Google Chrome OS

Google recently announced their plans to release Chrome OS, an operating system that is built around the idea of running the Chrome web browser as the primary applications platform. No one has seen nary a peep of the software and yet it already has everyone talking about what it means to the likes of Microsoft. Touted as a new way to think about the OS, Google believes it will change how we think about netbooks and the things we use them for.

It's probably no great secret that I don't find the news at all surprising. I'd previously written that the Chrome web browser was more application engine than actual browser and the progression of the Chrome OS seems like the natural next step. In the purest sense, Google's vision of the future has us running all the programs we used to on our desktops via web applications hosted and delivered via the cloud (although that term is grossly overused). They built a browser to run the programs faster and now they're building an OS for that browser to run on. No bloat, no messy installations and everyone is using all those fancy web apps that Google has been spending all their time designing. Hmm.

Give it another 5 years and we'll all be talking about Google like we talk about Microsoft now. They really are changing the way we use our computers and like any great behemoth, we'll eventually cry monopoly all while begrudgingly using their products to become more efficient and effective at whatever it is we do. I, for one, welcome our new overlords.

Mobile OS Wars

There is a lot of buzz surrounding the upcoming release of the Palm Pre smartphone. It is being touted as the next in a long list of iPhone killers, only people say this one might actually best the device from Apple. Who's to say which is really the best, I'm sure everyone will argue about it ad nauseum. It seems the smartphone choice is a very personal one and if you asked 5 people for their opinions, you're likely to get 7 different answers.

The increasing discussion about smartphone preference among friends and colleagues has me wondering what really impacts people's choices. I think we can all agree that marketing and branding play a pivotal role, but the real meat of what makes people happy with their phone is usability. Aside from the ergonomics aspect, like screen and keyboard, people care about what they can do with their phone. What's the thing that fosters all those fancy applications and functions? It's the OS, of course.

For a phone to work well, the OS has to offer a good platform. The article linked above compares several of the mobile versions that are floating around the market but it probably deserves a much larger discussion. Unlike computers, which has one OS dominating most of the market, mobile devices seems to be diversifying at a blistering pace. Even if you're not a techno-geek, PalmOS, Blackberry OS, iPhone OS, Windows Mobile, Android and webOS are all things you've probably heard talked about. Most people really don't think about what OS their phone is running, but if you want your Internet Life in your pocket, it really is the make or break component. If you need any evidence that it matters, consider that Google is very closely tied to the existence of Android. Google rarely gets involves in things that aren't going to be a part of our daily life in a few years (if they aren't now) so... yeah.