from chrome to os

It's like a long time ago, I feel like the browser is another os, espeically when you use it in full screen mode. It's a network os but without dedicated compiling language. Ok, I admit that javascript is not standarded in fact and it's not like elegant as my favorate Python; due to the security problem, it has no access to the local files; it's in single process. But it do lead to some wonder land.

People always have dreams when they are young while they don't know how to achieve the goal, achieve it in a proper way or do it in fashion. From ages ago, people either want to post something and don't care what others say or communicate through dedicated channel that all people have one but have their own. Slim client, net computer, grid, you figure the name that people build to express the enthusiastic on distributed work place and one data and processing center. Nowadays, one data and processing center has became the one central access point and clould is behind the point. Millions transactions are running on data center. But people still have to use simple network application around text.

There are something missing and some people will patch the problem, while some problem is hard to solve as far as I can see. To have fully functional web application, a platform, something like an OS is necessary. The browser is better than a OS in the sense that it has the function over user interface while OS (actually, I mean old-fashioned batch system) don't; browser has instancely useable standarded language, Javascript, while OS don't.

But the horn is still sounding on the battle field between the browser and OS. Browser don't have control over resource, it runs on OS; An extension to this problem is that browser cannot get more resource if it's single processed. Another externsion to the problem is that browser will do the same task with less speed than OS, so to win, browser must be fast. In the sense of human interface, browser is fine at 2D interaction, especially around forms and text, which have rich structure; OS can do great job in 3D animation however.

So, peopel in action. Google Chrome has take its lead. The browser has a Javascript interpretor that only store difference between objects, which makes it fast. A window is a process, which can eat up more resource. And it will step over OS by the Chrome OS, which is chrome + Linux. Ha, another slim client in this decade. Will we see 3D in browser as well? Not recently, I believe. There is some 3D extension for browser out there. But 3D function is a plus for the network gigant. I believe 99% business over the network is in 2D form. And that's their target.

Finally, there is one large problem about the browser is that all the Javascript code can be seen by the final user. The saving is to put all business logic behind on the servers. But it opposes the purpose to use as much as resource on the client side. To find aid from copy right law is out of options. Maybe one day browser will cover the source code but always gives the user the right to choose to run the application or not. At that time, everything will come back to as it today.