The paradigm shift towards mass collaboration is certainly the largest impact that web 2.0 has had on the internet community thus far; however it has given rise to a new technology concept known as ‘cloud computing’ (which some speculate is web 3.0). The ‘cloud’ is seen as a one-stop-shop for all your computing needs and all you will need to access it is an internet connection. I speculate that Google is one step closer to changing the ‘individual Vs internet’ paradigm with its new operating system.
...Harnessing Enterprise 2.0 into an Operating System
What is the ‘individual Vs internet’ paradigm?
I have coined the change in computing ‘individual Vs internet’ paradigm because old technology is proprietary and must be installed on and run on an individual machine – this is individual computing. Internet (aka cloud) computing will do away with having to ‘install’ large software applications on your machine. Instead you will access all of your program needs via a web browser on the internet. Does that sound too ridiculous? Google Docs is essentially cloud computing! Now imagine that Adobe products (such as Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver and Fireworks) will be free to use and access via the internet…this is cloud computing. Anything and everything you will need will be free to use through the browser.
Google Chrome Operating System
Chrome OS, is Google’s notebook operating system. It has been designed to specially run on underpowered machines such as netbooks and others with limited processing power.
Why? You ask. Google is attempting to outperform other ‘bulky’ operating systems such as Windows, which is designed for larger powered machines. It makes sense also as netbooks are primarily designed to run a web browser.
The operating system is light weight, fast, minimal and whose dedicated purpose is to run a web browser (Chrome). From there, you can access all of the Google applications and other web services we have come to rely on.
But why?, I hear you ask. If the current netbooks already have an OS and a browser with access to the internet, how will chrome benefit you?
Here is the run down:
- Cost – It’s free! And with this in mind, purchasing a netbook with Google OS will be cheaper than the windows version.
- Speed – Google is hinting that the boot times will be measured in seconds, not minutes. This will help battery life as it will be more feasible to cold start instead of sleeping or hibernating the machine, saving battery life.
Whilst taking a shot at Microsoft’s boot times and other things typically Microsoft Google stated:
"Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work".
- Compatibility – Google’s OS is speculated to easily work on any platform!
- Portability – Google Gears will most likely be installed, allowing you to sync all of your netbook applications with your desktop at home.
- New Applications – I stated before that it would be awesome if all of your most used applications were free. Whilst Google hasn’t rolled out any video player (like VLC) or music jukebox (iTunes), in the future it may built its own, or package others into the operating system.
You may be thinking that it’s a bit disappointing that the OS will be strictly for netbooks and I agree, but this will be the beginning of many good things to come. For sure the OS will evolve over time and if Google can produce a free, clean, fast and feature-rich operating system, then Microsoft will need to pull some radical and impressive moves to keep market share.
“In my opinion, it’s about time Microsoft was challenged, maybe then they will have to produce a decent product to compete!”
‘Browser Wars’ was so 90’s…’Operating System Wars’ is so today! – Let the battle begin.
