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Google PC to Hit Walmart?
Fahrvergnuugen writes "According to latimes.com Google is set to launch the Google PC which will run Google's own operating system. From the article: 'Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap -- perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars.'"
This is a piece of speculation that's inside a piece of gossip that's inside a bloody "Predictions for 2006" article.
Which isn't to say that it can't be true. But it feels like someone heard the phrase "Google OS" and made up a rumor without knowing what the phrase meant.
The United States of America: We do what we must because we can.
Really, a Windows licence isn't the major part of the cost of a new PC. So just using their own OS (with all the development costs) isn't going to save a huge amount of money per unit sold.
This Slashdot summery makes it sound like this is a sure thing. It is only a rumor at this point. Here is a quote from the article
"Here are some predictions for the media industry for 2006, based on interviews with industry analysts, executives and investors, along with a little intuition."
Only a couple hundred dollars? You mean, like a Dell, or a Mac Mini, or an entry-level Sun workstation?
Microsoft is so evil for branching into pretty much everything, yet Google appears to be following suit. Of course, this is nothing but a prediction (for those who skim the article)
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In other news, the Google PC will replace all of Wal Mart's PC's that ship with Microsoft BOB...
Google just needs to tweak a common free OS to be friendly to all their little sub-projects, in a manner similar to but more extensive than how Opera (the browser) now defaults to Google search. Even that will panic the drones at Microsoft, who are paranoid about Google anyway.
A truly excellent pizza parlor is a delight unto the heavens. Treasure the sauce and the toppings!
First thing that springs to mind is the $100 laptop?. That aside, this isn't too far fetched, given that you can get a dell computer with monitor for about $400. Less, without.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
It is a rumor on the LA Times site, which I think is less 'rumor' than most tech sites...
===
I expect this Google OS and PC both will be released in permanent beta, like the rest of their products.
MoM++ - A Classic Expanded - [Master of Magic 1.5]
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Google and Apple are going to put their heads together.
Apple are also rumoured to be doing some sort of PVR - and Apple, as we've seen in recent months, don't seem to be so afraid of working with other companies. With Mac World due on the 9th of Jan, it'd be quite a big / heavy duty step to announce something around then and those two companies working together would be quite something... surely they are desperate to give Microsoft a good thrashing between them!
Just random speculation - i'm probably quite, quite wrong!
"Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
Ohhh Yes !!
I'm not so sure about the name 'GooOS' that people are chosing to use. The domain GOOOS.COM is registerd to whoisprivacyprotect.com (a subsidiary of Enom), but the CC domains like gooos.co.uk are not yet registered (which seems like a bit of a mistake if thats the name google intend (read:speculation) to use.)
Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
Not wholly improbable. Imagine a Google PC with Google OS and a broadband connection. Fire it up and it takes you straight to Google / AOL. They provide you with everything including a simple Office suite. You never need to leave the Google OS environment. Captive audience or what? Average computer user doesn't need to ever leave it. Sweet.
Or so goes the "logic."
TFA is useless, nothing more than gossip, almost worse than blog-level "forecasts".
BUT it would be interesting to pretend that Google is really coming out with its own OS in, say, late 2006 (GoOS vs. Vista anyone?). What do you think such system would be like? Architecture? Notable features?
I for one think it would probably be free (as in gratis or dirt cheap) and Unix-based; maybe based on Linux or more likely on BSD. But, besides featuring Google logos everywhere and coming bundled with GMail/GoogleTalk accounts and a skinned GoogleFox, what INNOVATIVE features would it bring to the market? Why would a consumer choose it over any other *nix, or over Windows?
And will Google finally resurrect BeOS? (OK this one was a joke)
Comments, suggestions, enlightened visions are welcome.
Global warming is a cube.
Maps integrated with yellow pages and craiglist, with pretty pictures and IM....ect..
I might pay a nice price for a google handheld.
Call up the telco's, "This is Google. We are going to start a blackberry startup.
Give our customers access where ever they are, and we will reward you with lots of cash."
Google "Crimp Your Own Cables" Kit?
Google "That Stuff in a Can You Use to Clean Keyboards" Stuff?
Google "Bow Down to the Overlords of the Internet" Mousepads?
As soon as they make a Clippy, will Slashdot declare them evil? No! Never! We won't do it!
What OS will it run? GNU of course! - Google's Not Unix.
Google will unveil its own low-price personal computer or other device that connects to the Internet.
Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap -- perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars.
Bear Stearns analysts speculated in a research report last month that consumers would soon see something called "Google Cubes" -- a small hardware box that could allow users to move songs, videos and other digital files between their computers and TV sets.
Larry Page, Google's co-founder and president of products, will give a keynote address Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Analysts suspect that Page will use the opportunity either to show off a Google computing device or announce a partnership with a big retailer to sell such a machine.
Not that it may or may not be true, but speculation is speculation. Interestingly the word of the day is concrete.
Walmart the next Dell? Google to sell online? Is this made up?
Google is hoist by its own petard here - people write google friendly articles and want links from slashdot, so they write speculative peices about google.
An image of a snake eating it's own tail comes to mind.
Ouroboros.
please type the word in this image: concrete
random letters - if you are visually impaired, please email us at pater@slashdot.org
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
we all hoped for this while at the same time watched google go from "do no evil" to making deals with aol (basically they seem like they are just about to become slightly fuzzy round the edges)
the only way for them to keep their good name would eb to opensource the OS so people could see there is no spyware or phone home ability built in.
and let me say, if i were a rich man instead of someone who builds his pcs out of his friends castoffs when they upgrade, i would dearly love to try one of these out. although the only thing i would wonder is...if it becomes as big a hit as firefox has (eating into the microsoft internet explorer marketshare), what will this do to apple? i've a feeling it's more their sort of crowd who might try this. unless they've dumber it down to the extreme so joe sixpack can get his head round "it's not windows"
can't wait to actually see this if it comes out though. and....is that a chair i see flying through the air from redmond?
Do no evil one day, in league with the devil the next.
Thank you, Edward Snowden.
"Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
"The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap -- perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars."
. aspx/featured_basdt?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
You mean like one of these:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features
Something tells me, between tech support and corporate infrastructure, very little of that cost is the "microsoft tax".
Lloyd Braun failed at Yahoo. Haha. That will teach my mom, she keeps saying "Why can't you be more like that Lloyd Braun?"
The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap -- perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars.'"
Um, has anybody else ever seen a PC? They already sell for as little as a couple of hundred dollars.
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It would be nice if someone could give Microsoft a real run for the money and break up that unnecessary and damaging monopoly. However, I don't think this is the time, and Google isn't strong enough to do it, either. Therefore, they'd be foolish to attack without the ability to win.
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
I thought their motto was "Do no evil"?
---------
There is inferior bacteria on the interior of your posterior.
You can always find better and cheaper than Wall*mart if you look. Wallmart has cheap stuff. Period. Car battery? Well, sure. Clothing? Junk. Electronics. Cheap junk. Need a store open at 3 AM for a forgotten birthday? Well, sure. Buy a computer? See Electronics above.
