

Google Chrome OS will have no native apps, data will be stored in the cloud. - steveklabnik
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/19/chrome-os-event/

======
gprisament
Chrome OS will presumably include Google Native Client support so that native
code can run (with some limitations) (long but good video on Google Native
Client: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgng4C18nNk>).

I'd much rather have an OS with the capabilities to sandbox applications, but
that can still run an arbitrary binary. For example, I cannot imagine hardware
device manufacturers writing drivers that are "cloud apps".

~~~
wmf
Chrome OS doesn't support native _apps_ but the drivers are regular Linux
drivers. Of course, you probably can't _install_ drivers, so whatever drivers
come with the computer are what you get. I don't see this as a problem since
netbooks don't have slots and most USB devices use class drivers.

------
ntoshev
If you can't run Skype and other instant messangers, interenet experience is
going to be incomplete. I wonder of they are going to do something about it.

~~~
abossy
Where do you draw the line? I'd love text editors and RescueTime as well. My
hope is that Google will succeed in driving innovation on the Web and these
types of apps will become first-class citizens.

~~~
ntoshev
Right now all netbooks sold out there have a camera and it is mostly used for
video calls with Skype. I don't think netbook manufacturers would give such a
major feature up.

I see Google has videochat in GMail with a browser add-on, perhaps it will
come pre-installed with Chrome OS but it would still have little installed
base.

------
greyman
[Google: We believe the web platform is a much simpler way, where the machines
are essentially stateless, more cache-like, but can still be performant. And
yet much easier and simpler for individuals to use.]

My experience is, that for certain tasks, native client application is still
much more convenient. Evernote is a classic example - although online version
of this note-taking software is available, I still enter a note quicker in
native app, which then synchronize the data on the cloud.

It's the same with photo editor, word processor, etc. So, what is really
needed are good native applications, which are able to synchronize their data
with the cloud. But maybe Google will convince me that web-only platform is
better, we will see...

------
leonh
Why is its 'boot time' such a selling point? Does anyone turn off their
machines anyway?

~~~
txxxxd
No, but the reason I don't turn off my machine is that it takes so long to
boot.

~~~
pcc
I feel the same way; but I suspect people in different parts of the world
might think differently.

E.g., in my experience, some people have been very vocally opposed to the idea
of leaving computers on overnight owing to the energy wastage etc. They were
all from Europe, and from precisely the same types of environments where we
would usually leave our machines on permanently (eg postgrad university labs).

Not to generalize, but I wonder if (at least at that time) there was not more
sensitivity to such environmental issues in Europe.

Unfortunately (at least on PCs) the suspend-resume functionality just has
never seemed to work properly ...

~~~
scscsc
Then on what type of computers does suspend-resume work properly?

------
freetard
They still said it will come with native client (chromium does) so it will be
able to run native client apps at least.

~~~
cpr
Yes, but those native client apps run in a sandbox like every other web app,
so they can't access the file system, etc.

------
nl
Anyone know what the device access story is? I saw the stuff about accessing
files on USB sticks, but what about Webcams and Microphones?

There is a W3C working group: <http://www.w3.org/2009/05/DeviceAPICharter>,
but progress appears pretty slow.

Edit: Just saw the Gears Camera API:
<http://code.google.com/p/gears/wiki/CameraAPI>

Edit 2: The Gears Camera API doesn't seem to actually have been implemented,
so I don't know what the plan is.

------
BigRedRussian
I don't agree with this at all,

even though Chrome OS is meant for Netbooks, the number of people that own
netbooks and use them to communicate via Messenger, Skype etc is enormous. And
people who do use Skype on netbooks will not opt for the Chrome OS because you
cannot use Skype in an online application like MSN or Yahoo for example.

Personally I use skype a lot and was looking forward to Chrome OS as a
substitute for Windows/Linux on my netbook, and was even considering buying a
netbook for my girlfriend just for this purpose, however now I will not be
doing that.

------
rms
I think those criticizing Chrome OS for missing obvious features are missing
the point. Google is making a long term play here -- and not even that long
term. In five years, the distinction between the web and desktop will have
completely eroded for non-professional users.

Chrome OS supporting only web apps is not like the iPhone only supporting web
apps; it's like how the Palm Pre only supports web apps.

------
justlearning
I found this OS by opensuse very similar (not sure what to call it, as it is
mentioned that it is an OS around the chrome browser and not affliated to
Google)

<http://www.getchrome.eu/>

They have a disclaimer in the download page: _Chrome OS is not related to
Google. Service provided by SUSE Studio. See the license._

------
liuliu
There are some issues with the data portability IMHO. For example, if you edit
doc in Office Live and then wanna send out with GMail, how would you do that?
Or how will you check out the photos in the camera and see them instantly? The
different security model for web app made those tasks harder.

~~~
dkasper
Seems like you could have some type of remote directory that would allow
normal file operations like uploads to work while still storing the data in
the cloud. Something along the lines of a samba share.

------
fjabre
Finally..! Anyone else hear the war drums? Microsoft should definitely be
worried.. Very worried. In fact msft should have been on the ball with this
years ago but they were too concerned about losing revenue from licensing fees
and their dominance over the desktop. Just goes to show those afraid of change
will be destroyed by it.

It's also interesting to note that this was the computing model used 'back in
the day.' Everything was dumb terminals logging into a mainframe. Looks like
we had it right the first time.

