Chrome OS

[Sombeech]

http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/



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[Sombeech]

I'm gonna give it a go. I just installed Ubuntu the other day.


....I want my money back

[DiscGo]

You know, I love Google but I don't really get the whole Chrome OS. Google is usually innovative and they find ways to make things profitable for their shareholders and intuitive and beneficial for their users but I just don't get the Chome OS.


1st- You have to pay for it
2nd- I don't really get how it is anything more than a robust version of Chome
3rd- Yes, I do use the internet a lot but I also do a lot of things without the internet. What happens with my computer when I have no internet and am unable to access the cloud with all my files
4th- It sounds like Chrome OS is on track to be the first OS to have less functionality and purpose than a Mac. Who would buy a computer with real hardware to run Chome?

[Sombeech]

1st- You have to pay for it

Forget it then. I'm not paying for a beefed up Google account.

[Cirrus2000]

4th- It sounds like Chrome OS is on track to be the first OS to have less functionality and purpose than a Mac.

[accadacca]

4th- It sounds like Chrome OS is on track to be the first OS to have less functionality and purpose than a Mac.

O jeez dood. Can I have some of that weed. Google and Apple are known to be much more user friendly then anything that Mr. Gates puts out. Common knowledge in the tech world. They have won countless user interface design awards over the years and are continually voted the easiest to use out of the box. You must be too deep into the hardware side of things to understand this...I work on frontend systems, UI.

[DiscGo]

The iPhone is awesome and certainly the best put together phone in the world. I love Google. I have been very impressed with most of their products and the seminars I have attended that were put on by Google have REALLY impressed me. So it isn't that I dislike Google, it is just that I am a fan of practicality.

Macs are the best computers in the world as long as all you want to do is surf the web, or do Mac approved tasks. But can you even imagine how much our entire world would be held back if all programs had to be approved by Windows to work? In the case of Google Chrome OS, if everything really is in the cloud, what happens with your laptop when the cloud is unavailable? If internet is a requirement for your computer to work, then it stands to reason that your computer is worthless without the internet and I believe we all use our laptops in areas where we don't always have internet (airports, cars, the desert, etc.).

It is also my understanding that Google plans on following Apple's model of needing to approve applications in order for them to work in their OS. I think the main reason why Chrome hasn't taken off is because you cannot currently use the plugins that you can use in IE or Firefox. I believe that will be a bigger issue with their OS.

Say what you want about me or Windows users but I know a lot of people that wouldn't have jobs if they had to wait for their software to be approved to be used. How many Mac users really can do everything they need on a Mac? Those who can do everything on a Mac have surely found a perfect fit for themselves but the average person relies on the openness of Windows much more than most even realize.

[RedMan]

How many Mac users really can do everything they need on a Mac? Those who can do everything on a Mac have surely found a perfect fit for themselves but the average person relies on the openness of Windows much more than most even realize.

Obviously you don't own a mac.
After four years on a mac you couldn't pay me to take a Windows machine.

[DiscGo]

Obviously you don't own a mac.

True. I do not. Though I do IT for about 50 Macs and they consistently have as many problems as the PCs do if not more. So I AM very familiar with Macs.

After four years on a mac you couldn't pay me to take a Windows machine.

Do you run VMware Fusion? It seems like to make the Mac really worth it, you need fusion. And if you do run Fusion it is the Windows machine in the background which provides the functionality needed.

For the record, not everything I need runs on Windows and I don't think Windows is perfect. But I am a much bigger fan of Linux and Windows for their openness.

[stefan]

Macs are the best computers in the world as long as all you want to do is surf the web, or do Mac approved tasks.

[Sombeech]

I kinda felt the same way after installing Ubuntu.

At first it was like "Sweet, a different operating system. Wow, look at it boot up. Sweet wallpapers. It comes with Open Office and Mozilla Firefox"

Then, after I shared my external hard drive, changed my screensaver settings, and watched a few clips on Hulu.... I started to wonder what I could actually do with it that was new and exciting.

It's frozen on me 3X in several days just watching Hulu. I've had to hard reboot it. And there's only a fraction of open source software that is compatible with Ubuntu.

Nonetheless, I'm glad I tried it out just so I could see "what I've been missing".

[DiscGo]

Ubuntu is pretty sweet. I have had it on multiple computers and only had never had it lock up on me. Ubuntu is especially great for networking. If you have port monitoring turned on your switch, you can use Ubuntu to monitor everything every computer on your network does with the internet.


We have used it to monitor traffic and then hear phone calls that were on IP phones, verify who was using the most bandwidth, see what sites everyone is visiting, etc.

When you go to setup topology (or just multiple wireless routers or access points) on a location you can use Ubuntu's wireless tools to verify the channel on which you should broadcast, where you should place your APs, etc.