Will it have Firefox preinstalled? ;-)
If yes... Wow!
Well, I've got to get back to work. When I stop rowing, the slave ship just goes in circles.
Steve Ballmer is going to be throwing chairs again...
There are so few companies out there that could even dream of competing with Microsoft in the OS area... but, in my mind, Google is one of them. Note how I have absolutely no evidence to back up this opinion... Google doesn't sell gadgets, and they don't really even sell software... but the one thing they do seem to do is succeed. I have a sort of blind faith in Google at this point.
Of course, trying their own OS might be Google's Russia... Napolean and Hitler both were doing pretty well until they went for Moscow... and going head to head with MS might just be the one thing Google can't do.
All rumors, agreed. But it makes me feel all funny, like when we used to climb the rope in gym class.
My script don't crash! She crashes, you crashed her!
Seriously, just make it do one clever thing and I'll buy one. I'd love a media PC to replace my modded xbox (which is the best thing that ever happened to TV).
I'd like to add, if it exists, and you can hook it up to a TV as the article suggests, then you can probably play some kind of videogames on it.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Wal-Mart Bad, Google Good... oh dear, isn't it getting complicated!
Apart from that, I think Google would be mad to go the PC route. For a start, the money was never in the hardware. Also, I can't think of a better way to lose goodwill than to start selling budget PCs to the least technically literate segment of the PC-buying population and then failing to provide premium support.
Yes yes, there's Apple, but Apple don't generally do bargain basement prices. If you make an enormous margin on the hardware, you may be able to afford to keep your customers happy, even when they are clueless idiots. No-one, not even Google, will be able to do that on a $200 sale price.
Virtually serving coffee
Granted this is all just speculation based upon what seem to be unverified sources, but... If this is true, it comes as no surprise to me. It's just the next step in Google's plan to replace the big bad computing oligopoly with the soon-to-be Google media, communications, and software monopoly. Of course, I'm just a crazy doomsayer without a clue, so what do I know. 2006 is going to be very interesting.
I think the whole deal the made few months ago was just about this. Google will rebrand Solaris 10 as their OS and will bundle Staroffice with it!
Google is going after the only two Microsoft cash cows: Windows and MS Office...
The only problem I foresee is that Google does not have any capabilities on handling customer support...
well neither has Microsoft...I guess they are even!
Margins on hardware are *thin*. There is no reason why Google would want to enter that market. OS maybe, turn-key systems? Nah.
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Clearly this is a rumour based on some late night beer thinking but really why would Google bother getting into the PC business or OS business? Cost of entry is very high, unless they just re-badge a Linux distro, in which case they'd be better off buying one of the smaller distro companies out there. But even with that why would they bother. The whole principle of what they are doing is about moving things to being more and more connected and providing facilities (Google Desktop) that tie people into that connected metaphor at all times. They want to turn the desktop into a virtual environment where information is collected and stored via Google elements, so they don't need to own the whole OS, they just need the brand and the plug-ins. Google to produce a database driven file system for Windows Vista? Now that would be a much more interesting rumour.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Assuming this is true (keeping in mind the article is based on predictions and intuition) why would a tech savvy company partner with Walmart? I would have thought that if google decide to sell desktops they would follow the Dell model of selling their own customisable machines through their own website.
Imagine the sales they could generate if the first paid text link that appeared whenever you googled something like "new pc" or "pc prices" was for google's own offering? I accept that Walmart have an incredible distribution system, but since Google's business model is already so profitable, why hand margin over to old fashioned bricks and mortar retailers.
My two cents.
if this is true, taking over the OS market is hardly what their goals should or will be.. if anything, they'll develop something great, simply to make computing better for the people.. I personally think it would be awesome if they made google PDAs rather than desktop computers.. they could have a simple OS on there, with all their cool applications like google desktop and a GPS'd version of Google Earth hehe.. its a long shot, but if this is what Google wants to do, we'll just have to sit back and watch what happens.. hopefully their computers won't end up in the "internet appliance" pile..
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
I, personally doubt it.
Would they buy a GoogleBox, that allows them to access their web mail, google office (assuming its not a myth) and various web sites "without a computer", and all they have to do is hook it up to a DSL/Cable line and a power line? I think they would.
My sister is terrified of computers. Her husband finally bought one and within a day they were swamped with the usual microsoft web experience (malware and viruses). All they want their computer for is email, online banking, storing digital photos and getting cheap flights. They don't word process, because neither of them do any work at home (nurse/buyer). Now they have a 64bit Athalon gathering dust in the corner of their office (i didn't recommend it... i know its a waste).
A GoogleBox could really solve their problems, and $200 is a good price point. To really take off it needs to:
Basically, think PDA but without PIM, and make it abundantly clear that this thing lives on the coffee table/kitchen sideboard, not in the brief case, on the train/plane or in the office so that the dim witts at PC World don't start comparing it PDAs/Laptops. If its going to be compared to anything it should be web service built into some cable set-top boxes and look terrible at NTSC resolutions. There could really be a market.
Scared of flying, pointy things snce 1979!
Well, at least Rob Pike, one of the Plan 9 developers (and, of course, of Unix fame), works at Google since he left Bell Labs. A network-centric OS like Plan 9 (or it's successor, Inferno) would probably be an ideal match for a Google infrastructure.
If it WAS true (and not a rumor) it would have also been the "first ever" software package ever to be put to market without ANY of the development staff OR beta testers leaking a copy.
Has much as I love my geek brethren... I was in disbelief before I even clicked the article.
Y'know.... I remember seeing a flash about Google vs. Microsoft awhile ago, it went into the year 2020 or so, and it was frighteningly similar to what I just read.
First off, when the L.A. Times says "sources tell us", it's a little more reliable than your typical rumour site or ZDnet blogger.
Secondly, look at Google's efforts to port stuff like the Google toolbar to Firefox.
Thirdly, look at some of their applications, like Picasa. It uses a completely custom look and widget set, right down to unusual (but quite functional) scrollbars. Presumably, they've built a whole application API that draws and uses these widgets. That's a nice big building block of a custom OS, I think.
If there really is a GoogleOS, it'll offer customers:
1. A spyware and virus-free platform.
2. A cheap Internet/media appliance that very likely Just Works.
3. Worry-free online storage and backup of all documents, email, etc.
4. Seamless desktop-Internet application, where most applications either are already web applications or hook into web applications.
5. A stream of new applications and regular upgrades that are all performed by Google, with no hassle to the user.
He who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.
Myself I think 2006 WILL see a new entry into the computer in the living room market. It is called the PS3 and rumors about that are nowadays so solid it we even have some idea about how it will be done. The PS3 will have an optional addon in the form of a HD wich will contain a version of the linux kernel (no not GNU/Linux, I said kernel) and presumably some kind of userspace software to use it. Cool as booting linux is the usual purpose is to then get a working enviroment.
