Shallow Dive Into The Non-Tab Tech of Chrome OS

After a user clicks on a few Chrome Notebook app icons, types search keywords in the Google home page search field or hits the Search button on the keyboard a few times, they will have a pretty good idea of the basics of using the Chrome OS.

The basic user will still want to learn what apps are best for their needs, and will want to learn more about how to move files around, how to print and how to do a few of the other routine tasks they currently do with a Win, Mac or Linux OS. There will be future posts covering each of those topics. But for today, I want to briefly look behind the curtain to see what holds Chrome OS together and how the geekier Cr-48 users can poke at non-tab parts of Chrome. You don't need to be a geek to find value in some topics in today's post, but it's likely that basic users will be uninterested in much of what is talked about below.

First, and this isn't really geek-material, let's look at some of the keyboard shortcuts. The one key that rules them all is Ctrl + Alt + / -- you'll want to remember that one. That key combination will bring up a display showing all the keyboard shortcuts on the Cr-48. xxxxxxx

Next, the 'wrench' icon in the upper right corner of the Chrome Notebook screen. xxxxx

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First Day as the Midwest Chrome Community Evangelist

Today marks the first day on the job for the Chrome Community Evangelist in the Midwest USA region.

If you have not yet heard of the Chrome Community Evangelist for the Midwest USA, that may be because this position was established very recently and has not yet been extensively publicized or communicated to the tech community and general public in the Midwest. The short term goals for this position are to document Cr-48 and Chrome OS information and activities in one or several websites or online formats and, as a Chrome Community Evangelist, to connect with people both one-on-one and in groups to discuss and promote the Chrome OS and Chrome browser and to answer questions regarding Chrome. The long term goal of the Chrome Community Evangelist is to develop the value, reach and network of the Midwest CCE to the point where it makes sense for Google to convert the position to a full-time paid employee of Google.

The first person who got to test drive le Cahier Chromé (Chrome Notebook) today and to hear my passionate endorsement of the finer points of Chrome OS and the Cr-48 pilot program was my daughter, in the wee hours of the morning at Seth's Coffee. She went to college in northern California and, in many ways, became a true hippie, so she does not enjoy computers and the internet way of life nearly as much as do I. As a matter of fact, she would like to produce an indie film about what happens when all the 'computers' in the world stop working. After being shown the nice new Cr-48, she was sort of 'meh' and thought it was about as useful as a Mac. Her main reaction was that she was happy I was picked to participate in the Chrome Notebook pilot program and hoped I enjoyed using it and helping test / develop a new approach to technology and computers.

Erin, Scott, Jeff and Drew were the next people to catch my Cr-48 evangelism and marketing spiel, being a somewhat captive audience at the Friday Innovators gathering at Aspen Coffee & Tea in Menasha, Wisconsin, USA. Since the FI group is highly interested in innovation, they were all slightly envious of me having gotten a Chrome Notebook, and Drew asked for a URL to apply for the pilot program. Erin had applied to participate in the program as soon as he got the pilot program link from me on the day of the Cr-48 press conference. Overall they seemed to feel it was interesting and held lots of opportunities for innovation in general internet computing. Scott in particular, though, didn't feel Cr-48 had high value for him, or that the next few years would bring effective tools for him to do commercial-strength video editing and production through the cloud.

Whilst working with the Cr-48 at Aspen Coffee after the Friday Innovators meeting, I struck up a conversation about the Chrome Notebook with a sys admin from RR Donnelley. He didn't know much about the Chrome OS and wasn't familiar with the Cr-48 pilot program, but seemed interested when I explained it to him.

The random discussion (as a defacto Chrome Community Evangelist) with the sys admin from RR Donnelley caused me to think a bit about what might be a few effective ways to be a Chrome Community Evangelist in the Midwest. Along the lines of "people usually like their ideas better than yours," a community evangelist will most often have meaningful discussions with random strangers at a coffee shop, community wifi hotspot or other location when those random strangers initiate the conversation, or at least notice something about you that gives them a reason to talk with you. A community evangelist who is intentionally and actively interested in connecting with people in a public setting needs to develop creative and unique ways of putting themself in a remarkable situation, then follow up appropriately when their situation is remarked upon by the aforementioned random stranger. Most strangers in a public situation are unlikely to initiate a conversation with a community evangelist, so the evangelist will be most effective if they appear non-ordinary, or generate a visual or audio cue that causes the stranger to be willing to engage in a casual conversation. More about creating a "remarkable situation" and about generating effective "visual or audio cues" in a future post...

