July 09, 2009
Google OS may force Microsoft to reinvent Windows
With Google's open source Chrome OS set to enter the market, Microsoft faces the challenge of developing a more Web-centric operating system
18 RecommendationsGoogle's Chrome OS won't be an immediate threat to Windows, but it may force Microsoft to reinvent its operating system more quickly into a product that takes full advantage of the Web and can move more nimbly across devices and form factors, analysts said.
Microsoft is unlikely to have been surprised by Google's announcement late Tuesday that it is working on a new OS for people who "spend most of their time on the Web," as Google described it. From what has been revealed about the Google Chrome OS -- which won't be available until the second half of next year -- it aims to bring the ease of use that Google has brought to Web-based applications, such as search and chat, to netbooks and eventually to full-size PCs.
[ InfoWorld's Robert X. Cringely wonders if Chrome OS will be a geeks-only thing, while Randall C. Kennedy thinks Google's OS has almost no chance of succeeding. ]
A Google OS is "something Microsoft has been worried about for a long time," said Matt Rosoff, analyst with Directions on Microsoft. He called it "the first significant threat to Windows in a very long time," although he said the threat may not become fully evident for another 10 years.
Still, Google's plan to exploit the popularity of low-footprint, low-cost netbooks could accelerate the need for Microsoft to reinvent the bulky, PC-centric version of Windows for consumers and businesses, as more people begin using applications that live on the Web rather than on their local hard drive.
It could also eventually force the company to develop one core version of Windows that can be used on any device -- be it a smartphone, netbook, or PC -- similar to the way Apple moved downstream by adapting its Mac OS X software for use on the enormously successful iPhone, analysts said.
Microsoft has not been immune to the problem of marrying the increasingly Web-centric world with the desktop world, in which applications run on a thick client with a resource-heavy OS, but until now the company hasn't had to worry too much about it.
With Windows the de facto standard on PCs, people have been for the most part content to wait for Microsoft to deliver new versions of the OS, and connect to the Web and their favorite applications from there. And many business customers are tied to Windows by long-term contracts and application dependencies, which has kept them loyal to Windows for better or worse.
For its part, Microsoft has been working to hone its Web-based services and applications, and even removed some software from the forthcoming Windows 7 -- such as e-mail and photo-editing software -- in favor of Web-based versions that are more lightweight. Windows 7 will be available on PCs later this year.
Microsoft also has a research project called Midori that envisions a next-generation Windows in which the OS becomes more Internet-centric and eliminates dependencies between local applications and the hardware on which they run, although the company has not said how this might fit into Windows' commercial future.
The emergence of netbooks, however, changed everything, taking not only Microsoft but also the rest of the hardware and software industries by surprise and providing a vehicle for Google to make its move into the OS market.
"Netbooks showed up and startled everybody," said Forrester analyst Frank Gillett.
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cmaurand
10-Jul-09 4:09am
Netbooks are a fad. They're not powerful enough and they're slow. No wifi network, no app (Google Gears can only do so much, you still need access.) Oh, did I mention that the screens are too small to be really useful? Worse, I want the apps to run from my server, not Google's or Microsoft's. Way too many privacy and security concerns for me to trust all of my data to the likes of Google or Microsoft (which already has web based versions of its software: Windows Live anyone?) which makes them a one stop shop for the government to pry. All the government has to do is monitor traffic and send it to one of their Cray's for cracking...Oh wait...they already do.
cmaurand
10-Jul-09 4:12am
Oh, I forgot to mention, you need broadband which a majority of the country still doesn't have. Large swaths of rural ground do not have cell service or broadband. You're not going to be running Google Apps or Windows live on dial-up.
jragosta
10-Jul-09 7:51am
You're missing the boat. ChromeOS is not, and was never meant to be, a threat to Windows. Rather, it's an attempt to turn the computer into a toaster. Anyone can use it, no need to add peripherals, and it does one thing very well. When you need a 4 slice toaster, you throw out the 2 slice toaster and buy a new one. You don't upgrade a toaster.
There are a number of scenarios:
- A 'Granny computer' so Grandma can stay in touch, watch her grandkid's YouTube videos, send and receive email, etc without having to understand how a computer works. Heck, she doesn't even have to learn to launch a browser, because that's all there is.
- A corporate terminal for extremely security conscious companies. Instead of trying to lock down computers to protect confidential information, you do everything by https and don't store ANYTHING on the laptop. IF the laptop is stolen or lost (or broken), you throw it out and buy a new one - but don't have to worry about confidential info. The user can still browse the web and check email - which is all that manyt people do with their laptops anyway.
I'm sure there are lots of others, use your imagination. Not INSTEAD of Windows, but in addition to.
I do agree, however, that the netbook 'solution' is silly. I just got my daughter a 15.6" Toshiba laptops, DVD burner, 2 GB, 160 or 250 GB hard drive (I don't remember - I just remember that it was way more than she'll need during the lifetime of this computer), 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo, Windows Vista for $379. Sure, I can buy a netbook with an Atom processor and 8" screen for $299, but why would I do that? BTW, if you take that laptop I bought, drop the hard disk and RAM in favor of 8 GB of flash, drop the video in favor of integrated graphics, drop the DVD burner, and drop Windows in favor of free ChromeOS, it's going to be well below $300, anyway.
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