Note that is NOT clear yet that this addon will turn your PC into a desktop. Merely that it can boot the kernel. Logic would dictate that Sony wouldn't do this without a very good reason, like trying to get a shot at putting the desktop in the living room, but who knows.
It is however an optional extra and this makes it clear that Sony is not exactly making a major push out of it. Unless of course all the really good games require the add-on.
So how does this relate to a Google PC? Well Sony can do this attempt on the back of its regular launch of a new console. The console, sony hopes, will be attractive enough on its own to get into millions of homes. To then add a tiny amount of extra effort and be able to stealthly introduce their own PC like solution into those exact same homes must be nice bonus. It is well known that the asian tech giants are not at all happy with MS dominance on the PC market and would love to get their teeth into it.
So a linux desktop to attack MS where have you heard that before eh? Well don't forget that Sony (if it will truly do this) has two gigantic advantages over such efforts as Lindows. 100% Hardware support. No problem with getting companies to create proper drivers for a tiny marketshare. The team behind the PS3 knows what hardware is inside and could easily write the drivers. One often mentioned problem of Linux swept away in an instant. Oh and I bet it also makes the whole "configuration" a lot easier. There is after all only going to be one.
Second Linux problem? No games. Well for some reason I do not think that buying the Linux addon is going to brick your PS3 and make it impossible to game with it. Another problem of Linux instantly swept away.
Now Google doesn't have anything like that. While its software is "installed" on every pc (A common browser) it is almost impossible for them to PUSH their technology. They certainly can't piggy back it onto anything. The recent deal with opera on the mobile market is perhaps the only way Google can "force" its way onto a computer.
Or put another way, PS3 would be bought for games and the desktop is an extra. GooglePC would be bought for .... Well it would be the same as the Lindows PC. An computer that could be quite good but would never be the real thing. Even such simple things as getting Flash to work would be a killer for a browser PC. So why should a person buy a crippled PC when for a few bucks more they can get one that is a proper windows machine (Security? Yeah like walmart buyers know about that).
There might be another possible avenue of approach and that is to pull an iPod with the GooglePC. Part of Apples success is that it was rich and powerfull enough to make a bet and order the parts for the iPod in such numbers that it could get huge discounts. It is not that the iPod is better then say iRiver or even Creatives offerings. But as shown painfully clear with the iPod Nano, Apple could simply offer more for less. its competitors simply can't put the same hardware inside for the same price.
Apple when it entered the MP3 player market was an accidental giant (Sony/Philips/etc were all asleep at the wheel) who could simply squish all competitors.
Is the PC market similary open? Can a company with enough muzzle simply order a milli
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You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Wasnt this rumored a few months back that Google was planning to make a M$ Office and Windows version of their own and they denied it?
It seems like this rumor keeps coming up. Has Google made any news themselves about this?
Bryan
Solaris 10 or Linux with a Gnome front-end (custom theme) and a document/data centric file browser and application suite. Of course the GTK load/save dialogs would also be replaced with document/data centric interfaces rather than the traditional file system view. Office tasks would be handled via StarOffice or OpenOffice. The browser would be Firefox. Again, the theme would be consistent for these applications as well. I'd expect a certain amount of lock-down and customisability restrictions.
The computer would also act as a home search box, it'd index all accessible data sources - network drives, etc. The file browser would give you a simple interface to all of these, again in a document centric manner.
Thing is, whilst possible, and indeed I wouldn't mind having the OS manage my files for me if it did it well and the files were properly indexed, I don't think Google could have arranged this in even 3 years of development - it is a lot of work. Then again, they are a very motivated company.
But will it play San Andreas?
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
Content producers wonder whether Google's push into video search will unravel the economics that make Hollywood hum. If viewers can find and legally download an episode of "Seinfeld" through Google, will that cut into cable and network television's profits?
How is this any different than searching on google RIGHT NOW?
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Hardware: Google PC to Hit Walmart?
Yes, I'm pretty sure the Google PC as a competitor to Walmart's $200 Windows PC will hit Walmart badly.
Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
...and the age old debate of when Linux will be ready for the desktop of the masses will be answered.
If Google and Apple were to come out with the OS, would that mean I should start investing in Intel, or what?
Well I feel paranoid about having a machine with a Google OS installed on it; how would anybody know if these masterminds are able to keep an eye of exactly everything you're doing on these machines? Even though it's invasion of privacy, that doesn't stop anybody - such as a hacker from tricking a noobster into downloading and executing a trojan without knowing, and going down 5 years on the road without the computer administrator even noticing the machien has been infected. The terms 'invasion of privacy' mean little to me, as in whether one could care about another's privacy or not, but is something one must be prepared to clean up tracks to prevent the slightest notice of existance of privacy being invaded. If I read correctly, Google would want to sell these machines for $10 aside to Windows in stores - and of course the Operating System for free on the net. Are the mice, monitors, and keyboards included or will they be a built-in feature? Just think about it - if this happens, Google could have the priviledge of doing just what some hackers, without people noticing. Google of course will know better the the average person, aswell as planning and tactics. A reply stating that "then Google would be in trouble and they'd lose business," I think would be invalid. You may have a stadium of 1,000,000 people with their PC's connected to the same LAN network with an Intranet setup. One may be infected and it will hardly even be noticed. Really, even a small group of people won't do it - nor a decent sized group that hate's Microsoft for example (have they even bothered changing course with these [I think ridiculously stupid] hate comments?).
Yeah, Wal-Mart has a kick-ass distribution channel. I sure wish Google would negotiate with a more socially conscious partner. Wal-Mart has such a nasty record with worker treatment (not rights -- they technically don't exist under this administration). In the end, though, business is all about making money.
I wonder how a beta can be implemented in this scenario.
Do you sell them cheaper during beta?
Do you sell them in beta with a promise of upgrade once is in prod?
Will it ever come out of beta?
Maybee it will skip beta as I dont think people will buy something labeled beta
The best test environment is production. - Me
chrome://browser/content/browser.xul
http://www.fuckedgoogle.com/
This rumor is so ripe for satire I can hardly believe it.
Since the leaked version of MacOSX for x86 processors seems to run well on non-Intel hardware, what if Google uses Darwin (maintained by Apple) with a non-aqua GUI (KDE/Gnome/GNUstep... whatever)?
Why Darwin? Well... that way they get Apple maintaining the OS for them. If they install the KDE (v4) and GNUstep libraries, they get even more of OSXs featureset. And, without Aqua, they are not an Apple competitor since they could not run OSX apps.
The hacked OSX86 seems to run well on AMD chips even though Apple has an "Intel at the Core" mindset. So, a Google Cube could be a set-top MacMini with Firefox or Konqueror accessing data stored at GoogleBase.