The final people exposed today to my Cr-48 enthusiasm were the dyed-in-the-wool tech enthusiasts and hacker / makers Luke, Erin, Paul, Bob, Mark at the DHMN monthly meeting at Hong Kong Buffet in Neenah, Wisconsin, USA. In midst of all the other DHMN conversations flying around the table whilst large quantities of rice, General Tso's Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, and other typical Chinese buffet treats were consumed, I gave an overview of my Chrome Notebook experience thus far and answered their questions. The primary comment from the group was, "How come you got one -- I want one, too!" However, there was also the predictable hard-core geek comment that the Chrome OS would be way too limiting for all the different things this group of people does on a regular basis. A few of them are also convinced they do not want to store all or most of their data and lives on Google's servers or any other location in the cloud, thank you very much. They prefer to have their data and programs reside locally on their laptops, smartphones, netbooks, and home or colo servers.

Overall, my first day as the Midwest Chrome Community Evangelist was a successful and enjoyable one. I look forward to many more days as the Midwest CCE and am working diligently toward building and maintaining a large, vibrant, well-connected Chrome community in the Midwest.

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Day 2 With A Cr-48

Day 2 with my new 'still-smells-like-plastic-packaging' Cr-48 Chrome Notebook was less fun than I'd hoped and resulted in less advancement along the Chrome OS learning curve than it should have.

This was due mostly to my schedule for the day, although my inclination to try and understand technology thoroughly also slowed down my adoption of a Chrome lifestyle. One advantage I have with the Chrome Notebook over many other internet users is that I'm familiar with the Chrome browser experience since it's been my main browser for over a year. If my main browser prior to receiving the Cr-48 had been Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari, I'd probably be immersing myself in the Chrome Notebook pilot program even more slowly, just because I'd want to learn all about Chrome.

If someone is considering switching to a Chrome Notebook, they should immediately start using Chrome as their main browser if it's not already their main door to the internet. This applies to home computer users, business users, students, teachers and anyone else who might switch to a Chrome OS machine in 2011. Already being familiar with the Chrome browser will give you a good head start on making Chrome OS your home away from home.

Day 2 started out with a breakfast meeting that doesn't have wifi available and does not involve the use of laptop or desktop computers. An occasional smartphone shows itself at the meeting, but very infrequently. However, one of the meeting participants is quite tech savvy, so I took the Cr-48 for him to look at if he was interested in doing so. He was interested, and after the meeting we spent fifteen minutes talking about and looking at the notebook. I told him he could borrow it sometime if he wants to get a feel for the Chrome OS experience.

The next three hours were spent finishing a job that needed to be done as quickly as possible. Document formatting and work-to-date on the project dictated that the job be completed on my Acer Timeline laptop, so opportunities to use or learn more about the Cr-48 were quite limited in the morning of Day 2.

The Chrome Notebook was taken along to lunch at Antojitos Mexicanos in Appleton, Wisconsin, a restaurant that normally has wifi. Unfortunately their wifi was down, and I was unable to do too much on the notebook without internet access. I haven't activated cellular access yet -- with only 100 MB/month free activity available on the Verizon service, I want to get comfortable with all the features and apps whilst I'm on 'unlimited free' wifi internet. The cellular 'net access will likely be activated this weekend. Since there wasn't much else to do on the notebook without internet access, I poked at Chrome OS settings and system info that's easily reachable just below the surface of the browser interface. Stuff like the Command Line info in 'About Chrome OS / More Info.'

