As I am certain everyone has heard by now, Google announced today it is entering the operating system game. Needless to say, I am sure the gang up in Redmond is collectively muttering, “Oh Shit.” Or at least that is what I imagine them saying. I could be wrong. Those who know me have heard me lament on more than one occasion how Microsoft, who hires some of the best and brightest programmers and computer people in the world, continues to completely fail at producing an OS that does not, in a word, suck. And I should know, since I fought the Windows Wars for 6 years, between 2000-2006. Microsoft seems to have finally gotten it right with Windows 7. The question remains, however, if it is too little, too late. But back now to the point at hand.
So, the rumors about Google and an operating system are true. I find the idea of a Google OS rather interesting. I use Google exclusively as my search engine, I use gmail for email, I have played around with Google Docs, I can spend countless hours playing around with Google Earth and made extensive use of Picasa this past semester for a couple of projects. Yes, I suppose I do fancy Google. Am I a Google Otaku? No. But I do like most of what the company produces. So, how do I think Google’s OS will fare when direct competition with Microsoft? The answer is, obviously, who fucking knows? The damn thing will not even see the light of day until the middle of next year. I think it will be a solid product, as is most of what Google gives us. The really interesting bit is how Microsoft will react to it.
Google is, I think, really the only company that can battle Microsoft for tech supremacy, and a Google OS will be the greatest threat to Microsoft the Redmond dinosaur has yet faced. The Linux OS will always have its fans, although I do not think it will ever be widely accepted, at least in a way that people will realize they are using Linux. Apple, and I must point out I am a member of the Cult of Mac, will always be a niche segment of the computer populace, and that is exactly the way I want it to be; as I have said many times before, I am a Mac Patriot, not a Nationalist. I do not want Apple to dominate the market. I am quite satisfied with us being our own little community, free of the hassles and troubles of the wider computer world. And no, I do not care if that sounds smug.
Anyway, the upcoming Google OS should be interesting to play around with when it is released. I just hope it doesn’t live with a fucking “beta” tag on it forever, like so many of Google’s products. That would be rather annoying.
