what the link pointed to. Once they've taken your computer as evidence and confirmed this, who is going to listen when you say, "The guy at Google was after me! It's a conspiracy!"

      There'd be no conspiracy. It'd just be me, hypothetically destroying you, because I can, and because you thought it was wise to give so much personal and professional data (never mix...) to one organisation with 20,000 employees.

      And that's before we get to how a corrupt government can do something similar if you dream of joining any protests, cooperating in any campaigns or writing in any significant political publications. So many eggs, so one basket!

    69. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Also, when is a virus not a trojan, precisely?

      Perhaps you about to define a virus as, "something an OS X machine could never get".

      A virus can start out as a trojan, yes. The distinguishing characteristic is that a virus self-replicates, actively seeks new hosts and attaches to them typically over a network (these days). A pure trojan doesn't replicate. It's just a hostile executable bundled with something seemingly innocuous.

      This is a very important distinguishing characteristic when discussing the relative merits of operating system security. Any operating system can become the victim of a trojan. But, it's a very special operating system that is susceptible to viruses propagating over the internet to the extent that it has fallen victim to millions of variants for years and years and has people arguing over it on message boards all day long.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    70. Re:Can only guess... by somersault · · Score: 1

      The point remains :p I know enough but programming, but I certainly couldn't be assed with checking everything over all the time! The thing is that if Google was doing anything dodgy with this stuff then it would quickly show up on sites like /. anyway.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    71. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Just to check, what proportion of Google's yearly revenue comes from you? That may provide an accurate measure of how likely it is they'll help defend against private or government requests for data access. Or even hint to you that it's happened. Also, how often are you allowed to audit their systems? See, most professional industries have independent external auditors/inspectors when third parties provide services, so it'd be almost insane if the answer were "never". For all you know, I could be sitting right now with access to Google's intranet, having identified who you are by correlating your search behaviour with certain Slashdot postings, giggling at your porn browsing history and noting down some less-than-savoury links you clicked on. See, I might want to tip the police off if you ever happen to compete with my family's area of business (I mean, I could just look at your work directly to gain the upper hand, but then it might be too obvious what's going on - much better to get you discredited with the Sex Offender card). Why exactly do you trust me not to do that? It's not as if I'm planting evidence - I'm just hypothetically pointing out one or two pictures you might accidentally still have in your cache because some bastard on some site posted something illegal and you didn't realise what the link pointed to. Once they've taken your computer as evidence and confirmed this, who is going to listen when you say, "The guy at Google was after me! It's a conspiracy!" There'd be no conspiracy. It'd just be me, hypothetically destroying you, because I can, and because you thought it was wise to give so much personal and professional data (never mix...) to one organisation with 20,000 employees. And that's before we get to how a corrupt government can do something similar if you dream of joining any protests, cooperating in any campaigns or writing in any significant political publications.

      The FUD to signal ratio here is literally 1:0. I thought you would be above that.

      So many eggs, so one basket!

      From my earlier post.

      We took a long hard look between Google Apps for Business in conjunction with our current Office 2003 install base

      Actually, 2 baskets which is 1 more than most businesses. It's not an either/or proposition. The beauty of Google Apps for Businesses (for us, anyway) is it actually enhances our Office experience. We saved millions in licensing fees vs upgrading to Office 2010. Collaborative editing has been a boon for our productivity. Our employees documents can be accessed anywhere, anytime by them on whatever device they happen to have.

      I don't know how we got along without it.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    72. Re:Can only guess... by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Since Google's entire business model revolves around advertising

      Right. Its not like Google sells anything other than advertising, like, for instance, application hosting services for both custom web apps, and for versions of its own web apps tied to domains and coupled with SLA's and support.

      Well, except that they do.

      while Microsoft, Apple (and Linux, in a fashion)'s business model revolves around selling OSes

      "Linux" isn't an organization with a business model, and while some organizations may sell support for Linux, none are selling the OS as such.

      And Microsoft and Apple both sell online advertising -- Apple making a major strategic push in that area recently.

      I think it would be pretty easy for MS or Apple to simply say, "We will never collect any data about our OS users' application usage, browsing habits, or other personal information."

      You might imagine it would be easy for them to say that -- but in the real world, that would substantial changes in their business even beyond abandoning their efforts to sell advertising, since, in fact, they do seek to collect OS and application users application usage, browsing habits, and other personal information, for their own direct marketing, for advertising, and as a way of getting information on how their products are used to guide future plans.

      And Microsoft and Apple are trending toward doing more of that, not less.

    73. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      I'll be sure to get the message to myself living in 2006 not to let anybody untrusted on the LAN. Again, how can this be exploited over the internet?

      You asked for "remotely exploitable", so I gave you "remotely exploitable", i.e. not requiring physical access/login credentials. Try to be clear about what you mean in future. It's sweet that you never take your Mac out of "the LAN", but many people have laptops and wander around both with cables and wirelessly, connect directly to an ISP which provides IP information via DHCP on a virtual subnet (e.g. some cable services), etc. Just because your idea of cracking may be annoying the guy across the continent who just beat you at some FPS, for others it's the much more determined effort of exploiting one machine behind a company network to get at all the others.

      I'll go forward one year: <a href="help:runscript=MacHelp.help/Contents/Resources/ English.lproj/shrd/OpnApp.scpt string='echo Insert command to add startup script to shell here">this link would have worked nicely around 2004</a> - can't do an automatic redirect on /. but you get the idea. But you're going to tell me somehow that that exploit's not valid either, right? Perhaps because I haven't actually typed out a malicious script in place of the 'echo'?

      You just made my point for me. You freely admit that saying software is relatively unexploited because of its market share is a fallacy.

      I've always limited my argument to client machines. Marketshare is a valid reason for targetting client machines, but not an established reason for targetting server machines. Stop generalising.

      Doesn't mean jack until it's in the wild. A proof-of-concept set up in somebodies computer lab with controlled circumstances do not a real exploit make. Surely you realize this.

      Completely incorrect - you're just annoyed because no-one's breaking the law for your pleasure. What differentiates us from the monkey is that we are able to think in the abstract. IOW, don't need a physical hammer in front of us to accept that one can exist and have an idea of how it works: we can be shown drawings or be given descriptions and use our cognitive skills to decide whether it is feasible.

      I'm done with you. You maintained my interest for a while (thank you!), but you're veering off into jumping up and down with random "See and that means I've won the argument!!!!" and it makes you look silly. Quit while you're not ahead ;-).

    74. Re:Can only guess... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      You asked for "remotely exploitable", so I gave you "remotely exploitable"

      Fair enough. You successfully got me a little off-topic and I over-reached. Good job on that. You have a future in marketing. Still doesn't negate my central point that market share means jack shit when judging relative security.

      I've always limited my argument to client machines. Marketshare is a valid reason for targetting client machines, but not an established reason for targetting server machines. Stop generalising.

      It's not the kind of machines you're arguing about that is the source of your fallaciousness. It's the argument itself. Maybe you'll figure that out. Maybe you already have and are just trying to save face. It's cool.

      I'm done with you. You maintained my interest for a while (thank you!), but you're veering off into jumping up and down with random "See and that means I've won the argument!!!!" and it makes you look silly. Quit while you're not ahead ;-).

      Yeah, party on, dude. Just make sure to keep that McAfee updated. Oh, my bad, too soon?

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    75. Re:Can only guess... by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

      Hmm, clearly, you do not know or understand much about Linux and OSX security...

      --
      Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    76. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the best part of open source is that someone will probably do this for you. i expect a trimmed-down fork of chromeos to be released by the community within the month of the normal release, much like iron was released shortly after chrome

      but if you're too paranoid to use someone else's code without reading it yourself, then that's what you'll have to do.

    77. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I man the systems support line

      Adios credibility

    78. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      won't necessarily be used most on laptops. An android phone with chrome os is all I'll be buying off google, and that's assuming they don't make it a disaster like the Nexus 1

    79. Re:Can only guess... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Ah, you're you on this thread too lol.. hello again! I'll finish off this one, since you had the courtesy to reply everywhere. After this post, it's good night from me.

      The FUD to signal ratio here is literally 1:0. I thought you would be above that.

      I don't think we agree on what FUD is. "Don't give all your business and pleasure information to one entity unless you trust that entity outright because they have the potential to abuse the information," is sound advice backed up by millennia of examples illustrating human nature. Are you the sort who would cry "FUD!" if I told you that compulsory ID cards would be harmful? Would it be wrong to use examples from history to show what happens when the government has the ability to track you and build databases about you, because somehow this ID card scheme is uncorruptible, unlike any other?

      Actually, 2 baskets which is 1 more than most businesses.

      True, and it's good to hear - but whether the basket simply broke would be the least of my worries, unless my data was very trivial. To take an example from long ago, I used to write time&billing software which was supplied to the Top 4 (excluding AA, not everyone's blind!) accounting firms. We'd happily bounce back and forth datasets representing hundreds of millions of dollars of work - "happily" because there was a clear trust that we saw it, they saw it, and no-one else would have the opportunity to see it.

      I'd just like to imagine their faces for one moment if I said, "Oh, yeah, we're moving to the cloud, so all your stuff's on Google." Perhaps they had things they'd want to hide from *arbitrary entity dependent on where Google stores its data or has information sharing agreements with*, perhaps they had no reason to trust a third party with little to lose from fucking them over, or perhaps they just knew the principle of least disclosure. Today the Information Commissioner's Office would also throw a fit because I'm exporting certain personal data outside of the EU zone to an area with non-existent data protection legislation (or who knows where?). So you learn to take responsibility for the privacy of the data provided to you and generated by you, and you do so with integrity and honesty, knowing you're doing the best job possible for your client.

      And, thing is, I try to respect the privacy of everyone's data as much as I respect those more strictly managed accounting records, because it's never my business to judge the sensitivity of someone else's data.

      The beauty of Google Apps for Businesses (for us, anyway) is it actually enhances our Office experience. We saved millions in licensing fees vs upgrading to Office 2010. Collaborative editing has been a boon for our productivity. Our employees documents can be accessed anywhere, anytime by them on whatever device they happen to have.

      This sounds like marketing spiel. Especially because "anywhere, anytime" is precisely not a description of the availability of the Internet, unless your employees do little more than move from well-connected office to city home. And "whatever device" better be a sufficiently modern device to handle the dynamic HTML Google Apps uses - I had a horrible experience even trying to send mail with GMail on a 4-year-old mobile device a couple of days ago. You'd hope for graceful degradation to an HTML4 form with a straight submit button, right? Ah well.

      I do wonder why you panicked about upgrading to Office 2010 if you use so few office features that you could make do with Google Apps. Did you try Sharepoint, for example? I recognise within a few hours of using Google Apps that I'd be using hours of productivity over a week getting over its clunkiness, lack of features and other limitations inherent to running software in browser - it would worry me to hear of a business which invests "millions" in Office licences not taking account of the cost of productivity loss. Even open/quick check of something/close feels agonising when it can't be all over in 5 seconds - it's like I'm back at a 15 year old clunker.

    80. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually Microsoft can not do that at all. In other hand, Apple could do it.

      When you use Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8. There are few things what user need to keep in mind.

      1) By default suggested anti-phishing function reports EVERY address to Microsoft first to check is it blacklisted. And that means, EVERY address. Were you or not, in the "private mode".