Spent a couple hours in the afternoon looking at the apps available in the Chrome Web Store and installing ones I plan to experiment with in the next few days. Need to do some poking and online searching to figure out if I can rearrange the app icon layout. If the layout is determined strictly by the order of installation, I can just figure out what layout I want, delete all the currently installed apps, then re-install in the right order to give the layout that will work best for me. The installed apps that currently show up on my New Tab (home page?) are:

1. Gmail
2. Picnik Photo
3. Google Docs
4. Blogger
5. Aviary Advanced Image Editor
6. Google Books
7. Grooveshark
8. Pandora
9. Weather Underground
10. Evernote Web
11. Fiabee
12. Weebly Website Builder
13. Quick Note
14. Sketchpad
15. Google Maps
16. Youtube
17. Scratchpad

The Chrome OS pilot program notebook came along to my ABC / TechAdvised evening meeting with Andy M, the founder of B.R.I.T., a provider of technology services to small businesses in Appleton and the Fox Valley of northeast Wisconsin. We meet weekly for a three hour one-on-one work/discussion session in which we explore a wide range of tech entrepreneurism topics that may have some relevance to us or which may provide new revenue stream opportunities for us. Andy agreed that for certain types of computer users, the Cr-48 would be an ideal portable computer. However, it wouldn't meet his needs for using LogMeIn, for doing large scale CAD drawings or for building websites. We discussed a number of development or innovation opportunities for me to focus on during my time in the Chrome OS pilot program. Those innovation opportunities will be the subject of future blog posts.

Day 2 is now over; Day 3 is looming. Three meetings in the morning and early afternoon, and a holiday dinner party, so it's looking like Day 4 will be the day for making major progress up the Chrome Notebook learning curve...

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Woo-hoo! Cr-48 Chrome Notebook Arrived!

Happy, stunned, amazed, excited and grateful!

That's pretty much how I feel right now, sitting here with a brand-new, just-delivered Google Cr-48 Chrome Notebook.

I was a tech nomad most of this morning and part of the afternoon at a local wifi hotspot, working on my Acer Timeline 14.1" Win7 laptop. When I arrived home at 2 PM there was a medium size box setting on the kitchen counter. My mind started to get excited, wondering if it was my Chrome Notebook but being very skeptical that it would actually be a Cr-48.

Looked at the box. It was addressed to me. It was about the right size for a small laptop computer. No Google address or other info on the outside that indicated it was from Google or from someone associated with Google. But when I started opening the box I saw the inner box "hamster-powered computer" graphics. Every Chrome Notebook admirer would instantly recognize that rodent from all the articles they've read about the Cr-48 since it was announced last week. Oh frabjous day, Callooh, Callay!

There was no prior notification from Google; they just shipped it to me unannounced. Guess that saved me from the anxiety of waiting and wondering where it was. Although online status trackers for shipping pretty much eliminate the need to wonder where an en-route package is.

It feels so cool to have this new tech toy to play with, to have a new computing paradigm to become immersed in and to have a chance to be a pilot program participant for what I hope will be a truly innovative new personal computing tool. Because I live in northeast Wisconsin, opportunities to be a beta tester for new tech services or products are relatively rare compared to the opportunities for someone living in SF/Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin or Boston. Opportunities to be involved in a Google beta are even more rare, especially a Google hardware pilot program. I plan to make the most of this pilot program, giving Google as much useful feedback as I can and connecting directly with at least one person on the Chrome Notebook team if at all possible. One of the Googlers I plan to try and connect with is Sundar Pichai.

To the extent possible, I'll be using the Cr-48 as my main computer for at least the next few months. It will be interesting and challenging to figure out alternative ways of accomplishing on the Chrome Notebook those normal daily tasks which weren't heretofore done in a browser environment. What will be really cool is if I come up with suggestions for the Chrome Notebook team for new Chrome OS products or services which they or outside developers then create or modify based on my suggestions or requests.

I'm a chemical engineer by education, training and experience. Tend to be thorough, methodical, factual and objective. Because of this, my first review of the Cr-48 and Chrome OS will be after several days of intense use. However, here are a few initial reactions after using the notebook for a couple hours.

1. Love the keyboard. Feels comfortable, accurate and easy to use.
2. The "Instant-On" operation is fantastic. Will be hard to put up with Win7 boot-up times when I'm forced to use that.
3. The 12" screen will feel small for a while compared to my 14.1" Acer screen, but it feels tons better than a 10" or smaller netbook screen.
4. The touchpad is unquestionably challenging to use; it will likely cause me to do a combination of USB mouse and careful experimentation to figure out the most effective touchpad techniques.

Enough 'work' -- time to go back to playing with My New Google Chrome Notebook, having fun and learning as much as I can about it. My extreme gratitude is extended to the Cr-48 team for including me in the pilot program. You made me a very happy tech enthusiast. Thanks!

