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Jason Jenkins

Jason loves anything tech-related and drives his partner crazy by bringing home the latest gadgets to play with. So crazy, in fact, she has finally persuaded him to buy a new place to house all the junk -- sorry, life-changing consumer technology -- he has amassed over the years

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Thursday 9 July 2009, 12:58pm

Google Chrome OS: The biggest problem is that people want Windows

Google's announcement that it's to release its own PC operating system next year may seem like it heralds the end of Microsoft as we know it, but Google's real challenge isn't to design software that's fast, secure, easy to use, exciting and generally brilliant. That's the easy bit. The hard part will be convincing people they actually need it.

The truth is people want Windows. No, they really do. Let's look at Linux, which has been around in various forms for years and has a horde of highly vocal users, but is simply not mass-market.

You can tell me until you're blue in the face that Linux is more secure than Windows, that it's free, that I can do all the things with Linux I can do with Windows (and more), plus you get a bonus sense of moral superiority by using open-source software. I may even agree with you. But most general consumers, the people actually buying new PCs day-to-day, couldn't give a fig.

Ultimately, most people want what they're familiar with. They want to use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office and to be able to get on with more important things in their lives, like voting in Britain's Got Talent.

Still not convinced? Let's look at the best chance Linux has had in recent years to break through into the mainstream -- netbooks. These were and are perfect for Linux, and the first ones that came out had perfectly decent, customised versions of said OS.

What happened? People complained that they couldn't install Office and they didn't understand how to use them. They wanted to know how to get Windows on to their new machines. Netbooks were seen as toys, not tools. It was only once the manufacturers responded with Windows versions that sales really skyrocketed. Now Asus, the company that started the netbook craze, has stopped offering Linux models in the UK, which says it all.

Admittedly, some of this aversion to anything other than Windows isn't down to consumer choice at all, but rather the close relationship Microsoft enjoys with the PC industry.

Manufacturers that have tried to sell a PC with anything other than Windows on it have experienced huge pressure from Microsoft to come back to its software. If Google is to win in this area, it's going to need to develop these key relationships that Microsoft has nurtured over 30 years.

Perhaps the big win for Google here isn't countries like the UK after all, but developing countries where computer ownership is still in its relative infancy. With no hard-to-break Windows habits and impenetrable computer industry, Google Chrome OS might achieve there what the OLPC was supposed to.

But if Google is determined to crack the Western world with its new OS it will need a smart, ubiquitous ad campaign along the lines of Apple's, plus a massive presence in shops such as PC World -- a Google area or something similar.

That will take money, and plenty of it. The question is whether Google is really serious about taking Microsoft on directly, or whether Google Chrome OS will turn out to be another one of the company's 'nice to have' products that simply bubbles along in the background.

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Comments on this post

Just speaking for myself - I don't want Windows. I'm not all that enamoured with the idea of a Google operating system either, though. I'm sure Asus pulled out of the Netbook market because of pressure from Microsoft though, not because of a lack of demand.

Posted by David on Thu 9 July, 2009 5:22 PM

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But the Windows gorilla has been put on a severe diet. Windows has 88% marketshare, but 70% is Enterprise computing. With consumers it is 18% Windows vs 12% Mac and Linux. 10% of netbooks are running LInux, now that is about 9% more than one would expect. As more and more people use OS X and Linux (or Chrome) more and more people will consider it as an option. It has been a long time since Microsoft got anybody excited: Internet Explorer? Windows Mobile? Vista? Microsoft's hold on computing is very fragile right now and the OEM's would dearly love another option.

Posted by avro on Sat 11 July, 2009 1:34 AM

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A new OS cannot be a bad idea. I still have trouble seeing what is so different from XP and Vista except Vista has trouble working with some printers etc and takes more RAM. As for Windows 7 it does not appear to be so different either and will cost the UK users more than US users. If Chrome can run on less RAM and Prcessing power then this will be a win win situation for Google and the environment.

Posted by Peter on Sat 11 July, 2009 2:07 AM

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has nobody cottoned on the fact that practically every piece of software one can buy, will only operate with windows? i used to have linux and only migrated to windows because of the lack of choice of software in the high street. so it's not neccessarily what people like, it's what they get dumped with whether they like it or not.

Posted by Anonymous on Tue 14 July, 2009 5:05 PM

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I very much doubt it will be used like that. I think it will come installed in Windows laptops and desktops so that you can dual boot to it when all you want to do is quickly look something up on the web or check your email. Many motherboards and laptops already have this feature built in - all Google are trying to do is make people use their version of this feature rather than every motherboard maker coming up with their own implementation.

Posted by Nick Gilbert on Wed 15 July, 2009 12:37 PM

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google chrome os could be quite intresting but the only reason i pick windows over mac or linux is its just so much easier to use and i think wndows seven could be good i didnt go from xp to vista i stayed put but i am however going straight to windows seven but i will consider google chrome os

Posted by sedgewick on Fri 24 July, 2009 7:22 PM

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I think people should stop comparing Chrome OS to Linux who has no major backing in the consumer market. Google has a lot of muscles and once they get everything into place, they are on a winner. I agree that Microsoft are completely out of ideas. Vista and Office 2007 are a complete shambles, and I can bet that Chrome OS will be supporting Microsoft Office.

Posted by AK on Wed 29 July, 2009 11:36 PM

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My 4 year old son uses Ubuntu Linux every day. He just does not care what is that thing around the browser. My wife uses Linux every day, she does not care what she uses to open the browser. Google Linux will work perfectly for all those 99.9% of desktop users who do not give a s*** how they open the browser window.

Posted by http://vizualbod.com on Mon 3 August, 2009 10:05 PM

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Although still quite early to judge, the announcement by google surely will spur the competition is OS market just as what android did.

Posted by Anonymous on Tue 4 August, 2009 11:32 AM

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I want a Chrome OS....

Posted by Anonymous on Wed 5 August, 2009 11:05 AM

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I cannot see Chrome OS selling. If Apple finall wake up and offer their Macs at prices closer to PC's they would wipe out Microsoft. But for some reason they seem frightened to try it.. Long live windows.

Posted by Loadit on Wed 5 August, 2009 1:27 PM

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