      2) When you download updates to Windows, installed applications list goes to hands of Microsoft. They know what apps you have installed to computer. Scary? Well... YES!

      3) When you use MSN, Microsoft knows ALL the connections what you have. Microsoft have collected same kind network like what the Facebook has collected, altough little smaller because not every person have the MSN account (many has Facebook). Do you remember the Microsoft goal to tie MSN passport to Windows XP login and all MS services and get single-login -function to web where user could just buy stuff from webstores when user was authenticated when logged in their computer or MSN?

      4) Microsoft "Play-for-Sure" and other DRM functions. The Windows Mediaplayer default settings to check "rights" for every media what you play, was it a CD, DVD, or your own MP3.

      What Apple has? Well, if you do not have iTunes store account, you can block iTunes from discussing Apple easily. Quicktime does not call home. Safari does not ask from Apple what sites are good or bad. Most system softwares in the Mac OS X are open source (you can download them from Apple developer sites).

      But nothing is as Linux or BSD's. They do not call home, if user wants to send data to developers, it is shown them first what is sended.

      And Google Chrome OS use Linux OS, version 2.6.3x and SELinux branch from it. Linux is very secure OS what does not call to anyone with own permits. The Google Chrome is a browser what of course sends data if you use Google as it default search engine. If you use Google services with it etc.

      But no one is forcing you to use any Google services with Google Chrome OS. You can even disable the Google account being used as the system login and account being offline function like in any other software system.

      Difference as well is that Google tells right in to face what it is about. Microsoft has told so many times in last 25 years that it is very normal that it is lying because it has been couched pants down when spying, delivering secret patches, collecting user data etc. Almost every year there comes something shit up from MS workings against privacy. Even the Facebook privacy problems are same level as MS things.

    81. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How to get a Windows user to run malware by emailing them: tell them to save the file and then click it.

      How to get a Linux user to run malware by emailing them: tell them to save the file, chmod +x it, and click it.

      The same thing happens on the Windows version. The user must untick a checkbox thereby allowing it to execute.

      Asking the user to revert to CLI is why desktop Linux won't succeed. Any user-friendly Linux distribution will have a GUI alternative to this.

      How to get a Windows user to run malware from a CD ROM: tell them to insert the CD ROM into their drive, and the by-default-enabled autorun will take care of the rest for you.

      How to do the same to a Linux user: tell them to edit /etc/fstab and remove the noexec from the CD ROM mount options, insert the disc, open it in their desktop software, and click the malware.

      Discs don't autorun by default in Windows. Try coming up with an example relevant to this decade.

      Asking the user to revert to CLI is why desktop Linux won't succeed. Any user-friendly Linux distribution will have a GUI alternative to this.

      Average quality OSes like Linux, unlike Windows, don't go out of their way to help users shoot themselves in the foot. You can write malware for Linux, but Linux doesn't support malware. And sometimes dumb users need Windows' support because they can't figure out how to launch their malware on their own.

      Maybe you can demonstrate how that's the case, because you haven't here.

    82. Re:Can only guess... by ZosX · · Score: 1

      Actually M$ has certainly made statements about what data WGA collects. I don't know if I would necessarily trust that, BUT I am typing this on windows 7 and I have an android phone, so I guess I gave up certain aspects of my privacy a long time ago.

    83. Re:Can only guess... by severoon · · Score: 1

      So, the main difference between MS and Google is that they both suck up lots of user data, and while Google uses it to provide better products and more interesting, highly targeted, and relevant advertising (without being sly or annoying about it), MS uses the user data they collect to supply us with service packs than create more bugs than they fix 6 months after we've already learned how to work around the biggest problems in the first place.

      The only reason one ought to be more comforted by sending MS your user data instead of Google is that there is a reasonable chance MS doesn't have any idea how to mine that information effectively, so its effectively providing some security through obscurity (via incompetence). Of course, that's only until either is served with an enforceable warrant and they have to turn the data over to the government...though I might make the point that the govt is probably even more incompetent. :-D

      --
      but have you considered the following argument: shut up.
    84. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I man the systems support line

      Adios credibility

      Hey, c'mon now, that's not fair - he DID say that he has an IQ of 127 or 132 depending on which test you believe. That's should be good for something, right?

    85. Re:Can only guess... by Skarecrow77 · · Score: 1

      I'm sure the ACs in mom's basement who've got a good 3 or 4 years of computer experience (that's forever in the tech industry, right?) know way more than me.

      I'll have to make sure I consult you guys now whenever I need to know something tech related... but how am I to know which AC is which?

      Oh noes...

    86. Re:Can only guess... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but how am I to know which AC is which?

      Doesn't matter: We're all the same. You see, it's a little-known fact that there is in fact only one Anonymous Coward on Slashdot.

  4. Chromium by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shiny!

  5. Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Wasn't it already said that it's illegal to integrate your browser into your operating system? If IE had to be removed from Windows then why can Google build their OS with Chrome as the basis for the operating system? This was a giant monopoly suit...

    Can we say double standard?

    1. Re:Um... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Wasn't it already said that it's illegal to integrate your browser into your operating system?

      No, integrating a web browser into an operating system is completely legal. It is illegal, however, to attempt to use an effective monopoly in the desktop operating systems market to gain an effective monopoly in the web browser market.

      Google has approximately no market share in the desktop OS market, so this is not an issue. They may have an effective monopoly in the search engine market (debatable), but they are not requiring Chrome or ChromeOS for their search engine so this is also not an issue.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    2. Re:Um... by minus9 · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Wasn't it already said that it's illegal to integrate your browser into your operating system?"

      No it was "said" to be illegal to abuse a monopoly position in one market to take over another. In fact it wasn't just "said", it was and remains the law.

    3. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As was already stated, having a large marketshare is fine. Using marketshare in one area to lock users into your product in another area is the problem, and is only a problem when the company has been declared to have a monopoly in an area.

      Microsoft was clearly violating antitrust law and leveraging their monopoly to take over other markets. Eg. giving away a browser "free" when you're forced to buy their operating system. Microsoft got off with almost no punishment, so I'm not sure why you're crying them a river.

    4. Re:Um... by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do you need to use Chrome to use Google - no

      Do you need to use ChromeOS to use Chrome - no

      Do you need to use Google if you use Chrome and ChromeOS ... probably not

      Do Google have a large market share in browsers - No

      Do Google have a large market share in OS's - No

      No monopoly behaviour here ....

      --
      Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    5. Re:Um... by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      MS didn't have an effective monopoly either. Read your Sherman.

      Micro$erf,

      Read your Jackson. Microsoft "[enjoyed] monopoly power" as defined by the Sherman act, and that finding of fact was never overturned.

      Sorry, you were saying something funny?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    6. Re:Um... by Kilrah_il · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Still, you have not debunked his main point. MS used its dominance (not monopoly) in the OS market to get users to use IE. They didn't force anyone to use IE, but by bundling it with Windows, they used their OS market share in order to increase their web browser market share. That is a monopolizing behavior.

      If Google had used its search engine to get you to use Chrome or Chrome OS you would have had a point. AFAIK, anyone, with any web browser can use Google's search engine. If anything, they may be using Chrome to get people to use Google Search more - but since they have no dominance in the OS and web browser markets, this is a non-issue. I know, Sherman does not talk about Monopoly, but if a minor player in the web browser/OS market uses them to increase the number of people using their (already dominant) search engine, this is no violation of the Sherman act.

      P.S.
      What does "applefan" have to do with this?

      --
      Whenever in an argument, remember this.
    7. Re:Um... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 0, Troll

      You were as forced to buy the Microsoft OS then as you are to use Google today. Giving away your OS/browser on your home page is akin in today's terms to supplying a browser on the install CD. "But you have to consciously install it!" I hear you retort. Well, do you have to consciously install Google Apps? And, if not, does it count as always installed, or never installed? The point is, whether it's installed is a technical point only relevant to admin/developers - what matters is how available it is.

      Not crying for MS, just applying standards evenly. Unfortunately they became much more political after the anti-trust nonsense, which was to the detriment of business in general. This decade barely recognises a difference between corporation and government, and the MS anti-trust trial was just bringing MS in line.

      I see I got modded down for mentioning Apple, who is really the initiator of the client end of the current wave of disposable/cloud computing. For the record, Jobs sucks and is far worse than MS, and it's a shame that people feel the need to mod down when they disagree rather than arguing their point.

    8. Re:Um... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      You are doing what is typical of a layperson when they're met with technical language, which is to take two different phrases with some similar words then to assume they mean the same thing. Tech geeks hate it when non-geeks do this but somehow think it's acceptable for them to do it in other fields.

      I asserted, "MS didn't have an effective monopoly."

      You asserted, "MS enjoyed monopoly power." You will notice throughout the document that MS is described never as a monopoly but repeatedly as having "monpoly power".

      A "monopoly" can be identified by market share - it's an everyday term, and a term which is defined more precisely by economists (with market share taken into account).

      "Monopoly power" has a specific legal definition in Sherman which is not constructed in terms of market share.

    9. Re:Um... by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      >giving away your OS/browser on your home page is akin in today's terms to supplying a browser on the install CD.

      Which is perfectly legal - every Linux distro out there does it too - and was never the issue with microsoft. The issue was integrating windows 98 with I.E. in such a way that it was not possible to use one without the other - literally you couldn't uninstall IE as windows would STOP WORKING if you did.

      Sure you could install another browser AS WELL - but since IE had to be there anyway and couldn't be removed - most people never bothered or even found out that other browsers existed (at the time) - and THAT was what was illegal.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    10. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So Chrome OS is illegal as it offers no other choice of browser?

    11. Re:Um... by IntlHarvester · · Score: 1

      The issue was integrating windows 98 with I.E. in such a way that it was not possible to use one without the other - literally you couldn't uninstall IE as windows would STOP WORKING if you did.

      No, that wasn't the real issue at all. Only in a very myopic view which sees the world in terms of DLLs did any of that matter at all, and in the end Microsoft was not prevented from bundling software in a matter they see fit.

      The actual crime was Microsoft using its contracts with OEMs and ISPs to prevent competing browsers from being bundled. That is, it was entirely in the legal and business realm, not technology.

      --
      Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
    12. Re:Um... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Anyone with Windows could always use any Win32-compliant web browser. Are Google using their dominant position in search/advertising to dump Chrome, ChromeOS and Google Apps on the market?

      What does "applefan" have to do with this?

      See this post. Whatever belief system seems to think that Apple's behaviour is OK, ends up thinking Google's behaviour is OK. They're two journeymen in the same boat.

    13. Re:Um... by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      They kinda do force you to use Google search - switching search providers (unlike IE or Firefox) in Chrome is a major inconvenience (it involves digging through menus and dialogue boxes). Firefox/IE its a matter of pointing and clicking. I like Google search, but I also want to directly search sites like Wikipedia and WoW Head and it won't let me do that.

    14. Re:Um... by zerocool^ · · Score: 1

      To be fair, google is using it's search revenue to muscle it's way into a lot of other online services markets by offering the services for free (domain hosted Gmail, google apps, etc). That seems pretty shady to me, but what do I know.

      --
      sig?
    15. Re:Um... by sorak · · Score: 1

      IIRC, Microsoft's defense was the claim that IE was a component of the OS that couldn't be removed. If this argument holds water, then Google can honestly make that defense, as chrome OS is more like a self-booting web browser, than a fully-functional operating system.

