ClearFoundation

I know this sounds strange....but I've been in the tech world for the past 3 years and I have never owned my own computer (mostly graphic/web design stuff and social media). I don't live on any one OS. I bounce from Mac systems to Windows systems but the real work is being done in the cloud. So for me the browsers in my life are really the OS I use.

I saw the topic earlier about which OS you use and thought I'd start on this concept. How does this affect the IT world and the ClearOS world? And does anybody have any idea why Google is creating ChromeOS when they already have Android?

Actuallly, as Steve Ballmer points out, browsers are becoming closer and closer to operating systems in their functionality.

The moment a browser has operating system functionality is the moment that is ceases to be an browser and becomes an operating system. The whole concept of browser as an operating system is a lie in my opinion because they fundamentally do two different things. I would give a pass to the comments from Steve Ballmer if instead of operating system he had said, application platform. or desktop UI.

Fundamentally an operating system is the piece of software that functions as the primary program in memory that ties all other things together. It is the kernel. It handles the device subsystems, memory management tasks and application threads. Any addition to this kernel that would provide browsing of the internet would have to sit on top of prerequisite subsystems such as the memory management, processes stack, and the networking layer. All of these are subsystems of the kernel. This browser would therefore be either a 'module' or subcomponent and would be a separate thing regardless of how tightly it is integrated.

Because this is not technically feasible the statement must have been said for other non-technical issues.

QED: Calling a browser the operating system is therefore marketing kitsch and nothing more.

I guess because of the rise internet usage, faster broadband, ever increasingly complex websites that involve the user on many levels...the internet browser is now the sole means by which people use their PC...especially with the rise of cloud computing, google apps and the like whereby the majority of your 'desktop' work can be done via the browser that you run. I can see why they maybe keen to promote a browser as more of an operating system as it now is the prime access to these applications. But as you say, a browser will never be an operating system in the true definition. However to the un-initiated, if you can manipulate files, emails, IM, social network, edit media, videos, apps, play / stream audio all through your browser...its pretty much stolen the role! The internet is increasingly more mobile, and people like the flexibility of taking their software on the road, and being able to access that anywhere is a winner

Personally I dislike the thought that one app/browser could become the sole system by which you use a PC...

Linus Torvalds (Linux Kernel creator) said it best:

"The Best OS's you do not know are there"

That is why I use Linux for everyday use.