Windows has a new competitor.

[Kev]

I reckon a google operating system would have a far greater chance of success than Linux as EVERYBODY uses google as a search bar.

Google is my homepage and has been for probably the past 8 years and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

On the other hand I have never installed, used or even seen Linux in operation.

If their operating system was free and easy to install I could see it being especially popular on laptops.

Google is now almost as monolithic as Microsoft though and so its operating system will likely draw a ton of criticism and hate from the same people who hate Microsoft's operating sytems.

I can't see many people putting it on their despktops but if you've got a notebook used primarily for the internet and communication a streamlined, open source, novel operating system that caters specificially to those needs could be very popular.

I wonder if they intend to branch into the realm of convergance devices, mobile phones, pda's etc as I expect Google Chrome would work well on those devices too.

It has a far better chance of being succesful than Linux, which is something only for the hardcore techhy hobbyist, google chrome could easily target and attract the young, tech savvy mobile operators and workers, people with iphones, blackberry's, little notebooks etc.

I predict it will be a success.

[Memphis]

We're all already moving towards web based operating systems/applications without actually noticing. Storing files/photos online, using office apps online, I cant remember the last time I downloaded a film/fight/porn and watched it on a media player installed on my PC.

Its the future

[brucelee]

I've been conducting tutorials and seminars on the use of Linux and open source applications for the past 6 years but I'm using Microsoft in my office. Hehehe. There have been many incompatibilities with Linux and the hardware I'm using so I'm forced to use Microsoft. Most of the computers I'm handling though run on Linux Mandriva. It's so sad that many hardware manufacturers don't consider Linux when making their products.

We could have succeeded in the Linux revolution.


Still, the fight against Microsoft is alive and we hope to succeed someday.

[CGM]

Bill Gates was asked once "What is the secret to your success?" and his response was something to the effect "I was in the right place at the right time".

When IBM was developing the first PC in the early 1980s, it was between Microsoft and Digital Research as to who would supply the operating system. Digital Research actually had the contract, but when it came to crunch time, their O/S didn't work well. Luckily for Gates, he had previously decided to develop his O/S (MS-DOS) anyway, and was able to step into the breach created by Digital's failure.

At this point, IBM tried to buy MS-DOS outright from Gates, but Gates wouldn't sell, he would only license DOS to IBM. And the rest is history.

It's an interesting story, here is a good starting point to find out more.

MS-DOS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia