The Logics

As seemed logical on my blog entry of April 19th, Google has now announced (July 08, 2009 http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html) that it is interested in developing an open source operating system. The next year or so will surely be an interesting era of seeing whether Google will find the soft-spot in Microsoft’s Windows OS, and whether Google will use the advantage to create a new OS that the public will want.

Linux lovers have tried for years to build a public following, and though Linux has numerous advantages over Windows, Linux is simply too complex for beginners, too blah for graphics designers, and not yet matured enough to compete against multi-billion dollar companies like Microsoft that can afford to hire design specialists. Regardless of how well a device may work, if it is psychologically displeasing to the public, then the public will not use the device. Yes, it is common for egg-heads to have little concern for aesthetics, and yes, Linux geeks are egg-heads of the favorite kind, but that which is attractive to a geek is not attractive to the general public.

Microsoft has maintained its lead in the OS competition by hiring design specialists, and my curiosity is currently asking whether the favored egg-heads in Google will recognize that Google Chrome’s future depends almost entirely on how the product is presented to the public. In my city, a business district has had almost no business in thirty years, even though it used to be the number one spot in the tri-state region. The city planners still today cannot understand the one tiny thing that they did wrong thirty years ago, and the ghost-town district remains as evidence of what near-sighted planning can cause. The ‘little thing’ is a portion of Microsoft’s weak spot, which could easily be manipulated to any other OS’ advantage.  The big question is; will Google approach the new OS with foresight, or will Google make the same simple mistake that thousands of other companies have made, which cost them the loss of business?

It is my current belief that the new Google Chrome operating system will likely be pretty good regardless of how the OS is presented to the public. My concern is whether Google will waste many millions of dollars to create a product that is no more popular than Linux. And not to be unexpected is that Linux developers will copy-cat some of Google Chrome’s ideas, effectively limiting Google’s rise in ranks. Yes, I am confident that Google will profit from the Chrome browser, but a few million here and there is nothing like tens of billions.

It’s going to be an interesting year or two!