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Microsoft And Apple Target Schools In War With Chromebook (techcrunch.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
"Google [is] commanding 58% of U.S. K-12 schools. Windows is in second with around 22% and the combined impact of MacOS and iOS are close behind at 19%," reports TechCrunch, citing figures from consulting firm Futuresource. But now Chromebooks are under fire from cheaper iPads and Microsoft's upcoming Windows 10 Cloud laptop with its cloud-based software. "For many schools, the dream of a one-device-per-child experience has finally been realized through a consumer technology battle waged by the biggest names in the industry... Fostering an entire generation of first-time computer users with your software and device ecosystem could mean developing lifelong loyalties, which is precisely why all this knock-down, drag-out fight won't be drawing to a close any time soon."
That raises an interesting question. Do Slashdot readers remember the computers that were used in their own high schools -- and did that instill any lifelong brand loyalty?
The value in Chromebooks isn't ChromeOS, but the Google services. Once a school is using them a student can login to any Chromebook (or Chrome on a computer at home, or Google apps on iOS/Android) and have all their stuff right there.
Freedom of the OS running on the hardware isn't the problem, it's the freedom of the backend. Google is about to run away with the market because their backend offering is so much cheaper and so much more compelling. Apple have nothing that compares, and Microsoft's server/domain model seems ancient in comparison.