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GoogleOS: What To Expect
readwriteweb.com — Read/WriteWeb offers 3 scenarios for a GoogleOS and suggests it could be less than 6 months away. They say it may be a web based desktop (i.e. operating system), a full featured Linux distribution, or a lightweight Linux distro and/or BIOS.
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- panocha, on 10/12/2007, -58/+7I expect it to buyout the YouTube OS.
- Jaq524, on 10/12/2007, -7/+151I expect it to remain in beta indefinitely.
- TheReport, on 10/12/2007, -11/+19I hate to be the bearer of bad opinions but I've heard about the GoogleOS for years now and the one thing that keeps me from screaming "Stop Posting these absurd notions!!!" is that these notions could possibly be a reality one day but I find it hard to believe that if it hasnt happened now with years of people talking about it under the Google developments team's belt that I highly doubt it will get made any sooner than people keep making it out to be. Strangly there already exsists a Google OS that google uses internally with the foundation being based on ubuntu Linux and built to Googles liking.
- foobar5892, on 10/12/2007, -1/+33Is it just me, or does that blog entry seemed pulled out the author's ass? Apart from being obvious, that is.
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -11/+17"Seems like everyone expects Google to get into direct competition with Microsoft, by releasing an operating system."
riiiiight. So this web OS will be able to run 3D programs or Photoshop?
This is nothing like Windows. It's not even close. it's not even the same game let alone the same ballpark. - JQP123, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15"Is it just me, or does that blog entry seemed pulled out the author's ass? "
Aren't the majority of blog entries this way?
Regarding the article, Google is all about moving the focus *away* from the desktop, not toward it. From their viewpoint, an OS; any OS, is just part of an appliance that lets people access the web. Advertising and services are where all the money is, not commodity appliances. - NJank, on 10/12/2007, -6/+19@Jaq524: "I expect it to remain in beta indefinitely."
Counting the regular amount of patches, fixes, etc., and the typical stability, I'm tempted to qualify Win OS's as beta too - becominglumberg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9This is so speculative, it is hardly newsworthy. Further, in the event that google goes linux, goobuntu (lets put the quasi-official name back on it) will only be a Ubuntu package with googles packs pre-installed (maybe some added features that help you sync your google based storage). Certainly, the coding power of google would be a huge boon to the Debuntu community, but it would not be the second coming of windows... it will still be a while til all the proprietary files and games are supported correctly, even with googles weight behind it.
- IQ70, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2GoogleOS: What to expect?
Expect it to snoop on 5 seconds on ambient room conversation and show relevant ads.
So, if you say you have a headache, it shows Aidvil ads.
Errrmmm, you have a webcam inbuilt. Cool.
They record 1 second of video and then using highly sophisticated algorithms, they figure you are having sex, so they now show you mornring after pill ads!
Google is an advertising company with ONE good product.
Just ONE good product. The sooner people realize this the less gruesome the WebBubble 2.0 will seem. - nofxjunkee, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3People who think that Google would take Ubuntu and add some packages to it and then call it their own "OS" are wrong. For one thing, Google releases more software for Windows than Linux. If Google had this Google"OS" all planned out they would be coding for that, whatever it was based on.
With Writely and GMail and all that I would think that some sort of online environment that provides storage for you to have a desktop on the internet is where they would go in the "OS" direction. What do they gain from giving away a re-branded Ubuntu? They can't sell it when Canonical is sending out free Ubuntu discs.
I use "OS" rather than OS here because what we're talking about is a desktop-like environment, not software that controls a cpu/memory/storage.
- devindotcom, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10Seems like they would offer file storage, e-mail, word processor, mapping, and various other google apps from a unified interface. It's logical... though personally I wouldn't use it, seems flakey to rely on an online OS. I don't see them getting into a full offline OS.
- schroduggity, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1how do you know you aren't using it already?
- acesomeone, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I don't think there's any use for something like this, really... Let Google do what it does best -- search. And not spread to other markets where it only does its job half. There are enough companies like that (Microsoft), we don't need any more of those. The sound of "Goobuntu" is just as silly as "Goondows"...
- mrASSMAN, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21Competition is always good..
- StevoCJ, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1As long as Microsoft do it, Google will have to.