    16. Re:Um... by Kilrah_il · · Score: 1

      Anyone with Windows could always use any Win32-compliant web browser. Are Google using their dominant position in search/advertising to dump Chrome, ChromeOS and Google Apps on the market?

      In a word, No!
      If anything, they are using their non-dominant position in OS and web browsers to dump their search engine to the market... which is a pretty stupid suggestion, because I think Google Search does not need a boost from a 6-7% market share browser. So, no, they are not using monopoly/monopoly-like power.

      --
      Whenever in an argument, remember this.
    17. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ucking retard

    18. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (2) MS didn't "require" IE for its browser under Windows.

      I take it you're not running any patches?

    19. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's basically irrelevant whether I was or wasn't forced to buy a Microsoft OS. The government declared Microsoft had a desktop monopoly, and Microsoft proceeded afterwards to violate anti-trust law. Google has never been found by the government to have a monopoly in any area, so they can do anything they want. That's your "applying standards evenly".

    20. Re:Um... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      They kinda do force you to use Google search

      Every time I open Chrome for the first time on a new install, a huge popup takes over about a quarter of my screen imploring me, "Do you want to use Google Search or somebody else?" or something like that. I've never seen a browser that goes to such an extent to give me a choice in search providers.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    21. Re:Um... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Is the Moon made of cheese? In a word, Yes!

      (a) Google have dominant position in search.

      (b) Google are freely offering Chrome (+ChromeOS maybe) on the home page to users of their search service: "A faster way to browse the web - install Google Chrome".

      (c) When you search for terms such as "browser" their browser appears top of the sponsored listings. I guess they just paid themselves more than anyone else did to get that top position.

      (d) Google are not similarly offering competitor browsers (+operating systems) to users of their search service.

    22. Re:Um... by X3J11 · · Score: 1

      They kinda do force you to use Google search - switching search providers (unlike IE or Firefox) in Chrome is a major inconvenience (it involves digging through menus and dialogue boxes). Firefox/IE its a matter of pointing and clicking.

      Out of curiosity, have you actually used Chrome?

      Changing the search provider seems to be as easy as starting the program, clicking on the little monkey wrench->Options, and selecting a search provider from a drop down menu. Oh, and one more click on the Close button.

      I only use Chrome to make accessing a rarely used gmail account easier (I'm lazy), but it didn't seem all that difficult.

    23. Re:Um... by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 0, Troll

      Sounds like a double standard to me.

      Basically, Microsoft is not allowed to compete by law.

    24. Re:Um... by yurtinus · · Score: 1

      Do you need to use Chrome to use Google - no

      Emphasis on this line - Google's search monopoly will not give them an automatic OS or web browser monopoly (like MS tying IE into the OS). Sure, somebody could make the argument that it is or will, but I'll believe it when I see it.

      --
      +1 Disagree
    25. Re:Um... by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      To be fair, google is using it's search revenue to muscle it's way into a lot of other online services markets by offering the services for free (domain hosted Gmail, google apps, etc). That seems pretty shady to me, but what do I know.

      Using revenue from one market to expand into another isn't, IMO, "shady" (if you think about it, other than soliciting specific outside financing to do it, that's the only way businesses expand.)

      Leveraging your dominance in one market to create dominance in another in a way which obstructs effective competition, is a very different thing from merely using revenue from success in one market to finance expansion into another.

    26. Re:Um... by Rogerborg · · Score: 1

      What you are doing is typical of a pedant caught with your pants round your ankles, balls deep in your pooch, claiming that you're not "screwing" it, you're "making sweet love".

      You, sir, said "effective monopoly", not "monopoly as defined by market share". Any reasonable person would conclude that having monopoly power gives you the effect of having a monopoly, irrespective of whatever market share you happen to have.

      At this point, a reasonable person would agree that they'd tried to be far too clever by half, pull out of Fido, and wipe themselves off. I'm fascinated to see what you will do.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    27. Re:Um... by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Google are freely offering Chrome (+ChromeOS maybe) on the home page to users of their search service: "A faster way to browse the web - install Google Chrome".

      What you miss is that this is non-discriminatory offering; you don't have to get the Chrome browser to get their dominant search service, and getting the Chrome browser doesn't get you privileged access to their dominant search service. So, even if consumer search were a market in which a monopoly could exist (since what Google provides their is free of charge, its arguably not a market at all just a tool for Google to sell products in a different market -- the relevant market is advertising, where Google does not have anything like a dominant share)
      there is nothing being done to leverage it in an anticompetitive manner.

    28. Re:Um... by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      They kinda do force you to use Google search - switching search providers (unlike IE or Firefox) in Chrome is a major inconvenience (it involves digging through menus and dialogue boxes). Firefox/IE its a matter of pointing and clicking.

      "Digging through menus and dialogue boxes" and "pointing and clicking" are really the same thing, and if you reversed those descriptions they'd be just as accurate as they are the way you presented them.

    29. Re:Um... by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a double standard to me.

      Any rule that imposes consequences on any behavior or status can be viewed as a double standard. Whether the distinction it draws is desirable, appropriate, or justified is more important than whether it sounds like a double standard.

      Basically, Microsoft is not allowed to compete by law.

      This is inaccurate. A firm exercising monopoly power in one market is not allowed to exercise that power to prevent other firms from competing with it in another market.

      That does not prevent the monopolist from competing outside its monopoly market (indeed, insofar as the monopolists chooses to participate in another market, it requires them to compete rather than merely dictating terms.)

      That'

    30. Re:Um... by FuckingNickName · · Score: 0, Redundant

      So you're apologising for being wrong and legitimately pointing out that you were at least trying to be reasonable (but still were wrong).

      Nevertheless, apology accepted. Night night.

    31. Re:Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are they leveraging a monopoly in one area (search) in order to enter another area (OS)? - Yes

      Is that Neelie Kroes sharpening her knives I hear?

    32. Re:Um... by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      So how do I switch search providers on the fly?

    33. Re:Um... by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      I know that - I said the option was buried and you back up that fact.

      So how do I switch search providers on the fly - like in one click like I can on Firefox?

    34. Re:Um... by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      One click vs. 3-4 clicks to change the search provider?

    35. Re:Um... by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 0, Troll

      Microsoft never was a monopoly.

      Is Google a monopoly?

      Apple?

    36. Re:Um... by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Right click on the search box (the address bar) and click "Edit Search Engines...". I imagine you can handle it from there. Personally, I'm happy with Google so I didn't know. Took me about 10 seconds to figure it out though.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    37. Re:Um... by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Microsoft never was a monopoly.

      Irrelevant to GP, which referenced exercising monopoly power in a market, not whether or not they "were a monopoly".

      Is Google a monopoly?

      I have yet to see a credible argument that Google exercises monopoly power in any definable market under antitrust law.

      Apple?

      As for Google.

    38. Re:Um... by metacell · · Score: 1

      Entering a business =/= gaining a dominance there

    39. Re:Um... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      No it was "said" to be illegal to abuse a monopoly position in one market to take over another. In fact it wasn't just "said", it was and remains the law.

      However, it was also proven to be legal to abuse a monopoly position if you have powerful friends, when Ashcroft's DoJ declined to punish Microsoft after finding them guilty of abusing their monopoly status.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. This isn't going to compete with Windows by dward90 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's going to compete with Linux.

    In other news: 2011. Year of the Chrome Desktop (tm).

    --
    My other sig is clever.
    1. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by beaverdownunder · · Score: 1

      I dunno... vendors like Dell who are going to be marketing Android-based mobile devices might stuff ChromeOS on to netbooks and computers for grannie...

      Guess we'll see =)

    2. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by Threni · · Score: 1

      And Android. If Chrome is just for running a browser, why not run a browser on an Android OS?

    3. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by V!NCENT · · Score: 0, Troll

      It _IS_ Linux, fscktard...

      --
      Here be signatures
    4. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by captainpanic · · Score: 1

      It's going to compete with Linux.

      True, until game-manufacturers come up with Chrome-compatible games and other software companies make chrome-compatible applications?
      Already, Office exists by Google too... and creating a replacement for minesweeper really isn't that difficult.

    5. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It _IS_ Linux, fscktard...

      WHat are you, twelve?

    6. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's an OS to launch and run a browser, which does *all* the work .... and do as little as possible otherwise ....

      It's competing with very little ....at the moment, except if you have a thin client desktop machine ?

      --
      Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    7. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by characterZer0 · · Score: 1

      So, it is competing with the iPad?

      --
      Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
    8. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WHat are you, twelve?

      What are you, someone who is incapable of using their shift key properly?

    9. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by wonkavader · · Score: 1

      Actually, I think it'll be mostly competing with Android, which makes this whole thing kind of bizarre.

      Why isn't Google packaging a version of Android as Chrome? A restricted version of Android would work fine, and give tinkerers a path up, sell better, allow local apps which are specially judged safe for Chrome/written with tattlers to integrate it into the cloud data, etc.

      Two completely separate OS systems will cause confusion and not allow one to leverage work done on one for the other.

      This seems dumb.

    10. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Only in the way that Debian is Fedora, by which I mean only in the extremely vague way that they both use a Linux kernel.

    11. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by Saint+Fnordius · · Score: 1

      Rather, ChromeOS is going to compete with other Linux distros such as SuSE and Ubuntu.

      I always thought the point of Chrome OS was Google saying "this is what we are going to use in our shops in the future. You guys are welcome to use it as well, and if you can improve the code, let us know and we'll roll your improvements in." Unlike Android, I get the impression Chrome OS isn't designed for vendors as much as it is for workstations within the Googleplex.

    12. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by SiaFhir · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It is in fact Linux, albeit a scaled down version to eliminate a lot of the overhead that a "normal" OS carries, leaving only the web browsing capability, and little else.

      Having said that, I'm sure someone will program up an app that will open up this OS and add the capability to install any application available to Linux, effectively creating a full-featured fragment of ChromeOS and a proper competitor to Windows. At the same time it could compete with other Linux distros like Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, et al (or perhaps with Linux desktop environments like Gnome and KDE, depending on the work done to expand its use).

      After all, it's Linux, which is open source. With open source you can dig in the code and make changes and improvements.

      Let's just hope Google doesn't turn around and say "you can't do that", like Apple is doing with the AppStore and Sony is doing with PS3.

    13. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by FencingLion · · Score: 1

      Chrome OS *is* Linux.

      --
      Just keep swimming.
    14. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by mlts · · Score: 1

      From what I read, the ChromeOS devices will be locked down with a TPM system similar to the PS3. But, if the Wiki is right, you just flip a switch on the bottom of the machine, and you can get root access. I like the idea, because Joe Sixpack can watch pr0n and not get his system trashed because he has no clue, nor inclination to follow basic security guidelines.

      Personally, I wish Google could allow apps on it with a similar security model as Android. This way, if my Web browser gets compromised though an add-on exploit, it won't be able to access my word processing documents, nor my Thunderbird E-mail files. And if any of these apps demanded root, unless it had a specific reason for asking for it (like a backup program or a root file manager), it most likely is compromised.

    15. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Really? You think the only similarities between Debian and Fedora are the kernel? Here's a one sentence education: they are practically the same except for the package management and the philosophy of their respective communities.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    16. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Actually, I think it'll be mostly competing with Android, which makes this whole thing kind of bizarre.

