Chrome OS: Ready for Round Two?

Here at OStatic, we're big fans of real-time reports on full immersion trials of open source platforms. On ZDNet, James Kendrick is reporting on his real-time immersion with a Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook, running Google's Chrome OS. His early reaction to the system shows that Google may be fixing some of the problems with its operating system, and could win over more users with it.

The Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook is a very representative 12.1-inch display device that has gotten generally good reviews. According to Kendrick:

"Getting started with the Chromebook was as simple as logging into my Google account. In just a few seconds all of my stuff was accessible from the new Chromebook. The browser had all my bookmarks, browser extensions, history, and cookies synced up. My Google Drive was there with all of my online documents. My entire music collection was available for immediate streaming on the Chromebook."

As more of us use Google's applications, it is convenient that Chrome OS seamlessly handles them, but the really big news from the report above is that Google Drive plugs a big hole in Chrome OS, which we noted here.  With Chrome OS, Google bet heavily on the idea that consumers and business users would have no problem storing data and using applications in the cloud, without working on the locally stored data/applications model that most people are used to.

But with Google Drive, users have a free and obvious way--and a way provided by Google--to marry storage, data and applications with use of Google's operating system. And, the way Drive works is the way people are used to working with local file storage systems. This is a big win for Chrome OS.

Notably, Kendrick adds:

"I have been surprised at the quantity and quality of web apps available in the Chrome web store. There are apps to do just about everything, and all I have tried so far work well on the Chromebook. Chrome OS is much more than just a browser, even though it is an online platform."

Applications, are, of course, critical to the adoption of any operating system. There are many other reports emerging about Chrome OS taking important steps forward. The OS boots immediately and is known for the tight security that it offers. If you looked at and dismissed this operating system, it may be time for a second look.