Not saying that they don't want to, or that Microsoft are evil for pushing them in this way. Just that it's a fact. - chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17Google isn't a search company they're an advertisement agency.
think about it. Everything they do is to collect information to sell ads. - TheReport, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13"Google isn't a search company they're an advertisement agency.
think about it. Everything they do is to collect information to sell ads"
They're an advertising company that rewards its consumers and affliates with cash, free applications, and a great search engine I dont see any harm in that.
'Dont be Evil' - theorymaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One of the reasons why GoogleOS is rumored is because Google modified a Linux distribution called Ubuntu for its internal company use. The modified form is known as Goobuntu and is not in any way meant for public distribution. Read about it here:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-rpccJRUwda_TuU2Z4ujI0nb94g--?cq=1
- antigoogle, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5Yes but as the article states, new Windows Vista's default IE7 may put pressure on Google to release their own OS.
- geoken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hasn't MSN been the default home page for IE users for years? How is the fact that it's the default home page and search provider in IE7 going to change anything? If you're an IE user you either;
a) Like Google, have it as your home page and if/when you upgrade to IE7 you will promply reset your homepage/search provider to Google
b) Don't care, have MSN as your home page and will probably leave it as your homepage/search provider in IE7 in which case Google isn't really loosing anything.
- geoken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hasn't MSN been the default home page for IE users for years? How is the fact that it's the default home page and search provider in IE7 going to change anything? If you're an IE user you either;
- treelovinhippie, on 10/12/2007, -9/+5I'm thinking it won't be any of them. If Google is smart they'll release a WebOS.... i.e. some kind of website/browser which users load (can load within existing OS or can be used as an OS). It then access online programs such as Writely etc rather than using desktop-based software.
- zybch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20Apart from potential collaboration, there is really bugger all to recommend any web based stuff for, especially mission critical stuff where a screwed up net connection will kill all your apps!
I'm sorry, but I just don't like the thought of having to rely on internet connectivity to be able to do any work. - treelovinhippie, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4Of course there will be issues and it won't be adopted quickly... but this IS the future of the Operating System. Microsoft won't be releasing another desktop-based Windows as we currently are familiar with, Vista will be the last.
There are numerous redundancy systems that can be put into place to avoid any down-time. The bonus is that users can choose which software/applications they want to use and which file types they want to play with.
With this WebOS system we'll also eventually see our data (documents, photos, files etc) all stored in a secure data centre somewhere. And of course there will be security and privacy concerns that will come up when we get to that stage.
Can't wait :) - thefinger, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16brilliant! an OS on top of an OS
stupidity in complexity - treelovinhippie, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Nooo, don't you people have any ability to think beyond?
Of course it will be hard to move people from the regular OS to a WebOS and impractical. So initially it will run on top of an existing OS.
But as things progress you won't need any traditional OS. You will simply bootup your computer into the WebOS and be able to access all your apps and files remotely via the Net... meaning your "desktop" can be available wherever you have net access.
There are actually numerous groups who are already working on this in some form or another.
Anyways, time will tell. I reckon give it a few years and everyone will be saying "oh yeah I had that idea". - Eldoo77, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1If you had taken the time to RTFA you would have seen that this was option #1!
- treelovinhippie, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1I read it, but no mention of whether they would create a WebOS on top of existing OS' or a bootable WebOS
- zybch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20Apart from potential collaboration, there is really bugger all to recommend any web based stuff for, especially mission critical stuff where a screwed up net connection will kill all your apps!
- firsttube, on 10/12/2007, -16/+9the web is the future os, no doubt.
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19and how would you use a web OS without an OS?
duh. - paulmdx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9It's called a thin client. Wyse already offer thin clients with native IE6 support. Although they're based on what was WinCE, there's practically no on-board functionality other than IE and terminal service support.
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19and how would you use a web OS without an OS?
- coffeykevin, on 10/12/2007, -11/+7I'll probably be quicker than Windows Vista ;)
- Settra, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10It's destined to fail, as a very small percentage of the web population will know about it. I don't see the point of a web-based desktop anyhow..
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2yep. And nobody in business is going to trust any information to anyone else.
Microsoft makes most (if not all) their money from business. If 50% of home users switched I still don't think it would have much impact.
