Operating Systems

Firstly this isn't a tech blog. Honestly!

There's been a lot in the tech news recently about Google's announcement of their own operating system, called Chrome to confuse us all as it's the same name as their browser, to be released free of charge and open source.

My comment? Yawn.

I have a long history with computers. I started with home machines in the UK such as the ZX Spectrum, had an Amstrad CPC464 in the house, an Atari ST, a Commodore Amiga, various other PC-like devices before finally getting a 486 PC, Pentium 1, Pentium 2... the list is ridiculously long.

Today I have a Tablet PC at home on my desk as a plaything, a MacBook as my main laptop, a MSI Wind Hackintosh as my main day-to-day travel laptop, a Dell laptop supplied by my employer, an old desktop as a home server, an old desktop as our media center, an Asus laptop for my wife and 2 iPhone's.

So let's put that in to context, just taking my primary machines -

• 2 x Windows 7
• 2 x Apple Leopard
• 1 x Windows XP
• 1 x Linux
• 2 x Apple iPhone
• Various OS installations as virtual systems on the MacBook

What does this tell me? Firstly I spend too much money on tech! Secondly that the OS really isn't that important.

A bold statement. Let me explain.

I love my Apple gear and if I had to use only one manufactures kit then my choice is easy. However the choice of OS is not really what drives people today, as it hasn't for a long time now really. It's always been about what you want to do and how easy it is to do it.

So when us users needed access to MS Word, Excel etc. to be able to work on the move or from home we really needed a Windows device. Yes there are versions for Mac but they paled in comparison to the Windows versions.

Similar for design apps, photography apps, life style apps etc. There seemed to be one system that was 'better' (better meaning what you want it to mean - more choice, cheaper, better etc) and that was Windows. Not that Windows was the best system, just the most popular in sheer numbers and therefore the most supported.

Today though that has changed. Users still need to word process, spreadsheet and so on but equally important is that they need to twitter and Facebook and generally be sociable to strangers on the web. To do that you need an internet based device and a browser. As long as the device gets you to the web and the browser works well enough then the user experience on Windows 7, Vista, Leopard, Ubuntu etc. is close to being the same. Some may run a little faster. Some may render the screen a little differently. But 99.9% of what the user sees is the same.

And then we have devices like the iPhone and Palm Pre who offer great mobile browsers and optional mobile versions of web sites to give an either better web experience. On top of which are dedicated apps that make that experience even stronger.

I suggest that more so now then ever the operating system really doesn't matter to a large majority of users. My wife is a prime example - put her in front of a XP / Vista / Windows 7 / Leopard / Ubuntu machine, load the browser and she will work happily with no problems in Gmail, Facebook, Google Cal and various other cloud based sites.

I would even push on and state that if I told her that she could choose a device with a browser only giving her Gmail and Facebook, no Word or Excel but as a compromise she could have Google Docs then she would be ok. The choice of Word or Facebook is a no brainer to her.

Is she unusual? I suggest no. Her computing needs are fairly standard to the majority of non-professional and / or home users that I encounter.

Google Chrome does have three interesting features though -

1. It's going to be free. That will mean a drop in PC prices that opt for Chrome as the OS as there will be no license fees to Microsoft for a version of Windows;
2. It's designed for low spec machines. Netbooks are a big part of the future of computing for the next few years and an OS designed for such devices makes a lot of sense;
3. It's open source. We should see a steady curve of improvements and features that will be interesting to watch and try. But will we be allowed to install apps or is it web only? If so the 16gb flash based netbooks become very interesting (Chrome cannot be that big an install if it is only a browser, right?).

It's an interesting time in the user space of computing. Interesting to observe. Even more interesting to be a user of.

My Tech, Tech Thoughts