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Google Working on Desktop Linux

Posted by CmdrTaco on Tue Jan 31, 2006 11:09 AM
from the what-you-guys-are-surprised dept.
paulmac84 writes "The Register reports that Google is working on a version of Ubuntu, known internally as Goobuntu. Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for. Is Google about to release this as an alternative to Windows?" Update: 02/01 00:11 GMT by SM: chrisd is the first among many to point out that this is just more fodder from the Google rumor mill and isn't something they are currently planning to release.
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  • hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Fusen (841730) * on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:10AM (#14607274)
    This has been talked about for quite a long time and even supposedly seen [google.com] but what can Google do that would make this more special then any other ubuntu release/spin off?
    Also a more worrying question,would you see ads incorporated?
    • What can Google do by Silver Sloth (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:13AM
      • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Insightful)

        by TallMatthew (919136) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:21AM (#14607391)
        More to the point, what does Google plan to do that Ubuntu isn't already doing? The Ubuntu project has already made good progress in terms of usability and so forth; why would Google want to mess with a good thing? And once they rebrand Ubuntu, why would Ubuntu continue to offer their internal updates?

        It seems more likely Google would partner with Ubuntu than snapshot their product and start wandering off in their own direction. Ubuntu could definitely use the human and network resources Google has to offer, but I don't see them just handing over all their work and letting Google take over, nor does it make sense for the two to start competing with one another.

        [ Parent ]
        • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Insightful)

          by sperm (916223) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:30AM (#14607493)
          (Last Journal: Monday November 07 2005, @02:44PM)
          With a Google name on it, Corporate acceptance will be easier to sell, than simply "Ubuntu"!!!
          [ Parent ]
          • Mod the parent up. It's simplistic, but it's incredibly true. There are two barriers to linux pretty much wiping away MSs stranglehold on the OS market. The first is the actual usability of the linux distros. Google can help with that, but it will probably be incremental over the existing efforts.

            The second major barrier is something that linux can't really overcome on its own, however, and that is credibility. The impact of having a Google-branded linux distro could be huge. Google is one of the most well-known brands in the world. Techies may be happy to choose between Ubuntu, SUSE, Mandriva, and the huundreds of other varieties of linux but to the average man or woman on the street the choices of distros make the move to linux doubtful. Having a Google-branded distro would be like a huge signpost reading "this is safe" that would encourage droves of people to try linux out. Of coruse - most people aren't going to reinstall the OS on their desktop, but it opens the opportunity for IT service companies to come in and say "you know that Google OS you've been hearing about? We can install it for you."

            For private users this is not such a big deal. But for small to medium sized (non IT) businesses - many of which outsource their IT - this could be huge. These companies want to save money on IT and they don't care very much about the nuts and bolts. If Linux is cheaper AND they feel it is safe and credible - they will switch. A lot of them already know that Linux is cheaper, but they don't have the expertise to verify how stable and/or easy to use it may be so they go with the safe option: Windows.

            Goobuntu (what a ridiculous name) totally changes this equation. Suddenly Linux is cheaper AND trusted. The reprecussions could be huge. Not just for Google-linux, but really for all the desktop distros.

            Note that I'm not saying this will end Windows at all, but that it will end the Windows monopoly. Windows is good at what it does. The market doesn't need a new monolith - it needs real competition. That's the great part about linux and open source. If you've got open standards than transitioning the software won't kill access to the data. So the companies and individuals aren't as locked into their software. And with hundreds of distros to choose from - and several close competitors at the top - we are looking at the dawn of REAL competition in the market. And that competition is what we want.

            -stormin
            [ Parent ]
            • Re:What can Google do (Score:4, Funny)

              by jZnat (793348) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:59AM (#14607836)
              (http://del.icio.us/jvz | Last Journal: Sunday December 03 2006, @12:45PM)
              Just wanted to mention that your "mod parent up" post turned into something far more insightful than the parent, so congrats on breaking /. tradition! :P
              [ Parent ]
            • Re:What can Google do by Keruo (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:01PM
            • The second major barrier is something that linux can't really overcome on its own, however, and that is credibility. The impact of having a Google-branded linux distro could be huge.

              Or Google's brand could be devalued by the move.

              I hate to say it, but Corel, Novell, Sun Microsystems, and several other large companies with good reputations have tried this. The result has always been the exact reverse of what was expected. Instead of Linux being risen up, the company is dragged down. Next thing you know, the company is ejecting Linux faster than you can say "What happened?"

              The problem (I think) is a lack of corporate control. Linux has always been a hobbiest's OS. When big companies come in and start trying to help improve areas where they feel Linux is lacking, there's often a lot of pushback. For example, the Sun GNOME engineers have often complained about how hard it was to get many of their usability improvements into the main trunk.

              It's not so much that one side is right and the other side is wrong (though arguments could be made both ways), but rather an extreme culture clash. The corporates say, "Our customers need this, do it" while the hobbiests say, "I think this is a cool feature, I want to work on it, you should know more about XYZ if you want to do ABC."

              Google isn't stupid. I'm betting dollars to donuts that their new desktop is nothing more than a cool network configuration tool or kiosk type scheme. Meanwhile Google will continue to benefit from all these boneheads who continue to think that they're doing a consumer desktop. Mark my words: This isn't what people think it is.
              [ Parent ]
              • Re:What can Google do by john83 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:11PM
              • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Insightful)

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:40PM (#14608274)
                Corel was on its last gasp and tried to use Linux to pull it out of its tailspin.

                Sun used Linux as a platform for Java and they were in trouble, not because they supported Linux on the desktop, but because they were still pushing million dollar servers over cheap Linux and WIndows servers.

                Novell is now using Linux to replace NDS and it is working for them.

                IBM hasn't branded Linux, but its a HUGE supporter of Linux. Not going down any where.

                [ Parent ]
              • Re:What can Google do by bigjerkboy (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:56PM
              • I see it a little differently. First of all large companies haven't been entirely dragged down by Linux. I don't think IBM is going to jetison it any time soon, for example, and I think that Sun still has high hopes for Star/Open Office.

                But the problem is that large companies have tried to laterally transplant linux into the marketplace. This won't work. What Google could do here that is radically different is start to build a groundswell of support. Think of it as politics. Large companies are like well-funded small-interest groups, Google is starting a grassroots campaign. If you want to get a specific earmark, go with the small-interest groups. But if you want to make fundamental changes in politics - or in in IT - you need a grassroots movement.

                By convincing individual users - in business, academic, or private capacity - that linux is safe to use Google could start just this kind of grassroots momentum. This spreads to small and medium businesses and retail (why use Windows to run cash registers with a few bells and whistles?). That kind of broad market penetration means that the employees of large companies will be able to transition more easily to linux - so eventually IBM, Sun etc. start to get what they've been gunning for as well: mainstream adoption of linux.

                Of course a lot of companies are going to find out that Windows is better for them than Linux. That's really what we want to have happen, however. Instead of politics we may actually get a more open market where people have genuine choice and therefore there's genuine competition.

                Google can contribute to this process in ways that IBM, Sun, Novell, etc. never could because Google is visible to ordinary non-techies in their day-to-day lives in ways those tech giants aren't.

                -stormin
                [ Parent ]
              • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Insightful)

                by nospmiS remoH (714998) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:18PM (#14608715)
                (Last Journal: Thursday August 11 2005, @12:49PM)
                One difference: Find the most non-tech person you know who still uses a computer. Now, give them a list of company names as follows:

                1) Corel
                2) Novell
                3) Sun Microsystems
                4) Google

                Now, ask that person which companies they have heard of and what those companies do. A strong brand name is a very powerful thing.
                [ Parent ]
              • Re:What can Google do by azpenguin (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:25PM
              • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Interesting)

                by sootman (158191) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:28PM (#14608833)
                (Last Journal: Thursday July 12, @12:30PM)
                The companies you mention either did Linux as a dying gasp but didn't have enough resources (Corel*) or because it was the only way they could deal with the threat to their proprietary offerings (Novell, Sun) but their hearts really weren't in it. (Besides, none of those three had/have one-tenth the name recognition among the public that Google does.)

                I think a Google Linux for the masses would be the greatest thing ever. They have the resources to make software packaging and delivery easy, they've got lots of cool apps & services they could deploy and integrate, they're smart enough to know how to make a good, clean, easy-to-use UI, they've got the resources to extensively test and then certify application compatibility (i.e., MS Office under Wine or CrossOver) and most importantly, it's a brand that everyone from a CEO to a PHB to a mail room guy knows and trusts.

                What's holding back Linux adoption now? Fragmentation, and the main support options are from companies that techs swear are great but that PHBs have never heard of. Even if a manager did listen to his techs and investigate Linux, what would he see--a bunch of distros with odd names and support from a bunch of companies that come and go, none of which he's ever heard of. Google could change all that.

                Ubuntu is a great distro--pretty, simple, works on lots of hardware. But it has a weird name and no particularly compelling features that would draw most Windows user. For every huge plus (no viruses!) there is an equally huge minus (my favorite old game doesn't work!). Google could change all that, too.

                Basically it comes down to this: if there's one company that a) could make Linux work, b) has a compelling reason to want Linux to be a success among the masses, and c) has a name people respond positively to, Google is it. They could become a major force in both the home and the office. Google can pull it off. I really hope this rumor is true.

                * Corel really could have been great. If they could have made a clean desktop and bundled NATIVE versions of Draw, PhotoPaint, and WordPerfect, it would have been awesome.
                [ Parent ]
              • Re:What can Google do by thsths (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:45PM
              • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Insightful)

                by podperson (592944) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:05PM (#14609246)
                (http://loewald.com/)
                I hate to say it, but Corel, Novell, Sun Microsystems, and several other large companies with good reputations have tried this. The result has always been the exact reverse of what was expected. Instead of Linux being risen up, the company is dragged down. Next thing you know, the company is ejecting Linux faster than you can say "What happened?"

                All of these companies were in a downward slide and tried to save themselves by jumping on the Linux bandwagon. They weren't trying to build a credible Linux by using their shiny aura, they were trying to bask in Linux's shiny aura.

                The problem (I think) is a lack of corporate control. Linux has always been a hobbiest's OS. When big companies come in and start trying to help improve areas where they feel Linux is lacking, there's often a lot of pushback. For example, the Sun GNOME engineers have often complained about how hard it was to get many of their usability improvements into the main trunk.

                My guess is that the problem faced by SUN is that they know jack, diddly, and squat about usability. The GNOME team is, basically, a bunch of folks trying to clone Mac OS X and the KDE team is a bunch of folks trying to Clone Windows; while this is hardly ideal, it's a heck of a lot better than trying to do whatever Sun thinks is a good idea. I fondly remember Sun fanbois trying to explain to me why it's a GOOD thing for focus to follow the mouse pointer.

                It's not so much that one side is right and the other side is wrong (though arguments could be made both ways), but rather an extreme culture clash. The corporates say, "Our customers need this, do it" while the hobbiests say, "I think this is a cool feature, I want to work on it, you should know more about XYZ if you want to do ABC."

                What does this have to do with anything? If Google wants to build its own Linux distro it can do whatever the heck it wants and so can hobbyists.

                Google isn't stupid. I'm betting dollars to donuts that their new desktop is nothing more than a cool network configuration tool or kiosk type scheme. Meanwhile Google will continue to benefit from all these boneheads who continue to think that they're doing a consumer desktop. Mark my words: This isn't what people think it is.

                There's a nice discussion of business strategy 101 here http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLet terV.html which goes something like this: every other business out there is either a competitor (someone who does what you do), a collaborator (someone who offers services that complement your services or are required for you to provide your services), or a potential customer (everyone else). If you're in Google's business then a competitor looks like, say, msn or yahoo, a collaborator looks like Internet Explorer, HP, Comcast, or the Electrical Utility, and Joe Sixpack, Brooks Brothers, Walmart, and Starbucks are potential customers.

                You want your competitors to suck and be expensive -- so you can (relatively) be excellent and cheap AND you want your collaborators to be excellent, ubiquitous, and cheap or better yet free. For Google to make money, anything that makes computers, web browsers, computer networks, electricity, etc. better, cheaper, and more ubiquitous is a Good Thing. So giving away an excellent operating system actually makes perfect sense. Will they do it? Shrug. But I wouldn't start counting dollars or donuts.
                [ Parent ]
              • There is one diff between the Google brand... by 1tsm3 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:42PM
              • Re:What can Google do by Pentavirate (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:59PM
              • Re:What can Google do by ZephyrXero (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:18PM
              • Re:What can Google do by phlamingo (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:42PM
              • Re:What can Google do by WindBourne (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:19PM
              • Re:What can Google do by labratuk (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:48PM
              • Re:What can Google do by davez0r (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:27PM
              • Re:What can Google do by InsaneGeek (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:38PM
              • Re:What can Google do by dekemoose (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:48PM
              • Re:What can Google do by bigjerkboy (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:51PM
              • Re:What can Google do by InsaneGeek (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:12PM
              • Re:What can Google do by MPHellwig (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:02PM
              • LSB Desktop by Burz (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:47PM
              • Re:What can Google do by electroniceric (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:40PM
              • Re:What can Google do by theStorminMormon (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:57PM
              • Re:What can Google do by Recovering Anonymous (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @06:28PM
              • Re:What can Google do by Toby_Tyke (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @06:45PM
              • Re:What can Google do by electroniceric (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @06:56PM
              • Re:What can Google do by smitty_one_each (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:17PM
              • Re:What can Google do by theStorminMormon (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:30PM
              • Re:What can Google do by AKAImBatman (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:30PM
              • Re:What can Google do by Bing Tsher E (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @09:17PM
              • Re:What can Google do by hardwareman (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @04:27AM
              • 6 replies beneath your current threshold.
            • Re:What can Google do by carrier lost (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:46PM
            • Re:What can Google do by serutan (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:54PM
            • Re:What can Google do by alcmaeon (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:20PM
            • Re:What can Google do by justins (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:58PM
            • Re:What can Google do by CAIMLAS (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:47PM
            • The answer is... by MyOtherUIDis3digits (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:07PM
            • Re:What can Google do by cp.tar (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:37PM
            • Re:What can Google do by guisar (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @09:06AM
          • Re:What can Google do by Overly Critical Guy (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:33PM
          • Re:What can Google do by MikeFM (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:00PM
          • Re:What can Google do by drew (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:05PM
          • Re:What can Google do by TheLearnerX (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:11PM
        • Re:What can Google do by NetRAVEN5000 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:32AM
        • Re:What can Google do by tolan-b (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:33AM
        • Why doesn't Ubuntu partner with Debian? by mangu (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:52AM
        • Re:What can Google do by SilverspurG (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:54AM
        • Re:What can Google do (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Irish_Samurai (224931) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:57AM (#14607808)
          More to the point, what does Google plan to do that Ubuntu isn't already doing?