Walmart sources their PCs now from 3bt and Microtel and offer a cheap-o no OS or Linux OS option for damn close to $300. sub300 (ergo the name) and iDot both offer PCs for less than that. Of course they usually don't have hard drives, CD burners (CDROM only) or more than 256MB RAM. Processors are usually Via C3's or end of life Durons. I'm guessing you could probably squeeze out a little more cost by eliminating serial, LPT, PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports, pulling the power supply out a-la Mini Mac, eliminating the hard drive AND the CDROM and booting the OS from a USB drive and then giving away the OS for free. It would of course be of fairly limited practical use as a thin client but it's possible.
if the Google PC comes up to be lot more cheaper than MS should start to pack your bags. i bet they are facing lots of challenges. like the AOL shares.
That would let all little Susies' games run, and be free of the "Microsoft Tax".
When you want something built, come see me. If you want correct grammar and spelling, get a F*ing liberal arts student.
Google will have us run beta applications on top of a beta OS running in beta hardware! And so they solve for good Microsoft's ethernal headaches with buggy releases - never release version 1.0.
Imagine that Google had managed to licence MacOSX, and decide to sell rebranded MacMinis, much in the same way that HP sells rebranded iPods!
Ohhh... I can picture the small blue boxes, wiht those colorfull letters spelling "Google" all over it. It would be fantastic!
---- You know how some doctors have the Messiah complex - they need to save the world? You've got the "Rubik's" complex
I just have to wonder, if this does pan out to be true, will WalMart insist on some type of "Net Nanny" be installed? We are talking about the same retail chain that sells toned down (i.e. no more explicative lyrics, nude scenes, etc.) versions of CDs and Movies. It would only make sense that they'd want to filter out the smut side of the Internet too.
If big boobed women work at Hooters do one legged women work at IHOP?
..to call it GNU/GoogleOS not just GoogleOS
The machine would run an operating system created by Google
Google has neither the skills nor the team to create an operating system in 2006. If they distribute anything called Google OS, it will be a derivative work of an already existing OS. Maybe from a proprietary one but more probably from a Free one. The question remains: Linux, Darwin, Solaris or OpenBSD.
Million Dollar Screenshot
A lot of things "could be".
The point is that microsoft has been proven to break the law, and as the GP said, stifled competition and harmed consumers. MS has a long history of using "evil" business methods (STAC, DRdos, netscape). Google has not - for the moment.
Ok, no, it's not true, but it's nice to dream.
(spare me the hardware won't be compatablable stuff, and let me have my dream)
So whether Microsoft is or is not a monopoly is no longer a matter of debate; it is established fact.
Google has infinite tech support. The dirty little secret is Microsoft has really offered almost no real tech support unless you buy it, training programs, classes, certifcates, ect ect, while lambasting the very hobbyists that have altruistically helped millions of users faced with blue screens of death and all of the other Microsoft bugs.
Microsoft relies heavily on technically users providing other users with free tech support, while they take all the money. Google can easily get around this by making search for technical support and user groups for their OS easy. It will surely be a thousand times better than microsoft's current static (non-user group) "help" feature.
Microsoft may very well find its way out because its locked out of the search function just like they tried to lock others out of the gui desktop.
Right, because we all know he average WalMart shopper has a LAN at home and just can't figure out where that midget porn went.
The one possibility which hasn't been discussed is a google-branded version of Windows. Have google toolbar and the other google goodies built in, with google as the home page and I.E. launching on startup, and Google can subsidise the cost of the OS to get the 50 or so dollars per year per user of google's accessories.
It would run Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues, but it would also direct people through Google's services. Why would Google need to take down Windows, when they can make even more money from it?
The ______ Agenda
Google has the best tech support. It's the one I use all the time. It's called googling the Internet.
Linux in 6 bytes (IA-32): 90 90 90 90 EB FE ;)
Well, maybe that'd be a more advanced feature to attract the early buyers.
:p
That, or maybe he wants to see what is on his neighbour's unsecured wireless network
You can get sub $300 computers easily online or through catalogs with Windows. Refurbished eMachines go for that price. Even Dell. I mean, if the people that Google is targeting are so wildly ignorant of computers that they cant call Dell or someone similiar... Theres no way their OS is going to user friendly enough for them to use. Plus if they cant afford that price, I doubt its in the budget for $10-20 a month for internet access.
Been there, done that. The "Google PC" is nothing more than a typical competitor to what's already there. The Wal-Mart maneuver is going to be a bad one because Wal-Marts are already being actively boycotted due to their Juggernaut marketing practices. I can just as easily stick to the Fry's Electronics "major name brand" computer made by GQ for $179. It runs Lindows out of the box and comes with the basic keyboard, mouse, speakers, and necessary media.
I feel the "Google PC" is going to be a big flop and will only be a hit among those who use gMail. Even then, most of them will realize, they can get the same quality for less; elsewhere, but will end up buying a decent laptop anyway. Perhaps a smarter move would be to purchase Microsoft.
-- Game Developers: Stop porting badly-textured games from crappy console systems!
Windows XP is quite expensive from the OEM's
To the mom and pop shops, maybe, if they don't work their magic with Microsoft. To any company that is pushing machines out the door at a fairly steady rate (you don't have to be a Dell to do it) the OEM cost can drop as low as $10-$30.
-everphilski-
Let's see.. Google already runs tens of thousands of servers. They have stated they need more bandwidth and more power.
Wouldn't it be great if they have a computing box in *every* home, just to extend their computing power? No power bills, no need to buy more hardware?
Give the owners some of the benefits (cached searches, gmail, maybe use it as a PC in some ways, and otherwise use the box for your own purposes.). Interesting thought.
There's probably little to no "Microsoft Tax" in that system, which rings in at $250 after rebate and removing the monitor, certainly not at the ~$100 the individual "OEM" would pay. It feasible that such a worthless hulk might actually be offered at cost.
Still, how many of those crippled machines does Dell actually sell? You're not meant to buy that -- it's a sales hook. Once you're in, well, you really should consider a few modest upgrades.
"Dell Recommends:"
"Dell Recommends" $628 worth of "upgrades", making it a nearly $1000 system. I think there's plenty of room for the MS tax in there, don't you?
customisable machines
No, no, customizable machines = work, more money, less profits (or higher cost). Make one box, only one box. "Any color you want, as long as its black" - Henry Ford. Don't sell them yourselves, don't worry about shipping them - let someone else handle it for you. Actually a very smart way of doing it. Google manages the O/S and farms out the hardware and sales to a hardware company and a sales company with storefronts on every street corner in America...
-everphilski-
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When will the Google paranoia stop? So far, what sorts of predatory business practices have they been involved in? None that I can tell. They created the online search related ad market, so good on them for that. They have the best search engine online. Kudos there too. The only thing I'm hearing from anti-Google assholes is whining because their favorite companies (probably due to some lame investments) can't compete. READ MY LIPS: I don't give a flying FUCK about your investments. I have NO investments and I'm damn proud of that. If you're so worried about the market, you need to get a life. The only reason to do anything with technology is to make life better and easier with money making as a VERY SMALL part of the process. This is what Google has done. They make a great search engine, provide really good free e-mail with loads of space, and now they might provide decent competition to Microsoft and Dell. Sounds like they're doing things the right way, to me...
