interesting article... poses a lot of questions though ~ http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=118876

Just more evidence for my conspiracy theory ;] http://haxer.skinyourscreen.com/images/portfolio/walls/googleL.jpg jk

But I seriously don't understand what they plan to achieve with this. Seems like it's a bad idea to introduce a new OS right now. Especially one that isn't readily compatible with either Linux or Windows progs. hmmmmm.

  I love that Chris... and I've got to say I have the same suspicions.

Does beg a question, doesn't it? but apparently it has really put the wind up M$ as a lot of corporations are holding off ordering Windows7 pending what Google have to offer. Wonder if it is just a big ruse to put a spanner in the works prior to the roll out of W7?

Who knows, but I haven't found anything yet that doesn't run on Win 7 so I don't think M$ has too much to worry about.

Fun graphic!

Google's putative OS is in all reality a misnomer. It's like calling OLPC's Sugar or LiteStep an OS - it's really just a veneer or access point, a UI for the underlying OS. Google's stated that the underlying OS will in fact be Linux, although which kernel and flavor I've not heard yet.

From what I gather, they're intending to make a front-end that will directly interface with Google's broad suite of online applications (Google Docs, Gmail, etc...). In truth, operating systems already exist making use of these features, gOS as an example. Anyone could setup a linux-based Google "OS" netbook by installing the AWN dock and adding Chrome and the appropriate shortcuts. Linux already integrates a program that applies application windows to individual web-pages to make them more "application-like."

The only competitive advantage Google's "OS" may have over existing commercial operating systems (Windows, OS X) is the cost and the fact that Google's online applications already have a decent amount of net penetrance. (I believe there are more registered users of Google Documents suite than there are of Apple's iWork/Pages/Numbers/Keynote Suite - but don't quote me on that). In short, I don't think GoogleOS will bite off more than an ant's share of the monolithic Microsoft market share.

Still, I like Google. They've been good to me very early on when I got to beta-test Gmail and Google Docs. I like the fact that they make all of their products very interoperable. They are a model of open-standards, employing excellent and FREE developer APIs that encourage mashups of their technologies with other web-apps. Google Maps is one such example - it's maps are embedded everywhere. With Google Gears comes the ability to take data (Google RSS feeds, Google Documents, etc...) offline while retaining synchronization with the appropriate online servers. I look forward to see what they come up with in the future.

 

And whilst I'm not legally minded I still wonder how Google can consider taking something that is GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE and use it as the base for a commercial build... am I missing something here... the forking possiblility alone could lead to a zillion lawsuits from programmers who have contributed gratis to Linux?

The time frame as well, was it mentioned in that article? , is something around 2010... coinciding perhaps a little too closely with W7.

Lets be honest would you buy a Google OS based on something that you can download for free...http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ ~ and could share any problems with friends?

I agree with Chris though that Google seems to be compiling a huge ( and unneccessary ) log of user use, and statistics that. I'm all for fighting crime, but I don't want my emails to friends to be on a log... how counter productive can security be?

Incidentally... my dog was found to have tumur on his right ventricle today, and had to be put to sleep because he was in distress... poor little mite was always plagued by health problems, and I would never recommend buying a pedigree dog! In fact I would like to go and bash the breeder on the head for the inherent cruelty caused to him and his brethren! ( Why not? I shall write a letter to her objecting to breeding methods! )

Bye Bye my four legged child...

http://www.mickeblue.co.uk/HotDog_by_mickeblue

My condolences. It is always hard to lose a friend, and it must be hard for you now. Dachsund? We had a miniature dachsund named Kiwi before moving to Utah - miss the little gal dearly.

Thank you Richard... I am sorry that the topic is "off".

I'm not sure that I'm the best guy to restart this conversation.. sorry guys! I'm surprised how much it's hurtin'

Later..

We grieve with you, Micke Loss is loss, and it hurts. I can tell he meant a tremendous amount to you. What was his name?

As for being off topic... by my experience tangents often end up as personally gratifying as the original conversation. It's all interaction. Now that it's mentioned, I don't think I've ever re-corralled a thread for being off topic and I rather enjoy that trend. Just how we roll here at SYS!

I know how u feel. My family used to have a dog that I knew since I was born that had to be put down and a cat as well. Both experiences are ones that hurt. Then around January/February my parents let out our dog that we've had since I was in kindergarten and when they called her to come back she didn't come and they searched for a couple days for her and they couldn't find her. So we were all sure we wouldn't see her again. That was bad, but amazingly she showed up at midnight one night around a week or a little less later. I hate losing pets.

  We had a cat that went AWOL for ten ( 10! ) weeks, but the truth was he had been catnapped by a little girl.. we got him back after the RSPCA looked into the matter, and she was given permission to pay him visits after she accepted responsibility for her selfish action [ I blamed the father for being stupid, lazy, and inconsiderate ]... but it all worked out OK, and Vincent was none the worse for the experience... and went on to be 17 before he got tired of life.

Well he was a stubborn little mutt... but Oscar brought a lot of pleasure into our lives... and he will be sorely missed... when I took this photo I got the feeling he was actually saying something like ~
"Go on Biglegs, take the piss again!... Wait until you try and stand up!" ~



Thank you guys, for allowing me to rant, and try to come to terms with the grief here in our little den.