Here’s a demo of the OS:

The key here is that this OS is a differentiator in a pretty homogenous market. Pop Quiz: Who makes the best laptops, Sony, HP or Dell? Trick question, nobody gives a fuck because they all run the same shitty operating system.

To quote Gruber (emphasis mine):

Apple’s ability to produce innovative hardware is inextricably intertwined with its ability to produce innovative software. The iPhone is an even better example than the Mac. It’s not just that Apple is different among computer makers. It’s that Apple is the only one that even can be different, because it’s the only one that has its own OS. Part of the industry-wide herd mentality is an assumption that no one else can make a computer OS — that anyone can make a computer but only Microsoft can make an OS. It should be embarrassing to companies like Dell and Sony, with deep pockets and strong brand names, that they’re stuck selling computers with the same copy of Windows installed as the no-name brands.

There is the key. As much as folks talk about Apple’s sexy packaging, ask most Mac users and they would almost entirely rather use OS X on a cheap laptop than Windows XP on a fancy laptop. Google OS is offering manufacturers the opportunity to differentiate themselves, stand out from the crowd.

One caveat. Chrome OS is open source, which means that computer manufacturers can (and will) put their own special brand of turd cream on this OS. Just because HP releases a Chrome netbook does not mean that they didn’t foul up the OS so much that it’s borderline unusable.

From: Jim Kubicek [mailto:jkubicek@gmail.com]

Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2008 10:31 AM

To: Steve Ballmer

Subject: Why doesn’t Microsoft make their own computers?

Morning Steve, I really enjoyed your SXSW chat with Guy. Something I’ve been wondering about for a while now is why Microsoft doesn’t build and sell it’s own desktop/laptop systems, or at the very least somehow restrict PC makers from requiring tons of crapware in order to use their product.

This point recently hit home when I tried to reformat my IBM Thinkpad.

The entire reformat process was hours and hours of installing IBM programs to install IBM drivers and IBM wireless access software and on and on and on. I’ve been told by friends that the Sony Viao process is even more tedious and ill-designed.

I realize that this hassle is completely IBM’s fault (or Sony’s fault), but it negatively colors the entire Windows experience. I buy a MacBook, turn it on and it just works. I buy an XBox, turn it on and it just works. I buy a Thinkpad and it comes stuffed with 500 MB of poorly designed software that just replicates features that are already built into Windows.

Thanks!

Jim

To quote Ballmer from AppleInsider

Among the changes he proposed were a shift in relations with Microsoft hardware vendors designed to mimic the experience offered by Apple’s tightly-controlled Mac platform. Likewise, he called for a similar approach in the mobile phone arena, vouching to create “great end-to-end experiences” akin to that of Apple’s closed ecosystem, where it maintains tight control of nearly every aspect of a product’s design.

Glad to see that Big Steve is amenable to a little advice from dissatisfied customers. Oh, and for what it’s worth, he didn’t respond personally to my email, but he did forward it to Ari Bixhorn. I looked to see who this guy is, but can’t find a reference to him. I seem to remember him being a high-up, though.