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
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Will it run linux?
When the posters fear their moderators, there is tyranny; when the moderators fears the posters, there is liberty.
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Why search for your files every time? If you know where your files are, there's no issue, and no need to wait for the shell to search through all your files. (And I thought it was bad when GNOME file-chooser wanted to load a listing of my /usr/bin directory every time I manually entered a path inside /usr/bin. I'm almost tempted to gut Firefox so it uses a different system.)
Google's current search engine relies on hyperlinks as much as text searches. It would do poorly with any system without hyperlinks. So you'd have a crappy search system to find files rather than just using a bit of organization. Or you'd have a new system that worked better for monolithic files, but that would take more effort.
... It's getting kinda deep in here...
It seems like we've been hearing a lot of theories, rumors, and other things that "sources" say about what Google is going to do. I haven't heard anything interesting about what Google actually has done.
--
-- Ghodmode
Yes, I've seen a few.
$200+freeOS=$200
$200+WindozeTax>=$250
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Those little appliancs all looked bad, and didn't have any brand identification behind them.
Put them in a pretty white box with a bright GoOgLe logo, and you have the makings of something very powerful.
People aren't buying a web terminal or an interface, they're buying a gateway to use Google.
If it turns out to be true, it's a potentially brilliant move for Google. How does Google make all those megabucks? Advertising. They made it work, bigtime. What's advertising about? Eyeballs. Google is brilliant for putting the -right- eyeballs with the -right- ads.
This could be the first thing with the -opportunity- to seriously hurt Microsoft since Navagator and Java.
..don't panic
To any company that is pushing machines out the door at a fairly steady rate (you don't have to be a Dell to do it) the OEM cost can drop as low as $10-$30.
Then why WindowsXP Starter Edition for the developing countries? WindowsXP Starter costs the OEMs about $25 (there were lots of reports on the cost when it came out, and it's only sold to OEMs) but XP Starter also only runs 3 applications at a time.
XP Home costs the big OEMs about $70-80/copy, while the Mom and Pop shops pay well over $100 (best buy sells it for $200 and Mom and Pop shops aren't likely to get much of a discount)
Of course, you could always go on the internet and buy a cheap copy of Windows XP from pirates--some are even listed on pricewatch--but then you might have trouble with the "Windows Genuine Advantage" program
I find it humerous that some pundits are stating that Google's low cost computer sales pitch is all about the Boys playing Santa Claus - and has got to be the joke of 2006.
Power corrupts - as demonstrated over and over again by Gates, and Jobs - as examples of CEOs with constant manipulation of the marketplace by monopolistic tendacies
Any bets that the Google Boys low cost computer will come with monopolistic "Handcuffs Included"?
If anyone has the money to get all the things that others have tried to work Google is it.
It almost worked with Linspire and Lindows. Google could make this work.
Will my Google PC be compatible with my CueCat?
I believe what we will see are computers which just have a bootloader and rom chip with a very simple custom OS on it for fetching GUI components from google's web servers. The interface the user will see will be completely virtual, meaning their machine is just a dumb client running google OS remotely. There is no need for a hard drive, as all user data will be stored on google servers. No need to upgrade any software, as the software is kept up-to-date on the google servers. Virtual dumb terminals or thin-clients or whatever you want to call it, is what Google is planning... and I think they may be able to pull it off.
Meh.
let me guess: the CPU's microcode will be specially modified to handle AJAX technologies natively. No sir, no compiled code here!
FUD aimed at Microsoft, instead of from Microsoft. I hope they like the taste of their own medicine!
Ah yes, but at least it's doing *something* (Even if it is an infinate loop)
Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
I'm thinking here, what if prediction-hype like this is used as an alternative to those freaking focus-groups to test the waters on what a market for such a product would be like.
well.. thoughts?
I mean, we are in serious need of a NEW OS, something not derived from 20+ year old technology.
.jpg to know its a jpeg file! META DATA PEOPLE!
Both NT and Linux and OSX streams are all based on last century technology using ancient file systems and trying to do modern techniquies like Database driven file systems and online Internet access.
For a Modern OS, I propose that Google start fresh, from the ground up, using these concepts:
1) TRUE meta driven DB file system. Append to the front or back of every file meta data and index meta data in a true DB file system. Tiger isn't there yet, Tiger simply endlessly indexes files in a half assed attempt to seem like a modern OS. WinFS might be closer, whenever MS figures out how to do it.
2) Flat file system, throw out folders and directories structures. There is no need to atrificailly distribute files across archaic tree structures if your using a true DB file system. All files could be accessed using database views (i.e. show me all pictures taken in 2005, or show me all letters written to Jane, or all music by Ween). You can actually imitate folder trees by putting a path meta tag in the file header, but there is no need to physically address files in tree structures. Instead, worry about putting frequently accessed files in faster parts of the hard drive.
3) Make a distinction between USER data and SYSTEM data. Who needs to be aware of 100,000+ files on your OS? 99% of all the files on your Windows or *nix OS are completely meaningless to you. A Modern OS should make a distinction between System data and User data. System data is ALL files that YOU didn't create, save to, or distribute from your computer, and these system files should not be indexed or maintained by a DB file system. System files can remain in a protected bubble on your hard drive and accessed by developer tools. Instead, index only those image, video, music and document files the user actually cares about and hide the rest. I don't want to see 100,000+ files on my computer anymore. Kind of like what Google Destop does, but being more aware of the difference between System and User files.
4) END FILE EXTENSIONS. REAL OSES don't need a
5) Wrap Applications in ONE OBJECT. Apple had it, but lost it moving to OSX. The idea that ALL files associated with an Application remain in ONE OBJECT. Do not allow Applications to spread themselves across a hard drive, installing parts to a variety of locations and modifying other files (sorry, OSX does this, putting files and configuration settings in multiple locations, and then FORGETTING about them). A Modern OS will figure out how to protect an Application as an Object without allowing it to be distributed illegally, something Apple never figured out how to do. To install an Application, drag it to the partition, to uninstall it, delete it, period. Once an Application is uninstalled, the OS and computer should look like the Application never existed, period. NO ORPHANED APPLICATION DATA.
6) Make internet connectivity a requirement. A modern OS shouldn't operate without internet connectivity. By constantly keeping up-to-date on security issues, and also allowing for proper online authentification of applications and media, a modern OS would allow for a new generation of online media distribution that isn't prone to piracy (i.e. the music and movie industries actually embracing online distribution). Building an OS around the internet should also make is the most secure and safe environment. Rather then the constant forcing of old, pre-internet operating systems to modern day online needs and introducing security flaws, start fresh.
If anyone has the resources to actually make a successful new OS, it would be Google. By taking their web indexing techniques and creating a new File system with these concepts in mind, a Google OS will make accessing data effortless and fast.