          How about live person tech support on the phone?

          Google has the resources to fund this, most Linux distros don't. I believe red hat live support is for their Enterprise products, not desktop, althogh I could be mistaken.

          And before anyone starts crying "look at all the community support", I will respond with "look at all the end users who don't know what your talking about, what to search for to get help, or even describe the problem other than the effects."

          A manned call center is just for that, especially if google incorporates a secure remote control capability so experienced Linux heads can fix the problem on callers machines themselves. Imagine how many more entry level jobs would be created for Linux guys by that initiative alone?

          Also, they have the manpower to GUI and Wizard up EVERYTHING within a reasonable timeframe. If google manages to create a non-tech friendly method for configuring the really cool parts of the OS, then they will have created the road for droves of converts.
          [ Parent ]
        • Re:What can Google do by wvitXpert (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:59AM
        • Re:What can Google do by MrByte420 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:00PM
        • Re:What can Google do by thePowerOfGrayskull (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:06PM
        • Re:What can Google do by Richthofen80 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:25PM
        • Re:What can Google do by Chemicalscum (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:32PM
        • Re:What can Google do by aphor (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:33PM
        • Re:What can Google do by danpsmith (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:04PM
        • Resources! by LWATCDR (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:21PM
        • Re:What can Google do by diegocgteleline.es (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:13PM
        • Re:What can Google do by FooBarWidget (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:14PM
        • Re:What can Google do by Thomas Miconi (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:43PM
        • Re:What can Google do by o517375 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @10:32PM
        • Re:What can Google do by PhoenixPath (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:57AM
        • OK, but then what does have high "usability"? by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:06PM
        • Re:What can Google do by chainy (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:44PM
        • Re:What can Google do by Chosen Reject (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:32PM
        • Re:What can Google do by Phisbut (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:02PM
        • Re:What can Google do by TallMatthew (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:27PM
        • 6 replies beneath your current threshold.
      • Re:What can Google do by Bing Tsher E (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @09:53PM
      • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anml4ixoye (264762) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:17AM (#14607355)
      (http://www.cornetdesign.com/)
      "This has been talked about for quite a long time and even supposedly seen but what can Google do that would make this more special then any other ubuntu release/spin off? "

      Actually, the question is, WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE A WINDOW'S KILLER FROM GOOGLE?!

      How many times do we have to hear, "Google is seeding clouds! Is this the end of Microsoft due to a massive hurricane Google is developing in the Pacific?"

      Guys, Google is a smart company. How would creating a Linux distribution even come *close* to being a Windows killer? And, more importantly, how would that make them any money? They're a public company, so if it isn't making them money, then why would they do it.
      [ Parent ]
      • Re:hmmm by jcr (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:24AM
        • Re:hmmm by BuR4N (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:49PM
        • No OS X on non-Macs by hchaput (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:01PM
        • Re:hmmm by Arandir (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:48PM
          • Re:hmmm by Koatdus (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:55PM
            • Re:hmmm by Arandir (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @06:29PM
              • Re:hmmm by arodland (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @02:58AM
              • Re:hmmm by Arandir (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @01:53PM
              • Re:hmmm by arodland (Score:3) Wednesday February 01 2006, @03:21PM
        • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
      • Re:hmmm... Well, umm, by... by davidsyes (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:33AM
      • Re:hmmm by Lehk228 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:33AM
        • Re:hmmm by ILikeRed (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:01PM
          • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
      • Re:hmmm by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:34AM
        • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Funny)

          Google tend to produce high quality products. This would put them in direct competition with Windows.
          Huh? If Google makes "high quality products" that would put them in an entirely different market than Microsoft.

          Now, if Google starts making bloated, insecure, and consumer-hostile products, then they could take Microsoft on head-to-head.
          [ Parent ]
          • lol by gammoth (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:14PM
          • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
        • Re:hmmm by Skreems (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:25PM
          • Re:hmmm by Radres (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:23PM
            • Re:hmmm by Skreems (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:49PM
      • Re:hmmm by wolfemi1 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:34AM
        • Re:hmmm by drgreg911 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:55AM
        • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)

          by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (609069) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:00PM (#14607845)
          Um, I think you forgot

          3. Running all the applications, some of which are critical to business processes, which only run on Windows, like, um, MS Office, for one?

