6 ms·

Meet Chrome, Google’s Windows Killer

15 points by nickb 18y ago

jamesbritt 18y ago
" ... Chrome is nothing less than a full on desktop operating system that will compete head on with Windows." Say what? A full on desktop operating system? Please.
- sgrove 18y ago
  I don't think pedantic comments really add much to the discussion. The audience here understands what he means, though the writing may not be clear. Chrome could eventually be positioned as a layer between applications and the OS, with an added kick of internet-integrated goodness. Let's ignore the mistakes as long as they don't impede our ability to understand, and instead let's focus on meaningful discussion.
  - jamesbritt 18y ago
    "Let's ignore the mistakes as long as they don't impede our ability to understand, and instead let's focus on meaningful discussion." But the claim about being an OS did impede my understanding. I had to tease out the details from the vacuous hype to get at what the author knew, understood, and had to say on the matter. The claim was not simply a mistake; it was fawning nonsense that soured the article. BTW, I''m unsure if lecturing people on the fine points of discussion is pedantry itself, or just something equally self-serving. But irony, if present, is always welcome.
    - sgrove 18y ago
      That made me chuckle at myself a bit. I think you might be right about my comment on pedantry being pedantic. Point taken, and thanks for bringing that to my attention. I think that even though Arlington gets caught up a bit in what he perceives as the grand struggles between the giants, he understands a large portion of what he writes. He may not quite grasp the difference between platform and OS, but he senses some of the consequences a shift towards a google-centric computing universe would have. That said, I'm growing a bit weary of every techcrunch article being posted on hn. I used to read it avidly when I first began working on my startup, and it provided a great deal of motivation. But looking at it now, quite a bit of it seems to be drama or hyperbole about one topic or another. Much more thought-provoking content on hn.
13ren 18y ago
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=292159 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=292159
- jorgeortiz85 18y ago
  Thanks. This needed to be said. Arrington doesn't get it. Like Microsoft, Windows is already dead. Chrome is Google's attempt to keep the platform of tomorrow (AIR / Silverlight / JavaFX / Chrome?) running on open standards. Google doesn't care a whit about yesterday's platform (Windows).
  - josefresco 18y ago
    Anyone who thinks MS/Windows is dead is the fool here. What is the replacement for Windows exactly that is 'killing' MS? And you fail immediately if you say 'the browser'.
SwellJoe 18y ago
How can it possibly be a Windows killer if it only runs on Windows?
- caudicus 18y ago
  There are Linux and Mac versions coming - they're just releasing first on Windows.
- dhs 18y ago
  It's supposed to commoditize Windows (or any other OS), making it irrelevant. The idea is that the user only ever sees the UI of the Browser, and forgets what Windows even looks like, so that you can swap it against any other OS without them even noticing. It's exactly what Netscape Navigator was supposed to become, a possibility which sparked Bill Gates' desire to "cut off their air supply". Lots of brawling ensued.
  - dhs 18y ago
    Correction: The "cut off their air supply" quote was attributed to MS executive Paul Maritz, not to Bill Gates, by Steve McGeady from Intel. Maritz later denied having said it <http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/990126/microsoft.html http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/990126/microsoft.html >

15 points by nickb 18y ago

" ... Chrome is nothing less than a full on desktop operating system that will compete head on with Windows." Say what? A full on desktop operating system? Please.

sgrove 18y ago
I don't think pedantic comments really add much to the discussion. The audience here understands what he means, though the writing may not be clear. Chrome could eventually be positioned as a layer between applications and the OS, with an added kick of internet-integrated goodness. Let's ignore the mistakes as long as they don't impede our ability to understand, and instead let's focus on meaningful discussion.
- jamesbritt 18y ago
  "Let's ignore the mistakes as long as they don't impede our ability to understand, and instead let's focus on meaningful discussion." But the claim about being an OS did impede my understanding. I had to tease out the details from the vacuous hype to get at what the author knew, understood, and had to say on the matter. The claim was not simply a mistake; it was fawning nonsense that soured the article. BTW, I''m unsure if lecturing people on the fine points of discussion is pedantry itself, or just something equally self-serving. But irony, if present, is always welcome.
  - sgrove 18y ago
    That made me chuckle at myself a bit. I think you might be right about my comment on pedantry being pedantic. Point taken, and thanks for bringing that to my attention. I think that even though Arlington gets caught up a bit in what he perceives as the grand struggles between the giants, he understands a large portion of what he writes. He may not quite grasp the difference between platform and OS, but he senses some of the consequences a shift towards a google-centric computing universe would have. That said, I'm growing a bit weary of every techcrunch article being posted on hn. I used to read it avidly when I first began working on my startup, and it provided a great deal of motivation. But looking at it now, quite a bit of it seems to be drama or hyperbole about one topic or another. Much more thought-provoking content on hn.

13ren 18y ago

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=292159 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=292159

jorgeortiz85 18y ago
Thanks. This needed to be said. Arrington doesn't get it. Like Microsoft, Windows is already dead. Chrome is Google's attempt to keep the platform of tomorrow (AIR / Silverlight / JavaFX / Chrome?) running on open standards. Google doesn't care a whit about yesterday's platform (Windows).
- josefresco 18y ago
  Anyone who thinks MS/Windows is dead is the fool here. What is the replacement for Windows exactly that is 'killing' MS? And you fail immediately if you say 'the browser'.

SwellJoe 18y ago

How can it possibly be a Windows killer if it only runs on Windows?

caudicus 18y ago
There are Linux and Mac versions coming - they're just releasing first on Windows.
dhs 18y ago
It's supposed to commoditize Windows (or any other OS), making it irrelevant. The idea is that the user only ever sees the UI of the Browser, and forgets what Windows even looks like, so that you can swap it against any other OS without them even noticing. It's exactly what Netscape Navigator was supposed to become, a possibility which sparked Bill Gates' desire to "cut off their air supply". Lots of brawling ensued.
- dhs 18y ago
  Correction: The "cut off their air supply" quote was attributed to MS executive Paul Maritz, not to Bill Gates, by Steve McGeady from Intel. Maritz later denied having said it <http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/990126/microsoft.html http://www.wpi.edu/News/TechNews/990126/microsoft.html >