Is Chrome OS Threatening Windows? (arstechnica.com)

Ars Technica sees new $600 "premium Chromebooks" Dell, Samsung, HP, and Lenovo as a growing challenge to Windows, proving that Chrome OS is reaching beyond the education market. These $600 machines aren't aimed at those same students. Lenovo reps told us that its new Chromebook was developed because the company was seeing demand for Chromebooks from users with a bit more disposable income. For example, new college students that had used Chrome OS at high school and families who wanted the robustness Chrome OS offers are looking for machines that are more attractive, use better materials, and are a bit faster and more powerful. The $600 machines fit that role.

And that's why Microsoft should be concerned. This demand shows a few things. Perhaps most significantly of all, it shows that Chrome OS's mix of Web applications, possibly extended with Android applications, is good enough for a growing slice of home and education users. Windows still has the application advantage overall, but the relevance of these applications is diminishing as Web applications continue to improve... Second, this demand makes clear that exposure to Chrome OS in school is creating sustained interest in, and even commitment to, the platform. High school students are wanting to retain that familiar environment as they move on. The ecosystem they're a part of isn't the Windows ecosystem. Finally, it also shows that Chrome OS's relatively clean-slate approach (sure, it's Linux underneath, but it's not really being pushed as a way of running traditional Linux software) has advantages that are appealing even to home users. The locked down, highly secure Chrome OS machines require negligible maintenance while being largely immune to most extant malware.

Comments

Microsoft seen this threat before

[xack]

Back in the 90s when Netscape was launched there was the talk that the browser could replace the OS. That's what caused Microsoft to push Internet Explorer so hard, to stop Netscape replacing their Windows Monopoly. Imagine an alternate future where we have NetscapeOS and Netscapebooks. I expect Microsoft to eventually crack down hard on Chromebooks, just like they stopped Linux netbooks by licensing Windows XP cheaply to OEMS on netbooks.

Re:Microsoft seen this threat before

[jon3k]

just like they stopped Linux netbooks by licensing Windows XP cheaply to OEMS on netbooks.

That's not what stopped Linux-based netbooks, otherwise we'd still have Windows based netbooks. Tablets and smartphones killed the netbook.

Re:Microsoft seen this threat before

[Build6]

The ecosystem is rather different now, though. One wonders how much power MS can wield against Chromebooks. They've been helpless to stop Android or iOS (now markets that completely dwarf their old Windows monopoly). About the only thing I can think of where they could sabotage the rise of things like Chromebooks would be their still-extant stranglehold over Office file formats, but that's definitely less important than it used to be.

If Chromebooks really do take over, even MacOS will have to get worried. Anyone has access to the Google campus? What's the ratio of MacBooks vs. Pixelbooks now?

Re:Microsoft seen this threat before

[MightyYar]

You don't have a Chromebook. I can tell because you think it only works when the internet is active. That's true if you want to collaborate (duh), and it's true if you want to play on YouTube - but the office applications work with local storage. It's not my cup of tea, but these things are wonderful if you have kids - under $200, super easy to disassemble and fix (there's nothing in them), very good battery life, and nearly impossible to bugger up the OS.

Re:Microsoft seen this threat before

[ITRambo]

MS has been trying to fend off Chromebooks in US schools for many years. They failed. Windows RT and 10 S were and are much more work to administer, and cost more in the long run for that reason. School IT departments love the ease of setup of Chromebooks. If a kid breaks his Chromebook, you just login to another one and all your stuff appears. School kids are growing up to become consumers that likely will prefer what they're used to using. That's what the Ars article is about. The future of home laptop computing is not Windows, except for people that have to run Windows specific programs and can't do what they want online, or with an Android app. Quicken comes to mind. Even tax programs are now available online.

The Microsoft Ecosystem Is A Dead End

[StevenSheeves]

Hard to believe anyone can be surprised by this news.

I am the 'computer guy' to a large number of friends, family members, and neighbors. Over the past few years every single person I've helped with their computer problems has used their Microsoft computer for nothing more than email, webbrowsing, pictures, and movies. They used their computers less and less each year with more and more of the tasks listed above on their cellphones.

