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Poll: Do You Want to Use Chrome OS?

16 points by coderdude 16y ago

theBobMcCormick 16y ago
I'd be interested in giving it a spin. Currently I'm dubious of the value of a browser-only OS without real local apps, but back in 2007 I was pretty dubious of a "smartphone" that had neither a keyboard nor a stylus. <shrug/>
rms 16y ago
Yes!
wwortiz 16y ago
I want to be able to use chrome os in my browser (Chrome) while still using my normal os. Some of the features look pretty nifty like user sessions per window and other such things.
- charlesju 16y ago
  Here is the difference. Almost every startup I know uses Google Apps and Docs. I can't really see a huge switch to Chrome OS when it comes out. I love my Mac and I do not see any reason for me to switch.
  - wwortiz 16y ago
    That was my point chrome os without the os edit: chrome doesn't have these features atm.
    - jlees 16y ago
      So... Chrome, then.
jlees 16y ago
Having seen the sheer amount of tools listed by HN readers in other threads, and understandably so, I doubt many people here would want to (or be able to) use it for their daily work. Until 280 North take over the world, that is.
- idoh 16y ago
  "Until Motorola takes over the world, that is." FTFY
chubs 16y ago
I'm still not convinced of the point of chrome os. I mean, isn't android pretty much already what chrome os is meant to be?
- InclinedPlane 16y ago
  Sort of, but not exactly. Android is very much oriented toward mobile uses, touch-screen UI, apps, etc. Chrome OS is oriented specifically for netbooks. To highlight a specific difference in use: the android UI optimizes for being used for a few minutes at a time, Chrome OS optimizes for being used for hours at a time. I'm not convinced Chrome OS is necessarily better than android for these particular uses but I certainly would love to have lots of different paradigms tested in the market and compete with and cross-pollinate each other.
marcusbooster 16y ago
"Google's vice president for Chrome engineering, Linus Upson, believes that 60% of businesses could immediately switch to Chrome OS and put corporate system administrators out of work." And then what happens when Google ditches the project, ala Wave, after it's unable to communicate what it actually does.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
storborg 16y ago
60% of businesses could immediately switch to Google Docs from MS Office, but they haven't.
- idoh 16y ago
  Unfortunately Google Docs isn't ready for commercial use just yet. I use it at work and it is OK for small pieces of work but I'd not trust anything important to it, I've been burned enough by it.
  - giardini 16y ago
    And, of course, you've never been burned by using Microsoft products!8-))
jsz0 16y ago
No. Why give up native applications? You could run Chrome on Ubuntu and get the best of both worlds. It's disappointing that Google decided to re-invent the wheel here instead of helping assorted desktop Linux projects or perhaps doing a ChromeOS window manager of sorts that could be plugged into any distribution. What's the point of using a desktop OS that is more limited than a SmartPhone OS?
- stcredzero 16y ago
  No. Why give up native applications? With NaCl, you may not have to, plus the user would have a much more secure system.
- jlees 16y ago
  Security. Speed. Control.
nhashem 16y ago
In my opinion Chrome OS is going to bomb. - Tablets are going to eat up whatever market share netbooks have. I bought my girlfriend a netbook about a year and a half ago and it's a nice device for taking to a coffee shop or sit around in bed and browse the web and maybe send a few personal e-mails. And a tablet would be an even nicer device for those tasks. - Google should be smart enough to not risk their burgeoning Android growth by confusing users. - Almost every office worker I knows still uses some sort of thick client application that would be grossly frustrating to use as a web-based application. Photoshop. Excel. Visual Studio. Etc. I love web-based applications and Google Spreadsheets is great for creating a list of who owes who for that ski trip, but there's no way I'd ever try and crunch real numbers. - Moms aren't going to use it because tablets are better. Office workers aren't going to use it because they still need thick-client apps. Developers may be curious enough to play around with it for 10 minutes, but that's about it. It was an interesting idea a year ago and maybe a good way to hedge the Android bet. But the Android bet paid off, so in my opinion Google has no reason to keep going down this path.
- hga 16y ago
  What about grandparents with poor eyesight? That joke next generations of the iPad Photoshop aside, tablets are never going to have 24 inch diagonal screens. My father's stuck with Windows because of legacy apps and he must have a large screen with large print, but if it'll run Skype my mom would be perfectly satisfied with Chrome OS and my sysadmin load would be significantly reduced.
wvenable 16y ago
I believe the only market for Chrome OS is in inexpensive light-weight portable computers. It's the perfect OS for a machine with extremely limited capabilities. There's plenty of room in the market for something like an iPad but with only the capability and the computing power to surf the web if it's also a fraction of the price.
wlk 16y ago
Quoting Steve Wozniak: "Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window". I apply it to cloud storage in general.
ine 16y ago
I don't think Hacker News readers are the target users; personally, I want it so I can have my parents use it.

