Were another start-up to launch another operating system based on Linux, Silicon Valley would barely bother to yawn. Google’s announcement of Chrome OS has had different treatment for many reasons – its scale, its success, its brand and its engineers – but the company has another quality that makes it credible, one it shares with other top technology outfits: a mastery of the user interface.

Google’s better search results are the usual explanation for why it was able to displace earlier search engines such as Yahoo. Yet there are many examples of superior products that do not catch on. One thing that made Google’s advantage tell, and made consumers willing to try the new service, was its simple interface: a white screen, a text box, and two buttons below it. It was obvious what to do.