Just, please don't get into that trend and habit of using Linux as a base. NO LINUX
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
Too bad the idiots didn't bother to check the facts: Windows OEM license is actually in the $50-$90 range. That's exactly the savings you get for not preinstalling Windows on a PC. The rest is hardware.
There is another somewhat plausible explanation of low cost however: having an Operating System so lightweight, it doesn't requires too much hardware. For a common e-mail-browser-wordprocessor-spreadsheet use case one doesn't need 1Gb or RAM. Building an OS that is oriented toward that use case should result in much lower resource requirements, making hardware cheaper.
They're called DVD writers...
I quit!
What about a $300 box designed to work behind a nat'd broadband connection as a webserver/media center/search appliance?
Just plug it into your router and every mp3 and movie file you have is instantly accessible from every room in the house, and searchable using google technology.
That, to me is far more likely than them getting into the desktop business, and far closer to their core business.
It is quite striking how quickly Ubuntu has become a very mature and very user friendly distribution.
While it could all have been bankrolled by St Mark Shuttleworth, I wondered at the time whether it could have been a trojan horse for development of a Google OS. We will know soon enough. It could be very smart long-term marketing, and a massive PR coup to be doing something actively helpful to developing countries instead of trying to sell them a crippled OS (who could I be talking about ??).
Humorous signatures are over-rated.
I'm holding out for the "I'm GETTING lucky" button...
Sean
Well, I guess all the speculation about Google OS is true. Wonder what they're basing it off of?
[%] Cingular Ringtones
This does make sense, in a sort of nonintuitive way. All of those that are saying Google would have to be on crack to challenge Microsoft at this point are correct, if you assume they are looking at simply doing what Microsoft already does. However, that also assumes that a "PC" would be what they are selling. Apple, with the iPod, has already proven that new markets can be created by simply challenging old ideas.
And just as Apple has been able, to some degree, increase awareness and movement to their platform with the iPod, others can do the same. Imagine if you will a low-cost device (explicitly NOT called a PC) that hooked up to your HDTV monitor and allowed you to browse [open source browser] and search the web [Google Search], get e-mail [GMail], browse and organize photos [Picasa], chat via text or voice[Google Talk], shop online [Froogle], and play DVDs and act as the tuner for your HDTV monitor. Hell, add in a little AJAX, and you can do simple word processing and other PC-like actions. Yes, those are all the things that a PC can do now, but by calling it something else, people's expectations would be different. Sell it for something like $299 MSRP or less, and all of those folks who've spent $999 to $2,999 and up on large HDTVs will be thinking it's the ultimate accessory. Add in the ability to organize and play music [think something like Picasa for audio files]and play games, and you've got something that could generate huge revenues for Google.
I'm not saying this is something Google is actually going to do, but while 95% of computer users have Windows, it also a well known fact that most only use about 5% of the features their PCs are capable of providing. The field is wide open to have someone address that need by providing a less complicated and thus more reliable device. Based on Linux and with many net-hosted applications, these devices would also be less vulnerable to viruses and spyware, increasing the reliability even more.
Agreed...
They could put it in very nice looking white box, hook it up to a TV, and have a nice brand that millions of people know that will really help sell it.
Maybe they could call it WebTV, to signify how it works with the web.
DOH!
http://www.webtv.com/pc/
I bet walmart will sell a gaggle of googles.
You haven't quite learned to read newspaperese.
"Sources at Google/Wal-Mart tell us..." would mean someone with actual knowledge had spoken to the LA Times.
"Sources say..." just means one of their reporters heard it at a party or read it on the Internet, or was told it by a source with no particular credibility. If the source was credible, they'd have said why.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
What might be harder to swallow for Iger is this: Jobs, who is also chief of Apple Computer Inc., will demand a seat on the Disney board, becoming the leading candidate to replace George Mitchell, who plans to retire as Disney chairman at the end of the year.
Now put this into context with the rest of the article and how credible does it sound?
qz
Here are some pieces of a bigger puzzle (in no order):
Also, Robert Cringley reported on the Google Cube months ago.
It seems to me that Google is in an excellent position to offer an appliance which can connect to the Internet. The device does not even need to have a hard-drive. When connected, Google can provide just about all of the features needed for the "Average" user. (Note: The Average user would not read Slashdot).
Ask yourself this question: "Would this work for my mother-in-law?" Or better, yet, "Whould this be something my mother-in-law could afford AND use?" Sounds plausable:
Sounds like a winner to me.
Google, AOL, Walmart ugh! this is getting scary
The end of the world is coming! Google's taking over!
--
United Bimmer - BMW Enthusiast Community
I highly doubt they release a non-Windows OS before they release non-Windows versions of their products (e.g. GDS, GTalk, etc.).
I am confused!
Here's my fearless prediction:
.DEB/apt-get) but since Google is absolutely swimming in Linux wizards it will be extensively customized.
The Google Box will run a custom Linux distro, GoogLinux. It will probably be largely based on either Ubuntu or Mepis (note, these are both Debian derivatives and have easy updating goodness via
There will be a custom version of MythTV installed which will allow the Google Box to be a PVR. It will also license the same DVD player that Linspire licensed which is fully DVD Forum approved and will run encrypted DVDs without hacking around with decoder libs. You know which one I'm talking about, don't you? ^_~
Actually, one possibility for GoogLinux I just now thought of: Google buys Linspire off of Michael Robertson, and washes all the suck away from the distro. Another Debian derivative that could conceivably rock if someone else was running the show.
Anyway, if this box is true, I assure you it will run some flavor of Linux. Long shot: it runs FreeBSD with a GNU + KDE userland.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
"Nobody is ever going to be able to market a PC with a non-windows OS..." ...
"Nobody is ever going to need more than 640K..."
Nobody is ever going to extend this temporary income-tax...
Nobody is ever going to elect an idiot to office TWICE...
What makes you think this is all about price?
Maybe it's about performance, security and stability?
There are a million reasons why consumers, if they knew they had a choice over Microsoft operating systems, would prefer an alternative. Price may get them in the door, but not having to have the OS crash, crapped up with spyware, continuously patched or infected with worms and viruses is a pleasure that most non-old-school computerphiles have never had the pleasure of enjoying.
Selling hardware is just not Google's style. If they were interested in getting into the Operating System business I'd see it happening more like this:
1) Release a Beta of their GOS with a dual-boot capability.
2) Release another production quality GOS and still call it "GOS Beta".
3) Make a huge press release about their new free OS called "GOS" which is still in beta.
4) Next thing you know a revolution would start where people buy comps with no OS only to install "GOS Beta" when they get it home.
5) 10 years later Google will release version 10 of their new OS that now has 65% market share. The name of the OS is still "GOS Beta"
Everybody loves "GOS Beta" because if there are any security problems or other bugs they have only themselves to blame for using a "beta" product.
Now THAT'S the Google style!
Might this finally be the "network appliance" that was possible to build 10 years ago, except for the lack of vision of all concerned?