          If you believe Open Office, or some other knockoff, or half-assed open source replacement for any other Windows-only application I might think of, is enough to cause people to totally change their Windows-buying habits, you are out of touch with reality.

          Firefox, from what I hear, is an eminently usable Web browser, and Internet Explorer is hardly critical to most Web applications. Yet, only a relatively small fraction of users make the effort to switch.

          Take a case where something like Microsoft Excel VBA macros or Microsoft Project is playing a daily role in a company's actual function of making money, and how eager will people be to switch to something else, just for the warm feeling they can get from using the Linux distribution du jour?
          [ Parent ]
          • Re:hmmm by hawkbug (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:20PM
            • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:29PM
              • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
            • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
          • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)

            by morgan_greywolf (835522) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:23PM (#14608071)
            (http://stylus-toolbox.sf.net/ | Last Journal: Tuesday May 15 2007, @11:50AM)
            Your assumption seems to be that this GoogleOS would be targetted at business.

            From the screenshots [trippmd.com] I have seen [popoever.com] I would say that Google is targetting mostly the home user.

            As surprising as it may seem to you, not everyone needs compatibility with existing Windows apps. Furthermore, the addition of another OS to the marketplace probably won't, nor does it necessarily have to, spell the end of Windows.

            It's not the like there needs to be just one OS for everyone. That line of thinking is reserved for Microsoft employees.
            [ Parent ]
            • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:35PM
              • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Informative)

                by Black Perl (12686) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:07PM (#14608601)
                Go to Best Buy, or Target, or Office Depot, or any other retailer of boxed software for consumers, and see how much will run on anything other than Windows. Hint: NONE.

                That's a real barrier, and it's not just in the business environment.


                Why should I have to go to Best Buy or Target or Office Depot, when I can download my apps right from the OS menu?

                Install Ubuntu 5.10 and see just how easy it is.

                The "real barrier" you speak of is the mindset that you have to go to a big-box store and buy your apps.
                [ Parent ]
              • Re:hmmm by GigsVT (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:19PM
              • Re:hmmm by Gulthek (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:19PM
              • CompareSoft by Russ Nelson (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:33PM
              • Re:hmmm by Cro Magnon (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:47PM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:15PM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:22PM
              • Re:tax software by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:56PM
              • Re:hmmm by Fallingcow (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:22PM
              • Re:hmmm by Timmmm (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:52PM
              • Re:hmmm by JetJaguar (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:59PM
              • Re:hmmm by ldj (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:00PM
              • Re:hmmm by roguenine19 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @09:58PM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @10:33PM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @10:52PM
              • Re:hmmm by ldj (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @07:46AM
              • Re:hmmm by cloakable (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @09:51AM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @10:55AM
              • 3 replies beneath your current threshold.
            • Ugh. by ZombieRoboNinja (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:14PM
            • Re:hmmm by imess (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:26PM
            • I saw those screenshots last September by theurge14 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:37PM
            • Re:hmmm by justins (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:07PM
            • Not being released by everphilski (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:11PM
            • Re:hmmm by Gwwfps (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:25PM
            • Re:hmmm by zopf (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:40PM
            • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
          • Re:hmmm by Anivair (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:24PM
            • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:39PM
          • Re:hmmm by Risen888 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:28PM
            • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:44PM
              • Re:hmmm by Risen888 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:07PM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:34PM
              • Re:hmmm by Toby_Tyke (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:45PM
              • Re:hmmm by Risen888 (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @11:47AM
              • Re:hmmm by Risen888 (Score:1) Wednesday February 01 2006, @11:49AM
              • Re:hmmm by OOGG_THE_CAVEMAN (Score:1) Thursday February 02 2006, @06:59PM
              • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
        • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)

          by IamTheRealMike (537420) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:53PM (#14608410)
          (http://plan99.net/~mike/)
          Realistically, and I say this as a desktop Linux developer myself, Linux is missing a metric fuckton of things that I'd class as absolutely central to being a workable desktop (note; we're not even talking competitive here, we're talking workable). For instance:

          • Driver API. Centralised driver development doesn't work - period. Assume the existance of a totally awesome vendor who is happy to release GPLd drivers with their new widget. They put a penguin on the side of the box. They immediately get their ass sued off by people who buy the widget, plug it into Goobuntu or whatever, nothing happens and for some reason they aren't satisfied by the explanation of "Well it'll Just Work in 12 months when the driver has been accepted upstream, been merged with your distros kernel patches, and you upgrade your OS". They want it to work now damnit, and Windows/MacOS can do this so why can't Linux?

          • More driver stupidity. Not every program people run on Linux is GPLd today, and nobody tries to force them to be so. It's obvious to many people involved with Free software that the victories come when developers see why open sourcing their work is beneficial and choose to do it of their own free will, not when their arms are twisted into it. Yet the kernel developers do exactly this for drivers, and threaten (or actually do) sue random vendors who distribute binary drivers (except not nVidia, as that'd cause mass civil war). Worse, the kernel developers are getting more militant not less. This is simply not a tenable situation for desktops which deal with far wider variety of hardware than servers. In its current state Linux can never be a desktop kernel, unless you redefine "desktop" so far it loses all meaning.

          • C++ support. It doesn't work. It's unbelievably slow, the glibc developers refuse patches to fix it, and is only reliable as long as you use "pure" binaries built with the same compiler that everything else is. This makes robust binary distribution of C++ apps impossible and as nearly every large desktop app is written in C++ this is a problem. Just try distributing a C++ application on Linux without getting all N^2 distros involved or requiring the user to know what a compiler is. Hell, try distributing any application at all without getting distros involved. And for all kinds of reasons [plan99.net] centralized software distribution is a big usability and political nono.

          • No easy install/uninstall - if you're comfortable with partitioning etc then you can get Fedora installed without too much bother, but Ubuntu doesn't even have a graphical installer, and as far as I'm aware no distro today offers an easy way to remove it and put Windows back to 100% disk usage. Who in their right mind would try a program that ate 10gigs of disk space and didn't come with a way to uninstall it?

          • No credible DRM support. Every major company that deals with media uses it, Microsoft and Apple support it and Linux sucks at it. This effectively freezes Linux out from the upcoming world of legal online media (music/video stores etc).

          I could go on ... unfortunately there's a general attitude of "who cares" in the community with regards to most of these issues so they aren't getting fixed or even talked about. Without these fundamental things I don't see how Linux can ever be a credible general purpose consumer desktop OS. The best you might get is a closed-box, unupgradable "console" type machine. But I wouldn't class that as a competitor to Windows or the Mac.

          [ Parent ]
          • Re:hmmm by Christianfreak (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:50PM
            • Re:hmmm by mad.frog (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:05PM
            • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)

              by IamTheRealMike (537420) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:10PM (#14609299)
              (http://plan99.net/~mike/)
              And since your answers are so full of crap you either don't bother to use the system you develop for or you're just a troll ... but whatever I'll "inform" you anyway.

              Nice. Why don't you go "inform" yourself? In the past I've written an entire software installation framework on Linux, a binary portability environment, modifications to the dynamic linker, patches for Wine, ALSA, GNOME and a bunch of other projects I forget, and me and my team pretty much wrote the book on Linux binary compatibility [autopackage.org].

              NViDEA provides binary drivers and has an installer to do the compiling if it can't find a compatable kernel. Their installer is GPL. Slap a graphical front end on it and then you no longer have a problem.

              No longer have a problem? This is insane ... you realise that the kernel developers make a sport out of breaking the nVidia drivers right? Having a source wrapper doesn't protect them from everything, nowhere near. For instance the 4k stacks fiasco.

              Not to mention that this solution is light-years behind Windows 95 in terms of usability. What happens when you put the driver CD containing this magic source code wrapper in the CD drive? Nothing. What happens if you don't have developer tools and the kernel headers installed? Errors. What happens if the driver is more than 12 months old and the kernel API changed? Errors.

              And finally what if you're a little company and Mr Kroah-Hartman smells blood? You get sued. This is about the most uninviting landscape for hardware developers imaginable.

              C++ support Then get apps from the vendor or compile them on the system with glibc ... or fix glibc yourself if you don't like it.

              Michael Meeks has already attempted to "fix" glibc, and his work was ignored. This is the modus operandi of the glibc people, and as a result a generic patch he wrote to solve many of the symbol fixup and performance problems that plague Linux (eg OpenOffice startup time) is now a SuSE specific file format extension. Yay standards.

              And for what it's worth many of the C++ problems are GCC related, not glibc. But Michaels work would have alleviated the symtoms.

              As opposed to what? Windows XP?

              As opposed to every other program in the world that users don't already have but might want to try.

              Linus says he doesn't mind having it. So develop it. Some people don't care because we don't all want it.

              Explain to me how to build a DRM system for an operating system in which you have no guarantees about the way it works. Now, you can't built a 100% perfect DRM system ever, but you can get close enough that it's worth doing and Windows is pretty good at it these days (and will get better as hardware support starts appearing for it). But Linux can't mount credible competition in this area. If there was a Red Hat music store or something then it wouldn't matter so much - the iTunes DRM is fairly weak, but it doesn't matter because Apple are simultaneosuly platform and media provider. But Linux is just a platform, so it doesn't have that luxury.

              [ Parent ]
              • Re:hmmm by crowdofone (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:12PM
              • Go away! by Builder (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @04:29AM
              • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
          • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)

            Just a few comments -

            Driver Support: not centralized, and easy to do. AS LONG AS THE DRIVER IS DISTRIBUTED IN SOURCE. Binary distribution can cover a few of the kernels out there. Lets take a look at nVidia and VmWare as binary drivers, with a source supplied front-end. They "Just Work". A completely binary driver IS problematic.

            And this is one of the "features" of Linux vs. Windows. If you WANT "binary drivers that Just Work", go with Windows.

            C++ support: it does work. No, a single binary MAY NOT WORK. *Unless* you also distribute the needed libraries. Nothing AT ALL is preventing you from doing that. These libraries can and should even be installed privately for your binary-only application. Someone updates the system library? Doesn't affect you.

            No easy install/uninstall: Sounds like you are carping about the Linux systems themselves. As far as your BINARY APPLICATION goes -- keep it in a single directory (tree). Uninstall? Remove the tree. You want to get fancy? Combine that with bundling into a RPM.

            No credible DRM support: Say What? "DRM support" is a problem of the Media Supplier. Name a "DRM" format that is popular that Linux doesn't support... DVD CSS. And how is this managed? mplayer? Oh, so there IS support.

            As to your application... Linux offers filesystem encryption (3des, etc.). Other crypto functionality. SSL, ssh, gpg. Locked memory.

            Let me outline a possible "DRM" solution for you (assuming you ARE a Media Supplier). Sell someone a physical DVD with data on it. Encrypted with 3DES or AES 128/256. Key not provided, but a media reference tag.

            Application has a "root" component (for locking), or uses Role Based security (not so common). Application uses SSL (or ssh) to establish a link to your server. Coughs up user name, invoice number, and media tag (over the encrypted link). Server verifies, and coughs up the decryption key. Decryption key tossed into locked memory (thus the root requirement). Decryption key used to decrypt Media.

            Other implementations are, of course, possible. How is the digital data protected after it is decrypted? There are methods -- but these are not supported in ANY current OS. (not Linux, not Windows, not Solaris). As to basic DRM? Linux is just as useful as anything else.

            Ratboy.
            [ Parent ]
            • Re:hmmm (Score:4, Insightful)

              by IamTheRealMike (537420) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:18PM (#14609375)
              (http://plan99.net/~mike/)
              C++ support: it does work. No, a single binary MAY NOT WORK. *Unless* you also distribute the needed libraries. Nothing AT ALL is preventing you from doing that

              I guess I should have elaborated, go read this section of the page [plan99.net] and then read the ELF section as well. If you understand what's written there you'll see the problem - the lack of a stable C++ ABI is not fatal in and of itself, though it does cause major pain, but combined with the lack of predictable symbol scoping it means it's impossible to reason about the interactions between a binary (any binary, even a C based one) and the rest of the operating system.

              For instance, if a game written in C++ loads a private copy of libSDL (C), then it may crash because libSDL may dlopen libaRts (C++) for audio in KDE, and STL inlines in libaRts will collide with the equivalent inlines in the game itself despite libstdc++.so symbol versioning. That'll probably cause a crash or hang.

              This is a "do not pass go" type problem. It means any program, no matter how bug-free or what language it's written in, can potentially crash in undebuggable ways in certain legal system configurations. It's broken by design and the relevant people either ignore the problem or don't see fixing it as a priority.

              Other implementations are, of course, possible. How is the digital data protected after it is decrypted?

              I was thinking of something like the Windows Secure Audio Path. The problem with your SSL scheme is that the program which renders the audio/video can be trivially turned into a decryptor just by redirecting audio output to a file. Now you can do this with Windows XP too but it requires running the OS under a virtualizer like VMware (but not VMware as IIRC the drivers for that aren't signed for SAP compliance) which emulates commodity hardware with SAP signed drivers. Setting one of these up is a bit of a pain and most users won't be able to do so.

              For your Ashlee Simpsons and the like maybe somebody somewhere will do so and put it up on P2P for some reason, but for more obscure stuff this sort of thing can make it very hard to find (and anti-virtualisation code in Windows/hardware itself could seal that off too), which would make the analog hole the only way forward. And realistically not many people bother with that either.

              [ Parent ]
              • Re:hmmm by ratboy666 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:06PM
              • Re:hmmm by IamTheRealMike (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @06:32AM
              • Re:hmmm by ratboy666 (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @09:54AM
            • What don't you understand by iONiUM (Score:3) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:40PM
              • Re:What don't you understand by cortana (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:14PM
              • Wow! by ratboy666 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:17PM
              • Re:Wow! by skubeedooo (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:51PM
              • Re:Wow! by Bandraginus (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:07PM
            • More like "-5 Hare Brained" by Burz (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:42PM
          • not that simple by penguin-collective (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:39PM
          • Re:hmmm by McDutchie (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:55PM
            • Re:hmmm by sudorm (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @06:19PM
              • Re:hmmm by McDutchie (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @11:44AM
            • Re:hmmm by FooBarWidget (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @12:35PM
          • Re:hmmm by I_redwolf (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @03:17PM
            • Re:hmmm by FooBarWidget (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @12:45PM
              • Re:hmmm by I_redwolf (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @09:19PM
              • Re:hmmm by FooBarWidget (Score:2) Thursday February 02 2006, @04:26AM
              • Re:hmmm by I_redwolf (Score:2) Thursday February 02 2006, @11:32AM
              • Re:hmmm by FooBarWidget (Score:2) Thursday February 02 2006, @01:12PM
          • Re:hmmm by foxylad (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:09PM
          • Drivers by ChunderDownunder (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:16PM
          • Hey, it isn't that bad! by deek (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:54PM
          • Re:hmmm by labratuk (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @11:32AM
            • Re:hmmm by IamTheRealMike (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @06:35PM
          • Re:hmmm by Omnifarious (Score:2) Thursday February 02 2006, @03:55PM
          • Re:hmmm by Omnifarious (Score:2) Thursday February 02 2006, @04:00PM
          • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
        • Re:hmmm by Arandir (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:56PM
        • Re:hmmm by DerekLyons (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:06PM
          • Re:hmmm by jaaronc (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @02:35PM
      • Re:hmmm by vertinox (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:35AM
        • Re:hmmm by BewireNomali (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:49AM
          • Re:hmmm by jarich (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:59AM
          • Re:hmmm by vertinox (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:43PM
            • Re:hmmm by dekemoose (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:57PM
          • Re:hmmm by AxelBoldt (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:50PM
          • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
      • Re:hmmm by maxwell demon (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:36AM
      • Re:hmmm (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Threni (635302) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:39AM (#14607612)
        > How would creating a Linux distribution even come *close* to being a Windows killer?

        Linux has been good enough as a replacement for Windows for a while now. It just needs a marketing push. A Linux with google behind it might give it a chance, and perhaps would encourage games developers - a segment sorely needed if non-business people are to be seriously persuaded to kick the Windows habit.
        [ Parent ]
        • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)

          by michrech (468134) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:59AM (#14607830)
          I dispute this claim.

          You would have to have a company behind a distro that would set it up to be as simple to install software/hardware as possible.

          Yes, we have a few of those. Here is the problem. Most hardware makers absoloutly refuse to create drivers for linux (I can understand why) and, since they won't release their own drivers, they also will not release info for 3rd parties to MAKE drivers (for various reasons).

          It may be "good enough" to you, myself, and others who are already familiar with linux, but the vast majority of the public who might actually try it once would run into one piece of hardware that didn't work and give up on it for good (this has already been seen on MANY occasions, even complained about here on slashdot!)
          [ Parent ]
          • Re:hmmm by ceoyoyo (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:24PM
            • Re:hmmm by michrech (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:42PM
              • Re:hmmm by ceoyoyo (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:00PM
              • Re:hmmm by michrech (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @01:16PM
              • Re:hmmm by ceoyoyo (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @02:22AM
          • Re:hmmm by Fishstick (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:26PM
            • Re:hmmm by michrech (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:45PM
          • Re:hmmm by Giggles Of Doom (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:28PM
          • Re:hmmm by HuguesT (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:31PM
            • Re:hmmm by michrech (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:52PM
              • Re:hmmm by Chuck Chunder (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @08:32PM
          • Re:hmmm by uhmmmm (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:37PM
          • Re:hmmm by RzUpAnmsCwrds (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @01:56AM
          • 1 reply beneath your current threshold.
        • Re:hmmm by cojsl (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @04:21PM
        • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
      • Re:hmmm by Telastyn (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:44AM
      • Re:hmmm by NetRAVEN5000 (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:45AM
        • Re:hmmm by jarich (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:02PM
          • Re:hmmm by NetRAVEN5000 (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:53PM
            • Re:hmmm by jarich (Score:2) Wednesday February 01 2006, @11:08AM
      • most likely for internal use by SuperBanana (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:50AM
      • Re:hmmm by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:51AM
      • Re:hmmm by eheldreth (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:54AM
      • Re:hmmm by grcumb (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:57AM
      • Re:hmmm by colmore (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:31PM
      • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Funny)

        by tdemark (512406) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @11:41AM (#14607649)
        (http://www.uswx.com/us/wx/)
        Google hasn't seemed to have a problem with releasing products that have no discernable source of revenue.

        They plan on making it up in volume.

        - Tony
        [ Parent ]
        • Re:hmmm by legirons (Score:2) Tuesday January 31 2006, @05:30PM
      • Re:hmmm by Anonymous Coward (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @12:08PM
        • Re:hmmm by AusIV (Score:1) Tuesday January 31 2006, @06:06PM
      • 2 replies beneath your current threshold.
    • Re:hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)