And then there is the problem of, if you don't have an internet connection you don't have a PC. stupid idea. It's going to fail BIG time. - Settra, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Exactly. Even if it _was_ client based, knowing google, a lot of essential services (word processing or whatever) would require an internet connection. Fun on 56k!
- paulmdx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"nobody in business is going to trust any information to anyone else"
Except customers of SalesForce.com, the highly successful online CRM app. Not to mention managed services such as email. - spectre_25gt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Destined to fail because people won't know about it? You do remember that Google's main revenue comes from advertising, right?
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2yep. And nobody in business is going to trust any information to anyone else.
- ozziek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Why would Google develop an OS? Isn't this further confusing the brand? Is Google a search engine or software developer?
We know that things like Google Earth, Maps, Spreadsheet etc all come from Labs and ultimately some are down to 20% time but where is Google heading with all this?
It just seems like they've got a shed load of cash and are so board with search engine stuff they want to dabble in other areas that have nothing to do with searching!
I can't imagine anything more pointless than an OS that will only let me work when I'm connected. Broadband goes down and your business is really dead.- swaxhog, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1They could release an OS, have with bundled with Walmart PCs. It could come pre-installed with all their applications and have it constantly talk back home and record everybit of information you have from indexed files to where you surf.
- StevoCJ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They're a public company now. They have to show growth every quarter, and so they must broaden their market to increase revenue.
- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Google is concerned that if Microsoft improves their search engine and continues to make it the default for Windows PCs, they'll eventually get replaced. If IE proves anything, it's that people will continue to use a poor default over a superior alternative, so that is entirely possible.
Logically, a good way for them to combat this would be to make an OS to compete with Windows and make all of their own services the default on it. They have the budget necessary to do it; they could combine a solid open-source OS base with their own application software, as Apple has done. Then, they could either give it away or sell it for cheap, and get it distributed with new PCs. It'd be a major risk for them, but it could pay off; Google is one of the few companies left with the resources to try to compete with Windows.
- sakhamuri, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Adsense kicks-in for every click and key stroke!
- superjoppe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If Google were to develop an OS, why the hell would they spend so much time developing internet applications?
The whole point is you can have whatever OS you want, Windows, Linux, OS X etc, and still be able to access Googles services.
I'd be really suprised if Google released anything OS releated, for others than for internal use. - Relentl3ss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1WebOS- kiosk browsing in a nutshell, Perfect for public access terminals and future tech-
Imagine shopping with a trolly that has a built in LCD screen serving adverts based on items put in - (scanned with RFID). GoogleOS would be able to drive the system perfectly with adsense filtering the content- Recipe's based on purchases etc....
Meh- the future is going to suck. - Plato, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10How many times does google have to say "aint gonna happen" before you fanboys understand.. it AINT GONNA HAPPEN.
Just wondering...- SniperZero, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4infinity*infinity^infinity
Give of take an infinity.
Well Google have a habit of making software that no one uses just to see how it goes so it could happen sometime down the track.
- SniperZero, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4infinity*infinity^infinity
- jcurran, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0Too easy... As a Google project, l expect that GoogleOS has certain requirements that it has to meet (looking good, run on anything, awesome tech inside, "in beta" forever, annoy MSFT, etc.) Meanwhile, Mac OS runs on Intel HW, Eric S has joined Apple's Board, and both Zune and Vista are moribund.
Releasing an OS which supports most (as opposed to some) of the hardware out there is a very hard job. Releasing such for free would truly change the landscape, which seems to be what Google always strives for...- theorymaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One of the reasons why GoogleOS is rumoured is because Google modified a Linux distribution called Ubuntu for its internal company use. The modified form is known as Goobuntu and is not in any way meant for public distribution. Read all about it here:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-rpccJRUwda_TuU2Z4ujI0nb94g--?cq=1
- theorymaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One of the reasons why GoogleOS is rumoured is because Google modified a Linux distribution called Ubuntu for its internal company use. The modified form is known as Goobuntu and is not in any way meant for public distribution. Read all about it here:
- DiggLurker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I refuse to read this article because the 4 possibilities listed in the intro cover everything that could be considered an OS. Super-ajax desktop, full traditional os, minimal os and/or bios? What else is there? Oh yeah, I guess we can rule out GooglEmacsBeta.
