Vague that up for me a bit.

[Shibblet]

I recently read an article about Bill Gates take on Google Chrome OS. You can read the entire article here. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10286308-56.html)

Here is the main part I am discussing from the article.

Gates said it was hard to really say much about Chrome OS, since Google has said so little about how it will actually work.
"The more vague they are, the more interesting it is," he said.

Now, here is the conundrum. Gates is right using his description of making it more interesting. The less we know about a product, the more we WANT to know about the product. However, the more we know about the product, the easier it becomes to make unreasonable judgement in the products performance.

Take "Mind Freak" for example. We watch this show because we don't know how Chris Angel does that stuff! If we did, we wouldn't bother to watch.

When a new product (movie, album, book, software, media, etc.) is released, we as people are compelled to find out what, why, and how, it is made and works. But a bit of mystery draws people to it, and at the very least, give it a try.

So, knowing about something takes the mystery out of it, and then disinterest sets in. But we're compelled to find out! Why is that?

[Sealbhach]

I still don't know what the hell Google Wave is supposed to be.

.

[wilee-nilee]

I still don't know what the hell Google Wave is supposed to be.

.

http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html#video Come on man don't you want to be in the in group.

[schauerlich]

I still don't know what the hell Google Wave is supposed to be.

It's a combination between IM, email, and a Wiki. Basically, its lends itself to typing short-to-medium email type messages ("blips") (or I suppose, comments on a blog), with the ability to edit anyone else's blip. So, you can collaboratively edit a document, while having a discussion about it below, all within the same wave.

I've gotten my invite, and so far, it's sort of pointless. At least, I haven't found a use for it. I'm sure it has its niche, though.

[murderslastcrow]

Well, back to the subject at hand- I totally agree. In the case of Windows 7, this has worked as a disadvantage. Many of my friends have tested it and had fun with some new features, but all of them have returned to XP and downloaded some transformation packs. That thing just won't die. They need their MMO-fix, though, so there's no helping it for now.

Still, I hope that developers try to flesh out some new ideas with Chrome OS since it will be open source, for the sake of the improvement/innovation of what we see as an OS today. That way, we all have something to collaborate on and it will eventually bleed into the rest of the FOSS world for the better.

However, I think the mere fact that consumers find that Google is offering an Operating System for free will turn a lot of heads, and make people realize exactly what Linux is and can be. So maybe it's the perfect combination to get things really going. But if Google tries to popularize Linux as a commodity OS and detracts from its usefulness as a multi-fuctional platform, I'll be very disappointed.

At this point, that seems to be where things are headed. Hopefully Ubuntu will get more press rather than less due to this new and innovative system.

[renkinjutsu]

It's a combination between IM, email, and a Wiki. Basically, its lends itself to typing short-to-medium email type messages ("blips") (or I suppose, comments on a blog), with the ability to edit anyone else's blip. So, you can collaboratively edit a document, while having a discussion about it below, all within the same wave.

I've gotten my invite, and so far, it's sort of pointless. At least, I haven't found a use for it. I'm sure it has its niche, though.

It's a bit lonely on Google wave, at the moment... There's no one to talk to D;

*checks messages

nothing.

[Shibblet]

Well, back to the subject at hand- I totally agree. In the case of Windows 7, this has worked as a disadvantage. Many of my friends have tested it and had fun with some new features, but all of them have returned to XP and downloaded some transformation packs. That thing just won't die. They need their MMO-fix, though, so there's no helping it for now.

Well, thank you for keeping the subject at hand. I have never had a thread hijacked in the first post before. And the most amazing part is... people don't seem to realize the subject wasn't Google Wave.


Still, I hope that developers try to flesh out some new ideas with Chrome OS since it will be open source, for the sake of the improvement/innovation of what we see as an OS today. That way, we all have something to collaborate on and it will eventually bleed into the rest of the FOSS world for the better.

That might be exactly what Google is trying to do.


However, I think the mere fact that consumers find that Google is offering an Operating System for free will turn a lot of heads, and make people realize exactly what Linux is and can be. So maybe it's the perfect combination to get things really going. But if Google tries to popularize Linux as a commodity OS and detracts from its usefulness as a multi-fuctional platform, I'll be very disappointed.

No offense to Ubuntu, but that's what happened with Jaunty. It released with a bunch of problems. The main of those was the Intel Graphics Driver, and really disappointed a lot of people. I keep hoping that Karmic isn't going to be a disappointment.


At this point, that seems to be where things are headed. Hopefully Ubuntu will get more press rather than less due to this new and innovative system.

The PPA system is amazingly simple at this point. I'd like to see them play up on this as much as possible.

So, the question remains... Do people want to know so much about a product so they can choose to try it, or choose not to get it without trying it. Comes across to me like kids and vegetables.

[edin9]

Jaunty and Intel made me want to hunt down Shuttleworth and use his hollowed out skull as a soup bowl.


PS - This is not a death threat.

[Sealbhach]

Well, thank you for keeping the subject at hand. I have never had a thread hijacked in the first post before.


Ooops! Sorry, I have a habit of going off on tangents. So we're talking about Google Chrome, yes? The browser? No, not the browser. The OS, I mean.

OK.
.

[Shibblet]

Ooops! Sorry, I have a habit of going off on tangents. So we're talking about Google Chrome, yes? The browser? No, not the browser. The OS, I mean.

OK.
.

LOL! We were talking about people's interest in any said product. And how that interest can turn into disinterest after learning about the product.

[Firestem4]

Now, here is the conundrum. Gates is right using his description of making it more interesting. The less we know about a product, the more we WANT to know about the product. However, the more we know about the product, the easier it becomes to make unreasonable judgement in the products performance.

When a new product (movie, album, book, software, media, etc.) is released, we as people are compelled to find out what, why, and how, it is made and works. But a bit of mystery draws people to it, and at the very least, give it a try.

So, knowing about something takes the mystery out of it, and then disinterest sets in. But we're compelled to find out! Why is that?

There was recently a very good article on MMORPG.com that talks about this (in relation to press releases and information that gamers want.)

I'll link the article since I think it applies if you consider the information effect. The less [players/people] know, the less they have to be able to come to any presumptions about how the OS/game will be. They don't build any expectations and etc.

http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/3619/OverMarketing-and-The-Beta-Effect.html

[murderslastcrow]

I think any improvement met will be better for everyone in the end, since all the distros will have to compete to renovate the way they do things to come out on top. Competition is good.

Heck, if all the apps I use in mainstream Linux load faster in a web browser and don't require installation, but merely bookmarking, why the heck not?

Maybe I should get into zeroinstall. XD