Comments on: Google Chrome OS: More of a Threat to Apple than Microsoft

By: Robin Harris

Robin Harris — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:51:14 +0000

Apple’s ads concentrate on Windows because that’s where the money is.

You don’t have to hate Toyota to buy a Honda – you just have to like Honda. Apple is skimming the cream – the high-end, high-margin buyers – off the Windows market. How are those buyers going to know why they should buy Apple if you don’t compare them to what they already know?

Given Apple’s profits and market share gains one can only conclude that that Apple’s target demographic does buy into Apple’s strengths. If they aren’t, why are they paying more?

By: Mark Spoonauer

Mark Spoonauer — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:15:51 +0000

Janus, if what you say is true then why does Apple’s marketing message continue to be dominated by what is wrong with Windows? I agree with you that the Mac OS has its strengths, as does its hardware and performance, but that’s not what is coming across in the ads.

By: Janus

Janus — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:58:29 +0000

This betrays a clear lack of knowledge as to what makes Apple customers buy Apple products. I don’t buy Apple because I hate Microsoft (though I do hate Microsoft). I buy Apple because I really like Apple, its OS, and the simple-yet-powerful software that is the hallmark of Apple’s own apps and those of its developers.

The “anti-WIndows” crowd is the one using Linux–and they’re usually no big fans of Apple either.

By: Steffen

Steffen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:13:53 +0000

It is surely not an offense against Apple but against Windows. It is for a standard home users only need a PC or Notebook for daily works as EMail, Internet browsing, word processing and do not care about anything else about their computer. The partnerships let us guess that it will be pre-installed on many PCs.

Apple users want a complete package of a high integrated and reliable computer. They often pay more money because they need it for work. So the consumers are completely different from the Windows users. Maybe the author never had an Apple or a Linux computer, but users choose it because these OS’s are much more advanced, secure, reliable and user friendly than Windows.

The reason why so many users still use Windows is that it is pre-installed and they say that they do not need more.

By: Poppa_P

Poppa_P — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:34:52 +0000

Yes people say they would like to move away from Windows but the majority of people are still techno phobes when it comes to setting up another operating system so I don’t think Google Chrome will make that much of a dent in Windows sales.
I try to use different systems and I find OSX the best so far and the windows users I talk to would like to have an Apple computer above anything else but are put off by the price.
Why not carry your operating system with you on a usb pen-drive so no matter what computer you use so long as it can be set to boot from a usb device, you can have your documents and files and browser setup to use straight away,I am doing this with Linux Mint 7 and found it really easy to setup and use.

By: JonGl

JonGl — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:06:53 +0000

I dunno. People are viewing ChromeOS as a replacement for the desktop OS, but I don’t expect we will see that in the end. The web is great for some things, but I just don’t see it replacing the desktop. If you need an example, look at the iPhone–and also the Pre. Two mobile environments, that, if a web-based “OS” were to succeed, it would certainly be there. When these phones came out, the only option for “apps” was web-based apps–and when the iPhone came out, developers really pushed the envelope on what they were capable of–but what won out in the end? Genuine iPhone apps on the actual device. WebOS is going to encounter the same thing–Android already is.

So, keeping that in mind, what is going to limit ChromeOS is apps–what will be available for it? As I read their blog post, their choice of words seem to indicate that their “Linux-based” OS will not be based upon Xorg or X11. This means that all their apps will be incompatible with all other gui-based Linux apps. This will mean re-coding to run. The one benefit of Linux is the plethora of free software (from the user’s standpoint, that is–free, as in drinks).

As a long-time Mac user (and Linux-user for the past 3 years or so), for myself, it’s all about the apps, and not just the interface. This does not mean that the user interface is not important–it is _vital_ to those apps working. This is why, when all is said and done, when I need to get real work done, I always fall back on my MacOS software and OS. It has the interface I need, and the apps I need. I use software on my Mac (Nisus Writer Pro, DevonThink, Keynote, Accordance and MacSword) that just don’t exist on any other platform–and I don’t see ever existing. There are a lot of some of the greatest apps in the world (sadly, sometimes the best-kept secrets) that just don’t and won’t exist on non-MacOS systems. People who use their Macs for more than just “web-based” stuff won’t change. I’m sure that Windows-users are in the exact same boat. For ChromeOS starting out cold, on a desktop environment, I don’t see it happening–at least any time soon.

Google is betting on the concept of the cloud and mobile computing, but people, like me, who still need to get work done, when they need to do it, will pull out their big boys (even if they are running on a 10″ “netbook”)

I also realized I should add that I’m no stranger to “cloud” computing. I use GoogleDocs for some pretty important work, but it’s best for collaborative work, or sharing–and Spreadsheets is amazing to share with someone! But invariably, when I need to do heavy lifting on our online spreadsheets, it’s download time and open in OOo or Numbers, and re-upload when done. The Cloud has its place, but it’s no replacement.

My personal prediction–if I dare be so bold–is that ChOS will do better than your typical Linux-netbook, but not take over the desktop, nor will it particularly take market share away from anything. I think it will grow the market.

-Jon