- EBFoxbat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I tend to think the Google OS will be a suite of all their web based stuff and not an OS at all.
Some type of unified interface (which they are working towards with web based apps) within a common local applications. - isemism, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Please dont let them end up with YouOS ... Nice idea.. but not practical. In fact, it was awful....
- silenceHR, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Google internally uses it own version of Linux, modified for their needs, so basically, GoogleOS does exist.
If they put it for free download and tie it up with their online office-like suit it might work, due to power of their brand name, there are many people who would download GoogleOS only cause it's cool to have it... and i don't see any downside it it, specially if it is basically Linux ... if it catches up, more companies would make their software to work on Linux and that is good.- bigs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0That would be a nice idea but they only created their own filesystem, to be optimized for millions of searches/second and for their distributed server system. They'd have to drop their custom fs or modify it pretty heavily to make it relevant for single pc usage - not sure whether they actually changed any code of the original distro, i suppose they would have had to.
- cbeach, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"They say it may be a web based desktop (i.e. operating system), a full featured Linux distribution, or a lightweight Linux distro and/or BIOS."
And by roughly the same logic, I'm 100% correct when I say this news might be pure speculation, moderately likely, or true.- SteveMax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Or: "It may be anything. We're just posting this for the ad traffic."
Lame.
- SteveMax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Or: "It may be anything. We're just posting this for the ad traffic."
- gandalfan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0When Yahoo OS will be out!
just wondering... - cbeach, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6There is no such thing as a "web-based operating system"
An operating system manages hardware I/O - not HTML, for goodness sake!- walkerj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3A kernel manages hardware-- an operating system consists of a kernel as well as applications. These applications can just as well be run over the Internet as they are executed off your hard drive.
- TheJackal001, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I don't see it happening in the near future, as its uptake would be minimal, and they are not going to convert people from Windows to a Linux based distro without a lot of work. You would have to make it as simple to install an app and configure it as Windows, yeah, some things are simple depending on which distro but I mean, idiot proof kinda stuff.
And Google is smart enough to know this, they have changed the way people view the net but they will not be able to change the way the majority of users see their computer running. Hardware support is not really an issue, the issues would be backing by other software vendors and by users.
A web based OS is out in my opinion as they are a great idea but interpreted code is never going to run as fast as compiled code, no mater how you optimize it. The basics can be done through your browser but it cannot replace anything that requires a little bit of processing and data manipulation.
Just my thoughts - bigs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2can you boot to this web os? does it have device drivers? lets call it a pretty website that offers desktop publishing apps and cut the ***** out. I'm sick of the buzz words seriously.
oh cbeach has beaten me - what he said. - Idonedigg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1There's something missing from those screenshots...
hmm... oh, haha yeah... all that adsense. - ioral, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I guess I'm the first to mention the word "appliance" in this thread. google already makes appliances, running modded linux. i guess this would be closest to "googleOS."i don't think google would make a general-purpose OS. likely they would come up with something like a "Google Office Server Appliance," so instead of installing office on each computer, everyone would just connect to the appliance using firefox augmented by a "Google Office Plugin." That way, documents would be harder to misplace and it would be easier to search all documents in the office.
(anyone from google reading this? hire me! heheh i speak english, japanese, perl, c++, java and python)- sreeks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I would second this view. with more and more regulations coming in it is going to be a tough ask to persuade companies to keep their data, particularly things like email, outside. I would also buy into the argument of a mini os bootable from a keychain USB with a browser.
- shaim2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"It's the Network, stupid".
Google has been, as will is all about the network - your apps and docs floating in the network cloud - no specific physical location, no specific operation system.
Google is about making the desktop irrelevant, not about replacing it.
And as a side note: historically you unseat monopolies by making them irrelevant, not by beating them at their own game (the railroads which missed the age of highways & trucks, IBM which missed the PC age, etc). - potdarko, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1one of these days Microsoft is going to make a WebBrowser... mark my words.
and BTW... only a moron would dismiss an WebOS scenario... - JiggNJive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Ah, yet another gossip-post about Google*... Sure, it's a great way of getting traffic to post "news" like this, but come back when you have something concrete..