16 points by coderdude 16y ago

I'd be interested in giving it a spin. Currently I'm dubious of the value of a browser-only OS without real local apps, but back in 2007 I was pretty dubious of a "smartphone" that had neither a keyboard nor a stylus. <shrug/>

rms 16y ago

Yes!

wwortiz 16y ago

I want to be able to use chrome os in my browser (Chrome) while still using my normal os. Some of the features look pretty nifty like user sessions per window and other such things.

charlesju 16y ago
Here is the difference. Almost every startup I know uses Google Apps and Docs. I can't really see a huge switch to Chrome OS when it comes out. I love my Mac and I do not see any reason for me to switch.
- wwortiz 16y ago
  That was my point chrome os without the os edit: chrome doesn't have these features atm.
  - jlees 16y ago
    So... Chrome, then.

jlees 16y ago

Having seen the sheer amount of tools listed by HN readers in other threads, and understandably so, I doubt many people here would want to (or be able to) use it for their daily work. Until 280 North take over the world, that is.

idoh 16y ago
"Until Motorola takes over the world, that is." FTFY

chubs 16y ago

I'm still not convinced of the point of chrome os. I mean, isn't android pretty much already what chrome os is meant to be?

InclinedPlane 16y ago
Sort of, but not exactly. Android is very much oriented toward mobile uses, touch-screen UI, apps, etc. Chrome OS is oriented specifically for netbooks. To highlight a specific difference in use: the android UI optimizes for being used for a few minutes at a time, Chrome OS optimizes for being used for hours at a time. I'm not convinced Chrome OS is necessarily better than android for these particular uses but I certainly would love to have lots of different paradigms tested in the market and compete with and cross-pollinate each other.

marcusbooster 16y ago

"Google's vice president for Chrome engineering, Linus Upson, believes that 60% of businesses could immediately switch to Chrome OS and put corporate system administrators out of work." And then what happens when Google ditches the project, ala Wave, after it's unable to communicate what it actually does.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

storborg 16y ago

60% of businesses could immediately switch to Google Docs from MS Office, but they haven't.

idoh 16y ago
Unfortunately Google Docs isn't ready for commercial use just yet. I use it at work and it is OK for small pieces of work but I'd not trust anything important to it, I've been burned enough by it.
- giardini 16y ago
  And, of course, you've never been burned by using Microsoft products!8-))

jsz0 16y ago

No. Why give up native applications? You could run Chrome on Ubuntu and get the best of both worlds. It's disappointing that Google decided to re-invent the wheel here instead of helping assorted desktop Linux projects or perhaps doing a ChromeOS window manager of sorts that could be plugged into any distribution. What's the point of using a desktop OS that is more limited than a SmartPhone OS?

stcredzero 16y ago
No. Why give up native applications? With NaCl, you may not have to, plus the user would have a much more secure system.
jlees 16y ago
Security. Speed. Control.

nhashem 16y ago

In my opinion Chrome OS is going to bomb. - Tablets are going to eat up whatever market share netbooks have. I bought my girlfriend a netbook about a year and a half ago and it's a nice device for taking to a coffee shop or sit around in bed and browse the web and maybe send a few personal e-mails. And a tablet would be an even nicer device for those tasks. - Google should be smart enough to not risk their burgeoning Android growth by confusing users. - Almost every office worker I knows still uses some sort of thick client application that would be grossly frustrating to use as a web-based application. Photoshop. Excel. Visual Studio. Etc. I love web-based applications and Google Spreadsheets is great for creating a list of who owes who for that ski trip, but there's no way I'd ever try and crunch real numbers. - Moms aren't going to use it because tablets are better. Office workers aren't going to use it because they still need thick-client apps. Developers may be curious enough to play around with it for 10 minutes, but that's about it. It was an interesting idea a year ago and maybe a good way to hedge the Android bet. But the Android bet paid off, so in my opinion Google has no reason to keep going down this path.

hga 16y ago
What about grandparents with poor eyesight? That joke next generations of the iPad Photoshop aside, tablets are never going to have 24 inch diagonal screens. My father's stuck with Windows because of legacy apps and he must have a large screen with large print, but if it'll run Skype my mom would be perfectly satisfied with Chrome OS and my sysadmin load would be significantly reduced.

wvenable 16y ago

I believe the only market for Chrome OS is in inexpensive light-weight portable computers. It's the perfect OS for a machine with extremely limited capabilities. There's plenty of room in the market for something like an iPad but with only the capability and the computing power to surf the web if it's also a fraction of the price.

wlk 16y ago

Quoting Steve Wozniak: "Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window". I apply it to cloud storage in general.

ine 16y ago

I don't think Hacker News readers are the target users; personally, I want it so I can have my parents use it.