      Why isn't Google packaging a version of Android as Chrome? A restricted version of Android would work fine, and give tinkerers a path up, sell better, allow local apps which are specially judged safe for Chrome/written with tattlers to integrate it into the cloud data, etc.

      Two completely separate OS systems will cause confusion and not allow one to leverage work done on one for the other.

      They aren't completely separate "OS systems". They are separate brands, both Linux-based, both placing WebKit-based browsers as key components (the key user-facing component in ChromeOS), both using the V8 javascript engine. They are different in that Chrome OS has UI -- both input and output -- features designed for traditional environments while Android targets mobile, and Android incorporates the JVM for apps while Chrome doesn't -- but that appears to be because at the time Android was released, the JVM was an easy choice for a cross-hardware app environment, while Google has spent much of the time since working on its Native Client mechanism, which it has stated is intended to be an important part of ChromeOS at launch, and also an important component of the Chrome browser and the Android operating system once it is ready.

      And Google has said that they expect Android and Chrome OS to converge over time (which makes sense: the essential difference -- other than the ones that related to UI adaptation to different hardware platforms -- is over how apps more native than traditional HTML/JS web-apps are delivered, and Google has already stated that they intend to incorporate the same mechanism Chrome OS will use for that into Android, so the only additional thing necessary for convergence will be to either incorporate the JVM mechanism into Chrome or, more likely, to provide an easy mechanism to convert Android apps into Native Client-based apps.)

    17. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      And Android. If Chrome is just for running a browser, why not run a browser on an Android OS?

      Because Android's UI isn't really designed for netbooks, laptops, and desktops (though its been used in netbooks by some vendors), and because Android incorporates an app model that Google wants to move away from in favor of Native Client (as they've stated that, in addition to being part of Chrome OS at launch, Native Client will eventually be part of Android as well, I expect that they'll provide some kind of upgrade path and phase out the existing Android app support -- that's consistent with what Schmidt has said about Android and ChromeOS converging in the long term.)

      Other than that, Chrome OS and Android are very similar and share lots of components. Both are built on the Linux kernel. Both use the V8 javascript engine in a WebKit-based browser.

    18. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      It's competing with all those Linux "netbook distros".

      But seriously. I will keep Windows on my netbook for the foreseeable future, but I wouldn't mind having something near-instant-boot and fast specifically for web browsing alongside that. Chrome OS looks like just the thing.

      I do hope they can somehow fix the ugly mess that is Linux (well, FreeType) font rendering, though.

    19. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      It's an OS to launch and run a browser, which does *all* the work .... and do as little as possible otherwise ....

      It's competing with very little ....at the moment, except if you have a thin client desktop machine ?

      With Native Client as a key component, I'm not sure Chrome OS is really very much like a "thin client" machine. It takes browser-as-primary-user-interface to the extreme, but it is intended to supporting doing a lot more than traditional web apps through that interface.

    20. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by Simetrical · · Score: 1

      True, until game-manufacturers come up with Chrome-compatible games and other software companies make chrome-compatible applications? Already, Office exists by Google too... and creating a replacement for minesweeper really isn't that difficult.

      Chrome apps are web apps. That's an explicit design goal, last I checked (admittedly I haven't kept up). Everything that works on Chrome OS will work on the Chrome browser on any other OS, so no one will ever use Chrome OS solely because of the apps.

      --
      MediaWiki developer, Total War Center sysadmin
    21. Re:This isn't going to compete with Windows by V!NCENT · · Score: 1

      Someone who educates himself and gets a little facepalm|angry at people who not only try to flamebait, but in the proces spout the most stupid things around making a double fool of themselves.

      You see, you bash Chrome without even knowing what it is. Great way of making claims.

      PS: I do not piss in my pants if I don't go AC when saying something rightiously negative :) Now go fsck yourself...

      --
      Here be signatures
  7. no, that's not what it's for by FuckingNickName · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ChromeOS is not general competition "with Microsoft Windows". Windows has always been about delivering services on your desktop using the native CPU power and full set of UI capabilities, ensuring availability, low latency, full features and (relative) privacy.

    Google Apps deliver a quite limited subset of general office suite features available only under certain environments. They are completely inadequate where privacy is of concern.

    ChromeOS is another option for Netbooks - i.e. it might be suitable as another alternative in the already harmfully and unnecessarily flooded market of Netbook operating systems. But no firm should entertain using ChromeOS to prepare content.

    1. Re:no, that's not what it's for by Miros · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And why is it impossible to solve the privacy issues in the long run? The way I look at it, if the economic benefits of the "cloud" model are good enough, it's only a matter of time until the other issues are solved over time. Consider checks as an example of this idea. Initially, they seem retarded (I'm going to give you this little piece of paper which is a promise from me to you that my bank will give you this amount of gold if you go there to call on it). Stupid. However, when you consider that the same innovation (banks and checks) allowed you to draw on your account from anywhere that bank had a branch, and enabled you to perform large transactions without having to carry all of your gold with you all of the time, it is obvious that the transactions enabled by the innovation are valuable enough on average to outweigh the risks inherent in the system. Even today there is a tremendous amount of check fraud, but by god, we use them like there is no tomorrow. Why? because without them (and their equivalent financial instruments) our modern society could not exist.

      The new "store everything somewhere else and access it from anywhere" model has very similar risks, but also very similar benefits. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's a lot better than the old model in many ways and will, over time, enable valuable use cases that we have not even imagined yet.

      so, returning to my original question, why can't we solve these concerns in the long run? Because if it's not impossible, it is simply inevitable.

    2. Re:no, that's not what it's for by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      The privacy implication for banking is that banks, and by extension the government, know what amounts of money are coming and going - not always precisely when you pay cash or know which offshore banks to use.

      The privacy implication for the cloud is that Google, selected third parties and the government know every detail about all work you do on a computer.

    3. Re:no, that's not what it's for by Miros · · Score: 1

      Two thoughts. One, the risk with checks is much more of a "you can get ripped off" risk than a "your privacy could be invaded risk" although I suppose both risks do exist. In terms of the government getting into your business, well, that's always been an issue with government. Even without all these fancy tools that consolidate your information into one neat little pile that they can just pick up on their way to lunch they have always had the ability to know everything they want to know about you (including searching everything you have) if they had any real reason to be curious (I mean, what is a search warrant other than a piece of paper certifying their curiosity as justified?)

    4. Re:no, that's not what it's for by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Cheques are mostly being phased out in Western Europe over the next decade in favour of debit and credit cards, the latter of which at least offers quite a bit in terms of "not being ripped off" protection - the UK government for example requires joint liability between retailer and card provider for any purchases between £100 and £30,000.

      As for the government's curiosity, it is in the mind of a geek (I've been guilty of this too) to try to reduce problems to a theoretical position and then argue on that basis. In this case, you seem to have argued that the government can get its hands on any piece of information about you which is physically represented if it tries hard enough, so what does it matter whether it's in a centralised database or on your desktop?

      Well, the difference is the whole point. It's extremely easy to datamine without any judicial oversight from a centralised database. Your behaviour can be observed as part of a dragnet/statistical threat operation or your specific behaviours monitored if you're even remotely suspicious (not necessarily in an "illegal" sense, but in an "unsavoury" sense, e.g. attending demonstrations / writing anti-government-policy articles). But a whole deal more work is required to physically enter your property and install monitoring equipment or take your tools. People throw up a fuss because it's often obvious when it's done. Moreover there are clear protections (e.g. US 4th Amendment) against whimsical physical investigations created when certain governments were young and idealistic which haven't been properly applied to recent technologies.

    5. Re:no, that's not what it's for by tenco · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The point is, gold can not be copied as private data can be. If a bank loses/sells your gold, you'll notice it as soon you are going to check if it's still there. But data? It can be sold without you ever knowing it.

    6. Re:no, that's not what it's for by FuckingNickName · · Score: 1

      Cheques are mostly being phased out in Western Europe over the next decade in favour of debit and credit cards, the latter of which at least offers quite a bit in terms of "not being ripped off" protection - the UK government for example requires joint liability between retailer and card provider for any purchases between £100 and £30,000.

      As for the government's curiosity, it is in the mind of a geek (I've been guilty of this too) to try to reduce problems to a theoretical position and then argue on that basis. In this case, you seem to have argued that the government can get its hands on any piece of information about you which is physically represented if it tries hard enough, so what does it matter whether it's in a centralised database or on your desktop?

      Well, the difference is the whole point. It's extremely easy to datamine without any judicial oversight from a centralised database. Your behaviour can be observed as part of a dragnet/statistical threat operation or your specific behaviours monitored if you're even remotely suspicious (not necessarily in an "illegal" sense, but in an "unsavoury" sense, e.g. attending demonstrations / writing anti-government-policy articles). But a whole deal more work is required to physically enter your property and install monitoring equipment or take your tools. People throw up a fuss because it's often obvious when it's done. Moreover there are clear protections (e.g. US 4th Amendment) against whimsical physical investigations created when certain governments were young and idealistic which haven't been properly applied to recent technologies.

      (My comment didn't appear successfully submitted and hasn't appeared, yet I get: "This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original..." Transaction integrity, or update latency?)

    7. Re:no, that's not what it's for by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ChromeOS is not general competition "with Microsoft Windows". Windows has always been about delivering services on your desktop using the native CPU power and full set of UI capabilities, ensuring availability, low latency, full features and (relative) privacy.

      Don't forget Native Client. Combined with HTML5 offline storage you can run fast, native applications, that are still hosted on the web.

      Seems like the best of both worlds to me.

    8. Re:no, that's not what it's for by ducomputergeek · · Score: 1

      Checks are only used within the United States these days. Europe, a person company gives you a routing number and account number. You go to the bank, fill out a sheet of paper with that number, hand it to a teller along with your account information and ID, and they make the electronic transfer. I won't say it eliminates fraud but it cuts down on it.

      However, I'm not sure what you can do to "solve" the privacy problem. We looked at Google Docs especially for a recent joint venture with a company on the other side of the country. But all it would take is for someone to slip up on the view settings and folks could see our notes, plans, and documents. Plus Google indexes all that stuff. Is it likely they would sell that information to a competitor? Not likely under current management, but what about 5 years from now? I know we talked to our lawyers about it and they pretty well said stay clear of Google and host it ourselves if you want to be safe.

      --
      "The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
    9. Re:no, that's not what it's for by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Google Apps deliver a quite limited subset of general office suite features available only under certain environments.

      To an extent this is true, but IMO not as significant as some people make it. Office suites are -- while often the only tool users have and so applied far more broadly than they are ideal -- generally inferior to tools crafted directly to support an organizations workflow, which modern tools make it much easier to construct than was once the case.

      ChromeOS is another option for Netbooks - i.e. it might be suitable as another alternative in the already harmfully and unnecessarily flooded market of Netbook operating systems. But no firm should entertain using ChromeOS to prepare content.

      Why not, especially if the firm already uses -- as a number, including some large organizations, do -- Google Apps Premier as their primary general purpose application suite, supplemented by custome web apps (possibly also hosted by Google through App Engine) specific to that firms own workflow?

    10. Re:no, that's not what it's for by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      ChromeOS is not general competition "with Microsoft Windows". Windows has always been about delivering services on your desktop using the native CPU power and full set of UI capabilities, ensuring availability, low latency, full features and (relative) privacy.