The only thing that would have made today better is if I'd also gotten a free Android phone from Google that could be used with the Virgin Mobile $25 unlimited data plan. In case anyone from Google is reading this blog...

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The Dark View of Chrome OS

This blog's focus thus far has primarily been looking for the good in Chrome OS, but two articles popped up today looking at the Dark Side of Google's latest major innovative push at the personal computing world.

In one article, from The Guardian, Richard Stallman talks about careless computing and losing control of one's data because it's no longer stored on our hard drive or other storage media in our physical or legal possession. The other article, closer to Google's home, has the San Francisco Chronicle's Matt Rosoff calling Chrome OS a "Waste Of Time."

Of the two articles, Richard Stallman's merits more thought and discussion. Stallman, the longtime champion of GNU, the Free Software Foundation, and all (most?) things that give you more control over your data and computing systems, is no fan of the 'cloud' or of relinquishing personal and immediate control of your data. He says,

"...In the US, you even lose legal rights if you store your data in a company's machines instead of your own. The police need to present you with a search warrant to get your data from you; but if they are stored in a company's server, the police can get it without showing you anything. They may not even have to give the company a search warrant...as long as enough of us continue keeping our data under our own control, we can still do so. And we had better do so, or the option may disappear..."

Although my initial reaction is to dismiss RMS as a fringe geek and as someone who has chosen not to participate in the path along which the internet and personal computing seem to be moving, this article is a worthwhile read, and Stallman does raise valid points. We are ceding control of most of our data when we use Chrome OS or cloud storage, more so, I think, than when we store our data locally on a hard drive or other storage media. It's questionable whether the data truly is more secure on a hard drive in our house (or on the flash memory in our smartphone) if we're connected to the web and pass much of our data through it. However, those who care to take reasonable, or maybe even a tad paranoid, precautions to safeguard their hard drive files still have a fighting chance to keep private data private. Once you store your data primarily in the cloud, especially if it's a free-to-the-consumer storage service such as Google or Facebook, you've pretty much given up any reasonable expectation of privacy.

Since most people will not do local backups, or even cloud-based backups of the files on their primary data host, such as Google, Facebook or Microsoft, they have given up not only their privacy, they've also given those hosts 90% of the title for ownership. Possession is nine-tenths... In some cases, they may have given 100%, depending on what the EULA says for which they clicked a box indicating they will do whatever the host wants in exchange for using the service the host provides.

In the SF Chronicle opinion piece, Mr. Rosoff says,

"Based on what Google is showing now, unless they give away Chrome notebooks for free, there's no reason to use one...But Chrome doesn't make any sense...that's because it's not really doing much...Google should scrap this product before it gets any further..."

Rosoff totally dismisses Chrome OS and sees no value in Cr-48 for anyone. That may be his opinion because he is a SF/Silicon Valley-type geek and has primarily SF/Silicon Valley friends who know what technology they like and feel that everyone needs the same standard tech world computing paradigm. I doubt Mr. Rosoff has to do computer support for older people who mainly use computers to write emails, browse the web and look at photos of their grandchildren. He probably doesn't interact too much with school district tech people who support computers for everyone from middle schoolers to teachers and administrators. It seems like there are plenty of computer users for whom the Chrome OS would work better than a full fledged Windows or Mac machine.

Read both these articles so you're aware of the Dark Side of Chrome OS. Or at least two people's opinions of the downsides for Chrome OS. Even if Chrome OS is ahead of its time, it seems to represent a significant enough paradigm shift that we won't fully escape the concept it represents.

What's your opinion? Is Chrome OS the first step toward the 'real' SkyNet, or a major fiasco and waste of money for Google?

I hope not on the first, and I think not on the second.

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Cr-48 Highlights / Lowlights After 3 Days In Europe

The thing most surprising to me about MG Siegler's early impressions of the Cr-48 Chrome Notebook is how favorably he rates the Chrome OS chances of success in spite of his extreme dislike for certain aspects of this new computing system.

The trackpad on the Cr-48 catches most of MG's wrath, being labeled by him as,

"...the worst excuse for a piece of technology that anyone has created in the past five years...It's an abomination..."

One can clearly hear his frustration when he presents his version of the operating instructions for said trackpad.