Women are from Omicron Persei 7, men are from Omicron Persei 9.
who don't use computers at all, or any more, due to their insane complexity and instability. If they provide an interface any moron can use and it can do two or three common computery things rock solid well, then they will double the dough they are currently rolling in. And those people DO shop at Walmart.
If it were done when 'tis done, then t'were well it were done quickly... MacBeth
Yeah, but when it comes to $250, do they buy another PVR/appliance/whatnot? I think that Google is competing over that money with the manufacturers of 4x4 struts.
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
/. is just testing grounds these days for the common digerati's outlook on new and interesting fairy tales.
This tale will spark the response of all those Google loving/Wallmart hating geeks, in turn for valuble consumer data.
Yes you are right - it looks suspicious.
If you haven't noticed, your cable box is two-way, so if they want they can track what you're viewing.
I did notice. I use rabbit ears, wrapped in tinfoil, and smothered in secret sauce.
And if the US wanted, they could rootkit your computer.
Not my computer. Its a Mac. And its grape. And no mouse, just a tablet! Security through obscurity! Take that NSA! I also type in Sanskrit typically.
Winston Smith's TV was worrisome because it contained a camera - an active monitoring device - as opposed to a wiretap - a passive monitoring device, which only forwards what goes through the wire. This doesn't contain a camera, and there's no logic in saying it couldn't be turned off.
Xbox 360
You should be glad you weren't around to say "zomg Big Brother!" when DARPA was proposing the Internet.
Nah - I said that when I saw Ethernet cable for the first time: No good can come of this.
Because today, you're posting on it, even though your posts are being tracked.
Oh yeah?! Well....
oh.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
All that money NOT spent on overpriced Microsoft stuff, can be spent on other sectors of the economy (like heat, shelter, food and clothing!)
Wal*Mart - Good for the U.S. Economy.
Same reason - you can furnish a house on a few hundred bucks spent at Wal*Mart. Sure, they don't pay much - but if you think you're gonna get rich working in retail, check your math, it ain't right. Go get an engineering degree.
SEARS = EVIL
Sears attempts to sell multi-year agreements to people on almost every product.
If the product is good, you don't need a multi-year protection agreement.
Good products will outlast the agreement, and you've wasted your money.
If the product sucks and it will break in two years, then why buy junk from Sears in the first place?
Wal*Mart already sells some of the cheapest new PCs on the planet:
WalMart Desktops
If anything like this article suggests comes on to the market im gonna run and hide. Googlemania has taken over the planet! they are a damn good search engine (i think the best there is) but its just turned into perrty rivalry and at this rate give it a few years they will have turned into microsoft. I think that there are too problems with google, firstly there a search engine (but do have other useful tools [earth. mail, etc...]) the second being they are A SEARCH ENGINE which wished to organize, catalolgue and cross-index every peice of information on the planet so god knows 'device' would catalogue to 'improve user experiance'. Not saying they are gonna collect user data but it is google primary function to collect search and become one. Screw teh Borg we will all become the collective under google. Better Not say too much otherwise they may hear :P
Considering the do-good attitude Google has shown so far, and things they've done like Summer of Code, it seems quite reasonable that Google could put together their own Linux distribution and get it to the masses in this way (hardware at Wal-Mart). They've got the resources to help polish a few things, and at the same time it'd be a good mechanism to get some of their own projects out to the masses. Strong synergy is likely between such hardware, software, infrastructure they've built, and services they could offer.
While it may not seem viable for them to compete with Microsoft on a business model of SELLING another OS to vendors, they'd certainly face a much smoother path providing it for free while supporting service-oriented business.
Many consumers only ended up running Windows because it was what happened to be on the machines they bought. A number of these buyers probably would have preferred Linux or Mac OS had they known more and been given the choice. And many others weary of security issues are likely to be a bit intimidated at the thought of switching to Linux, not because it isn't excellent, but because there are so many choices and available support isn't always obvious. There's also the issue of mindshare since it is not massively marketed or something that they see very often. We've seen how well Firefox has done. Would as much consumer switching to open-source browsing have occurred if there been a dozen choices all about as good as Firefox?? If many people still think Explorer is the internet, and haven't got a clue about browsers, they're not likely to be of a mindset that's very ready to go transplanting operating systems. For some of them, such a change doesn't happen until they buy new hardware with the new OS pre-installed.
Google has the weight to drive Linux adoption to critical mass. With the mindshare that comes with marketing, greater perceived support, and the comfort of pre-installed software, and safety in numbers, Google can potentially bring Linux to a huge number of people. Potentially Apple could do they same thing with Mac OS Xi, but they've got the problem that wider distribution of their OS could hurt the margins on sales of their own hardware. Linux and Apple communities are good for each other. Both benefit from the other increasing the perception that Windows isn't the only choice, and both help the other by promoting more-open file formats.
Google can be a very good thing for adoption of open-source. If they put Linux on the desktops of many machines sold at Wal-Mart, I predict we'd see Linux gain mindshare from many friends and neighbors of those buyers. It could be a win for open-source, for consumers, and for the success of Google services.
Even Windows users should benefit as alternatives increase the incentive for innovation and improvement.
Google could aggressively get into emerging markets by getting their own hardware out there. It wouldn't surprise me if they go beyond simply providing alternative PCs and really add functionality, perhaps through video distribution services. The coming shutdown of NTSC television broadcasting, and the continuing malware problems that some experience, could easily fuel consumers to adopt something new or different. I expect that open-source, Google, and Apple will all be winners in this wave of change.
As long as they don't fuel political corruption by becoming another path for (improperly) paid-for political advertising, I welcome our new open-source Google overlords.
The (big) computer manufacturers can offset most of the price of an OEM XP Home license with the software that they cram onto the PCs. Have you ever wondered why Gateway, Dell, HP and probably IBM preinstall so much crap that new PC's run slower than my 5 year old celeron? It's because they get a commission (and maybe even a payment per installation) everytime someone upgrades or renews the software.
How much of a commission? I don't know, but I can tell you that sales commissions through the pay-per-referral type web advertising networks are easily 10% on software (more like 25%). I would imagine that the rate for preinstalled software is in the same ballpark.
Do people really upgrade? Well, I would bet that a good % renew the antivirus software.
Can you preinstall 10 pieces of trialware on a Linux box or a non-existant "google box"? Nope. Or, at the least, not nearly as much. So, Windows for Home PCs is a win from the hardware vendors point of view. It's easier to support, "everyone" knows it, it has the "brand" name, and the net cost isn't that high after the potential commissions are factored in.
That is why most companies have huge teams of WIndows monkeys: because the machines do not need any maintenance.
Putting modesty aside, Linux and UNIX types can manage 3 times the amount of machines an equally sized team of WIndows guys.
Linux and UNIX are immensily easier to mantain and rearely let you down once they are set up properly.
Relying on Windows is a completely false sense of economy. All the Linux machines that my relatives and friends have at my instigation need little maintenance, and when they do it can be done easily remotely or with scripts.
