who's getting a chromebook?

It's kinda stupid Google didn't have a desktop in its product launch lineup. That would have been a boon for some schools, libraries, and Internet cafes. I'm sure someone will point out they can always lock them down onto tables. But still...

As to answer the OP's question, I don't see any value in a general purpose computer for which the software (and network speed as an extension) is the limiting factor.

-cb

gahhhhh

cbenoi1 said:

It's kinda stupid Google didn't have a desktop in its product launch lineup. That would have been a boon for some schools, libraries, and Internet cafes. I'm sure someone will point out they can always lock them down onto tables. But still...

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Schools are increasingly buying laptops for K-12, and letting kids take them home they way they used to borrow textbooks.

cbenoi1 said:

It's kinda stupid Google didn't have a desktop in its product launch lineup. That would have been a boon for some schools, libraries, and Internet cafes. I'm sure someone will point out they can always lock them down onto tables. But still...

As to answer the OP's question, I don't see any value in a general purpose computer for which the software (and network speed as an extension) is the limiting factor.

-cb

Click to expand...

You mean a nettop. Yes, a picture of a such a device was shown, but it's really a dead market, at least in terms of Atom powered nettops. Again, the Atom processor is the problem. I think we'll all have to wait for ARM based Chromebooks and nettops. It's possible to ship such a device for well under $100 per unit. That's not true of Atom powered devices. Again, Intel's Atom is the problem.

Aylaa said:

LOL i know I'm not, but its a cool idea.

http://www.google.com/chromebook/#

More or less it's a netbook with just a browser installed. The cool thing with chrome are the apps that allow you to do most things the normal computer user might need on a computer.

Safe computing, no need for back ups. Not bad at all. I don't know the full ins and outs because frankly, it's not my thing, but I'm sure writers could make full use of this. It's not a stretch to use a browser word processor, and that way you have instant back up for your writing.

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For those who do "know the full and ins and outs," an Atom powered Chromebook is a terrible value and next to useless compared to a real notebook. By all accounts, Chrome OS is going to be merged with Android and Google TV with the introduction of Ice Cream Sandwich in the Q4 of 2011. By the end of the year, we should also see much, much cheaper ARM powered Chromebooks. So far, the advantages of "cloud computing" aren't clearcut. If you don't believe me, look at how long Sony has been offline, or shorter outages at Microsoft and Amazon. If the servers are offline, your Chromebook is out of commission for the duration. If the cloud network gets hacked, how secure is that? Overall, the Chromebook feels like a brilliant 2009 concept that became obsolete with the introduction of the iPad. Thanks Google, but it wasn't worth the wait. Actually, I can say the same about Android, as there isn't a single fully functional Android tablet that can compete with the iPad and the first Google TV device was a flop. Thanks Google, but no thanks. Maybe Ice Cream Sandwich will turn it all around. Good luck until Q4 2011.