

Chrome OS is scary enough to quit Google. - aresant

I like Google's UI. I like the results.<p>But I absolutely hate that with Chrome OS they are making a continued subversive attempt to turn you and me into a "node" that exists only for the purpose of consuming advertising.<p>Any for-profit business in this space, Bing / Ask / Yahoo / etc included will follow Google's lead into that arena eventually, but give me a break.<p>I would sure rather pay a couple of hundred bucks every few years than trade my personal HD for the "cloud".<p>Google scares me. The AOL search release debacle a few years back showed how easy it is for them to identify you by name / by address / etc but I always feel an odd sense of security on my disconnected PC.<p>Am I suddenly a luddite?
======
Nogwater
I think you're being way too paranoid. Just because you use Chrome OS doesn't
mean you have to use Google Docs, Apps, etc... If it turns out that Google
uses an evil key logger, then use the fork of the project that doesn't. If you
don't like their cloud, use your own, or don't put your files online. It's up
to you.

Google is nothing like Microsoft in this case. There is no lock-in. The OS
(Linux) and the browser (Chromium) are, and will continue to be, open source.
If you don't like Google's version of the quick-launch browser, just switch.

~~~
aresant
Counterpoint: if Google succeeds and grabs significant market share and
BestBuy starts selling netbooks with ChromeOS bundled to your your non-techie
friend, relative, etc what happens then? They have no choice.

~~~
kaiserama
Well if they're anything like MY non-techie friends, relatives, etc...they'll
call YOU.

------
aj
Not at all. I have long had the same belief and the Google Chrome OS only
reinforces my belief. The sheer amount of data that Google collects only
increases with the ever enlarging ecosystem of products they provide, _all_ of
them tied at the backend and all the data connectible.

For another take, read
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10282312-2.html?tag=mnco...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10282312-2.html?tag=mncol;title)

~~~
aresant
Wow, hadn't seen that link. Good analysis.

Google is "accidentally" doing what DARPA set out years ago to develop with
their "Total Information Awareness (TIA) Program", eg
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Awareness_Office>

I swear I don't wear tinfoil hats to bed.

------
Ennis
Surprisingly (maybe not really) there are plenty of people who share this
sentiment. This is who I thought of when I heard about Opera Unite. I figured
it could appeal to some people because that space (non-cloud) is not really
getting much attention/excitement any more.

------
rms
Personally, I plan on booting Chrome.

------
amitu
Don't look at it as a threat, look at it as an opportunity. What Google is
doing with Chrome OS is making one application the entire point of OS. They
are wrapping linux kerner around Chrome. This can be done for Firefox too, and
for Konquerer/Opera etc.

We have always thought that Operating Systems have become very complex, we do
not need all those /devs and /procs, we do not really care about sysctrls etc.
We want to build fast desktop applications.

Javascript is becoming faster everyday. Leave that PyXPCOM is probably within
the grasp in a year or two max, or even sooner.

GNU/Linux has traditionally lagged in GUI app development, there are so many
half mature options to pick from, the only clear winner coming out to be
Mono/CSharp, which is ironical at best.

Firefox is becoming more and more interesting with the advent of HTML5.

All this is leading to an eventuality that Firefox should be able to do most
of desktop applications. There is no reason why Gnome Terminal, Pidgin,
Transmission can not be written in Javascript/PyXPCOM.

This could rid us from the plethora of /etc files, from the command line.

What sites you visit once that future arrives, and what are going to be the
cookie retention policies are going to be completely under your control.

Its not about privacy, they are rethinking how operating systems are done.