"...To get it to work, you essentially have to lift two fingers about a foot in the air, then bring them down in a perfectly straight line at a rapid speed while making sure that they both hit the pad at the exact same time. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit there, but it's really bad..."

However, after venting his frustrations with the hardware, MG starts talking about what he considers the good points of the Chrome Notebook:

"in many ways, the Cr-48 reminds me a lot of the G1, the first Android phone Google shipped...They were both clearly step one of a platform that would quickly evolve...I still have a G1. Looking at it now compared to the newer Android phones is pretty humorous. The platform has clearly come a long way. And that gives me a lot of hope for Chrome notebooks as well...Chrome OS was revealed to be little more than Chrome...But that simplicity is the OS's strength. It removes several layers of junk that most people these days never use on a computer...roughly 95 percent of what I do on a computer these days is in the web browser. Of the other 5 percent, 4 percent of it could probably be done in the browser too...Even in its current beta state, Chrome OS has definitely been a perfectly adequate travel companion these past three days...And if Chrome's (the browser) evolution is any indication, it's going to get better very quickly..."

With the caveats that a.) Chrome OS hardware needs to be improved enough for sale to consumers to provide speed and smoothness roughly equivalent to the MacBook Air, and b.) Google needs to ensure a price point that's low enough to compete with both Mac and with Windows netbooks, MG ends up giving Chrome OS a fighting chance of financial success, saying,

"...if they can bring them in with better hardware than the Cr-48 for something like $300, I thnk they're going to sell a ton of them...by next holiday season..."

This TechCrunch post seemed a balanced review; let's hope the author is correct. While I know the Chrome OS isn't for everyone, it seems like a large percentage of Facebook users and other casual computer users would do just fine with a Chrome Notebook...

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A Clear Path For Cr-48 Delivery

It snowed last night in northeast Wisconsin and covered the driveway and front walk with a couple inches of snow -- Delivery Hazard!

Didn't want the FedEx or UPS person delivering my Cr-48 Google Chrome Notebook to see that snow and decide not to deliver my notebook. Went out in the blowing snow and cold and shoveled a nice clear path to allow unimpeded delivery of the awaited Chrome OS pilot program computer. The forecast is for more snow and wind today, so shoveling expeditions will be organized throughout the day to keep that path clear.

Maybe I should arranged to have the roads plowed between the regional FedEx and UPS distribution centers to my house. I'd only have the roads plowed to one of those distribution centers, but Google still has not yet told me which one will be delivering the Chrome Notebook. Continues to make it hard to check the tracking number to find out where the computer is and when it will arrive.

Good things come to those who wait...

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A Closer Look At The Chrome Notebook

So, in today's Google News, there were numerous posts and articles about the Google Chrome Notebook. It seems worthwhile to link to a couple especially informative or insightful write-ups and summarize the initial reaction to Google's hardware released with the beta of Chrome OS.

Of the eleven long-ish accounts of people's experiences with the Cr-48 I read, along with twenty or thirty shorter 'reviews' I skimmed, the four linked below as recommended reading rose to the top. Some of the shorter reviews made me think, "why did they request a Chrome Notebook, and why did Google send them one?", but the article by Brier Dudley in Seattle wins some type of award for clearly not understanding what Chrome OS is or how it was built when he says:

"...I didn't see a way to change the browser to Explorer, Firefox or Safari..."

Recommended reading of early experiences with the Cr-48:

• Jon Stokes at arstechnica
• Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land
• Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch
• Andy Ihnatko at the Chicago Sun-Times

Observations from reading about people's experiences with the Cr-48 and the Chrome OS:

1. One of the most challenging common activities or tasks on the Chrome Notebook appears to be playing flash videos.
2. Jon Stokes was disappointed with the screen quality, saying it was "...the cheapest, poorest-quality LCD that I can remember using..."
3. Jon also felt a Chrome OS notebook with higher quality hardware would be a perfect alternative to his wife's MacBook Air.
4. Danny Sullivan points out that Google wants the pilot program testers to use the Chrome Notebook as their primary computer, not just for casual use or as a replacement for a netbook which is only used for miscellaneous mobile purposes. Many testers seemed to have a 'meh' impression of the notebook for even casual or infrequent use, much less for use as their primary computer. Too bad Google will probably let those people keep the Chrome Notebook even though they don't use it much, if at all, after the first day or two. It sounded like Larry Dignan from ZDNet is giving it to his seven year old daughter to play with, as opposed to him using it. That may or may not have value to Google, although the primary purpose of sending Cr-48s to journalists was likely to generate buzz rather than to get useful data for the pilot program. Danny did a thorough job of attempting to use the Cr-48 as a replacement for his primary computer, to the extent possible.
5. Many reviewers complained about the hardware not being top quality or as good as they expected or would have liked. In addition to the screen quality being dinged by Jon Stokes, the weight got complaints (heavier than a MacBook Air or other current netbooks/laptops with a 12" screen), Jason Kincaid says, "...The mouse trackpad -- or at least, the software running the trackpad -- is a complete turd..." (although Jon S says "...The large, clickable trackpad is great...") and Michael Calore from Wired said the Cr-48, "...definitely feels underpowered..." and that the "...Atom processor inside will probably need a boost before Chrome OS hardware hits the shelves..."
6. Rafe Needleman from CNET doesn't appear to plan on using the Cr-48 as his primary computer but indicates it may have a bright future if Google does a skillful job of developing and c0-marketing it. He says, "...This Chrome notebook is not a fun computer...But it is an important new platform that's going to be easier for user[s] to get into and straightforward to develop for..."

My takeaway from the articles and posts about people's first-day experiences with Google's Chrome Notebook is that very few tech journalists will use it as their primary computer and that its target market is casual computer users rather than geeks, tech enthusiasts and corporate employees.

Google would do well to get thousands of Chrome Notebooks into the hands of middle school students. That would do two things.

1. Start building a new generation of "full-size keyboard" computer users who live on the web and don't care about the features and capabilities their Chrome Notebook doesn't have compared to a standard Linux/Mac/Windows laptop. These kids will develop an interesting digital lifestyle based on a combination of smartphones and Chrome OS notebooks.
2. Kick start a whole new world of apps to meet the needs of a wide variety of use cases and launch a whole new generation of app co-developers (middle school Chrome OS users collaborating with app developers whose ages range from middle school to thirty-something).

Other long-ish reviews in case you want more than the four listed above:

• http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/12/cr-48-chrome-os-first-look/
• http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/09/google-cr-48-chrome-laptop-preview/
• http://blogs.computerworld.com/17506/google_chrome_os_notebook
• http://blog.laptopmag.com/chrome-os-cr-48-hands-on-and-initial-impressions
• http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-20025401-250.html

Update 1: This blog was revised to include some articles from 11 Dec 2010.

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Chrome OS Overview and Impact, December 2010

This overview attempts to provide a succinct background on the Google Chrome operating system (OS) project as of December 2010.

Google's Chrome OS is an open source lightweight computer operating system designed for people who 'live on the web,' that is, people whose computer time is mostly spent interacting with the internet. Chrome OS will use mini-programs called web applications, or simply 'apps,' to:

• Search for information
• Read, write and send email, instant messages, and transact other communications
• Shop and bank online
• Create and edit word processing documents, spreadsheets and other productivity documents
• Create collaborative documents
• Watch videos, movies and 'tv'
• Listen to music and the 'radio'
• Accomplish other work/play/life tasks on a 'computing' device which primarily uses a keyboard and touchpad or mouse for user input

Chrome OS users will primarily store their files and their 'desktop' settings in the 'cloud' rather than on a hard drive on their computer. This means their files and a familiar, consistent user interface will be available from any computer that is connected to the internet, or at least from any 'net-connected Chrome OS computer.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to adequately describe Chrome OS in a few sentences. To grok, or more fully understand what Chrome OS is or wants to be, make time to listen to at least one video about Chrome OS and read the information at the resources linked below.

To have Google explain Chrome OS to you in less than four minutes, via a November 2009 YouTube video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw. A December 2010 Google video showing both the Chrome OS and Chrome Notebook is at http://www.google.com/chromeos/features-guidedtour.html.

Three other web resources to better understand Google's Chrome OS are the Wikipedia Chrome OS entry, the initial official Google Chrome OS announcement, and Google's official Chrome website.

