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Acer To Launch Chrome OS Netbook Next Month

Posted by Soulskill on from the what-a-short-strange-road-it's-been dept.

Barence writes "Acer is preparing to launch devices based on Google's Chrome OS at next month's Computex trade show, according to reports. Multiple sources have apparently told VentureBeat that the company will show off devices at the Taipei show at the beginning of June. It doesn't specify what the devices are, although given that Chrome OS is primarily designed for low-powered laptops and Acer's status as the world's second biggest PC maker, it seems inconceivable that the devices won't be netbooks. Meanwhile, Google is considering implementing a Coverflow interface into Chrome OS. One design adheres fairly closely to Apple's template, and allows users to flip through applications and web pages with 'hotkeys and swiping gestures.' Favicons will be displayed beneath the pages, allowing users to click these and head straight to the application."

6 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Competition by Ltap · · Score: 4, Informative

    This might actually succeed, given that most of the competition I've seen is either clunky XP or a low-powered version of Win 7.

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    1. Re:Competition by Insanity+Defense · · Score: 5, Informative

      EEE netbooks used to ship with a Linux distro. You know what killed that? Returns. Joe User booting it up, braying "The hell? Where's my Windows?" and returning it. It got so that retail salesweasels were begging people not to buy them, because they got dinged for all the returns.

      At the time this rumour started it was checked with ASUS who said that the rate of returns of Linux and Windows netbooks were the same.

      The whole nonsense started with a different netbook provider who delivered a Linux netbook with the WiFi and camera not working and then published the 4 to 1 return rate. This was then widely touted as being netbooks in general rather than just one minor league player who "fucked up" their Linux netbook.

      So please stop spreading this Microsoft propaganda.

    2. Re:Competition by quantumplacet · · Score: 3, Informative

      Seconded. I've got a Mini9, hadn't used Ubuntu in a while before I got it. Something seemed off, and by off I mean crappy, couldn't figure out what it was until I ran apt-get dist-upgrade and it insisted that there were no upgrades, even though I was running 8.04 and 9.04 had already come out. Went poking around and found that apt was pointing to ubuntu.dell.com instead of ubuntu.com for packages. To make life even better, Dell hadn't touched their repos since they launched the Mini9. Eventually reformatted with Kubuntu Netbook Remix and the thing ran 100 times better.

  2. Big News ... by foobsr · · Score: 2, Informative

    Acer Plans a Million Chrome OS Netbooks, New E-Reader

    Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/acer-plans-a-million-chrome-os-netbooks-new-e-reader/#ixzz0nvf3Zfpt

    from January 25, 2010

    CC.

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  3. Re:Finally. by sznupi · · Score: 1, Informative

    What past achievement makes you think Google can give UI design some "real progress"? (other than their love for spartan UIs, which doesn't really translate that well to general, multipurpose "computer" UI)

    Windowing systems a metaphor to desks and file cabinets? WTH? And actually...it is Google who bought recently very "desk and file cabinets"-like UI.

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  4. Re:In the wild by rufus+t+firefly · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://chromeos-blog.com/

    Another site with downloads for pre-releases, but without the need for registration.

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