First Chrome OS Notebooks Due This Month 246
adeelarshad82 writes "According to recent reports, a Google-branded Chrome OS notebook will be launched by Inventec later this month. Acer and HP will be launching theirs a month later, in December. This report is also backed by a source close to Google stating that the company is still on track to launch its Chrome OS by the end of the year, as well as its Chrome app store."
I don't think this will compete directly with iPad (Score:5, Interesting)
This is going to go straight for Microsoft's jugular.
Apple has pretty well innoculated themselves with a strong tablet (touch) and ultralight notebook (full OS) offerings.
If this comes with net access it will pretty much eat up the remaining netbook fervor.
Re:Inventec (Score:4, Interesting)
So companies with any kind of relationship with Microsoft basically have the MS MiB's camped outside their corporate headquarters making sure nobody 'forgets' about Windows.
I'm thankful that some companies have the gutts to build and sell products regardless of what Microsoft wants or does not want.
LoB
Re:I don't think this will compete directly with i (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not sure Chrome OS will be a big success, but I think Google would have taken such connectivity issues into consideration.
I'm not sure why they have both Android and Chrome OS -- they seem to intersect and overlap awkwardly.
I find this awesome... (Score:5, Interesting)
Hi,
As somebody who just lost a bunch of data due to faulty backup disks, I for one welcome this.
I've yet to lose data stored on Google's cloud *touch wood*...lol.
Having data in the cloud, as well as cached/accessible locally seems like the best option. And to those talking about going underground on a train, I'm fairly sure Google's accounted for that - either through Gears, HTML5 Local Storage, or another local caching mechanism. I have a Google Nexus One, when I'm underground, I can still access all my email (that's been synced), my contacts, my calendar etc.
And having all my contacts synced online, along with all my Google Talk logs, is *awesome*. I'm a bit anal-retentive when it comes to storing things, so knowing that it's all stored, and available, and won't get lost due to filesystem corruption or something equally idiotic is good news to me. And look, worst come to worst, I lose my phone (hopefully not...lol) I'll get another, login to my Google Account, and voila, everything is synced again.
And people seem to over-value their privacy, at least to corporations. Seriously, most of you are pathetically mundane. I for one am not so insecure that I can't admit I am too. I mean, jeez, trawling through my personal emails you get...err...a bunch of emails between me and mates talking about work, me arranging lunch with my parents, and me buying stuff on eBay. Big whoop de doo. I'm happy to admit I'm a fairly boring individual, and I'm sure statistically I just fade into the background. If I was the Pope, or Jason Bourne, or I was trying to overthrow the Australian government, I suppose I might think differently. But as it is, I'm just another random guy. I doubt anybody at Google really cares, except to display targeted advertising.
The government spying on me, yeah, I have issues on that. Serious issues. A teacher at uni. Absolutely. A colleague, sure. People I know IRL, yeah. Heck, if this was Sony even, I'd have issues, seeing as they're a bunch of immoral corporates, who have no qualms about installing malware on consumer's PCs (I bought into MiniDisc ok...lol, I have a right to be bitter). But some analytical algorithm, trying to figure out which ads I'll click on? Pftt, who cares.
Google has tried to hide what they do - they display targeted ads. It's not like they've every tried to cover that fact up, nor have they been really been caught out on a privacy breach. (I'm going to discount the technical incompetent idiots who don't understand what unencrypted wireless communication is, or who can't be bothered to read what they're clicking on before they click it, a la Buzz).
They also freely list all the data they store on you:
https://www.google.com/dashboard [google.com]
And they also don't try to lock you in to their system - they provide open exports from most of their systems.
http://www.dataliberation.org/ [dataliberation.org]
I find that really awesome, and a refreshing change from every other corporation that tries to lock you in, hand over foot. It also speaks volumes about their confience - they're confident enough in the technical superiority of their solutison, that they dont' ened to resort to lock-in to try to desperately cling onto their customers.
Cheers,
Victor
Better... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Now with 100% LESS privacy! (Score:5, Interesting)
The market is all those people who only use Gmail and Facebook anyway and whose tech savvy relatives are tired of fixing their malware ridden Windows installations.
finally! (Score:5, Interesting)
the real story here is that there are going to FINALLY be ARM netbooks for sale!
now if only they could get the sense to make a full laptop with them.
Begining of the end for Windows (Score:5, Interesting)
We have a large local organisation that has been a rock-solid windows shop for ever. I've occasionally had dealings with their IT manager, and never got any interest in moving to linux. So I just about fell over when he told me he was planning to switch as many workstations as possible to ChromeOS and Google Docs as soon as it comes out.
This is just one sample of course. But if a conservative Windows-centric organisation is planning to switch so immediately, it doesn't bode well for MS's revenue backbone - all those corporate workstations running windows and office. A switch to ChromeOS would be disruptive, but not much more so than the Windows 7 upgrade that must be on 75% of IT managers' todo lists next year.
Don't get me wrong, MS will be around for years and years, but I think their Silverlight/HTML5 announcement shows they've recognised their supremacy is over and they can't assume everyone runs Windows any more. Interesting times ahead.
Re:Now with 100% LESS privacy! (Score:4, Interesting)
I believe the people you refer to are those who "have a life". Sure, people who dont know how to use computers well may be more likely to get viruses etc, but is it really their fault - considering it was computer geeks who originally wrote the buggy software...and other computer geeks writing the malware...??
If you think shutting ourselves up in a cave is the way forward for humankind in the modern tech era, then good for you.
Re:WHOOOO You get to type on an airplane! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I find this awesome... (Score:2, Interesting)
Google has tried to hide what they do - they display targeted ads. It's not like they've every tried to cover that fact up,
Uhh what?
nor have they been really been caught out on a privacy breach. (I'm going to discount the technical incompetent idiots [...] who can't be bothered to read what they're clicking on before they click it, a la Buzz).
Wasn't the whole buzz settlement about having automatically opted people into buzz who hadn't clicked on anything of the sort, and then sharing all of their google contacts with all of their other google contacts?
They also freely list all the data they store on you: https//www.google.com/dashboard
On the google dashboard, there is a link for "About privacy and security in Google Voice."
Page not available.
Does this mean privacy and security in Google Voice is not available either?
Re:HTML5 local storage neé Google Gears (Score:1, Interesting)
Lets say $200 for a basic notebook, 8hr battery, onboard flash memory (8-16gb), 2GB memory, wifi A/G. Give it space for a 2.5" HDD, mini PCIe, 2 USB.
Make a million units, laugh like maniacs.
This will be all about getting Google Everything into peoples hands. I love my wifes Dell Mini, but all it ever does is run Google Chrome and it runs like crap because she usually has dozens of tabs open.
Slap Chrome OS on, and she loves it. Fast on, Chrome works fine, fairly snappy. Sure some things don't work, but it does enough. For everything else there is my watercooled beast of a desktop.