FPP: Chrome OS

Undoubtedly everyone's who's anyone has heard of the Chrome OS by now.

I've been keen on the idea that applications can replace every desktop application you use, and an OS should be built around this. The key that's critical here is organizing the GUI to take advantage of the way the web works-- especially with tabs-- rather than the way desktop applications have worked in the past (i.e., windows & chrome, in the traditional sense of the terms). Google Chrome has already taken care of the other technicalities, such as website 'sandboxing', which really just means that websites get their own processes, which better utilizes system resources, and pretty much makes it so that websites are their own individual desktop applications, for all intents and purposes. Except-- you don't have to install them. :)

An idea I liked for GUI can be found on Aza's Blog:
http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/firefoxnext-tabs-on-the-side/

(I'm a big proponent of tabs-on-the-side, and I use the Firefox Tree Style Tab extension religiously.)

Someone mentioned games in a forum discussing the Chrome OS. Games are not going to be made and played in the traditional manner. Adobe Flash is most likely not going to be included on this OS, according to AppleInsider, which makes sense.

Flash is outdated, anyway. There are host of web standards that Chrome is currently involved with that will lead the way into the future:
- HTML5 (with video, audio, canvas tags, and database storage)
- SVG (web-based drawing programs using both vector and canvas technologies may eventually spring up in Inkscape's and Aviary's stead-- Inkscape is desktop and Aviary is Flash)
- O3D for 3D games using JavaScript and Google's 3D technology. Mozilla's push for C3DL is probably not going to be included.

Gears is sorta iffy. It will probably be included, but it's underutilized, and HTML5 makes a lot of its features rather redundant. What originally prompted me to think this was the fact that Google is already working on using HTML5 storage for Gmail.

I see the primary obstacle to transitioning from Flash towards open and free standards as being the editors and libraries that will be available for developers. All in all, once developers and artists get better tools, the user experience will be much better.