Hard drives... These are ancient!!

... According to Google anyways, and their ability to step it up a notch for us hardcore computer enthusiast . Or geeks, whichever you prefer to call us!

(Remember, we fix your computers when it breaks)!

In the spirit of this technology/internet/computer theme I've seem to be on right now:

Article Link -- http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/20/google.os/index.html

Regardless of being a computer-wiz or not, we're all familiar with the boot sequence of Windows, Mac, Ubuntu, etc. It takes quite some time for the operating system to load up, and even worse if you have a low-end computer system. It's just how it is:

Good computer parts, good performance.

Crappier computer parts, crap performance.

But what if you can get away from the physicality of hardware? And focus on the... software/digital part of the computer.

With a strong focus on speed, the Chrome OS promises nearly instant boot times of about 7 seconds for users to login to their computers.

Versus my desktop computer, which boots at a typical 20 second cycle. Time is always of the essence! But it's not just the speed we're talking about here. Creators of Chrome OS focuses on the functionality, innovation, adaptive capabilities, and more.

Chrome OS netbooks will not have traditional hard disk drives -- they will rely on non-volatile flash memory and Internet-based storage for saving all of your data.

Non-volatile? Internet-based storage? What does this all mean for some of us average to below-average users? It means no more random crashes that would result in you losing your important files and documents~! Regardless of how far we've come to inventing a computer OS, we're still plagued by the countless errors, hardware breakdowns, and viruses. The push for a software-based oriented data-file storages. We don't have to really manage our own messy data-crap anymore.

All the applications will be web-based, meaning users won't have to install apps, manage updates or even backup their data. All data will be stored in the cloud, and users won't even have to bother with anti-virus software: Google claims it will monitor code to prevent malicious activity in Chrome OS web apps.

Huzzah! Viruses and Microsoft Windows seems to have this inevitable destiny to exist together... But somehow, the Mac OSX seems to do just fine being 100% virus-free! Chrome OS by Google will certainly push for probably one of the more innovative advances in technology at this turn of the century. What's interesting about the coding of Chrome OS is its based off Linux, one of the 'better-yet-complex' operating systems.

The OS's focus on design is consistent with the company's stance that the future is in the web. In July, Vic Gundotra, Google's engineering vice president and developer evangelist, spoke on a panel about app stores, in which he said native apps (such as those available for the iPhone) would be obsolete in the future, and that the Web will "become the platform that matters."

Focus on the internet, not on Blue Screens of death, or having to deal with your physical hard drive taking a dump and losing your precious tax return information or whatever. And making the iPhone obsolete?! Yes! I'm tired of all the hype that thing gets!

So anyways, in a sense, one of their potential achievements would be that our focus is at the task at hand and not the everyday worries of a piece of hardware not being so reliant. So maybe... the Web will become the primary focus of the future.

....

Even though I've been somewhat praising this. Let's wonder about the potential problems:

• - The encoding for the Chrome OS is going to be presented to the public to be looked at, and to help coders develop 3rd party apps. Wouldn't that allow some of the hackers to produce malacious coding that could attack the system? And more so the invisible 'hard drive' where all of a user's data is going to be stored?
• - With the issue of Law Vs. Web (As stated in my last blog), is there going to be an issue with the infringement of our privacy rights? Even though we get this sense of safety/security from the internet, we also have to deal with modern day 'phone-taps' and the possible chance of the government sneaking around in the back doors looking at our personal profiles, finances, contacts, and etc.
• - As we push and push for technological advancements, the simplicity of which the Chrome OS was built off will become complex, how will we adapt to the change in regards to maintenance, security, and mainly user-friendly capabilities?

Just a few thoughts I (and maybe other people), will have. Even though the Chrome OS is still at its early stages, it already has appealed to many people. So the only thing we can really do is anticipate it's global launch to the public to truly test run the tech.