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Google starting to compromise! FINALLY!

by seasoned
2 replies
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I've told you why I don't like the original "netbooks". ACER, ASUS, and others figured many hated them, so THEY added back some of the missing pieces.

Google decided to take them off again, and go back and called their monstrosity the "chromebook". Apparently people have been complaining, and they decided to start compromising! Chromebooks looking to replace PCs by going offline | PCWorld

Chromebooks can be used for far more offline purposes than two years ago and cloud services also mean they are a more viable alternative to traditional PCs, Sengupta said. The retailer Woolworths, for instance, has adopted Chromebooks over PCs for employee use.

"As the ecosystems evolve, more and more developers are writing apps using Chrome APIs so they work offline," he said.

Google is targeting Chromebooks specifically at users who want to replace PCs with Windows XP, which is no longer supported by Microsoft. Google and partners are offering discounts to those who want to replace XP PCs with Chromebooks. Google has marked applications that can work offline in its Chrome Apps store and more applications are being added to that list, Sengupta said.

"The world has changed, you're looking at different kind of [computing] needs than XP," Sengupta said.

Beyond software, Chromebooks are also going to be faster to speed up gaming, videoconferencing and other tasks.

Chromebooks with Intel's Core i3 processors, which is at the midrange of chips that go into Windows laptops, will be out this year from Dell and Acer. Google and Intel this week announced laptops from Lenovo, Asus and Toshiba, and expect 20 models to be available by the end of the year.

But cloud-based services and features remain central to Chromebooks, so Google is populating Chromebooks with features that make more Web services accessible. One new addition is Google Now, which uses voice activation to let users get news, make a phone call, schedule an appointment, or map a location. The feature is in Android-based smartphones and tablets, and much like Apple's Siri, uses speech recognition to process requests.

Google is also looking to put the Chrome OS into the mini-desktop Chromebox and also digital-signage products that update automatically, Sengupta said.

More remote management and virtual desktop tools are also being added so the computers can be remotely managed more effectively in corporate environments.
Before you know it, they may be a full laptop!

Steve
  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    What they need is in computer storage. I'm not going to stick 100 pages of manuscript in their damned cloud.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      What they need is in computer storage. I'm not going to stick 100 pages of manuscript in their damned cloud.
      Well, the newer ones have the physical storage. NOW, they are apparently getting serious about what to do with it. Yeah, a word processor should have been the first thing. If they provide the right compiler, they ALREADY have access to source that could blow M/S away. I mean look at what LINUX did! When I first talked about linux, people called me nuts. In a year or two, it was pushing M/S out of stores. A few years later, it seemed like almost every manufacturer treated it as being just as important as windows.

      And NOW, they are talking about the next ones having i3 processors. I think most netbooks still have ATOM processors, and at least most are slower than i3.

      Steve
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