It’s like a scene straight out of Jerry Maguire. Google has rocked up at the operating system party, looked lovingly into the eyes of the IT community and proclaimed, “you complete me.” And boy, has the IT community been completing them since.
I didn’t think it was possible to surpass Apple Computer in the ability to create a media frenzy. But I think Google has done it. Off the back of a 655 word blog post which does little more than state an intention, they’ve triggered a proliferation of pontification on how Google Chrome OS will disrupt the IT industry.
Just like Dorothy’s reaction to Jerry’s appearance in the movie, Google has had to do little more than show up and say hello in order to earn this response. There were no demos, no briefings, no technical specifications, no screen shots, no details on the partners they’re working with, no comparison of what they’re proposing over what’s already in the market.
Well, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m choosing to wait for some more substance before reaching any conclusions. If there’s a quote from Jerry Maguire that would sum up my attitude at the moment it would be “show me the money.”
I need to feel you Google.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Why does anyone care about operating systems? // Jul 9, 2009 at 5:21 pm
[...] operating system built around the Chrome browser. I will let my colleagues debate what this really means. But this all makes me a little sad. I thought that obsessing about an OS in 1993 was depressing; [...]
2 The Blog Entry on Chrome: Hype Seed or a Nod to Formalism? // Jul 13, 2009 at 11:01 am
[...] My colleague Brian Prentice, a sharp and distinguished practitioner of our occult trade, is utterly whelmed by the possibility of an exciting new operating system, at least insofar as evidence for its delivery is currently available mostly via a spare blog post. [...]
3 Simon Sharwood // Jul 19, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I think it says a lot about the operating system market that such a thin announcement gathered so much attention. To me, it bespeaks a thirst for different choices.
4 Brian Prentice // Jul 20, 2009 at 6:33 am
Simon – thanks for you thoughts. Really? You think actually people – the ones who just go to work or go home and turn their PC on – are thirsty for different choices?
Or do you think the community of IT commentators are enthralled with a Microsoft v.s. “any one else” fight? Personally, I think it’s the latter. And this has taken a life of its own for two reasons – 1) Google makes this a plausible story and 2) when a story looks big you’re compelled to get your share of the internet traffic it will generate.
It seems to me that there are a number of different choices out there. Mac OS X is clearly one. So are the numerous versions of Linux. Heck, there’s even OLPC (a far more interesting OS than most people have given it credit for). The bottom line is that Windows is still the dominate OS on the market – by a country mile.
I sure wish there was a thirst for choice. I just can’t see the evidence for it. What do you think I’m missing here?
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