In my previous posts, I was talking about installing gOS. gOS is an operating system that was bundled with the gPC, a $200 Linux PC that aims to provide a very affordable way of getting online. Everex is the company that makes these computers. The Everex TC2502 Green gPC comes equipped with a basic 1.5 GHz VIA C7 CPU, 512mb DDR2 memory and an 80GB hard drive. The package, however, doesn’t include a monitor. TechCrunch believes people like a Google-focused PC, but let me make it clear: the gPC or gOS is NOT manufactured or developed by Google. The “G” in gOS or gPC stands for Green. Google, however, let Everex and gOS developers use Google-related icons and trademarks.

As for gOS’s performance, all I can say is gOS made the right decision of basing it on Ubuntu. The latest version of gOS Rocket Beta is based on Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) and, consequently, has integrated NTFS read-write capabilities. gOS makes thin-client computing possible by focusing on web-based apps. It also has offline desktop apps, like OpenOffice et al, to make sure that when there is no way to go online, you can still be productive.

Inevitably, the only way to tell if the operating system is good, or good enough, is to compare it to other operating systems.

Installation
Starting with the installation, Windows XP, or Vista for that matter, would take about an hour or two to install the base operating system. This is just the base of the operating system without an office suite, instant messengers, and other applications, not to mention the time it takes to install drivers. gOS’s installation takes about less than an hour to an hour tops. And after rebooting, everything’s working that you don’t even have to worry about installing drivers. And since gOS is more focused on online applications, all you need to do is launch the browser, Firefox in this case, and do whatever you need to do online. gOS simply works out of the box. +1 for gOS.

Updates
As for updates, there’s a ton waiting for you to download and install once you have installed Windows. Same thing with gOS. On both systems, there’s an icon that indicates if there’s an update to the system and all you have to do is click on it to view and start the download and installation of updates. It’s a draw here for both operating systems.

Interface
Let’s face it. Vista’s Aero looks beautiful. XP, after some modification, would look beautiful also. But gOS mimics Apple‘s Mac OS X. It’s a draw here. Clearly. On the basis of user-preference.

Applications
With Windows XP, the user relies on the applications installed. Basic applications that are somewhat necessary would include an office suite, like a word processor, spreadsheet, and a presenter. gOS addresses this need with OpenOffice, a free and open-source productivity suite, and then some. Other applications that users commonly install would be anything that lets them do stuff online, like a browser, an instant messaging client, and an email program. Windows has Internet Explorer, Outlook Express (or Mail), Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AIM, etc. gOS has Firefox, Thunderbird, and Google Talk. Just in case you didn’t know, you can add, chat, and call Yahoo! Messenger, AIM and Windows Live Messenger users with Google Talk. It may not be easy, but it is doable. I’ve done it, but that’s another story. Also, gOS focuses on web applications, so you don’t even have to use the desktop applications bundled with the operating system. Google has developed a lot of online apps that addresses the need for an office suite without installing anything in your system. All you need is a browser to access Google’s online services. This way, you can access all your documents and spreadsheets anywhere there’s an Internet connection.

But here’s the catch…
However, Adobe applications, like the Creative Suite series, only run on Mac and Windows. Sure there are counterparts in the Linux and open-source community, but it takes some time to learn the new stuff, and most people don’t have the time to do just that. Adobe Flash, for one, doesn’t have a decent enough counterpart in the Linux world. But here’s the kicker. Adobe recently announced that it has released a very light and a very online Photoshop, named Photoshop Express. It’s no Photoshop, by any standards, but Adobe’s making a move towards the web by developing an online version of one of its core products. Adobe also released AIR, a way for developers and software companies to bring their online apps to the desktop, and vice versa. And Microsoft agrees that bringing desktop apps online, and vice versa, is the next logical step in its evolution, as evidenced by their release of Silverlight. The verdict for this category is still unknown as the current trend in computing is still heavily blurry.

gOS has a head start already, and if the current trend continues, and if Microsoft still pushes for Vista and desktop computing, gOS will probably dominate thin-client computing. And hopefully become the new trend. Thin-client computing is coming. Make no mistake about it.

So for no frills and no headaches installation, gOS wins. But of course, it all depends on what you, the user, aims to accomplish with the computer. Just make sure to think about what it is you need the computer for and go from there. But yeah, gOS is good. Good enough for me.