There’s a lot of speculation about the new Google Chrome OS and I for one do not want it to be yet another Linux clone with ‘cloud’ based access to Google Apps. This is because its been done to death and doesn’t really improve upon or take advantage of Googles strengths that include storage, bandwidth and desire to monitor and manipulate data.
So how do I think the new Google OS should be implimented. Well, for a start I have to say I’m no application developer however, I am a keen follower of technology and somewhat of a futurist so here goes.
To put it simply I think the new Google OS should be in the form of a VPS, a Virtual Private Server with customers using remote desktop style interfaces to access their centrally stored data.
This approch has a number of wide reaching benefits which include:
Limited client side hardware requirements.
As your computing power is handled server side you should be able to do things like play Quake and other intensive games in super high resolution without needing the latest hardware (subject to adequate bandwidth).
In addition the VPS Google OS would take care of hardware upgrades and ensure that your system is always able to use the latest and greatest games and apps. This would also give Google the ability to market Google OS Ready hardware which would simply be a bare bones systems with compatible ethernet and graphics drivers.
Centralised Storage.
Having everything stored on an online drive has numerous advantages including limitless storage (probably for a fee), files being automatically updated from source, collaborative document creation, seamless backups, version control, easy searching and lots more.
Remote Access.
As everything is hosted on the cloud you could access your desktop from any PC by simply downloading a client application. In addition, cloud hosted files would give you web access to your private files from any location.
Subscription Software.
Having software hosted via the cloud would completely remove the ability to pirate applications which would see software developers moving to the new platform on mass. These apps would possibly be available via a subscription service which would not only give you access to the applications but also all future updates.
Issues.
There are obvious issues with this solution including:
Bandwidth – having everything hosted on the cloud would mean that to achieve a high framerate would require a fast connection. Having local mirrors could help speed this up (as with Google Search).
Privacy – Having everything stored centrally could be a privacy nightmare
Local Access – Saving files off the web could be a problem with people wishing to save files to CD and thumb drive. Tho’ with your content being accessible from any web accessible PC it shouldn’t be a problem. Connecting to iTunes or any 3rd party device could also be problematic tho’ as the creators of a new OS, Google should already be tacking this issue.
Fees – Initially the fees would be high tho’ I suspect that as more app developers move to the platform and more users take up their wares that these should go down dramatically
Microsoft – I don’t anticipate that Microsoft applications would initially be available to this service due to the MS / Google rivalry.
All in all, I think a VPS based Google OS would be a smash hit (especially if it’s free to basic users) and would totally revolutionise desktop operating systems.