Here lies the main issue with Chrome OS. If it is too innovative, that market is not ready for it, and that it has to change it’s functionality to resembles already existing products, nothing will be left but genius marketing campaign to convince people that it is different from existing products, but that it operates in the same way!

Of course, many examples of this kind of marketing campaign are known to history but they seldom happen in the technology industry. Today’s consumers are increasingly tech-savvy and very much critical to sales tactics. Therefore, Google will have to come up with real benefits or it will fail to cash-in from the effort spent on Chrome OS.

Offline mode

Sometimes, we just can’t have access to the Internet. In these cases, using a Chrome OS PC can only be done if there is an offline mode, which means doing everything we do through the browser but without the Internet. In that case, the browser should have all the features offered by software like word processors or spreadsheets without connecting to the Internet. Therefore, offline mode for Chrome OS is just another way of asking people to switch from Windows to Linux since those offline applications will have to be installed and run on the local processor instead of a remote server. Here, the fact that Chrome OS will need to answer to these needs shows that the market is quite not ready for a browser-only OS an that Google is going to release an OS that is closer to the traditional Windows OS than anything else.

Connectivity issues

Now let’s say we are in an area where security settings must be entered in the system to have access to a new network. In this case, we have to have access to network management software, which means that you first have to login your local system. Once again, there needs to be more than just a browser to Chrome OS as users will have to ‘play’ with devices to be able to access the Internet when they move from one network area to another one. And here goes Google’s argument about ‘lighter’ device control. This is just another issue Google doesn’t seem to be able to go through.

Could Google pull a killer marketing Campaign?

So with this perspective in mind, the only thing that can justify replacing Windows with Chrome OS is going to be a killer marketing campaign. One that would be hypnotizing to the point where people will forget about the fact that they still need Windows not because it’s the best OS but because it’s the one most adopted by the market.

Google claims that one of the advantages of Chrome OS is that it’s faster than Windows. Since the OS is nothing more than a browser, a lot of those things Windows has to load don’t need to be loaded anymore, and that’s going to translate into a faster system. While this looked like a bright idea, Google encountered a few practical obstacles: Chrome is too simple! People just couldn’t figure-out how to do the things they used to do with Windows, Firefox and a couple of plugins. Google realized all of a sudden that the cloud era wasn’t totally there and that people can’t get everything done simply with a browser.

Extensions to the rescue

So Google had to give in and have extensions plug into Chrome OS for more flexibility. Let’s take the example of the Google Toolbar on Firefox. This extension will let me directly search Google, you’ll have AutoFill and quick access to Gmail. In this regard, extensions do the same as software applications on Windows. Windows without software would be useless. You need a browser, an email client and a productivity suite to use you PC. well, extensions play the same role. Through the extension interface of the browser, plugins will give practically infinite possibilities in terms of functionality and productivity gains. Google Toolbar is just one of them, but there are tons of useful plugins that will make life easier.

Why get rid of Windows then?

If we are going to replace all those useful Windows functions by browser extensions, then we are going to end up with a system that is going to be as heavy and slow to boot. Basically, it’s not going to make sense to pay the heavy price of switching platforms unless we can have all those useful Windows function on the cloud, so we won’t need extension. And guess what, it brings us to the beginning of this post: Chrome will be too simple!

One thing is sure: Google is going to dominate the Internet with tons of web applications to answer everyday software needs. The think is that all these apps are based on the client-server architecture that brings up the issue of the browser-based operating systems. Well guess what, Google Chrome OS is a browser-operating-system. Chrome OS is Google’s passport to dominating this new computing market.

In this new game of web applications, Google has a clear advantage over Microsoft. Google Docs was there long time ago, and Microsoft is just going to release Office for the web. Once a critical mass of people are comfortable with Google Docs, it is going to be pretty hard for Microsoft to force its Online Office product line to the market. If Microsoft’s looses monopoly position in the productivity software market because of the emergence of a new computing platform (smartphones for instance), then why should Google spend effort to have its new browser be compatible with a dying platform?

Well, I’m not so sure if Windows is ever going to disappear from the OS market, especially when PCs are not going to disappear anytime soon. But today, computing is not only about PCs. And that’s exactly what Google is looking for. Google is not going for the PC market with Chrome; its going for an emergin market: smart devices. When it comes to mobile Internet for example, 19% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. In this market, Microsoft’s dominance is very far from its dominance of the PC market. Since Google does not have real chances to grab a bite from the PC market, it is going for the mobile market. For now, all efforts will be in that direction. Windows 7 compatibility will come only with Chrome 5.