So I ran across this cartoon about how Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X should be scared of Google ChromeOS and it made me wonder. How true may this cartoon be?
Could Google’s ChromeOS dominate cloud computing? Could ChromeOS become the operating system for all our gadgets including cell phones, desktops, laptops, tablets, netbooks, etc.? Could Google store all our apps on centralized servers thereby eliminating the need to sync up all your devices all the time? And considering all of this, could Google and ChromeOS remain free?
Scary as it may sound, I think the short answer is yes.
Even though I’m a self proclaimed techno-geek/gadget guy, I find it hard to predict where all of “this” is going. Considering it feels like just a few years ago when I was rocking out to my brand spanking new Guns-N-Roses Appetite for Destruction tape during breaks from nonstop marathons on NES Super Mario Brothers, I really have a hard time predicting the future. My first PC game was text-based and was played on a monochrome monitor. My college PC had a 270 Megabyte hard drive that I regularly compressed. Did I have a clue that just a few years later that my phone would fit in my pocket and could play my entire library of music as well as stream online video content and surf the web? Uh, no. So what’s my point? I try to think about the future of gadgets and no matter how hard I try, I cannot predict where all of this is going.
That’s why this cartoon is so intriguing. Though intended to be humorous, it may have a point. In this new world of technology, don’t you think it’s silly that we are still paying for operating systems? Of course some of us don’t (you know who you are Linux users) but the majority of us still pay a premium to run our computers. It also seems silly that we have to sync up all our gadgets with cables and cords. I imagine in just a few short years we’ll laugh at how many cables we used to have to carry around and keep track of. I also think it’s silly that we don’t have all of our applications available to us no matter what device we use. Programs like Xmarks and MobileMe are just the start of things. I mean come on, it’s 2009, shouldn’t I have all my internet bookmarks available to me no matter what computer or device I’m using (thank you Xmarks for taking care of that). But bookmarks are just the start of it, next will be applications. Then what comes after that?
If you’re like me, this sounds great, but a bit scary as well. The final part of the cartoon about “a corporation that people still trust” is part of the reason I’m scared. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Google. But for some reason, I feel like I should be wary. I don’t know why, I just do. Does anyone else feel that way? That’s probably the reason I’ve never installed Google Desktop. It just feels weird that an internet-based company will be handling the indexing of all my personal files. Now that same company wants to provide the operating system for all my devices and house all my applications? A bit scary for sure.
So what do you think? Is there truth to the comic? Where is all “this” going? Should we be scared? Or should we just read the comic and laugh like it’s 1999?
I hesitate to even post this, as it does little to assuage any of the app deprived pain you Palm Pre users are experiencing. It’s a step, albeit just one little step, toward getting some new functionality out of your phone, so I suppose it’s worth mentioning. Palm has finally released the Mojo SDK for WebOS to the general public.
