From DesktopLinux.com: "gOS Cloud can boot in seconds, into a barebones browser-based environment not unlike the locked-down "kiosk" set-ups at libraries and cafes everywhere. Yet, here, the browser has taken on OS-like features, such as the familiar Mac OS X-like application dock shown in the screenshot below."
You’ve used several locked-down forced environment (i.e. "kiosk") systems and probably didn’t even realize it.
A few examples:
- Automated Teller Machines (a.k.a. the "ATM")
- Video game consoles
- Cell phones
- The menu system for DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon, etc.
All that stuff is kiosk-style.
The good
With a proprietary OS environment, operation and apps are all supposed to work optimally.
Any kiosk-style system is designed with speed first, "fluff" second (this is good).
It’s a Linux distro so you can get into the "guts" of the OS easily.
The bad
There is a such a thing as "too much cloud". If it ever gets to the point where the OS simply will not function without internet, that’s not good.
The reality
gOS states on their web site:
Cloud allows users to switch to the main operating system with a single click, or just power off.
If you’re already using Windows or Linux, what’s the point of even using it then other than boot-up speed?
I think it’s a safe bet to say most people (including beginners) would prefer a "full" OS like Windows or Linux instead of a forced environment.
Incidentally, this is why many people jailbreak iPhones. When you force users into a controlled environment, that’s not the true spirit of computing – and people will find ways to break the chains every time.
I agree with your last sentiment there. I can see how cloud computing is coming a long way and seeping into pretty much everything, but I am not all that excited about it. I can understand to a degree things like online document backups, but in my mind, information that I have stored is only truly at my fingertips if I can get at it locally. I know that the Internet isn’t likely gonna crash, but if the power goes out (often, around here), I can just run off my backup battery and grab the documents I need from redundant drives and be done with it. Self containment does have its perks.
As a tech savvy parent, this is the kind of thing I am looking for. I want to be able to set my kids up with an OS that lets them do nothing but word documents, presentations, and excel-like documents.
If it is going to have a browser, I want it to be streamlined and very easy to lock down, much like in a kiosk. My fantasy operating system would be one that powers up into a stripped down browser that logs into a web-based operating system, similar to EyeOS or DesktopTwo. If these web based operating systems incorporated web browsers within themselves, this would be an incredibly secure form of computing.