This new OS will likely eat into Windows' market share, but I hardly thing Microsoft is "done" because of it... Even if the new OS takes off and becomes wildly popular enough to dethrone Windows, it will take years for that to happen.
Yeah, there's the rub. On one hand, it sure would be nice if we could get some competition in the OS industry. We've gotten some pretty good gains by having one platform for everybody to develop apps on. You can have a lot more applications for a lot less money if developers only have to build for one OS. But the piper still demands to be paid. And pay we have! In security flaws, amazingly fat bloatware, and high prices for the OS. But Google? The guys that desperately want their POS toolbar installed on every PC? It sucks so bad they pay other companies to include it in their installation program! Google can fly under the radar because everybody is focused on nailing MSFT whenever they mess up. So MSFT works harder than anybody else to keep from screwing up (although they still do). Dunno what the answer is, and a new OS from google won't hurt, I don't think. All I want is a simple OS that is secure, that works, that doesn't slow down from all the crap every other application developer wants to run (like Quicktime and Adobe Acrobat want TSRs to load at bootup), has lots of apps and is cheap.
Intelligent post... unusual for ET. Windows 7 is great but I still sold MSFT on the high of the move.
Good luck to Microsoft when sheeple find out they can get Chrome OS for free, that it's easy to use, looks pretty, and doesn't lag or shut down on them. If buying a new PC, they'll realize a savings of at least $50 (and $25 on a netbook) by opting for Chrome OS over Windows 7 or XP. That's all Google needs to trounce Microsoft. As far as privacy concerns, the American People could care less, as a general rule. This was proven when it was revealed the NSA had essentially wiretapped the entire nation's email, phone and other communication devices, and there was nary a peep. Peep.
I would choose Windows over Chrome for the simple reason of risk of incompatibility. When you buy new hardware or software, you are gaurenteed it will be compatible for Windows. Until Chrome can prove compatibility with as wide of a range of products as Windows, I'll stick with what works. I'm not much of a techie though so I don't fully understand how this compatibility situation works. Can anyone shed some light? Will all hardware and software be compatible with this new operating system? Or will it be a limited selection...
I'm sticking with the industry standard - Windows. Look at AMD versus Intel. Sure, AMD is still around, selling their chips in low-end computers, and has about a 10% market share. But for my money I am willing to pay up for INTC chips, sticking w/industry standard, and avoiding ANY compatibility issues. GOOG will be the AMD of the OS space in no time.
About time Microsoft gets some competition. For those who are serious about switching to something other than Microsoft. Consider... http://www.ubuntu.com/ It's a Linux OS and has been around and highly regarded for a while. And for those who don't understand the idea of Linux.. it's free.. and open source.
Still the problem. I guarantee TS and WL won't be able to run on google's platform. It's an internet portal.