The consumer _DOES_ have a choice here. By buying a chrome book they are choosing... duh... chrome.
Would you say that same thing about Windows and IE? It would be right for Microsoft to disable any other browser than IE because after all, the consumer has a choice, and can get a Mac OS X (Safari), Linux (Firefox) or Chromebook (Chrome) based on their favorite browser. Heh.
The problem that existed in windows was that there was no real alternative to Windows in consumer market at the time of Microsoft anti-trust hearings.
Really? This was the time there was several Linux distros sold off the shelfs in stores! And yes, you could get computers without Windows.
This your-choice-of-your-browser problem isn't limited only to smart phones. It seems like Google is going full steam ahead on developing their ENTIRE OS around having a single browser that you cannot choose - Chrome.
While mobile devices like iPhone certainly have larger market penetration than Chrome OS, the restrictive way Google has chosen to take is clear.
Unlike Chromium OS, which can be compiled from the downloaded source code, Chrome OS only ships on specific hardware from Google's manufacturing partners. The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Google Chrome web browser. Since Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Web, the only application on the device is a browser incorporating a media player and a file manager.
I think this is a much larger problem towards open systems. Not only is Google bundling their own browser (what Microsoft was accused of), it is the only browser you are allowed to use.
On top of that, other developers aren't allowed on the system - you cannot run non-google native programs at all. And how do you get work done? You're supposed to use Google's cloud-hosted "applications", that again put your data behind online services and gives Google freedom to end support any time they want (and of course, mine all your data and usage).
How do you play games? Oh, buy them via Google Play Store (or use data mining advertising supported versions) made with Google-owned PPAPI programming technique of course!
Internet connection goes down or is slow? Well, too bad. I mean, Diablo 3 works perfectly too!
Google is a far more serious threat to open computer systems than any other company, including Apple, Microsoft and IBM.
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The consumer _DOES_ have a choice here. By buying a chrome book they are choosing... duh... chrome.
Would you say that same thing about Windows and IE? It would be right for Microsoft to disable any other browser than IE because after all, the consumer has a choice, and can get a Mac OS X (Safari), Linux (Firefox) or Chromebook (Chrome) based on their favorite browser. Heh.
The problem that existed in windows was that there was no real alternative to Windows in consumer market at the time of Microsoft anti-trust hearings.
Really? This was the time there was several Linux distros sold off the shelfs in stores! And yes, you could get computers without Windows.
While mobile devices like iPhone certainly have larger market penetration than Chrome OS, the restrictive way Google has chosen to take is clear.
Unlike Chromium OS, which can be compiled from the downloaded source code, Chrome OS only ships on specific hardware from Google's manufacturing partners. The user interface takes a minimalist approach, resembling that of the Google Chrome web browser. Since Google Chrome OS is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Web, the only application on the device is a browser incorporating a media player and a file manager.
I think this is a much larger problem towards open systems. Not only is Google bundling their own browser (what Microsoft was accused of), it is the only browser you are allowed to use.
On top of that, other developers aren't allowed on the system - you cannot run non-google native programs at all. And how do you get work done? You're supposed to use Google's cloud-hosted "applications", that again put your data behind online services and gives Google freedom to end support any time they want (and of course, mine all your data and usage).
How do you play games? Oh, buy them via Google Play Store (or use data mining advertising supported versions) made with Google-owned PPAPI programming technique of course!
Internet connection goes down or is slow? Well, too bad. I mean, Diablo 3 works perfectly too!
Google is a far more serious threat to open computer systems than any other company, including Apple, Microsoft and IBM.