Will Google's Online Operating System Revolutionize the Computer

Originally posted by SyphonX
SSD's have been on the market for a long time, but have also been overpriced far too long. They are lightning fast and twice as reliable.

Oooh, yes..

I have wanted one for a while, but the price is prohibitive. Normal HD are the bottleneck in PC gaming, get rid of that with a SSD and your laughing. Problem is, a decent sized one would cost almost as much as my PC cost me to build.

that big and old hardrive is useless my friend, store all your information in ours

1 - hard drives nowadays are becoming smaller
2 - they are incredibly cheap


yes, this may be good to some systems that want to use no hardware, like some hardware for a TV, that you want it to be small, so it may not be able to support a lot of GB, then you could store yours videos, music in a remote location and download thought internet

but to say that this will replace hard drives ... its just wrong

off course in some years, it may be true, maybe everything is going to be connected to the internet @ high speeds and we wont need hard drives if you dont want to safely store your information, but right now, I dont think this is the answer

So you'll be running a blade server that weighs like 2 lbs, and no more PC crashes that destroy my last minute papers, nice.

Nah. Cant play my games to the fullest extent on linux. I love windows. Not mlinux, not mac osx.

I honestly still content that linux as a gaming platform is just as good if not better than Windows; all that is lacking is games being made for it.

Why is it potentially better? Because the operating system itself is lighter, less resource hungry, than Windows. Added on top of this is that on Linux, you don't need to be running A/V software, adware protection, etc. So there is less overhead to actually get the game to run, and more for the game itself.

Why aren't developers making games for Linux? Because there are no gaming users. Essentially everyone thinks that Windows is the only choice. Many that have heard of Linux think it is some big scary "have to be a computer science major" type of system. This, at this point and for some time now, could not be farther from the truth.

How will this change? While widespread marketing campaigns by the likes of Microsoft may extend the company's lifespan, ultimately the better product will prevail. Especially in times such as these, with the economy the way it is, more people will make the switch. Why pay $200 for an upgrade to 7($400 if its a new installation) and then have to purchase most of your software on top of that, when you can get say Mint, an incredibly easy to use distro for newcomers, for free, and have access to literally tens of thousands of apps that work as well or often better than their commercial counterparts?

Most of these first to switch over will be casual computer users; those who browse the internet, check their facebook, come to ATS, check the news, play a game of minesweeper, etc.

Then the casual gamers, those who own a console and do most of their gaming there, maybe play the odd older or slightly outdated games, who may even be attracted to the huge amounts of emulators for older systems that are easily gotten and installed on Linux boxes.

At this point, developers will catch on and start making at least the odd game for Linux. The hardcore gamers will slowly follow.

I think I should point out at this point that it isn't Linux itself that is 'bad' at playing games; it is totally compatibility issues. Things in Linux simply don't work the same; where a windows game is made to use .dll files, central registry, etc, Linux based games(and let me add that there are thousands of those readily and freely available, up to and including full 3D first person shooters, mmorpg's, etc,) use text based config files, etc.

I see Google, a huge company, maybe even the only one in the technology world with a name and therefore sway comparable to Microsoft, backing an alternative to Windows as being the catalyst that opens peoples eyes to the fact that there are options.

Originally posted by jaynkeel

Will Google's Online Operating System Revolutionize the Computer

www.foxnews.com

That big old hard drive in your computer? Google says you don’t need it anymore. The company is also betting you won't need that Windows, Macintosh or Linux stuff either. No, Google wants you to access, operate, and edit all your files on the Internet.

To help with that, the company has developed a lightweight operating system of its own, the first new competition for Windows and Macs in years. It's called Chrome OS. And it could have a profound effect on the way we work with computers.

You won't be able to put it on your current PC. But Google wants it to power your NEXT computer.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Can anyone imagine what would happen, then, when there was an outage? Imagine the level of power and potential for control that would rest in the hands of Google? No thanks. I, for one, am not impressed with Chrome as a browser because, like Internet Explorer, one does not have easy access to add-ons which block advertising and other wasteful, inefficient and trashy "requirements". Will Chrome OS allow the use of Firefox? I wonder. Another difficulty is the fact that there are still many who have internet access only via copper wires as dial up through no fault of their own. In my case I do not live in an area that has Cable service. I, therefore, am on the internet via Mobile Broadband (if you want to call download speeds of less than 20 kbs broadband) and I have limits on downloading beyond which I have to pay extra. In my circumstance would I be inclined to stay online for all my computer operations? Hell no. Way too expensive and slow. So here are a couple of thoughts for you all, and Google and Verison as well, to consider.

You folks who live in densely populated areas and have access to fast cable internet perhaps do not realize how lucky you are....

tt

Hmph... And here I am looking to revert back to an Agrarian society...

No way in hell would I ever consider using an operating system hosted on someone else's system that I have no control over whether I can access it or not.
Nor would I want any of my files being perused by some random Google perv who would definitely take liberties with his "power".

And you Americans should be double concerned about this considering Obama has got his Internet Kill Switch!
Hmm, O.I.K.S... Nice abbreviation

I am all for Tablet computing... Its quite easy and can be enjoyable. But our society is too focused on "Enjoyment" and "Instant Gratification" that we have been blinded to what is truly important. We have become blinded to the real enemy... Lured and placated by shiny objects, its beyond absurd!

Ooo... Shiny!!!!

Oh I got distracted there... Damn it.

People may say it will never happen and others say it will if developers go that way, the mass will follow.
You are both wrong... The thing that will drive consumers to this new tech, is whether or not Hard Drive manufacturers fold to pressure and stop producing consumer hard disks.
The day HD's stock starts decreasing consistently, you will know your #ed.

reply to post by Sovaka


Cloud or not, the same amount of information is roughly the same; just the location and physical owner change. Thus, the total amount of harddrives will be roughly the same, plus upkeep/replacements, etc.

Also usb keys can be used not only for storage but to bot off of too. They would also have to disappear as well.

Are manufacturer's in a multi-billion dollar industry ust going to close up shop?

Originally posted by wisintel
Another place you can see this trend clearly is with Apples new Macbook Air. It doesn't have a disk drive and all the software for the computer will be downloadeable from an app store.

media.www.concordy.com...

Lovely. They are trying to find ways to make everyone buy everything off an online store. Right now its easy to find just about anything online for free (computer software, music, movies (even in bluray quality), magazines, porn, etc). Sales of CD's and DVD's are dropping quickly. Most music artists now make their money touring, not off album sales. Google & Apple are just looking for ways to monitor everything we download. I'm sure apple will later on sell everything in a app store.

Say goodbye to all your privacy. This is NOT a good idea, in my opinion. I like having a personal computer and personal hard drive, thanks but the biggest ADVERTISING company called Google, can keep their hands off of my private information!