Google Announces Plans for PC Operating System
Posted on July 8, 2009 |
Google announced plans late Tuesday night to develop operating software for personal computers, initially the downsized PCs called Netbooks. An outgrowth of the Internet search giant's Chrome Web browser, Chrome OS is also Google's most direct challenge yet to Microsoft, whose Windows operating system dominates the PC world. Chrome OS is expected to be available in the second half of next year.
Predictably, and understandably, blogs and other publications are making the case that this is a new, major assault on Google's archrival. Perhaps that's true, but I'm betting that taking on Microsoft isn't Google's main aim here. Instead, I think it's logical to accept its longstanding claim that, with projects like this as well as the Chrome browser itself and its Android mobile operating software, it's chiefly trying to simply make the Web work better.
This isn't altruism on Google's part. If the Web works better, people will search more and Google will benefit. Of course, Google doesn't seem above throwing a monkeywrench into Microsoft's finely tuned machinery, and maybe that's part of the point, as it sometimes seems with Google's software applications business. But Google surely knows it's not going to knock Microsoft aside anytime soon, if ever. The logic that a better Web helps Google is compelling enough that I think that is indeed the key reason for Google's seemingly quixotic announcement.
That sentiment is apparent throughout the post (full version after the jump) on the official Google blog by by Sundar Pichai, VP of product management, and Linus Upson, an engineering director. Here's the gist:
The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be. ...
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.
At the same time, it's hard not to detect a shot at Microsoft as well:
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.
It's commendable that Google is trying to advance the state of the art in computing and the Web. The Chrome browser set new standards for speed that no doubt will force others such as Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer to catch up. But an operating system by nature isn't nearly as simple to pull off, because it must work with so many variations of PCs and run a wide variety of software without major problems. So here's another statement from the Google executives that I'll accept at face value: "We have a lot of work to do."
