

Poll: Do You Want to Use Chrome OS? - coderdude
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2010/11/chrome-os-poll.php

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jsz0
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
_No. Why give up native applications?_

With NaCl, you may not have to, plus the user would have a _much_ more secure
system.

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

~~~
idoh
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
And, of course, you've never been burned by using Microsoft products!8-))

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nhashem
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
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.

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theBobMcCormick
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/>

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wwortiz
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
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
That was my point chrome os without the os

edit: chrome doesn't have these features atm.

~~~
jlees
So... Chrome, then.

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wvenable
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.

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chubs
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
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.

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

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jlees
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
"Until Motorola takes over the world, that is." FTFY

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

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marcusbooster
_"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.

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rms
Yes!

