Google: Chrome OS could replace 60% of Windows PCs

[Emil]

Linus Upson, Google's vice president for engineering in charge of Chrome, recently made some bold comments about his company's upcoming operating system. Google has apparently done some research and found that 60 percent of Windows PCs used in the corporate world are exclusively used for tasks that can be handled in a browser environment. Google wants to hit Microsoft where it hurts.

"Mr. Upson says that 60 percent of businesses could immediately replace their Windows machines with computers running Chrome OS," according to The New York Times. "He also says he hopes it will put corporate systems administrators out of work because software updates will be made automatically over the Web. But the vast majority of businesses still use desktop Microsoft Office products and cannot imagine moving entirely to Web-based software or storing sensitive documents online — at least not yet."

Corporate IT departments aren't going to immediately jump on Chrome OS, and it's not simply because they tend to do things slowly. Upson hopes the OS will put corporate system administrators out of work because software updates will be made automatically over the Web. The system administrators who decide whether to move to Chrome OS or stay on Windows are obviously going to stick with the latter if their jobs are at stake. They will come up with every reason and excuse not to ditch Windows. At the same time, CFOs and CEOs will be eager to move to Chrome OS if it means streamlining IT operations.

Google is planning on releasing Chrome OS on netbooks in the first half of 2011. As part of the "consumer launch," Acer and HP will push out various hardware offerings but none of them will be for businesses. A Google-branded Chrome OS netbook (think Nexus One) will reportedly launch for "friends and family" in December. The search giant says that the main way to differentiate between its two OS offerings is form factor: Android is for touch, Chrome OS is for keyboards.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/41318-google-chrome-os-could-replace-60-of-windows-pcs.html

 

[KG363]

Doesn't Windows have auto updates? How is that special?

 

[Burty117]

So basically google wants to push its OS onto everything slowly and steadily?

I don't trust my data being stored in "the-cloud" and that alone simply pushes me away from their OS to start with.

Plus by the sounds of it you can't actually "install" apps on this OS.

This alone means it will pish away more of the business market which uses legacy software etc...

I don't think 60% is realisatic at all.

 

[Guest]

They pretty much, trying to create a hype and get some from google...

 

[Mischief007]

This is laughable. I commend Google's tactics but they are dreaming.

 

[madboyv1]

burty117 said:
I don't trust my data being stored in "the-cloud" and that alone simply pushes me away from their OS to start with.

Considering the confidentiality requirements of some corporate documents, Some companies will think (hopefully, for their sake) the same thing too.

Does anyone have any recent usage statistics for Google Apps? Because if those numbers are lackluster, the adoption rate for ChromeOS may follow a similar trend in my opinion.

Anyways, I'm used to hearing Windows and Apple making brazen comments/predictions, so this is somewhat unexpected considering the percentage quoted.

 

[PanicX]

He also says he hopes it will put corporate systems administrators out of work because software updates will be made automatically over the Web

Looks to me like someone is projecting their own insecurities.
I like to think of the old saying here, make something ***** proof and they'll build a better *****.
I've run into countless examples of end users breaking the simplest things, there's always going to be demand for system administrators and as technology advances those demands will increase. I'm sure the day will come that because a clients shoes have wifi pedometers, they'll need a tech to tie them.

 

[Guest]

Just because something "could" be handled in a browser does not mean that is the best place for it. According to Google 100% of people should be using some Google product but that does not make a true statement.

 

[Leeky]

According to Google 100% of people should be using some Google product

Though I bet the real percentage is somewhere very close to that figure.

In some way, shape or form the Google portfolio touches most people, and quite a few without even realising it.

 

[edison5do]

Im not one of those with All My Life On The Cloud... nope not me..

 

[bioflex]

i think google it deluded about this one, not going to happen.

 

[treetops]

Most computers come with windows, so yeah...

 

[Guest]

What ever Linus Upson is smoking, i want some!

 

[avoidz]

No chance. I also don't trust data with Google's -- or anyone's -- "cloud", nor an OS that can't have local apps installed on it.

 

[fwilliams]

Windows 8 will be cloud, so just wait 2 or 3 years, and you can really on Microsoft to securely keeping your data safe in the cloud.

 

[matrix86]

60% eh? I think Google should come over here and read the comments on this article, lol.

I just really don't trust putting all my info in a cloud. Sure HDDs and SSDs fail, but that's what they make back-up disks for...and secondary HDDs, lol.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Lol, remember Knol? No?
Haha that's what I thought.

 

[lawfer]

My first reaction to the article's title:

"Hahahaha, no."

 

[Det]

People please. This article was about Chrome OS having the _possibility_ to immediately replace 60% of Windows PCs as they are being used for tasks that Chrome OS can also handle. Not that it _would_ actually happen even in 10 years.

I don't believe Chrome OS will in its first years be any more popular than Mac (if even that) becase Windows really dominates the desktop market and has done so for _long_. A lot of companies have tried to beat Microsoft in the desktop market, e.g. Apple (Mac OS) and IBM (OS/2) but it is very very hard which is why they were unsuccesful. You'd really have to come up with something that is not only better but inspiring and very comfortable for the user compared to Windows.

Even then not everybody would just *switch* to the new OS during the first day of the release.

 

[Archean]

Leeky said:

According to Google 100% of people should be using some Google product

Though I bet the real percentage is somewhere very close to that figure.

In some way, shape or form the Google portfolio touches most people, and quite a few without even realising it.

May be, but that does not apply to me

I think he is smoking heroin or something strong; because few well informed commentators have already pointed out something which google doesn't understand, "why would businesses want to put all their eggs in one basket (means loosing control over their own data), i.e. google ?"

Google doesn't offer anything which make it unique from others, they may have the search engine market domination, and that is too because of one reason i.e. 'habit'.

Anyway, I think google devised the plan to put everything up in clouds, and even then they are not getting much headway with it, simple reason, 'browser' is not everything. Most of the work done at workplace computers involves complex set of applications, including productivity suite like MS Office, CAD/CAM applications, other database/ERP solutions etc. to name few; and google's cooked up OS may worth nothing more than a load and half of s**** in these areas.

In fact what they have done, is gave MS a head start in some respect, as MS had the right tools which are used in the business environment, and they only need to get few bigger players along side them to make their own cloud base solution much more potent than google's could be impotent threat in this area. For now, this new OS doesn't seems to have much promise. Some may point at the mobile arena and android, but that is a different story, they got hold in that area because several of the bigger players played their hands badly (i.e. Nokia / MS etc.).

By the way, do heroin make people day dream?

 

[Benny26]

Keyword here : ---> 'Could'......Which means 0% to anything really.

 

[satty]

"60% of businesses could immediately replace their Windows machines with computers running Chrome OS"

I bet this wont happen

20% of internet users still use IE6

 

[Guest]

Most of these legacy apps mentioned in the comments by people - as reasons corporate IT won't switch to Chrome OS are actually run in the browser, so it's not as big a hurdle to convert as you might think. That said a lot of them are horribly written and designed to work on IE6, so Google still have their work cut out.

 

[captaincranky]

I "could" fly, if I "could" grow wings and feathers....Even still, it would probably take a lot of practice......I guess you could say I'd have to revise my operating system.

 

[nismo91]

i believe that's not gonna happen. 60% IE users to chrome is feasible, but 60% Windows users to Chrome OS is difficult.