      Let's see, availability? I spend almost as much time updating and repairing Windows as I do using it, if you count patch research and the like. Low latency? Snicker snort. Tired of Windows deciding it wants to use my computer so I can't. Full features? Heh. Privacy? Too bad about that lack of security. I guess Zero out of Four ain't bad. Er, wait...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Compete with Windows?! by nmg196 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > Google will launch Chrome OS to compete with Microsoft Windows.

    Sorry, where does it say that they are aiming to compete with Windows, because it doesn't mention windows in TFA. They've never claimed to try and do that - they're targetting a completely different market. Chome OS is just a browser than boot up with no host operating system. Windows IS an entire operating system.

    1. Re:Compete with Windows?! by Scrameustache · · Score: 0

      > Google will launch Chrome OS to compete with Microsoft Windows.

      Sorry, where does it say that they are aiming to compete with Windows, because it doesn't mention windows in TFA.

      They are ditching windows internally, according to a recent article here, and now they're launching something they can use instead. Sounds like an act of OS war to me.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    2. Re:Compete with Windows?! by somersault · · Score: 2, Informative

      How do you expect anyone to do any work on Chrome OS? That recent article said that they are using Linux or OSX in place of Windows, not Chrome OS. At this point in time, Chrome OS is only really useful for anything that a browser can do. That is a lot of stuff these days, but there are still some apps that people will need a full OS for - for example proper 3D gaming, creating art/music, or doing pretty much any kind of software development.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    3. Re:Compete with Windows?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are replacing Windows with Mac OS X or Linux, but not Chrome OS.

    4. Re:Compete with Windows?! by Miros · · Score: 1

      What about standard office productivity tasks? What percentage of the world's windows computers do you think sit on people's desks at work? That's where the real money is anyway. Sure there will be certain applications for which the browser is just not a good substitute for a client application but do those applications cover the vast majority of use cases?

    5. Re:Compete with Windows?! by somersault · · Score: 1

      You could use it for office productivity tasks for bog standard office workers sure, but then all your company's private data is being held on a 3rd party server - which doesn't seem like something most bosses would want.

      I think eventually browsers/Chrome OS probably will be able to fulfil all the requirements of a "real" OS (though probably in a rather roundabout, inefficient manner), but yes, we haven't reached that point yet.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    6. Re:Compete with Windows?! by mcn · · Score: 1

      I really think this is just GNU/Linux with a Chrome-like GUI slapped on it... And it looks so basic...

      If Google can make it as comprehensive as "Aqua GUI + Mac OS X", and run on PCs and notebooks, not just netbooks, then it could potentially rival Windows and even OS X too...

    7. Re:Compete with Windows?! by Miros · · Score: 1

      But if the adoption rates for Google Apps (e-mail service specifically) are any indication, we're getting there, and faster than some people think. E-Mail is a highly sensitive service all things considered from a data security perspective, but companies have already proven surprisingly willing to migrate to hosted third party services -- even before the emergence of Google Apps (lots of hosted exchange providers out there). Sure not many big firms have done it, but an increasing number of large universities have. Large universities are not that unlike large companies (at least as far as data security goes, the e-mail accounts of school or university staff members are filled with all kinds of sensitive information about students among other things).

      I agree with you, we are not there yet. But in the not too distant future...

    8. Re:Compete with Windows?! by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      At this point in time

      We are living in interesting times.

      I didn't say "Google has won the OS war", I said they're starting one. Microsoft has the Maginot wall, well established and unshakable, and Google has the Highway and high-speed tanks.

      The thing is, right now it's 1939 and you're telling me "they only have tanks and highways at this point in time" and I think that in five years' time they'll have stuff that you wouldn't believe because you're too focused on how things are at this point in time.

      P.S. I'm only comparing Google to Nazis in term of shininess of tech, not in morals or values. 'cause they may have been murderous maniacs, but DAMN they had cool toys.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    9. Re:Compete with Windows?! by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      potentially

      That's what I'm talking about.

      They don't have a product that does all the things windows does, but they're working on it, expanding its reach niche by niche. It's war, I tell you.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    10. Re:Compete with Windows?! by yoshi_mon · · Score: 1

      I hate to do this but if the shoe fits..."Posted by timothy."

      --

      Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
    11. Re:Compete with Windows?! by farble1670 · · Score: 1

      How do you expect anyone to do any work on Chrome OS?

      for "work", most people don't need 3D gaming. they aren't creating art nor music, and even for software companies, only a small % of the total employees actually do software development. just saying ...

      i think if you asked google and could get a candid answer, they'd say Chrome OS is a gamble that everything you want to do will eventually be on the web. i don't think they have a lot invested in it. after all, what is it? linux that boots into a browser?

    12. Re:Compete with Windows?! by FencingLion · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > Google will launch Chrome OS to compete with Microsoft Windows.

      Sorry, where does it say that they are aiming to compete with Windows, because it doesn't mention windows in TFA. They've never claimed to try and do that - they're targetting a completely different market. Chome OS is just a browser than boot up with no host operating system. Windows IS an entire operating system.

      If you want to talk about competition, you need to consider use cases, not technical implementation. Insofar as Windows users browse the internet, check email, and do word processing (which is a substantial chunk of users), Google Chrome OS is competing with Windows.

      --
      Just keep swimming.
    13. Re:Compete with Windows?! by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Sorry, where does it say that they are aiming to compete with Windows, because it doesn't mention windows in TFA. They've never claimed to try and do that - they're targetting a completely different market.

      Chrome OS addresses different needs than Windows, to be sure, but it is designed to compete directly with existing traditional consumer operating systems (Windows & Mac OS), which -- according to Google -- are not targetted at many modern users real needs, but instead are used "by default" as there is no alternative model OS designed for traditional computing devices (vs. phone/handheld/tablet style devices.)

      Chome OS is just a browser than boot up with no host operating system.

      No, Chrome OS is just a linux distro whose main native application is a web browser.

      Windows IS an entire operating system.

      Yes, and Google's entire idea by Chrome OS is that people who need to use a computer a keyboard, mouse, and other hardware features of a traditional PC often don't need a lot of the stuff that comes with a traditional desktop operating system -- they need access simple, secure, stable access to web applications and basic hardware peripherals (like printers).

      "Competing with" something doesn't mean copying it. Chrome OS is certainly designed to compete with Windows in a large segment of Windows' current market; it is designed to do so, however, by being very different from Windows and thereby providing a superior experience to that segment of the market, not by being as nearly identical to Windows as possible.

    14. Re:Compete with Windows?! by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      You could use it for office productivity tasks for bog standard office workers sure, but then all your company's private data is being held on a 3rd party server - which doesn't seem like something most bosses would want.

      I don't think most bosses would care all that much, so long as the third-party was both perceived to be reliable and the legal infrastructure (contracts, etc.) were in place to assure that the third-party was also accountable.

      Outsourcing support functions to someone who is specialized in them and can do perform them efficiently to allow a company to concentrate on its core competencies is hardly an unpopular approach.

    15. Re:Compete with Windows?! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      That is a lot of stuff these days, but there are still some apps that people will need a full OS for - for example proper 3D gaming, creating art/music, or doing pretty much any kind of software development.

      Most people do none of these things, aside from an occasional MS Paint sketch, which can be replaced by an online app (and already has been.) You are making the same objection people make to electric cars: they only suit the needs of 95% of the population. What a tiny market! How will this product ever survive!@!@!

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    16. Re:Compete with Windows?! by somersault · · Score: 1

      Oh, I appreciate electric cars, and there is a place for Chrome OS, I just thought it would be more for casual home use than for anything "serious" or work related, so I didn't consider it a real "competitor" as such to any fully fledged OS.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    17. Re:Compete with Windows?! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Oh, I appreciate electric cars, and there is a place for Chrome OS, I just thought it would be more for casual home use than for anything "serious" or work related, so I didn't consider it a real "competitor" as such to any fully fledged OS.

      A Geo Metro is competition for pickup trucks if people are using them as commuter vehicles, and I think that's a particularly apt comparison for the typical home user sitting at a multi-core, GPU-equipped PC and using it for IM, email, and YouTube.

      I'm guardedly optimistic about the future of Android and Chrome OS, which googlers have stated will eventually merge anyway. Presumably Chrome OS is a fit for devices for which Android isn't ready. Android has some kernel patches which complicate getting the OS onto some devices. If more of what is in Android can make it into the mainline kernel then this will get easier, so I presume this is part of the plan. Since you can install a full Debian onto an Android handset, it should serve the needs of almost everyone. I would very much like an OS where by default I got just a kernel, browser, and whatever services were absolutely necessary, and where I could then start up the rest of the UI if and when it was necessary. Being able to start in Chrome, then launch Android, and finally launch a real Unix environment, but all in stages, would grant a great deal of additional flexibility while simultaneously reducing effective footprint.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    18. Re:Compete with Windows?! by somersault · · Score: 1

      It is kind of competition - but not because these things are trying to compete directly, just because most people are idiots who are using over-engineered solutions xD

      This is why I do 99% of my work and 100% of my home computing on a netbook!

      --
      which is totally what she said
  9. Isn't this illegal? by thelanranger · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Wasn't microsoft sued for integrating their browser into their operating system and LOST? This sounds like a double standard to me.......

    1. Re:Isn't this illegal? by miffo.swe · · Score: 1

      The act of integration with the sole purpose of killing Netscape was what they got sued for. They leveraged their monopoly on Windows to kill a competitor in the browser wars.

      --
      HTTP/1.1 400
    2. Re:Isn't this illegal? by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 1

      MS was not sued simply for integrating IE with Windows. They were sued because they were using their near monopoly on OSes to gain marketshare in the browser space by distributing IE for free as a bundle with their OS. Netscape didn't have a near monopoly in the OS market, so there was no way they could compete.

      However, Google is a minority player in both the browser and OS markets. If they choose to bundle them together, neither provides all that much more leverage to the other, and certainly provides little in terms of barriers to entry for competition.

      --
      I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
    3. Re:Isn't this illegal? by protektor · · Score: 1

      Microsoft was also refusing to allow OEMs to install any other browser on the desktop and even for awhile on the system at all. It wasn't just that Microsoft was giving away a browser. It was that Microsoft was preventing other browsers from even being installed by default by system makers. You could download it after you got your PC, but Microsoft didn't want another browser to show up on your desktop or system when you booted it up for the first time.

      That was one of the many problems that Microsoft got busted for. Microsoft also got busted for saying that IE was part of the OS and not an add on that could be removed or replaced. They screwed that demo up right in front a of a judge and were yelled at in court for it.

      Then there was the whole EU monopoly suit that was over the browser and all kinds of other stuff. Both the US and the EU eventually made Microsoft open up a lot of their protocols and file formats so that everyone could inter-operate and compete somewhat with them.

      I am guessing that most people here either didn't follow the trial or forgot what the whole thing was about.

  10. Yawn. by johnjaydk · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I've played around with ChromeOS on a virtual machine and it sucks. It's an OS for accessing Google apps and the web. Nothing else. Great if that's all You need, but I need a bit more.

    --
    TCAP-Abort
    1. Re:Yawn. by Anita+Coney · · Score: 1

      This will be great on low powered netbooks and other such devices. I know I'll be installing it on my
      Acer Aspire ONE. (Assuming it doesn't completely suck, that is!)

      --
      If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
    2. Re:Yawn. by wh1pp3t · · Score: 1

      Per TFA, Chrome OS is being released on Netbooks.

