Who Google targeting for its Chrome OS users

Google isn’t telling me any secrets about its plans for Chrome OS. Indeed, I’m not even one of the 60,000 or so people that Google has given a Cr-48 Chromebook prototype to play with. Even so, unlike my good friend Mary Jo Foley, I think I know exactly who Google has in mind for its Chrome OS Linux desktop system.

I see Google as targeting two different, very different, audiences with Chrome OS. The first group are office workers. The other is those hundreds of millions, perhaps a billion plus, users who really don’t know the first thing about to use a computer safely even as they use them every day.

In this set-up, a company would pay Google a fee, just as some do now for Google Apps for Business. In return, the company gets the 21st century version of a thin-client desktop.

This is an idea that goes all the way back to terminals to mainframe computers. While PCs put this idea into a niche market for decades now, some CIOs and administrators still yearn for it. The reasons for this are quite simple: It puts IT back in charge of the office desktop.

The security is set-up from a central control, the management decides what applications users will run and so on. This idea comes back over and over and… well you get the idea. If you’ve been in IT for a while, you’ve seen this notion from Oracle as network computers; and from who knows how many vendors as the diskless workstation or as thin-clients.

In the past, it’s never taken off for several reasons. From an IT standpoint, one of the big problems has always been that the server proved to be a single point-of-failure. Google will try to get around this by using its cloud services in place of a server.

Users, of course, given a choice between a PC, where they get to set up the wall-paper just so, add their favorite application and a smart-terminal where they have no control over the system always went for PCs. Chrome OS will give users more control over their environment than some earlier thin-client approaches. Whether that will be enough to make users happy is another matter.

The other audience is Jason Perlow’s grandpa. There are hundreds of millions of users just like him and not all of them are old. They have no more clue about to use a computer safely than I know how to land a 747.

If you read ZDNet regularly, you may not realize just how many people there are like that who think that their computer is a magic box. Forget about knowing the difference between Windows and Linux, they can’t tell the difference between the Web browser and the operating system. That’s where Google Chrome OS comes in.

With Chrome OS the operating system and the browser really are one. If they can use a Web browser, and almost anyone can do that these days, they’ll be able to use Chrome OS.

More to the point, as Perlow pointed out, Chrome OS is “totally maintenance free, all the apps and the data are cloud driven, and you can’t break the OS even if you try.” Well actually you can but it’s beyond the ability of most tech illiterates. Chrome OS also uses a sandbox security system that goes a long way towards making sure that no matter what an idiot user clicks on he or she can’t install malware or otherwise get into trouble.

Put it all together and you have a Linux-based operating system that’s ideal for either office-workers or people who need a computer but don’t know the first thing about how to use one safely. Is that you? Probably not. It’s certainly not me. But, it does describe hundreds-of-millions of users. For them, Chrome may be all the operating system they’ll ever need.

The Three Differences between Chrome OS and Android

On December 7th, Google is expected to announce the release of a laptop with the first version of the Chrome operating system. Concurrently, Google is going great guns with Android. Does Google really need two operating systems? So what’s going on here?

Here’s what Google is up to. Yes, both Android and Chrome OS are Linux-based operating systems. Neither, at the application level, uses the common Linux desktop application programming interfaces (API) that are used by the GNOME or KDE desktops and their applications.

They’re also similar in that both use a common set of techniques to make them more secure. The most important of these is process sand-boxing. What this means is that any Chrome or Android application has just enough access to the system to do its job.

Once you’re past this, the two look and act in very different ways. Here are their main points of difference:

1) Android is for Phones & Tablets; Chrome OS is for Netbooks

Google said at the start that “Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the Web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems.” Google hasn’t always been on message with this.

Google also took its time getting even a Chrome beta out the door. Now that Chrome OS is about to be unveiled, we know that it is going to be Google’s “desktop” operating system, while Android is for smart phones and tablets.

The Android interface is designed foremost for touch. Google Chrome OS looks and acts just like the Chrome Web browser.

2) Chrome OS won’t run Linux desktop or Android Apps

I use quotes around “desktop” with good reason. While Chrome OS will be used like a desktop operating system, it’s not a traditional fat-client desktop like Windows or even a Linux desktop such as Mint. Instead, all of its “applications” will be cloud-based. To see what I mean, just look at the Chrome browser and Google Apps. You’re looking at a sketch of the Google Chrome OS.

There will be just enough Linux in Chrome OS–thanks, in part, to Ubuntu– to support the browser and Web-based applications. You will also likely be able to run some traditional desktop applicationsusing a remote-client computing technology called “Chromoting.”

As for Android applications, where all the applications are Java-based and depend on Dalvik, I don’t see any way that those applications will run on Chrome OS.

3) Chrome OS Constantly Updated

Like the Chrome browser, you can expect Chrome OS to be patched and improved constantly. This instead of being patched to fix problems or having features added in service packs, Chrome OS, for better or worse, will continually evolve. With Chrome OS, there won’t be any wait for different versions a la Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Still having trouble visualizing it? Well, don’t worry too much. Within the next few days, we’ll have the opportunity to see Chrome OS and see how it differs from Android and other desktop operating systems.

Google Chrome OS (Stable) May Be Unleashed this November

The final stable version of Chrome OS could be out this November. TechCrunch has reported that developers are already testing the Chrome OS Release Candidate (RC), which means Google may finally announce the finished product no later than next month.
There are several hints that Google Chrome OS is on the horizon. One is the Chrome Web Store that will be launched this October. There is also the rumored Google tablet computer that may also be released in November. Lastly, developers are now busy working on the screensavers, login screens, highlight colors, and other user interface elements, which is a telltale sign that most of the important under-the-hood features are pretty much done.

TechCrunch has contacted Google for comments and here is their response:

“We are very happy with the progress of Google Chrome OS and expect devices will be available later this year. We’ll have more details to share at launch.”

This is pretty exciting news because I think Chrome OS is one of the keys to Linux world domination. I can't wait to get my hands on Chrome OS and probably the Google tablet computer.

Google Chrome OS and Android are Keys to Linux World Domination

When we talk about web servers and supercomputers, the leading operating system in terms of usage share is Linux. However, on the desktop and mobile device categories, Linux is not so lucky.

Several sources put the Linux desktop market share at a mere 1%, which is lower than that of Mac OS X (6%). After all these years, Windows is still leading the pack with a dominant usage share of around 90%.

On the highly competitive area of mobile devices, the growth of Linux is faster than ever. Thanks to Android, it has gained enough usage share to beat Apple iOS and RIM. Although Symbian is currently at the top of the hill, it is not sitting comfortably there as Android or iOS is expected to dethrone it any time soon.

To all my fellow Linux advocates and enthusiasts, we have to accept the fact that “the year of the Linux desktop” will not be coming in the very near future. But I’m not saying that it would never come.

Although the Linux desktop is far from dead, a lot of things have to be done to keep it from being stagnant. It seems like Ubuntu is the only one that's been keeping the Linux desktop afloat. But Linux can't rely on a lifejacket for long. I think at the moment it needs a rocket booster that could help accelerate its growth. That rocket booster could be the upcoming Google Chrome OS.

Why Chrome OS?

Google has the resources for creating a high-quality Linux distribution. They also have a proven track record of making and releasing products that became extremely successful. In addition, Google is well respected and trusted by the PC industry, so getting support from different component makers and device vendors will be easy.

Some people are saying that a cloud-centric desktop operating system like Google Chrome OS will never have mass appeal and may just vanish into thin air. They might be true in the sense that most PC users are not yet prepared or are pessimistic about completely taking their data on the cloud. But I still think Chrome OS will succeed in the long run as it will constantly improve and in effect will gain trust.

When Android was unleashed in 2008, I did not expect it to become quickly popular. Back then, detractors were saying that it is bound to fail because it is a geeky OS just like Linux and that people will not even touch it. But look at it now. The growth of Android in terms of usage share is going at an amazing pace.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin said that Android and Chrome OS would likely converge over time. So imagine the possibilities of having a Linux-based PC that works hand-in-hand with all of your Linux-based mobile devices.

The future is bright for Linux, and Google Chrome and Android will help lead the way to world domination.

What do you think?