However, back to the topic: Anything Linux-based is much better than anything DOS- or Windows-based in real time. Yet people here always criticize Chrome OS just because it's by Google. It's Chrome OS that's supposed to increase Linux's market share, but people here don't care.

Chrome OS is not intended to increase Linux marketshare, it is intended to bring your private data to Google's servers, aka "the cloud". I doubt that it will be even marketed to the masses as a Linux flavor, it will be just Google's OS[*]. And no, it is not criticized "just because it is by Google", it is criticized because it is made to help Google with business practices that many people simply don't find good.

[*] OT: By the way, Canonical slowly aims in the same direction. I would assume that the most visited sites from the Ubuntu webpage are the start area and the download page. Try to find the word "Linux" on them. Not long ago I worked for a Internet PC vendor here in Germany. All our systems were delivered with Ubuntu preinstalled. Some customers have asked if we can put Linux on their PCs, instead of Ubuntu. They simply didn't know, that Ubuntu is a Linux flavor.

Just because something is based on Linux doesn't mean it is automatically good. Just look at the Linux versions on the early netbooks. Hardware manufacturers insisted on coming up with their own distros, and they universally sucked. The end result is that consumers got turned off to Linux and gave Microsoft a chance to recover in the market.

I'm not criticizing ChromeOS because it is by Google, I'm criticizing it because it is pointless.

I personally will refrain from using ChromeOS because I do not want to submit personal information to Google's cloud. However, privacy has been dead for a long time, and if someone takes the risk of giving their info to the cloud, that's their choice.

Google has always been up and down with linux. Sometimes they port stuff to linux and sometime they don't.

Earlier this year, Google admitted to using their photographers to snoop unsecured wireless networks. At first, they denied it, but later on they confessed and apologized.

Even so. this action by Google probably put a sour taste on some people.

Personally, I don't use any services of google, except for the search engine.

I will probably try Chrome OS out of curiosity, but it won't be my main OS.

I happen to be one of the few lucky ones to get a CR-48 and have installed Ubuntu alongside of Chrome OS. I use ChromeOS mostly. Most of these people complaining about giving Google your private information, I don't think they really understand how little they actually hand out, anytime you browse the web your privacy is compromised, anytime you search click or post anything that information becomes public. When you realize that the web history allows Google to target ads and allow them to give away things Chrome, Android, Picasa, GMail and other software. Think about how much most people do things online and then stop thinking in traditional terms of Operating System and personal computers. My youngest son (14 years old) uses the GoogleBook often, I didn't have to show him anything he just picked it up and started surfing right away, that is the type of user that ChromeOS is targeted for. Imagine someone getting one those Googlebooks the first thing it does is connect to a network (wireless, 3g proxy settings are all there), then you accept the license, sign in to Google and take a picture; boom! your online and surfing. No programs to install, nothing to transfer, no compatibility issues; it just works.

Imagine we have giants here (slackware, debian... the list goes on) and they can be configured to do _anything_ that a person could ever want to do. As far as linux guys are concerned I do not think anyone would switch to googleOS.
However kenny may be proved right. Google backing an operating system can influence an average winduhs user and possibly convert him too.
Somehow I get the feeling that google plays hot and cold with linux and that is the reason why I would not run it on my machine.
My 2 �0„4.

Sorry, but I don't see how that makes it better. Do you really mean that it is no problem to give up more of your privacy simply because you are partly doing it already?

Sorry, but I don't want to sell my privacy also.

And no brain to turn on to think about what you are actually doing. You are right, that is exactly the type of users Google wants. Sorry I have to say that.

I got it (beta?) on VBox. The style is somewhat gaudy.