    3. Re:Yawn. by lostsoulz · · Score: 1

      I've played around with ChromeOS on a virtual machine and it sucks.

      Two thoughts spring to mind:

      1. you're not in the target demographic

      2. unless you have invented time travel, you're not using the OS that will ship in the Fall

    4. Re:Yawn. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well riddle me this: I was using Ubuntu 10.04 a good three months before it shipped. Impossible, no?

      Mumble mumble, final release, mumble mumble alpha and beta releases, mumble mumble mumble.

    5. Re:Yawn. by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 1

      I've played around with ChromeOS on a virtual machine and it sucks. It's an OS for accessing Google apps and the web. Nothing else. Great if that's all You need, but I need a bit more.

      There I was, the subject and mood were right. The girl agreed with me on ChomeOS -sort of anyway- and I was working my way over her shoulder towards her back and trying to undo her bra.

      Then you come along telling ChomeOS sucks and all I get now is the cold shoulder and a disturbed, alarmed look.

      Buddy, I'd almost made it.What a party pooper you are. Sheesh!

      --

      I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
    6. Re:Yawn. by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Nothing says it has to replace your existing laptop or workstation.

      I'm quite looking forward to ChromeOS. I work there so I'm hoping the big G will give me one for testing, but if not then I might buy one myself if they review well.

      See ChromeOS as kind of like an "extreme" version of the Mac or iPad value proposition. The hardware and software are very closely integrated so you won't get much of the benefit if you're running it in a virtual machine. But if you're running it on hardware designed for it in mind, you get a number of benefits.

      If I look at what I do today with my old MacBook, 90% of my time is spent in Chrome anyway. MacOS' shitty window management just gets in the way, frankly. The only other apps I use are iTunes (for internet radio and occasionally movies rented online), and the terminal emulator. Fortunately shellinabox provides easy access to remote terminals without needing a local ssh or terminal emulator. I have it set up on a colo box I rent from Linode and it works pretty well.

      ChromeOS promises watertight security (as opposed to MacOS/Windows/Linux), an end to stupid update nags, extremely good and consistent performance, simple and efficient window management .... lots more. The downside is that I'll need to use a separate machine occasionally for more power user stuff like programming, at least until a web based IDE like Bespin starts getting good. Other things, like word processing/spreadsheets/PDF viewing/chat/etc can be done via web apps already.

      Also, at some point the promise of NativeClient will arrive and then porting existing native apps (like maybe emacs) to be runnable in Chrome will become possible.

      All that remains is a good multimedia experience really. I can listen to most net radio stations today using Flash, but it wouldn't be as nicely integrated as iTunes. And as for renting movies, well I keep hoping Microsoft will stop sitting on its ass and make Xbox Live movie store work here in Switzerland, but it's been years so I'm not holding my breath. International media licensing is such a disaster zone.

      Basically, I think ChromeOS will deliver a lot of the benfits people see in an iPad but without the obnoxious tablet form factor. It's a clean break, a fresh new OS but with things that actually matter for getting things done, like "keyboards".

    7. Re:Yawn. by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      Per TFA, Chrome OS is being released on Netbooks.

      SlashGear mentions Netbooks, but their source (Reuters) does not; there is one mention of Laptops and none of Netbooks.

      Is this just an assumption on SlashGear's part, or are they quoting some other, unnamed source?

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    8. Re:Yawn. by imakemusic · · Score: 1

      So it does exactly what it's supposed to then?

      --
      Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
    9. Re:Yawn. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fortunately shellinabox provides easy access to remote terminals without needing a local ssh or terminal emulator. I have it set up on a colo box I rent from Linode and it works pretty well.

      This could be especially handy for systems administrators needing to remotely access a server at work but are away from the office and have access to say a public terminal at the library. There is really no reason public libraries should be deploying Microsoft Windows or any other full-blown operating system these days. Hopefully, the ability to store documents locally on a USB thumbdrive and print locally for example, is available within ChromeOS and its applications.

    10. Re:Yawn. by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      I've played around with ChromeOS on a virtual machine and it sucks. It's an OS for accessing Google apps and the web. Nothing else. Great if that's all You need, but I need a bit more.

      IOW, Google Chrome OS is great for the market it is designed for, but you aren't part of that market.

    11. Re:Yawn. by johnjaydk · · Score: 1

      Now I'm on a serious guilt trip. I deprived You of sex with my comment on ChromeOS. I ruined what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How can I ever make up for that ? ;-)

      --
      TCAP-Abort
    12. Re:Yawn. by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 1

      Now I'm on a serious guilt trip. I deprived You of sex with my comment on ChromeOS. I ruined what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How can I ever make up for that ? ;-)

      Well, I could go for second best to loosing one's virginity. Would you be my buddy and comfort me when I sulk over stuff that really matters, like window manager decorations or transparency for instance? Boy today seems to turn into the best day of my life!

      --

      I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
  11. Love the security aspects. by miffo.swe · · Score: 1

    From a security point of view Chrome OS is very interesting. I also like the efforts spent on keeping the user out of managing and nursing the OS and make it tend its own business, letting the user work on the computer instead of playing it-expert.

    If its going to be even remotely as good as Android i think we can have a winner here.

    --
    HTTP/1.1 400
  12. nice try google by bitt3n · · Score: 4, Funny

    if they want my windows, they're going to have to pry it out of my warm, living, delicately moisturized hands

    1. Re:nice try google by couchslug · · Score: 1

      "if they want my windows, they're going to have to pry it out of my warm, living, delicately moisturized hands"

      The hands, describe them in more detail, and slowly....

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    2. Re:nice try google by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      if they want my windows, they're going to have to pry it out of my warm, living, delicately moisturized hands

      Hm, I wonder what's it called. Fenestrephilia?

    3. Re:nice try google by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      if they want my windows, they're going to have to pry it out of my warm, living, delicately moisturized hands

      It puts the lotion in the basket or it gets the monopoly abuse again.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. What I want by Miros · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What I want is the ability to save my browser session back to google somehow "in the cloud" or whatever so that I can close my browser on one computer, start up a generic copy of chrome somewhere else, login, and get my entire session restored. If that happened the whole system would just become much more useful, particularly if you are in a landscape littered with what are effectively thin terminals. Imagine that kind of functionality with a mobile device like the iPad or something (ignoring all of the limitations that exist today). Close out on my desktop, transfer to my portable device, go to meetings and w/e without missing a beat or having to take the time to open things on one device that I was already interacting with on another.

    1. Re:What I want by Joeseph64 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Although it looks like there's a few more steps in this implementation than you'd like, Android has started doing this with Froyo. Here's the Engadget article that demonstrates pushing links from your desktop onto your Android phone.

      Of course, this misses the "without missing a beat" part of your solution, but it's a start.

    2. Re:What I want by Miros · · Score: 1

      Sweet. Now if I could only get Android 2.2 rolled out to my phone... Thanks for the link! Very informative.

    3. Re:What I want by Pegasus · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just use Opera. It does what you want for some time now.

    4. Re:What I want by mr_stark · · Score: 1

      There is plugin for browsers called Xmarks that will cache your bookmarks, passwords and session to an FTP server. I've been using it for a while on my own FTP box, apparently it works for IE and Chrome too but I only use it with FF.

      --
      I can't think of anything witty right now
    5. Re:What I want by ffflala · · Score: 1

      If you sync Chrome to a gmail account on each device you can already get the behavior you describe. In preferences, select "On startup: Reopen the pages that were open last."

      It's quite handy if you consistently move among devices.

    6. Re:What I want by SD-Arcadia · · Score: 1

      Perhaps this is close to what you want:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_Sync

      --
      https://dalgamotor.wordpress.com/ - Elektronik beyinlere ozgurluk asisi (Turkish)
    7. Re:What I want by quercus.aeternam · · Score: 2, Informative

      For firefox, look at the weave plugin.

    8. Re:What I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's like the world wants to invent a GUI version of "screen". Ctrl-A D! screen -r!

    9. Re:What I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Something like Firefox Home?

    10. Re:What I want by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 1

      What I want is the ability to save my browser session back to google somehow "in the cloud" or whatever so that I can close my browser on one computer, start up a generic copy of chrome somewhere else, login, and get my entire session restored.

      Are you serious? That's been around for ages. I first used it as part of .Mac back when Safari 1.0 was the hot shit, but Chrome and Firefox both have add-ons to do exactly that. In fact, I'm reasonably sure IE does, too, although I haven't looked into it in a few years.

    11. Re:What I want by quinto2000 · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a research project at CMU called Internet Suspend and Resume. http://isr.cmu.edu/

      --
      Ceci n'est pas un post
    12. Re:What I want by Longstaff · · Score: 1

      Re: mobile synch - That already exists with the N900 and Firefox with the Weave plugin.

    13. Re:What I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This.

  14. Maserati: Yawn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've played around with Maseratis, and they suck. It's a vehicle for accessing the roads. Nothing else. Great if that's all You need, but I need a bit more, like hauling lumber and pulling other vehicles out of ditches.

  15. Did anyone else read the titles as... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google's Chrome OS to Launch In Fail ?

    1. Re:Did anyone else read the titles as... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would anyone else like an autofilter to filter out the bullshit "Did anyone else read this title as..." posts, which are very rarely funny and usually so contrived as to be painful?

  16. Games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will it run my games?
    Y/N

    Will it run them reliably, effecivly and as table as Windows 7?
    Y/N

    will it have support, patching, ease of use and compatibility with 3d party aspects? (printers for example)
    Y/N

    if N to any... thanks, i'll stick to windows.

    i use my desktop for Gaming, Browsing, and my job (web development) if it hamper me from doing any of the 3 effecivly, or less effecivly then windows 7.... i'll stick to windows. which i also have support with. most people will in fact. (ps: i use chrome as my main personal browser... love it)

    1. Re:Games by Tapewolf · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Will it run my games? Y/N

      Will it run them reliably, effecivly and as table as Windows 7? Y/N

      will it have support, patching, ease of use and compatibility with 3d party aspects? (printers for example) Y/N

      if N to any... thanks, i'll stick to windows.

      Will the iPad do those? Because that's what this thing is, essentially - an OS for making an iPad-alike.

    2. Re:Games by Issarlk · · Score: 1

      > Will it run my games?
      N

      > Will it run them reliably, effecivly and as table as Windows 7?
      Only if you install it on a net-table. (Patent that concept!)

      > will it have support, patching, ease of use and compatibility with 3d party aspects? (printers for example)
      Probably not. It's an OS for dummies we are talking about, so patching it will probably require going into dos command line and burning several DVD each time a bug is found.

    3. Re:Games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will OSX, Windows, Linux run my iPad apps? No, then they are all useless.

    4. Re:Games by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Will it run my games?
      Y/N

      Existing, Windows-specific games? No
      Existing, web-games? Yes
      New, native games? Probably. Google's Native Client system, which downloads, compiles, and runs code natively in a secure sandbox, abstracting the underlying OS and hardware -- and which is planned as a launch component of Chrome OS and for (presumably concurrent) inclusion in the Chrome browser more generally -- may well be an attractive target for developers.