It is difficult to really group everyone into one category, but the smartest IT people I know are almost all linux lovers. Linux totally appeals to a certain demographic and those are often the ones capable of doing amazing things. So I wouldn't write Ubuntu off yet. I think that Ubuntu could very well replace Windows in the next 10-15 years and there are some incredible programs on Linux that you cannot find elsewhere.

[DiscGo]

Macs are the best computers in the world as long as all you want to do is surf the web, or do Mac approved tasks.

Say what you want about me or your Macs, but I would be really surprised if you Mac guys don't know on some level that what I am saying is right.

How many start up companies (that are not websites) start out in people's basements? If any one company had to approve every program in the world, then either EVERYTHING would cost more money to pay for the army of full time employees which would have to review every program in the world, or you would have a lot less programs.


I realize that for some of you guys loving your Macs is close to a religion to you and I really don't mean to upset anyone, or disrespect your passion for your computer. I really do think that Apple makes a solid product and for a lot people (who really don't use their computers for much more than emailing and surfing the web or uploading their pictures), the Mac is a great option.

I liken the Macs to driving a bus. I drove a bus for years and I really enjoyed it. I believe that paralleling parking a bus and really driving a bus in general to be a lot easier than driving a car. You just have to know its capabilities and limits. For the record I am not comparing a Mac to a bus in terms of speed, or maneuverability. Just that Macs have more limits and if you stay within those limits and have no need to go outside of them, then you'll love it.

[theking648]

I agree with everything DiscGo said. except this part " iPhone is awesome and certainly the best put together phone in the world" I'm going to support my droid on that one.


but lets keep in mind here that Chrome OS is really only intended for netbooks. I do not agree with the way google is setting it up. when i first heard about a google operating system I was excited. now after what I've learned about it, I'm very disappointed with google, but I'm not going to dis on them too bad... who else do you see trying to come up with different operating systems??

[stefan]

If any one company had to approve every program in the world

huh?

I really do think that Apple makes a solid product and for a lot people (who really don't use their computers for much more than emailing and surfing the web or uploading their pictures), the Mac is a great option.
Just that Macs have more limits and if you stay within those limits and have no need to go outside of them, then you'll love it.

what exactly makes you qualified to talk about the full spectrum of use of a computer?

[DiscGo]

I'm going to support my droid on that one.

I have heard good things about the new droid but I have not used one or seen one.

I'm very disappointed with google, but I'm not going to dis on them too bad...

Yeah, I don't know. Google usually makes things great, so I have reason to believe they'll pull it off but so far I am skeptical. I would assume there would have to be an offline mode to access your files.

[Sombeech]

My only reason to switch to a Mac would be performing some task that wasn't available through Windows. ---I've yet to find one that I need.

My Windows machines probably lock up on me once every 3 months or so, 5 minutes later after a reboot, I'm right back on. Definitely not a reason to switch to a machine with less program options.

I'm taking a rough guess that Mac computer users are @15% of the desktop/laptop crowd now. People ask me to fix their computers, and you know what? @15% of them are Mac users. My super math skillz tell me Macs have the same amount of problems. Either that, or the Mac problems are VERY small but the users are complete idiots compared to PC users. I'll be nice, and stick with the former. ;)

Of course, I'd rather work on PCs so they're stuck with spending their whole Saturday going to the nearest Mac shop an hour's drive away. Ask them if they'd rather have a computer freeze for 5 minutes every 3 months.

[JP]

what exactly makes you qualified to talk about the full spectrum of use of a computer?

Now this is comical Disco, I hope you got the same laughs out of that comment

[DiscGo]

If any one company had to approve every program in the world

huh?

Do you understand that Apple approves every program for their systems? Part of the way that Apple can keep their computers safe is by having control of what is allowed to run on their computers (which in part is why you hear stories about Apps being approved or disapproved for iPhones by Apple). Microsoft and Linux on the other hand allows any and everyone to write and create programs for their Operating Systems. Almost every medium sized company in the world (and up) use some form of custom software.

You can install Windows on any machine, including making your own. Apple does not allow their OS to be installed on 3rd party systems allowing them to control the hardware their customers use in an attempt to control their customers' experience.

what exactly makes you qualified to talk about the full spectrum of use of a computer?

Well among other things, I am an "IT Consultant" (that is my actual job title). My job consists of consulting companies on what to build their infrastructure and then implementing and maintaining that plan. It is literally my job to stay up to date on IT solutions (including different forms of computers) and then maintain my customers networks using those solutions.

I don't know everything but about every OS. But I do support a lot of different computer and a lot of different users with different needs. Almost every company that is a client of my company has some form of custom software (time clocks, heating and air conditioning, firewall, 3rd party application like an insurance quoting program etc.) on which their company depends.

My experience is that Macs are generally only a solid option for web designers, architects, or people who are running VMware Fusion (which gives them the functionality they need).

[asdf]

Making some great points there Dan but don't forget about Apples proprietary hardware issues.