Last Year

I wrote about Google Chrome OS over a year ago.  At that time, Chrome OS was in a very early alpha development release.  If you knew a developer, like Hexxeh, who was nice enough to build Chrome OS and provided a good USB boot image, then you could test it out.  I was geeky enough to do just that, and I gave Chrome OS high marks for potential.

Reprise

Earlier this month, Google released a beta version of Chrome OS.  This time, Google actually shipped Chrome OS laptops to chosen (and lucky) developers and test users.  This beta program is designed to generate interest and allow the new platform to be user-tested before an official release later in 2011.

It is hard to imagine what Google has been doing for the past year, since in many ways Chrome OS is not much better than it was a year ago.  Which is to say, it is still very good.  My thoughts from last year about Chrome OS came down to:

• Virus-free computing
• Very fast performance
• Able to run on inexpensive hardware
• Runs the applications people actually use

From that perspective, not much has changed.  Sure, Chrome itself is simply faster, thanks to rendering engine improvements and major improvements to the already lightning fast V8 javascript engine.  That said, Chrome OS is so basic that there is not much Google had to do to improve the OS.

New Thoughts

Do I have any new thoughts since last year?  Yes. I am surprised to see how practical Chrome OS is for not just couch or travel surfing.  Last year I thought Chrome OS would be a great computer to use while watching TV.  Well, since then a couple of things happened.  First, I stopped watching much TV at all.  I now get most of my entertainment through the computer.  Second, the launch of the iPad and the new tablet-based paradigm has supplanted laptops/netbooks as a the major on-to-couch computing platform.  So, in some ways, Chrome OS is not longer all that relevant.

What has been a pleasant turn of events, however, is how practical Chrome OS is in the workplace.  As long as your company is already computing in the cloud, Chrome OS makes perfect sense for a business.  Why?  Well, for the same reasons I stated before:

• Virus-free computing
• Very fast performance
• Able to run on inexpensive hardware
• Runs the applications people actually use

For what will likely be a mere $100-$200 per laptop, businesses can get a full-functioning laptop, operating system and security platform.  Not bad.  And the cost for future upgrades is only the cost of the new hardware, since user-data migration in Chrome OS is as simple as logging into a new Chrome OS computer.

Sure, Chrome OS is limited.  It can only run web apps, and despite the amazing advancements of HTML5, web apps are still limited in nature.  That said, Chrome OS supports Citrix and some other sort of VNC-like remote access, so rich applications can be deployed to Chrome OS users fairly easily.

The Fly in the Ointment

The big question becomes, is Cloud Computing trust worthy and will businesses adopt this new approach to computing.  On this point, I think Google is making a very good bet.  While many naysayers have tried to rain on the Cloud Computing parade, I have log argued that Cloud Computing is the inevitable computing platform of the future (here, here, here and here).  If Google is creating the first Cloud-only OS, they will be well positioned to take advantage of the direction of the future.

What do you think about Chrome OS?  I would love to hear your thoughts.