      Will it run them reliably, effecivly and as table as Windows 7?
      Y/N

      The ones it runs at all (see above), there is no particular reason to believe it won't run at least as reliably, effectively, and stably as Windows 7.

      will it have support, patching, ease of use and compatibility with 3d party aspects? (printers for example)
      Y/N

      Ease of use for printers may well exceed traditional OS's with Google's Cloud Print technology, though that remains to be seen. More generally, hardware support will probably be less complete than Windows for some time, but lots of existing hardware has decent support under Linux (on which Chrome OS is based), and Google putting resources behind Chrome OS will no doubt improve that further over time, particularly for the categories of hardware most used.

  17. No thanks by wcrowe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    First Google begins by tracking everything you search for. Then, with their browser, they want to track everywhere you go on the internet. Now, with their operating system, they want to track everything you do, period.

    --
    Proverbs 21:19
    1. Re:No thanks by Professor_UNIX · · Score: 3, Funny

      You missed a lot of evil steps in between like, in no particular order: "Then they want to index all your e-mail and serve you up targeted advertisements, then they want to index everything on your desktop via Google Desktop, then they want to harvest and store all your documents in the cloud with Google Docs, then they want to have all of your appointment and todo information cataloged in Google Calendar, then they want to know where you are at all times with Google Latitude, then they want to know where you plan on going with Google Maps, then they want to catalog your shopping habits with Google Shopper/Goggles, then they want to know about your astronomy interests with Google Sky Map, then they want to catalog all your SMS messages and listen to all your voicemail and telephone calls with Google Voice, then they want to index all your DNS name resolution requests via their resolvers, etc." Google is absolutely insidious!

    2. Re:No thanks by minus9 · · Score: 2, Funny


      You forgot to mention search Prof, they have something to do with search engines I seem to recall.

    3. Re:No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the NSA (or the 3 letter acronym of your choice) does not already have high level moles in Google the person responsible for this mistake is probably in Guantanamo or Leavenworth already. Posted anonymously for obvious reasons. (Mr CmdrTaco keep you log files secure please.)

    4. Re:No thanks by gregthebunny · · Score: 1

      I'd like to see them track my BMs with Google PoopSense.

    5. Re:No thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First Google begins by tracking everything you search for. Then, with their browser, they want to track everywhere you go on the internet. Now, with their operating system, they want to track everything you do, period.

      ... unless, of course, you sometimes do things that don't involve a computer? You know what, nevermind.

  18. well, there ARE a lot of them out there... by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that distro...

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  19. Bow before chrome by John3 · · Score: 1

    I for one will welcome our shiny new overlords.

    --
    "We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers." Carl Sagan
  20. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  21. Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by VGPowerlord · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There are some choice quotes in the article's source article over at Reuters.

    Here's one of my favorites, from Sundar Pichai:

    "Chrome OS is one of the few future operating systems for which there are already millions of applications that work," Pichai said. "You don't need to redesign Gmail for it to work on Chrome. Facebook does not need to write a new app for Chrome."

    Wow, lots of revisionist history here. It turns out that Microsoft wasn't/isn't bundling web browsers with Windows since Windows 98. I mean, they must not have been, because they weren't one of the "few... operating systems for which there are already millions of applications that work" such as "Gmail" and "Facebook."

    Seriously, did he think no one would notice that he was saying that Chrome OS is one of the few operating systems that can run web applications?

    I don't need a B.S. in Lieology to detect the problem with that logic!

    --
    GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    1. Re:Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe that this is jab at the iPhone and iPad

    2. Re:Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not sure referring to '98-bundled IE to make your point is the greatest tactic for criticism. Sure, it's a stupid quote, but it's not like IE back in the day ran web content *correctly*.

    3. Re:Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by KnownIssues · · Score: 1

      I mean, they must not have been, because they weren't one of the "few... operating systems for which there are already millions of applications that work" such as "Gmail" and "Facebook."

      Seriously, did he think no one would notice that he was saying that Chrome OS is one of the few operating systems that can run web applications?

      Interesting that you used elipses on only one word – the word that qualifies operating systems in a way that excludes Windows.

      Chrome OS is one of the few future [emphasis mine] operating systems for which there are already millions of applications that work

      Pichai is addressing the question of won't a new operating system need to have all it's application rewritten. The answer is that unlike something like the iPhone OS or Android, you don't need to write all new software. He is obviously not saying that Windows and Mac OS and Linux can't run web applications.

      The fact you excluded the one word that would make all that clear (and knowingly did it given the elipses) seems to indicate you knew this. One does not use elipses to fundamentally change the meaning of a quote. Revisionist indeed!

    4. Re:Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      Pichai is addressing the question of won't a new operating system need to have all it's application rewritten. The answer is that unlike something like the iPhone OS or Android, you don't need to write all new software. He is obviously not saying that Windows and Mac OS and Linux can't run web applications.

      See, I was extrapolating future trends from past trends. It's a lie to say that future operating systems would not be able to run web applications, be they new versions of Windows, Linux, OSX, or something that's completely new.

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    5. Re:Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by bnenning · · Score: 1

      Pichai is addressing the question of won't a new operating system need to have all it's application rewritten. The answer is that unlike something like the iPhone OS or Android, you don't need to write all new software.

      Which still makes very little sense, because by that standard any OS with a decent browser qualifies. You don't "need" to write custom iPhone or Android apps because they also support web apps just fine. You have the option of writing native apps, which Chrome OS removes and calls a feature. Well, except for Native Client apps which are better than regular native apps because, um, the underpants gnomes told me so.

      --
      How to solve most of our problems: 1.Lots of nuclear plants. 2.Cure aging.
    6. Re:Revisionist history with Sundar Pichai by ildon · · Score: 2, Informative

      There seems to be a reading comprehension problem on your part here.

      The question being posed is: "If I write a new OS now, won't developers have to write all new apps?"
      Answer: "No, because we're designing the OS for users of web apps, which do not need to be ported. They'll 'just work' because they're already platform independent."

      In the past, before web apps existed or had come into significant use, this was a huge barrier for writing (or, more accurately, marketing) a new OS. e.g. "Why should I switch to Linux if it doesn't run MS Office?" or "Shit, I want to buy an Android phone because AT&T sucks but I can't until someone ports ."

      But because this web app framework has already been developed, it is no longer a barrier for a new OS, as long as there is a market for users who only need access to web apps. e.g. "I'm already only using web apps on my netbook, so I can drop the price and a ton of overhead (resulting in a theoretical speed increase) by switching to Chrome OS and not lose any significant functionality that I had before."

      Obviously this won't be true for all netbook users, but clearly Google is banking on it applying to a lot of them (or at least enough of them for it to be profitable).

  22. Typo in subject by Snaller · · Score: 1

    Shouldn't it be
    "Google's Chrome OS to Launch In Fail" ;)

    --
    If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
  23. I'll get a partition ready... by SiaFhir · · Score: 1

    Looks like I'll have to clear a partition for it. Hmm, my Windoze recovery partition should do. I use Linux (Ubuntu Lucid), with Windoze as a backup if something doesn't work in Wine or VirtualBox... which so far has been nothing.

  24. So? by ZenDragon · · Score: 1

    So what is this OS targeted at? Just tablet PC's, netbooks, and embedded systems? Do they really intend to compete in the desktop market with Windows? The joke, "will it run Crysis?" really isnt a joke at all, because nobody will use it if it doesn't. Unless they have full binary compatibility with windows itself they will go nowhere. It really doesnt make any business sense to persue something like this, at least, Im not seeing it. Unless of course they are targeting it at very specific niche platforms, which is the only way I can see them being successful with this. I would love to see this on an HTPC or something. Sure, in true geek fashion I will most certainly try it out. But I cant see this being any more than a novelty.

    1. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do they really intend to compete in the desktop market with Windows?

      The vast majority of home computer users are only interested in a few things: send/receive email, chatting, social networking, streaming audio/video usually from YouTube but also from radio stations and television stations via their websites as well, and most importantly managing their photo albums. ChromeOS seems like the perfect solution for these non-technical users. Imagine the energy reductions achievable by massive deployment of next generation low-power ChromeOS-running on home computers and public kiosks.

    2. Re:So? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Do they really intend to compete in the desktop market with Windows?

      Yes, though netbooks and similar systems are the initial focus.

      The joke, "will it run Crysis?" really isnt a joke at all, because nobody will use it if it doesn't.

      The ability to leverage the full capabilities of the underlying native hardware from apps distributed over the web (that aren't required to even be aware of what the underlying hardware is) is exactly the point of Google's Native Client technology, which they've stated will be a key component of ChromeOS at launch.

      Since Google has also stated that it will be incorporated in the Chrome browser off of Chrome OS (its actually a Chromium browser feature, not part of the OS outside of the browser) and be incorporated into Android, Native Client would seem likely to be an attractive target for developers.

      Unless they have full binary compatibility with windows itself they will go nowhere.

      If Native Client -- by being incorporated into Chrome, Chrome OS, and Android -- provides a big enough target that isn't a simple subset of the Windows market, it will attract its own developers, with or without binary compatibility with Windows.

      Apple iPhone/iTouch/iPad has, I would think, proved that quite well.

  25. Yeah but... by wonkavader · · Score: 1

    so is Android, and Debian and other Linux and WinCE setups. Netbooks have enough local processing to do a lot of things. They're not powerful compared to modern desktops, but they're amazingly powerful boxes. A 400 MHz ARM7 is twice as fast as a Sun Ultra 1 and faster than a DEC Alpha 600 5/266, and yet we think "these are pitiful little computers we can only run a web browser on"?

  26. Re:Does Google have a split brain? by wonkavader · · Score: 1

    I get the idea that Google likes products and ideas and doesn't have any leadership at all. That they figure that the ideas can slug it out, and let the best one win.

    That works fine within an organization, but on a product level, it seems NUTS.

  27. Who is this for? by guidryp · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Certainly it is isn't for us (hardcore computer users) with tons of native applications.

    I have a 3+GHz Quad core desktop, I dont' think I really need to worry about they extra latency the OS imposes on my browser.

    Next I thought of my mostly computer illiterate brother who I set up a windows PC for. He is familiar with some applications for ripping/burning CDs, editing documents, drawing/photo editing, printing. So what now. He has to learn all new applications. You can stop right there. Is there even a web based ripping/burning app for CD's?

    Can he even store stuff in a local file system, or is everything in the cloud? Speaking of cloud. What about bandwidth. He is on Dial up!

    Seriously who is this for. I don't see any success with power users, and next to none with borderline users who have already learned some applications.

    About the only users I see is setting it up for granny to check email...

    1. Re:Who is this for? by mounthood · · Score: 1

      I think it's ideal for an ISP provided Netbook (OS + connection + hardware + service) and mass-deployments in a corporate environment like a call center or shop floor. I haven't seen *any* partners announced which seems really strange.

      --
      tomorrow who's gonna fuss
    2. Re:Who is this for? by mounthood · · Score: 1

      Pardon the self-reply, but I found some Hardware partners. No ISP's or service providers though:
      http://techcrunch.com/2009/07/08/chrome-partners-acer-adobe-asus-freescale-hewlett-packard-lenovo-qualcomm-texas-instruments/

      --
      tomorrow who's gonna fuss
    3. Re:Who is this for? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      Certainly it is isn't for us (hardcore computer users) with tons of native applications.

      I'm not so sure. I think that there is a reason that Native Client is a key component: Google realizes that, in addition to web apps that can be used offline that HTML5 is sufficient to support, apps that rely on native code run locally are important, and so Google wants to incorporate them fully into its model of platform-agnostic applications delivered and updated over the web and accessed through the browser.

