Chromebooks were a concept started by Google in 2011, four years ago. The idea behind it was that sometimes people just need low powered computers that could do word processing and web browsing, not cost a lot of money, and also be very portable with great battery life. Microsoft had seen this financial opportunity in 2007, and helped OEMs release netbooks. Netbooks, being not hefty enough to be called NOTEbooks, were, as the name implies, designed to browse the NET, or internet long hand. The concept was brilliant, but the execution was a disaster. Millions of netbooks sold to people looking for a cheap basic computer, but the problem was that the battery was subpar, but even worse, the performance of these machines were as fast as a snail trying to cross a large meadow. They flopped hard, with plenty of disatisfied customers (myself being one of them), and they disappeared within two years as a reminder that matching cheap hardware with a full-blown Windows OS was a negative experience for all.
Fast forward 4 years, and Google decided to step back into the gauntlet. From their research and observations, the hardware was fine for browsing the web and doing basic tasks, but the problem was coming from Windows taking up too many precious resources on these weakling machines. Therefore, to fix that problem, Google said,"To hell with Windows!" and created Chrome OS. Chrome OS was built specifically with low system requirements in mind (though it runs excellently on higher powered hardware, as seen on the Chromebook Pixel II). Chrome OS, as stated in the name, is completely based off of the Chrome internet browser, but with small tweaks here and there. There is a desktop, but nothing on it. There is a "Start Menu", so to speak, and applets can be found here. I call them applets because they are not usually full-blown apps as found on a Windows machine. Apps such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides all are applets that run inside of Chrome tabs, and applets such as Netflix just open Netflix.com in the browser. Applets do ususally allow for some offline capabilities, however, such as Docs editing, but this introduces the two caveots of Chrome OS: the need to typically be online, and the fact that it does not feature many apps.
Chromebooks are primarily web-based computers, so without the internet, a large part of functionality is lost. They come with little storage space typically, so most documents are stored on the cloud with Google Drive, or the user has to find a way to store them on another computer. This is where owning a Windows PC for storage and high power-hungy apps and games, and owning a Chromebook for on the go at school or whatnot, can be very useful. I would not be able to say I could live with only a Chromebook without owning a desktop for my gaming. However, my Chromebook is invaluable to me as Chrome OS allows me to get almost 11 hours of usage on one single charge, it turns on in 7 seconds, resumes from sleep instantly, can stay in sleep for weeks without usage and is still ready to go, and is just the ultimate slim fit inside of my packed school backpack. Did I mention it still only cost $199? Damn Google, you done made good for me.
Grammatically incorrect sentences aside, Chrome OS may only survive for another 2 years, as Google is planning on ousting it in 2017. Why would Google do such a thing to this amazing OS?! Are they crazy?! They currently are dominating a quite large chunk of the low-end laptop market, and are one of Amazons most shipped laptops, but Google's going to choose to pull out now? Well, its not as bad as it might seem on paper.
Google has recognized the negative criticism on the amount of apps on the Chromebook, as Chrome OS cannot run traditional Windows programs, so Google has decided to take the best of what it currently has in its two children, Chrome OS and Android, and merge them into a new product. The firm plans to create a new child that has the millions of apps from Android's loaded Google Play Store, and the desktop ecosystem of Chrome OS, and mix the two of them together to create......CHRANDROID OS!
Naming jokes aside, no one knows what this will be named, or what the final product will look like, but people some people are worried their current Chromebooks will be rendered update-less and left in the past like Netbooks were, while others are enthusiastic that Google MAY choose to update current Chromebooks running Chrome OS to the new operating system. I fall in the middle of that line: I believe it would be awesome if I recieved the update, but at the same time, my Chromebook will be 5 years old at that point, and considering it was only $199 at the time of purchase, I am not concerned with it not receiving an update, it will have served me quite well by the end of 5 years time. Whether current customers will get continued support or not, no one knows, but I think the future is bright for Google against its Apple and Microsoft competetors: who said there can't be three big fighters in the boxing ring?
Naming jokes aside, no one knows what this will be named, or what the final product will look like, but people some people are worried their current Chromebooks will be rendered update-less and left in the past like Netbooks were, while others are enthusiastic that Google MAY choose to update current Chromebooks running Chrome OS to the new operating system. I fall in the middle of that line: I believe it would be awesome if I recieved the update, but at the same time, my Chromebook will be 5 years old at that point, and considering it was only $199 at the time of purchase, I am not concerned with it not receiving an update, it will have served me quite well by the end of 5 years time. Whether current customers will get continued support or not, no one knows, but I think the future is bright for Google against its Apple and Microsoft competetors: who said there can't be three big fighters in the boxing ring?
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