What is holding Google back from taking it all?

burlmart wrote:
I cannot imagine how Android Desktop can Fail

Why do they keep Chrome OS separate from their mobile Android?
Drop Chome OS and go w/ Android on desktop/laptops, thus unify w/ mobile android, and blow Windows 8 away before it gets going.

I already placed bets on this happening soon -- why not?

Three obvious reasons.

Because all mobile OS are simplified to run on simple devices. In other words, they work great on phone and are not bad on tablets, but the lack the features needed of a full sized desktop OS. I had to trade my iPad for a Macbook Air for my mobile computing needs because of the limitations of a mobile OS. Android would have been no improvement.

Next, there is now way of trying an Android desktop without buying a new computer built for it. There is no way Google will make it compatible with all hardware. Linux hasn't accomplished that in twenty years. In fact, Walmart was selling Linux computers at one time. Once people found out how limited they were, most installed Windows on them out of habit.

Google's business model is advertising and data mining. There is no way they would supply an OS for free unless it was riddled with ads. The usual ritual when buying a PC is to turn it on and then delete all the useless trial******that someone paid the manufacturer to install. Nobody wants a desktop that's sole purpose is to track what you are doing to supply targeted ads. Google's privacy policy and infractions over the years have proven that they are loose with your personal information.

HP's $300 Chromebook

This story talks hardware and MS business strategy.

I could get interested in a $300 14" Samsung Series 5 Firefox OS book real fast, if all the non-browser display settings stay the same as the add=ons settings in the FF browser.

I am not sure how Chrome OS handles non-browser settinds for OS tasks like onboard file management and running apps like simple word/excel stuff, and camera downloads.

FF has much more options in customizing the look of the screen.

tatest wrote:
The bulk of the desktop market is enterprise computing, and Google has a lot of work to do if they want to get there. The market wants support, security, and licensing terms that fit their way of doing business. It took Microsoft almost 20 years to significantly displace IBM in this market, and that was with IBM giving them a head start by selling Microsoft's OS with IBM licensing and support.

To some extent, Microsoft has been displaced in overseas desktop and network markets by Linux, by Linux distributors who have learned how to support the enterprise. Here, Google coming in with Android is saying: "hey, switch to Linux with my brand name on it!"

This is not a place where you can give away the software free on the condition that you are permitted to pass through advertising and collect information about everything the computer users are doing.

Is your definition of "enterprise computing" the same as "corporate computing"? Usually enterprise computing refers to the backend servers (web, mail, appication servers, etc.) which is quite different than desktop computing.

Google is not trying to take over the corporate desktop to do traditional desktop computing where software (like Office) is installed and run locally. They are pushing cloud computing where the applications and data live out on some server somewhere ("the cloud"). In this model the local PC can be very small without much computing power. It is very akin to the old mainframe way of doing things with a dumb terminal. Google offers Google apps to corporations and government wishing to adopt this paradigm.

Microsoft is not fighting this move, though - they are joining it. Their offering is Microsoft 365 and Azure and they're fighting for the same corporate and government dollars as Google.

As a home desktop/laptop user, I do not think about the corporate worls's business needs much -- but obviously should.

My interest in android on the desktop is just to add variety to my very simplified Win XP desktop by tapping into smartphone apps that so many people go on about.

But looking at this latest data on OSs, what do you all think will really happen next April w/r XP? Will MS really turn its back to 40% of its users?

Is so, will third party developers be able to take up XP maintenance?

The bulk of the desktop market is enterprise computing, and Google has a lot of work to do if they want to get there. The market wants support, security, and licensing terms that fit their way of doing business. It took Microsoft almost 20 years to significantly displace IBM in this market, and that was with IBM giving them a head start by selling Microsoft's OS with IBM licensing and support.

To some extent, Microsoft has been displaced in overseas desktop and network markets by Linux, by Linux distributors who have learned how to support the enterprise. Here, Google coming in with Android is saying: "hey, switch to Linux with my brand name on it!"

This is not a place where you can give away the software free on the condition that you are permitted to pass through advertising and collect information about everything the computer users are doing.

cleo43 wrote:
Linux users buy Windows computer then wipe it out, an expensive way to go but with Chromebook they now have an alternative. As per following article they can have a very powerful netbook running Ubuntu for a cheap price of around 250$.

Phoronix

That makes really good sense for linux users.

Google may be taking credit for big sales of chromebooks when in fact it is a lot of repurposing for linux.

Linux users buy Windows computer then wipe it out, an expensive way to go but with Chromebook they now have an alternative. As per following article they can have a very powerful netbook running Ubuntu for a cheap price of around 250$.

Phoronix

OMG!

I didn't actually bet money w/ anyone, just typed 'I'll bet....'

Mremdal33 wrote:

burlmart wrote:
I cannot imagine how Android Desktop can Fail

Why do they keep Chrome OS separate from their mobile Android?
Drop Chome OS and go w/ Android on desktop/laptops, thus unify w/ mobile android, and blow Windows 8 away before it gets going.

I already placed bets on this happening soon -- why not?

I hope you went all in on that bet!



Google tease some kind of Chrome and Android union

burlmart wrote:

Why do they keep Chrome OS separate from their mobile Android?

Chrome OS was designed for cloud based applications. Not necessarily the case with Android.

burlmart wrote:
I cannot imagine how Android Desktop can Fail

Why do they keep Chrome OS separate from their mobile Android?
Drop Chome OS and go w/ Android on desktop/laptops, thus unify w/ mobile android, and blow Windows 8 away before it gets going.

I already placed bets on this happening soon -- why not?

I hope you went all in on that bet!



Google tease some kind of Chrome and Android union