Is imminent Chrome OS launch reckless?

It sounds like Google will be releasing an early version of their Chrome OS sometime this week -- that leads us to a question of whether anybody will use the new operating system, and if they do, will they like it?

The initial release of Chrome OS will likely be very bare-bones, bordering on useless -- but depending on what kind of feedback they get, it may grow rapidly. The "release early and often" mantra adopted by many software companies that use agile practices can be extremely dangerous, however.

When it comes to releasing new software, I hold the firm belief that first impressions are extremely important. Releasing "early" is asking for dissatisfied early adopters -- the most important users for any new product or service. This early debt (bad first impressions, and loss of early adopters) is far more difficult to recover from than physical debt collected as result of the extra time it takes to polish the first version of your software.

If Google's not sure of what first impressions are going to be, an early release of such an important product could be a disaster. In contrast, some of the most successful Google services are ones that had an extremely positive first impression -- including Google Maps, Gmail, and Google Voice.

Let's hear what you think in the TalkBack!