Screaming Penguin

So the Chrome OS announcement from Google has been all over the twitterverse and blogosphere today, why all the hype?

Well, for starters, rumors have been rampant for years that Google was going to jump into the operating system fray - and now they have. That's news in and of itself. In addition it's significant that the target is a quick web focus, rather than a full blown OS. And, of course, there are the booming questions of the day, why not just use Android, and or why at all?

My personal take on this is that it makes complete sense. The "why" is easy. Chrome OS is of course just a Linux distro with the Chrome browser and likely some other minor Google polish. This is smart because it's low hanging fruit, they don't have to invent Linux, and they already have a great deal of expertise in tweaking it, so why not put that to use. Chrome itself is already around and doing well, though not yet publicly on Linux (which was another curious part of this announcement, seems like you might get the browser itself to run there first and then go for the OS, but I digress), so that's a no brainer too. Combine that relative ease of entry with the fact that Google is pushing everything towards a browser centric approach anyway, which meshes perfectly with their business model, and it should be clear why Chrome OS makes sense. Strip down the OS make it boot fast and run browser based apps very well, then continue to unleash the browser apps. Personally I already use the heck out of Google Docs, GMail, Maps, Reader, and non Google stuff like Flickr, and more, and all of these really are "applications" built on the browser. The future will continue this trend, and move away from plugins (Flash, Java applets, etc). HTML 5 and Ajax and so on will make plugins unnecessary.

Overall web based apps make sense in many more scenarios than they used to. They are fast, powerful (with HTML 5 they can be multi threaded, and all JavaScript VMs are getting faster), capable of running offline and using offline storage, they still give you zero install/update advantages, and they are tremendously successful - users love them (and the familiar concepts they have, a stack with back and forward buttons, bookmarks, and so on). In addition, they work everywhere without having to wait for porting and or licensing (my GWT apps work on my Android phone and my Wii, now), or having to rely on a manual user install step (I still don't have Silverlight on any of my machines, even if they have versions, and my Flash support varies from machine to machine, for example).

I see a bigger disconnect with "why not Android" than I do with "why" at all. Even so I think that the announcement was pretty much right on with regard to Android:

Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.

They have some overlap, but they aren't the same. Android is great on a mobile device, the "stack" of applications one running in the foreground at a time and so on (with a very limited screen), but it might not make sense on a larger netbook - unless you wanted to forgo multiple windows (or they tweak Android itself). Android won't ever make much sense on full blown desktops, I don't think, but it may find a home on some smaller netbooks. It seems to me the deciding factor there is "do I want to open up 2 or more windows side by side on this thing?" If the answer to that is "no" (because of screen real estate - Android does run multiple apps, just one at a time is on the top of the stack and in the foreground), then Android doesn't make sense.

Also, while Android has many other advantages when it comes to developing "native" apps, they don't really apply to web apps. Web apps can run on Android, but using the built in native setup, within the life cycle and security model, and using Intents and the system UI and so on, definitely makes and app "nice for the people" - on a small embedded device (the browsing experience just doesn't measure up, on any mobile device, yet).

With an overall push for web based apps it's understandable that Google seeks to distribute a Linux distro aimed at hosting the Chrome browser and making the overall browsing experience faster and better. Google may have to do some more clarifying when it comes to the Android question, because that is a bit nuanced, but all in all I welcome Chrome OS and as I see it, it certainly makes sense.