In dire contrast teh few friends that still dare to call themsleves my friends keep nagging me about their WIndows woes.
I am taking what you are saying at face value, you should consider yourself extremely lucky, in my empirical experience WIndows is a complete ass when it comes to maintenance.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Hey - the iOpener came with a "PIZZA" button... so a "Lucky" button isn't totally out there...
Guaranteed not to be a PC.
Do not open the box and look inside, this will void your warranty.
"User friendliness" is a completely subjective concept, and is, unsurprisingly, in the eye on the beholder. It is a combination of a bit of good design and a lot of time invested to learn a certain way to do things.
What many people mean in the context of computer graphical interfaces as "user friendly" is the interface they know best, which given the monopolic nature of desktop computing, we know exactly what that means: something is not user friendly if it does not ape Windows.
Any normal person trained to use Linux will find it as the pinnacle of user firendliness because the user would know nothing else. And this is a valid point, but it is not unsourmountable or set in stone.
When the freedom of you or your organization to choose the software you use is under threat, user friendliness should take a back seat IMHO, because it is something you can address once you have secured the acces to your data and the control of your software infrastructure.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Let's use Google's super secret business strategy formula.
A = Google's "Do no evil" Philosophy
B = Wal-Mart
A + B = Evil
Nope, not gonna do it.
I assume that you run Anti-virus. On the desktop, at least. You also probably run it at the gateway, or as a managed service. Say $50 per machine, per year--that's a pretty big chunk of change to ignore.
Can you taste what google had for lunch?
Face facts. Google makes money from ONE THING- they sell tiny little text advertisements on webpages. The same thing that Don Lapre said would make you rich on infomercials during the late '90s, except he said you should place the ads in newspapers, not websites.
Why are you people so blind? Why do you feel the need to fellate a CORPORATION?
Do you have any idea how many shares of stock google execs have sold lately? Here's a hint- it is over 9 times the amount of profit that google has made as a corporation since the day it was founded.
Does that not raise any alarm bells? What if they sold 560 trillion dollars worth of stock? Would it be OK because the yahoo insider listing says it was a "planned sale" ?
Wake up.
He plugged his PC to the Interenet using 8Mb broadband and, naively, did not take any security measures.
He did this for 3 days until for administrative reasons, his broadband access was cancelled.
A few days later he signed on for a new broadband connection with a different company and, thankfully for him as things turned out, the connection did not work.
He asked for my help and after 10 minutes I plugged his computer to the net.
A couple of minutes later we began to get pop-ups and realizing the machine was not protected I started ana analysis that revealed in excess of 40 different viruses and trojans, modifications of all kind to the registry and phising tampering with the hosts and lmhosts files in order to redirect unsuspectng people to phising websites.
After several hours of work with this machine (what, did you think my friend knew how to keep his machine up to date? Patched? Protected? And virus free? No way, he is a salesperon, not a geek) he asked me if there was anything he could do to be more resilient agains malware.
I had installed an antivirus, firewall and NATed his broadband access with a spare box, so I explained to him what I have done. He dimsayed, commented there should be a better way. At this point I mentioned Apple and Linux.
This guy, that know nothing about computing, was begging for a secure, user friendly solution. He needs very little office software: edit the odd text document, spreadsheet, anything else is perfectly catered by any OS you care to mention (Solaris, BSD, etc).
As for games, well, buy a console, you could use the same screen for your cheap computer and the games console.
I still believe most home computer users fit this profile very closely. If no company has tried to cater to them it is because all the anticompetitive practices of MS that has made this impractical for anybody. Where the only obstacle for MS complete dominance (government intervention) has been raised, the people at Redmond come very quickly with a cheap version of Windows. That is a testament to the amount of money they are getting out of their illegal handling of the monopolistic position they achieved.
If Google would have a stab at this they have a huge market to tap. And equally important, they have a recognized brand name people trust.
If there is anybody that could challenge the dominance of MS in the home computing area that is Google.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
And I bet their TV is a genuine Panaphonics! Or is it a Magnetbox?
Can this "GoogleOS" run World of Warcraft?
...to dress it up in different little outfits for each holiday?
Liberals call everyone Nazis yet they are the closest thing to it.
i was wondering when google would do that...
I don't see Google creating a full blown OS with drivers and full hardware compatibility like that of Microsoft (at least not for years to come) but I can see them selling some kind of search system in the mean time, which would make sence since computer users spend most of the time using the Internet as opposed to just local applications. Almost like an OS that boots off the Internet. All you would need is some software driver that recognizes your NIC, grabs an IP, connects to the google applications site and lets you connect to their popular searching tools. Just a browser and TCP/IP stack. No viruses, spyware, etc. Like a kiosk. Could be useful for libraries, schools or even the home.
Anyone knows what application server(s) Google uses to host their J2EE applications? IBM Websphere, BEA Weblogic, JBoss, Tomcat...?
why are they giving out their operating system designed for use in clusters with mass amounts of transfer and storage of data to the public?
Maybe they are low on money and this is their way making a distributed network of computers accross north america! THAT'S what all that dark fiber is for... it all makes sense now...
really though... thats a horribly put together rumor. good try though.
It's rampant speculation like this that adds to a >105% rate of return on my piece of the rock, err... GOOG (I know, I got in late...). I welcome more rumor and conjecture that bring about more $20 increases in share price on a single day. What a great way to start my portfolio off in 2006! Keep it up!
:-)
I guess now I need to decide whether to sell prior to the google CES keynote disappointment or hold on until after the world-changing google CES keynote announcement/speech.
Could there be any bigger difference in the intelligence level of the people hired at these two companies? If you want to get to the people that don't have a computer or internet then Wal-Mart is the place to start. I just hope they don't buy a Google box hoping to get a box of Candy.
The linux/hd addon will be USB anyway. No I am afraid that the problem of the missing keyboard will be extremely simple to solve. A over priced extra gadget.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Google PC's Hah-Hah-Hah! Hello! It is absurd to think that Google will be contemplating producing personal computers, be it laptops or desktops. Google's specialty is browsers (fast and reliable browser technology). I cannot fathom the absurdity, to even think that Google will allow Microsoft or any other software producer to make them feel inadequate. Because Google has it's own kind of specialty, un-matched by anyone at this time. And what I think Google should do, ( and I feel is also doing quietly), is ensuring that it's specialty can never be equaled, for it's reliability, resources, data banks, speed, and overall performance. So let those who have no life, find some other group to speculate about. Because Google has no time to spread rumors, nor make mischief, like kids do at Spring Break! Om Shanti. Derryck. Manhattan. New York City.
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=86 268&WT.svl=news2_1
So, where exactly do you google bashers want us to look for innovation? Where is there something better?
I have no doubt that google will eventually be corrupted, and maybe it is well on its way, but then it will be on to the next company that doesn't try to squeeze its customers for an extra buck. So far google has given me far more than it has asked in return and they have plenty of competition.