Born 2010. Died 2012.
Life is so fragile, even for those born to rich parents.
The creator of Gmail (and founder of FriendFeed) says Chrome OS will perish or be merged with Android next year. The fact he now works for Facebook makes this look like sour apples (a New York way of saying he is motivated to make negative comments).
But Sergey Brin, Google co-founder, actually says Chrome and Android will merge over time. We're thinking Chrome OS will live through 2011, but not much longer...
Wickedly Brin told this to reporters immediately after the big Chrome OS roll-out. "Wickedly" because Google is not giving baby Chrome OS a fair chance at living long enough to enjoy its teen-age years. Wickedly because it was not part of the formal presentation, but an informal remark, made off-stage...you sense some snideness in his action.
It's hard to understand Google's thinking here, unless you ascribe this to their subconscious actions, to their own untapped corporate feelings, to an awkwardness about having two OS.
And oddly enough, Android is the adopted one. Google bought Android in 2005. It was opened up to a consortium of 78 mobile companies to develop a standard mobile OS. Whereas Chrome was home-grown from computing roots. It was a "How to Make a Better Browser" experiment, even before they realized the cloud could make the browser a legitimate OS.
Unlike other parents who enjoy twins, Google seems to want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. For example, the company released the unfinished Cr-48 Chrome OS notebook into the wild, into the hands of journalists.
"We want your feedback," says Google. Careful what you wish for...from your mouth to God's ear.
Many of the journalists, of course, now write about the failings of the prototype (instead of the advantages of the OS). And the press language for Chrome, once positive from the fact Chrome has tripled from 40 to 120 million users, now turns sour for Chrome OS. Press are attacking Chrome OS and predicting its demise.
This didn't happen with the favoured one, the child known as Android. Google, it seems, is playing favorites.
There is little doubt the two will be merged, let's call it Chromdroid. (But I am sure Google will use something less fair, a final insult to Chrome, something like "Android C.")
It will be a short life.
But it will be a happy life.
Speed is what people love most about Chrome as a browser. Chrome OS brings this to the netbook. It serves to underline the shift we face, from computer to cloud. It's simple, it's fast, it serves a real purpose for some users, for some businesses.
A Chrome Web Store is now open for business and that will change the experience that cranky journalists are now having with the prototype. (What can you do with it?, ask the app-loving press... Of course, there willl be apps but Google just released the prototype before the apps!)
The advantage of Chrome OS is that it is designed for the computer experience. Android, the Other One, is designed for smartphones. Do you remember how Google panicked when they learned a multitude of Asian makers would launch tablets using Android from smartphones?
Google had to publicly announce that even Android 2.0 wasn't for tablets and hastily cranked out the Froyo version that would smooth it over for tablet use. (Of course, that didn't stop the Asians from releasing product with the unsuitable mobile Android version.)
Chrome OS will have a happy life because it will be loved by its users. Watch the video below to understand how this OS can unlock your customers from the weaknesses inherent in the PC experience. It won't win over cloud haters, those who fear loss of control over their data. It won't win over Bill Gates and the geeks who want to tweak. But most of your customers don't fear cloud and they would rather not know what's running under the hood.
Chrome OS, using cloud, makes harnessing computer power simpler for those who want it simple. Keep your PC if you want, but if you are tired of playing IT manager for your uncle or your mother, buy him or her a Chrome OS notebook.
If enough users will be happy, why will Chrome OS have to die?
For efficiency, because both Chrome and Androd apparently share common roots. Heartless it may be, but it's hard to afford more than one child these days.
And ultimately because the computer experience is merging into the mobile experience, as the smartphone morphs into smart devices. A world of devices and one ring to rule them all. And if Google doesn't merge the two, that ring may have Microsoft stamped on it.