    4. Re:Who is this for? by guidryp · · Score: 1

      "I think that there is a reason that Native Client is a key component:"

      That just means they can do higher performance apps in the browser (or browser playing an OS).

      It doesn't mean I can use it to run the plethora of native apps I already have.

    5. Re:Who is this for? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      It doesn't mean I can use it to run the plethora of native apps I already have.

      Sure, if you are dependent on existing apps that are intrinsically tied to an existing platform, a new platform that doesn't include an implementation of your existing platform won't work as a complete replacement for you, no matter what features and advantages it has for new users that aren't as tied to legacy apps.

      Which is probably one reason Google is targetting netbooks first: they are frequently mobile second computers for people who also have desktop computers (or even less-portable laptops) -- and for people who really need legacy apps, those will likely be on the less portable devices, and the many of the uses people have for netbooks won't be as bound to the legacy apps.

      Give Native Client time to establish a userbase (not only on Chrome OS, but with Chrome browser on other platforms), and apps that are currently available only as (e.g.) Windows-native apps may become availabe targetting Native Client, which will give people an upgrade path for the legacy apps and reduce reliance on OS-specific apps, increasing the potential reach of Chrome OS.

  28. This is why Google is mapping wifi access points by Trailer+Park+Boy · · Score: 1

    Because Chrome OS is useless without Internet access.

  29. Does this mean no official Android for Tablets? by guidryp · · Score: 1

    I know some are putting Android on Tablets, but it doesn't look like it is supported by Google.

    I was looking forward to more Tablet optimized Android from Google (certification, higher official resolutions, etc).

    Now with Chrome, they may choose to promote Chrome for tablets instead and not bother with tablet optimizations.

    1. Re:Does this mean no official Android for Tablets? by ducomputergeek · · Score: 1

      Depends. If google itself releases a Chrome Tablet and competes directly with Android, then their entire platform could be in trouble. Other companies that invested in Android may go "Whoo, wait a minute. Now you're competing AGAINST us DIRECTLY? Hmmm, what is some other opensource phone OS we can use?"

      It's funny how that can work sometimes.

      --
      "The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
    2. Re:Does this mean no official Android for Tablets? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      I know some are putting Android on Tablets, but it doesn't look like it is supported by Google.

      I was looking forward to more Tablet optimized Android from Google (certification, higher official resolutions, etc).

      Now with Chrome, they may choose to promote Chrome for tablets instead and not bother with tablet optimizations.

      Eric Schmidt has said that he expects Android and Chrome OS to converge over time, so the distinction may not be all that significant.

  30. Re:Does Google have a split brain? by farble1670 · · Score: 1

    android already runs androids apps.

  31. "Google's Chrome OS to Launch in Fail" by stakovahflow · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Oops, I misread the headline...

    I could have sworn the headline for this article read "Google's Chrome OS to Launch in Fail".

    Being as I've lost my faith in Google, as of late, I think it is appropriate.

    --Stak

    --
    Holy happy hippy crap!
    1. Re:"Google's Chrome OS to Launch in Fail" by stakovahflow · · Score: 1

      Sorry Snaller... I should have refreshed the page earlier...

      --Stak

      --
      Holy happy hippy crap!
  32. RE: by helix2301 · · Score: 1

    I doubt a lot of people are going to move right over to this OS but it will be nice to have an alternative to windows for the everyday user I hope the experience is as good as they are promoting.

  33. Re:Does Google have a split brain? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

    Once Chrome OS can run Android apps, then and only then will things be more peaceful. Until then, most folks will wait for Google to get it's head on straight and figure out what the hell it's trying to do. I get the impression Google isn't sure about product cohesion.

    Google's OS lineup isn't any less "cohesive" than that of any other vendor that has an OS targetting handheld devices and one targetting more traditional computers (netbooks/laptops/desktops.)

    About the only difference is that Google has at different times suggested both Android and Chrome OS for tablets, and Google doesn't exert control of what people do with its OS's and, despite the fact that Google has never pushed Android for netbooks, some hardware vendors have chosen to ship it as a (usually, AFAIK, dual-boot with Windows) netbook OS.

    And Google has publicly stated that they expect, in the long-term, Android and Chrome OS to merge.

  34. We are the Google. Resistance is futile. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are the Google. Resistance is futile.
    We will add your biological and technological data to Google.
    Your culture will adapt, to service Google.
    Your life, as it has been
    Is over.

  35. Re:Does Google have a split brain? by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

    I get the idea that Google likes products and ideas and doesn't have any leadership at all. That they figure that the ideas can slug it out, and let the best one win.

    That works fine within an organization, but on a product level, it seems NUTS.

    It certainly isn't the conventional approach in traditional firms, but -- especially where the products aren't direct alternatives but merely have some overlap -- it makes some sense.

  36. Google's first flop? by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    I admire Google's pioneering spirit, and I also welcome any move towards relegating Microsoft to the trashcan of history, but I find it hard to believe that any OS intended for a PC environment that fundamentally requires an always-on internet connection could successfully compete for market share against those that also provide the option of running apps locally.

    I don't think the world is wired enough yet for the Chrome/Software-as-a-service concept. I also don't think people will just silently accept making regular payments for a service that replaces what they used to be able to do for free locally. With Chrome the whole privacy issue is a serious one, and I can also imagine that just the associated network latency of running an app on a remote server instead of locally on a reasonably specced PC is always bound to make the experience feel clunkier.

    If Chrome manages to fulfill Google's dream of entirely killing the notion that PCs can run apps locally, then it will be a triumph of marketing over substance.

    1. Re:Google's first flop? by DragonWriter · · Score: 2, Informative

      I admire Google's pioneering spirit, and I also welcome any move towards relegating Microsoft to the trashcan of history, but I find it hard to believe that any OS intended for a PC environment that fundamentally requires an always-on internet connection could successfully compete for market share against those that also provide the option of running apps locally.

      Chrome OS isn't designed to require an "always on" internet connection, which is why features for offline use of apps are key to it; it requires internet access for online tasks, and for the first logon of a given user.

      It is designed to run offline HTML5 web apps locally.

      I don't think the world is wired enough yet for the Chrome/Software-as-a-service concept. I also don't think people will just silently accept making regular payments for a service that replaces what they used to be able to do for free locally.

      Nothing required to use Chrome requires making regular payments other than the payments already required for having some kind of (at least intermittent) network access.

      With Chrome the whole privacy issue is a serious one, and I can also imagine that just the associated network latency of running an app on a remote server instead of locally on a reasonably specced PC is always bound to make the experience feel clunkier.

      Google's put a lot of effort (both in the HTML5 standards processes and in the Chrome browser, a key Chrome OS component) to allow "web" apps to do more work locally (including working completely offline.) No doubt, the latency experienced with tradition web apps that do almost all of their work on the server side is precisely the reason for this. This work continues in the runup to Chrome OS (improvements in this area in the Chrome browser are part of what needs to happen before Chrome OS is ready to deploy.)

      If Chrome manages to fulfill Google's dream of entirely killing the notion that PCs can run apps locally,

      If Chrome OS was intended to do that, it probably wouldn't include as a key component Native Client, whose whole purpose is to enable running native applications locally in a secure sandbox.

  37. Branding by wonkavader · · Score: 1

    'They aren't completely separate "OS systems". They are separate brands...'

    Exactly. That's what makes it so odd. Proctor and Gamble are experts at managing competing brands, but you don't look at Tide (if you're Bob consumer, anyhow) and think "Proctor and Gamble". But I have heard Droid phone ads saying that Droid runs "Google". I think this will be an unpleasant experience for Google. We'll see.

    Thanks for the comments on how they might/will converge -- it's interesting and encouraging.

    But on a brand level, I think "Android Chrome" or "Chrome on Android" would be a much better idea than "Chrome" and "Android".

    1. Re:Branding by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

      But on a brand level, I think "Android Chrome" or "Chrome on Android" would be a much better idea than "Chrome" and "Android".

      My guess is that they are separating them for two reasons:

      (1) Chrome OS doesn't run Android apps; putting Android in the name would create a consumer expectation that would not be fulfilled.
      (2) Android is well-established brand as a phone/handheld OS, while Chrome is a well-established brand for a desktop/laptop/netbook browser. Using "Chrome OS" as the brand name intends to suggest that the OS extends the browser experience on those platforms, where using the Android brand would suggest that it extends the handheld experience.

    2. Re:Branding by wonkavader · · Score: 1

      Agreed on all points. Very logical. But I suspect that there is a non-logical issue here which getting two incompatible and somewhat different (from our perspective they're completely different, but from Grandma's perspective, they're only slightly different) they'll find that they cannot control the real brand which, from a neophyte's viewpoint, is not Android or Chrome, but "Google." As in:

      "I run Google on my phone." "Oh? Which one?" "What do you mean?" "The phone one or the other one." "I think it's the other one." "You mean the Chrome one?" "Umm... I run a Chrome thingie on it."

  38. Chrome OS w/o constant internet access by DragonWriter · · Score: 1

    Because Chrome OS is useless without Internet access.

    AFAIK, Google has stated that Chrome OS will support offline use of web apps that use the appropriate HTML5 features (and will feature Google's Native Client to allow "web" apps that run native-compiled code in a secure sandbox), and that it will only need internet access to use web sites that aren't made to support use as an offline app or to use those that can be offline apps in their online mode, and for the first login for a user (which needs to access the user's Google Account.)

  39. Personally by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    I'd rather have a paper trail than a vapor trail for both my votes and financial transactions, thank you.

  40. When all you have is a hammer... by Brandybuck · · Score: 1

    When all you have is HTML/CSS/JS/AJAX, everything looks like a webpage.

    --
    Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
  41. Zzzzzzzz. Wake me please by rinoid · · Score: 1

    And the Lord did grin, and people did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats, and large --" ... and Google didst savest the peoples of the internets and track their every movement.

  42. ChromeOS and Canonical. by cuby · · Score: 1
    --
    Math is beautiful... e^(pi*i)+1=0
  43. And so it begins ..... by unity100 · · Score: 1

    if this is ANYthing that is parallel to google design philosophy up to date, it will be a success due to its simplicity and ease of use.

  44. Misparse! by ekhben · · Score: 1

    Anyone else read that headline as "Google's Chrome OS to Launch and Fail" ?

  45. It's interesting by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    I liked using chromium for development, it was basically a pretty ordinary debian-flavor (with a bit of gentoo mixed in) Linux box set up in a nice way. It's very browser oriented but that is no surprise. After trying to wedge Android into a netbook I find that Chrome OS is much more appropriate, and I expect it to do fairly well in the netbook arena compared to Android. If it can hold its own in the web tablet arena as well I think that one day Chrome OS and Android could merge together into a single solution that works for smartphones, tablets and portables. I also think ChromeOS would do very well in a settop box, but I think settop boxes are probably dead as a growth industry.
    Now that the praise is out of the way, ChromeOS has a long ways to go. It is still difficult to add new packages to a distribution, having the barriers of Debian's package system combined with the work required to get gentoo ebuilds to cross compile correctly. And the system just isn't appropriate out of the box for an embedded consumer device, because of how platofrms, software updates, configuration and security are handled. I'm not a fan of Android, but frankly Android is much further along in those areas. Android has most of what you need to make a device based on it. ChromeOS is almost a generic Linux box, fine for a desktop or laptop, but I don't really see desktops as a growth industry.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire