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Chrome OS netbooks - Sidekicks for geeks?

Posted in Chrome OS, Google on November 23, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Last Thursday Google released details of its upcoming Chrome OS- with the exciting news that it won’t be available for a year.

The tech community is seemingly split into two between those that think that Google vision is pure genius, distilled in a speedy netbook 2.0 form – and those that that it’s all a lot of hot air.

Just to recap briefly – Chrome OS will be coming out next year on specific Google approved hardware and will deliver a device that boots in seven seconds or less and essentially takes you straight to the Chrome OS browser – with a few knobs on to enable it to run an OS - such as battery management and the date and time.

The key issue for many is that it won’t run any standard apps – everything will run in the browser so when your offline the whole usability will be compromised.

It will of course support Google Gears, which already enables you to work offline on your Gmail and Google Docs, and then sync back up when you’re online. Admittedly it’s been months since I actually tried using Google Gears, but when I did I found it to be rather flaky and I didn’t feel comfortable with it – probably time for a revisit.

It seems to me that the divisions over Chrome OS are pretty fundamental – you are either a true web 2.0 always connected kind of guy/girl that already lives in the cloud - or you’re not. I’m pretty sure, based on sticking my finger in the air that if you’re under 25 you’ll have no problem with this but if your over – you will. And if you’re my age or older – ie. soon to be the wrong side of 35, then you’ll be deeply suspicious.

It’s not just the usability issues – or the security, there are privacy issues too. Are you happy to trust Google with everything in your life?

I also just have to ask why no one is talking about the irony of the seemingly entire world being against Microsoft for simply bundling its browser with its OS, only for it to be fine for Google to base an entire OS around its browser. Will you be able to replace Chrome with IE8 in Chrome OS? obviously that would a very stupid thing to do – but it would only be fair, wouldn’t it?

We also have the issue that Google is still offering both Android and Chrome OS, and the lines between them are blurred. We’ve already seen Android on a netbook – although we weren’t particularly impressed - and Google itself has admitted that the two are likely to merge.

It also means though that we’ve got a mobile phone OS that enables you to install apps, and a computer OS that only lets you use web applications – um – is that not the wrong way round? I guess it does mean that the word ‘netbook’ will be accurate in every way.

Some users are also up in arms that you won’t be able to download and install Chrome OS on your current netbook – instead you’ll have to buy a new machine that conforms to Google’s exact stringent hardware requirements – so no regular hard disks and only SSDs – as apparently speed is everything.

Google wants to control the whole experience then - is Google turning into the new Apple?

In the mean time, you can find a pre-compiled version of Chrome OS to download and install from GDGT.com, though you’ll need to muck around with Virtual Box, or VMWare.

I imagine that I’ll have stronger feelings about the issue once I tried it, but in the mean time I have a feeling that it’s worth stepping back and thinking. It’s just another OS, and by only being available on specific Google hardware, and with its specific cloud only use, it’s not going to appeal to all, most or even many people.

Are business users going to be happy with not being able to run their regular apps? I see it as being aimed primarily at those for whom checking Facebook is their main function in life. Will that make a Google Chrome OS devices nothing more than a glorified and slightly techier Sidekicks?

Well at least those users haven’t been bitten already by a major cloud and data loss outage…. oh hold on…