Long gone are the days when almost every person needed to have Internet Explorer to do any sort of online banking. Any consumer company in 2018 is making sure that their services and content is a first class experience on Android and iOS.

Exacerbating many of the people I help is that not only do they have no use of Windows apps their Windows systems get trashed by viruses or spyware or other random problems while their cellphones just work.

All of these people would be better served by a Chromebook or something similar but almost none of them are aware of what they are. The demand would be even greater if these people understood that all of the problems they constantly are coming to me with are exactly what the Chromebook was designed to solve.

Yes.

[Qbertino]

Windows: Pay to get observed.
Chrome OS: Get observed but get something for it. For free.

Disclaimer: I'm typing this on a Chromebook. That is basically unheard of here in Europe, especially in Germany. I wanted to test having big brother observe me all time every time at all I do to the fullest extent and see what the trade-in for that is. Since I exclusively do web development and have all my everyday stuff in the web and mostly with Google anyway the benefit is palpable. Linux is a close second, but mostly because the disto landscape is a mess and you can't get a neat ARM laptop for 450 Euros that runs 10 hours on one charge and boots in less than 10 seconds and has everything pre-installed. Everything meaning also my entire setup and history with Google. (I'm using an Acer R13 Chrombook, it has replaced my 2011 MB Air).

It's not all disadvantages that Google watches over you is my point. Right now the Google ecosystem is what I recommend to anyone who knows nothing about computers and has little or no budget. My other Chromebook costed 120 Euros and the new 11" ones from Dell come 199 Euros a pop. New and without firesale.

Add in that a n00b using big brother doesn't have to think for a second how he will get his pictures from his phone on to his laptop or the printer and wether his stuff is lost if his notebook shatters and you easyly understand why we all happyliy carry our high-end televisor around with us and even love it.

Google is your friend.
Google watches over you.
Everybody loves Google.
Trust Google.

Googles model is that of the future and MS and others are going to have long-term problems competing with that unless they somehow manage to establish a solid "Cloud brand" with their presence. Which I don't really see happing. Windows only still has some traction because office people do wee-wee in their panties if they don't get their outlook, and MS office. Other than that Google owns, by convenience and by price, many times over.

That's my impression anyway. Many an expert in my field that I know are actually using Chromebooks and enjoy the enablement that comes with going all-out cloud, surveillance be damned.

So, yes, Chrome OS is a threat to Windows. And a big one.

My 2 eurocents.

Re: Microsoft worry? Not in my world...

[chill]

No, that isn't correct. Many of the applications you describe are now server based with web interfaces, if not out right cloud based with web interfaces.

For the one or two legacy apps that aren't, they are accessed thru RDP or Citrix.

In my office of 200, with 160 of those not in IT, we're finishing a transition to Chromebook or iPad for everyone. The pulpit were very well and this is much easier to support.

Keep in mind

[dnaumov]

This is mostly a US phenomena. Outside of US, most education institutions donâ(TM)t even know what a Chromebook is. In my country, I am yet to see my first Chromebook outside of ads, in an actual real environment.

Something worse than ChromeOS

[Ol Olsoc]

Want to know what Microsoft might be really concerned about? This is half on Topic since it's about what Microsoft should be worried about.

My wife bought me a new inexpensive small form factor laptop for my use at breakfast and places I don't want to take my good laptop.

A cute little thing, and surprisingly zippy. It had a 32 GByte SSD which helped with that zip.

Then a Windows update came along. Oopsies - it failed. Not enough drive space.

Okay, I attached a terabyte drive to download the update. It downloaded, then again - Not enough drive space on the laptop. That's weird, the only thing I installed was FireFox, something like 350 MByte.

Oh hell. So I started deleting things I don't need. Then things I thought would probably be reinstalled with the update.

Couldn't get below needing another GByte of space on the laptop. So I reset it and took it back.

Looking around for another small form factor lappy, it seemed they almost all had those 32 GByte SSD's in them. And many of the display ones had the same "not enough space" for the update Windows.

So congratulations Microsoft - you have taken us down the road we were on with "Vista Ready" Laptops.

A generation of worthless lappys.