Maybe I'm having a bad day, but I'm so tired about this whole mythological aura surrounding Google. - lemonou, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0google can be as well as you think
- gerbilthemonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Google already have gone against their philosophy, I quote from their list of 10 things
"2. It's best to do one thing really, really well.
Google does search. With one of the world's largest research groups focused exclusively on solving search problems, we know what we do well, and how we could do it better. Through continued iteration on difficult problems, we've been able to solve complex issues and provide continuous improvements to a service already considered the best on the web at making finding information a fast and seamless experience for millions of users."
If they make an OS it will only counteract their philosophy further. - wildster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I don't see the point of an online OS. Why would you want to run GIMP or your word processor online. I like applications to run quickly. Google could do with making a client side program for Gmail or get it working IMAP4. I would like the option in Open Office to save documents straight to my google account, and i suspect this will happen soon.
- cynicist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You can't make the desktop irrelevant... Google is just providing services that are OS independant.
- albator, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1a google bios ! what the hell this guy is talking about.
- Xageroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4FireFox is my Web OS.
The location bar is my command line.
Bookmarks are my start menu.
The tab bar is my task bar.
The page I'm visiting is the file or application I'm using.
The only thing Google can do is offer me a better desktop, but I'm pretty satisfied with the Google Homepage for that.
If you're waiting around for a Web OS, don't bother. They're already here. The browser is how we operate the web. - seansshack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1May be pure speculation, but is their next logical step.
Bet soon we will eventually be running "dumb" web terminals with Google OS. - SVPirate, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I get the point of online OS and I also really don't ge the point of online OS. In the current climate it has little purpose as all computers have their own OS.
Google making Yet Another Linux Distro would be a total waste of time. There's already too much dilution in the Linux paradigm. - metafore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1>hello?
hi. i'm looking for digg.
>oh, you've got the wrong number. this is specculation.
oh, that explains it. kkthxbye.
>ciao. - robbrydon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2If Google can't do spreadsheets how do you expect them to put together an OS?
- pgouy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hmmm.. so we DO need a 'Tech Industry Speculation' category...
- planktonx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Hmm... a version of Linux wherein most applications are web based, but once the application is accessed from the internet(cached), it can still be used offline. The OS is optimized for internet use, something like your web browser extensions spilled over to the OS (thin client + 1). Google web applications that are used are cached and saved to your disk, ready for next use. Google common libraries is pre-installed with the OS, so that when you're offline, the web application uses the local copy. Auto-update keeps these libraries in its latest and greatest version.
The only catch would be big brother could be watching every time you use it. - growler1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd much rather have my OS on flash, carry it with me, and have all hardware capable enough for it to run and surf quickly.
- chrism1128, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Maybe it will run on the Apple iPhone that was released last year. no, this year. Oh no, that's right, next year.
Don't post this crap again unless you have a download link included in the story! - g0rdy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'm waiting for the google car or the iCar
- tamar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Scoble's comment to that post is golden.
- PRlME, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1i'm just waiting for them to team up with ubuntu. then that would be some thing to talk about.
- PRlME, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1i would also like to thank google for the summer of code project that helped with Blender 3D
- michaelwilde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Who cares about GoogleOS... come on post something that matters to the world. GoogleOS or whatever the heck its call is just plain boring... just what the world needs.. YET ANOTHER LINUX DISTRO.
Unless they do some deal with Dell / Lenovo / HP / Toshiba that makes the computer mfgr, more money then MSFT to bundle it.. its a who-cares, me-too idea.- mercurysquad, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1That's what people said when GTalk was released..... but it's gaining momentum.
- aer0sense, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You understand that to access it you will need to be using Windows, OSX, or Linux with a compatitable browser.
Its not really an OS if its online. - DavidDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I find all of this speculation about a Google OS to be utterly asinine. Instead of speculating about a nonexistent OS, why don't you get involved with a community that is building *real* operating systems & applications and help to make them better? You have a lot of choice in terms of involvement and community. This snipe isn't directed so much at casual pie-in-the-sky users as it is the tech writers who are building up this ridiculous speculation.
- daxsymbiont, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0someone from google posted a comment on slashdot about this subject about a year ago and said google OS exists and it is a linux version for internal use of the company only and didn't think at the time it'd ever become public.
- plokij909, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2what a worthless article... it may be this, it may be that....
Inaccurate. -
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