"It's like Windows except it's gratis, more secure, more control..." It's not really like Windows though is it? I could argue ChromeOS has far less privacy and

"It's like Windows except it's gratis, more secure, more control..." It's not really like Windows though is it? I could argue ChromeOS has far less privacy and is less capable. Sure, ChromeOS presents a simplified and streamlined experience that fits with what many people want in a computer: surf the web, check email, write simple documents. But there is nothing in ChromeOS that you can't do in Windows or Ubuntu or MacOSX. Importantly, in those OSes, I can run desktop apps without worrying about usage data being recorded and tracked (if usage data is recorded, it's opt-in and usually described as "anonymous" data collection). I wonder how many people here would be happy if every action they performed or every app they launched on their computer was recorded by Apple or Microsoft? Yet, this is exactly what ChromeOS potentially does. In ChromeOS, running Google apps is only possible by signing into your Google account. So very quickly, Google builds an incredibly detailed picture of your computer usage: from the sites you browse, to the apps you use, to even the docs you print. They are not capturing this data anonymously either. Knowing clearly what Google tracks and records is a perfectly reasonable expectation. I'm amazed how easily Google have escaped any scrutiny on this matter. There's barely any mention in this thread (and none in the TechCrunch article) of the privacy implications of using ChromeOS. I guess for many in the tech press and the tech community it's a complete non-issue. As someone who cares about privacy, I find that pretty depressing.