The Future Is In The Clouds
Google may be an increasingly scary proposition with it's wealth of data and insidious hooks into most aspects of our lives, yet we cannot turn away - only hope they remain true to their motto!
So we Gmail, Gchat, use Google Docs, Google Maps, Google calendars, and even think about catching the Google Wave. Then we check our Google anayltics and see how many people have Googled us!
What's interesting about Google is how it's subtly making the concept of the cloud a part of our day to day lives. No more installing applications, running out of hard-drive space, not being able to access files because you're nowhere near your own computer. Indeed, most of us are embracing the cloud without knowing that's what we are doing, but when you stop to think about it, the cloud is changing the way we use and interface with technology.
Now Google is trying to up the ante and get everyone's heads in the clouds with the announcement of their Chrome OS. The Chrome browser is nice, but being Mac fanboys it's not an option for us. And again, although I'm probably not ready to give up OSX just yet, the announcement of a Google operating system bundled with Chrome specific computers is an intriguing proposition - not just offering online apps and services, but an integrated cloud based platform, and putting the web at the centre of everything.
As Wired reports:
All the applications will be web-based, meaning users won’t have to install apps, manage updates or even backup their data. All data will be stored in the cloud, and users won’t even have to bother with anti-virus software: Google claims it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps.
“Chrome OS is a totally rethought computer that will let you focus on the internet, so you can stop worrying about your computer,” according to a Google promotional video shown at the event, held at the Google campus in Mountain View, California.
The OS’s focus on design is consistent with the company’s stance that the future is in the web. In July, Vic Gundotra, Google’s engineering vice president and developer evangelist, spoke on a panel about app stores, in which he said native apps (such as those available for the iPhone) would be obsolete in the future, and that the web will "become the platform that matters."
It's easy to imagine Gmail and online docs. But the no (or limited) hard drive aspect is more interesting. A world where we store our photos online, ditch our iTunes for online streaming services like Spotify, and access all of our our apps through web interfaces... it sounds amazing, as long as we're willing to fore go ownership for access and there is an infrastructure to support it - most obviously access to cheap, plentiful broadband and wi-fi will be crucial to cement this next step.
That said this should make the Chrome PCs affordable - and give them a lifespan beyond that of the traditional PC (which at last count was around 6 minutes... 4 if it's on Vista).
The final intriguing development is that Google have made Chrome OS an open-source project and have handed code over to the public to encourage development. There is a tension in that you'll need to have Google specific computers to use of all of this (which seems a little proprietary to me?!), but currently Google's services are free and that doesn't look like changing, which makes it hard for companies like Micro$oft to gain any traction with their excessive licensing fees, continual updates and high price points for entry.
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Although there's certainly money to be made (cue X-Files theme). Google's power is in data, and what better way to get that data than under the guise of providing, maintaining and hosting the apps that are central to our day to day computing life... and it looks like Google's biggest threat these days - Facebook - merely confirms our desire to login and confess every aspect of our lives online....
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