Google's naming conventions can be a wee bit confusing when it comes to Chrome. For example, the official Chrome website talks about both the Chrome web browser and the Chrome operating system. Then there's Chrome vs Chromium. Chrome is the proprietary flavor of Google's browser, while Chromium is the open source, roll-your-own version which Google supports and makes available to geeks and other interested people. Similarly, Chromium OS is the open source project behind Chrome OS. Maybe that's a result of many geeks being easily distracted (and confused?) by shiny objects...

The Chrome chronology highlights are:

• 07 Jul 2009 -- Official Google announcement of Chrome OS
• 19 Nov 2009 -- Google news conference to demo an early version of Chrome OS
• 07 Dec 2010 -- Official Google demo of Chrome OS on the Cr-48 Chrome Notebook
• Summer 2011 -- Project launch of consumer notebooks with Chrome OS

Research and writing down these milestone dates brings to mind the major milestones for Google's Chrome browser. After a late start, with Internet Explorer firmly in the market share lead and Firefox the only other mainstream browser with significant impact in the Windows OS market, the Chrome browser has come a long way in a short time. Its market share is now growing quickly, whereas Firefox appears to have plateaued and is probably even losing user base. Two reason for the Chrome/Firefox dynamic are likely that many Chrome users are the same early adopter geeks who switched from IE or Netscape to Firefox (cannibalization of Firefox user base) and because some Chrome users are non-geeks who are significantly more comfortable installing and using a Google product than a Mozilla product (Google brand awareness and trust).

As the Millenials and upcoming generations increasingly grow up in or adapt to a world with ubiquitous internet access and mobile computing devices, will they create a need for and ready market for a new OS such as Chrome? Will the market share of Windows OS fall dramatically in computing devices which are larger than a smartphone and use a physical keyboard for the primary input method, following the same technology trend which reduced the Microsoft Internet Explorer market share from 90+% down to ~60%? If that happens, it will no doubt wreak havoc on Microsoft's revenue for both Windows OS and its Office suite.

The long term impact of the Chrome OS is conjecture at this point. It could be wildly successful like Google's ubiquitous text ads and search engine. It could have a strong impact for a large number of internet denizens in the same way that Gmail is innovative and popular, or it could be ahead of its time or poorly implemented and marketed, resulting in a horrible or unremarkable death similar to one of its siblings -- Google Wave.

My guess and hope is that it will follow the Gmail path, being a truly innovative and useful product that is not the global market leader in operating systems but is the preferred system of knowledgeable tech nomads and a significant portion of smart, influential, non-tech internet citizens.

Chrome OS impact prediction: Thwack!!

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"Hello, World" from the Chrome Pilot

From this Chrome Pilot, "Hello, World."

Google's Chrome OS pilot program will be a great learning experience. Per the 08 December post on myDigitechnician, I applied to be part of the Google Chrome OS pilot program as soon as I became aware of it (~ 2 PM CST on 07 December 2010).

Counting down the days until the Chrome Notebook arrives. Slight problem since I don't know what day they are shipping the ChromeBook to me or how long the shipping will take. But I can live with that uncertainty. Gives a person something to look forward to each day...

Hello to a new way of computing. Sort of. Each day already consists of six to ten hours of online work, so being immersed in the web won't be a particularly new experience. But it will be a new operating system, a new way of connecting to the web (via 3G) and some new routines to optimize and get used to.

Hello to using a cool new Google tech tool. Andy M and I do quite a bit of experimenting with free and low-cost digital tools and services, and Google has quite a few of those. We have weekly meetings, both NEW NET and TechAdvised, to talk about what new tech items have been released, what new features have been added and what old challenges have been resolved.

Hello to a new notebook computer. The Cr-48. Wolfram|Alpha says chromium 48 has a half-life of 21.56 hours. My chemical engineering background and long years of experience with computers (38 years) give me lots of confidence the half-life of the Chrome Notebook will be much longer than 21.56 hours. I'm sure it will work well for several years, or at least as long as Google lets me use it. Wolfram|Alpha also says the specific radioactivity of Cr-48 is 112,200 terabecquerels per gram. Nah, don't think I'll worry about that being a problem for the Chrome Notebook either. My worries for tonight are simple and consist of:

program HelloWorld;

begin

writeln ('Hello, World.')

end.

But enough of Chrome Pilot for tonight. Time to get some work done on aviation innovation.

Hello, World and Goodnight, Moon.

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