There's always been this kind of pull between putting more smarts at the end
points vs having everyone login into one behemoth multivac (mainframe back
then, the Internet now). It's obvious that Google is putting its stock in the
latter approach. I would go out on a limb and say that computing has been
heading in this direction for a long time and companies like msft have slowed
it down as long as they can but the flood gates are about to burst open..

This should definitely raise some eyebrows over at W3C.. This is a huge
development.

~~~
iuyhgbn
So a machine the size and cost of a laptop but more limited in functionality
than a phone while still requiring an always on network connection?

Yep - there's an Apple + MS destroyer right there!

~~~
fjabre
I think you're missing the bigger picture.

It's a tectonic shift in computing. We're going back to the dumb
terminal/mainframe model. Apple will weather it just fine I'm sure b/c they
control a shitload of devices. Microsoft will not. If they were dead before,
they're worse than dead now.

Google will control the other half of devices but hopefully in a 'non-evil'
way. I sincerely hope owning a device with Chrome OS doesn't force a user into
using Google services although I'm sure there will be some tie-in.

It's about to get interesting..

~~~
iuyhgbn
It's more a threat to Apple.

What google are proposing is to sell a web browser only appliance - for a
limited number of users who only use their windows laptop to run ie this is
great, they no longer have to worry about viruses or steal ms-office to write
a simple letter.

Google can have many more apps for this than apple, because every website is n
'app', developers can write apps simply using javascript/html - there is no
need to buy a mac, learn objective C and join apples dev program and learn
what secret signs you need to know to get your app approved.

Google don't need to approve the app in the same way that they don't need to
approve your website.

To Microsoft, who make their money from business customers running SQLServer
and Windows server licenses, this is about as relevent as Nokia shipping a new
edition of symbian.

~~~
brisance
Problem with your argument is that everything that Chrome OS runs (web apps),
also runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. The reverse is not true. Win32/64/PEF/Mach-O
binaries do not execute on Chrome OS.

------
BenS
This makes delivering rich application experiences with tools like cappuccino
more interesting to me.

------
gchpaco
The code signing is a bit worrisome, but I suppose this isn't really a hacker
OS. And it along with the sandboxing is really the only "complete" solution to
malware.

~~~
wmf
It has "hacker mode" to boot an unsigned OS. (Overall the security
architecture looks quite similar to OLPC.)

------
theschwa
Flash on linux is currently less than stellar, and I see that as something
that would be used pretty commonly. Any ideas on how they plan to deal with
that?

~~~
wmf
Why would we expect Google to fix Flash Player? Fundamentally it's Adobe's
problem.

It should be easier for Adobe to make Flash work on Chrome OS than on Linux,
though, because Chrome OS doesn't have the diversity of duplicate APIs in
normal Linux.

~~~
iuyhgbn
If somebody isn't buying your product because it doesn't do X because of
something company Y supplies

\- it's YOUR problem.

------
Jeema3000
This whole endeavor still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If you want
to make an idiot-proof OS for Grandma, fine, that's a great idea. But why
shoehorn the whole cloud-computing philosophy into it? Most people that a very
simple OS would appeal to are not going to know or care what cloud computing
even is. And furthermore I don't really see much value-add in that anyway,
seeing as how the device is MOBILE and you can already take your applications
and information with you...

------
pchristensen
I've heard that before (cough - iPhone - cough)

~~~
pohl
Did you believe it when you heard it back then? I didn't.

Apple offered "web apps" to placate would-be developers and buy time to refine
the real SDK and work on the App Store model of delivery. (I know that
jailbreakers love to give themselves credit for the SDK, but I think that
fails the Principle of Parsimony in the case of Apple, who tends not to
disclose things until they're ready, and who holds user experience - which web
apps do not provide - above all else.) A lot of people didn't believe an SDK
was coming until it was announced, but I don't think any of them really
thought it through.

I do believe Google's plan is to make the browser the centerpiece, on the
other hand. Their model is to ensure a good _web_ experience, to drive ad
revenue, isn't it? Why would they add a native app API?

~~~
freetard
> Why would they add a native app API?

They already do, chromium comes with native client.

~~~
pohl
That's interesting! Even with restrictive sandboxing, that could allow some
useful native apps within a browser tab.

------
Tichy
Probably you can choose your own cloud, though - if the OS is open source,
nothing is stopping that?

~~~
steveklabnik
Yep. BSD license. You could roll your own and do whatever you want.

~~~
wbkang
The server is not.

------
protomyth
"All the data in the cloud" - I wonder how the Sidekick episode will color
perceptions of this.

~~~
brown9-2
Probably not at all. The people who would be influenced by that were probably
already paranoid about relying on "the cloud".

------
capablanca
So you can't develop Chrome OS on Chrome OS ?

~~~
DomesticMouse
Making a development environment for ChromeOS that works on ChromeOS would be
a first step towards answering PG's clarion call for a woman with a hammer,
no?

------
aidscholar
Time for a world of warcraft web app.

------
steveklabnik
When I submitted this, the story was half-told. Apparently, Gears will still
be allowed to store some things locally. But all data will be synched to the
cloud automatically at all times.

~~~
txxxxd
I think the local disk will probably just be used as a cache to support
offline mode.

~~~
steveklabnik
As someone pointed out to me on Reddit, apparently HTML5 has offline storage
provisions, so it'll be used for that too.

------
ecq
Current operating systems already support multiple computing paradigms
(including the ability to run apps and store data in the "cloud"). Forcing
people into a specific paradigm has been historically proven to be disastrous
(Network Computers, Javastation, etc).

