Speculation: how will Google make money with their OS

[jsluiter]

Chrome OS will be open source, like Android. So how will Google make money?

• Paid subscriptions to the apps you use
• Ad infested apps
• Cloud 'points' for using their infrastructure

Any more ideas?

[Charlie]

I just heard embedded with adds. They may do like MS does and add software bundles within the OS. This helps knock 200+ dollars off the system.

[scblair]

perhaps a combo of freeware (the basic os), bundled apps and iphone-style purchased apps? this could make the OS free and ad-free while still making $. plus make google the default search, naturally

[ChromeMagnon]

Chrome OS will be open source, like Android. So how will Google make money?

• Paid subscriptions to the apps you use
• Ad infested apps
• Cloud 'points' for using their infrastructure

Any more ideas?

Google isn't actually spending a lot of money on Chrome OS - they are simply putting their browser and AJAX and other web technologies on a Linux client the same way that they have always put their serverside technologies on Linux servers. By open sourcing their own code, they drastically reduce what development and debugging costs they need to put in.

Chrome OS is I believe Google's attempt to prevent Microsoft's efforts to use its desktop monopoly to lock desktop users into Microsoft products and out of Google's products.

They have subscription for apps now if you want extra features over the free version. I don't agree with the other two points. First, the notable thing about Google's products compared with others is that they are not ad infested and are free of in-your-face advertising. This is what makes Google advertising so effective - because it is discrete, people don't turn off to it, and it is all the more effective because of this. I don't think Google will change this because it is the secret of their success. I don't think the last item about Cloud Points is correct either. Because Google is releasing the technology as open source, there is no doubt that others will come up with customised corporate versions of the Chrome OS netbook which logs into a corporate cloud server instead of a Google account by default. Indeed anti-trust watchdogs may well require this on all Google branded netbooks as well. Besides this, apart from handling the initial login, it is not necessary to use Google's products at all. It is difficult to argue that there is any lock-in to Google products when using other products is simply a case of entering another URL or clicking on a hyperlink.