- Googlers gah-gah over the Google Chrome browser. Will Microsoft be affected? I think not. Chrome is more of a competitor to Safari than anything else. I think it leads to the Google OS.
- Dell bringing out an ultralite notebook.
- WiMAX rolling in Baltimore.
- 802.11n still in draft mode? Why?
- GNU now 25 years old.
- Picassa to add face recognition.
- New iPods on Sept. 9? Looks like it.
Right click here and select ‘Save Link As…’ to download the mp3 file.
#17. Stick to things you know. This ain’t one of them. Your definition of cloud computing appears to be so circa 1997.
Are you a Sun Microsystems refugee?
I think we should study this a little further.
This might by an answer from google to those pesky MS attempts to buy Yahoo. MS wanted to control the browser & the ads. Now, google is positioned to get the thing MS wanted the most: ad revenue from controling the ad service & the receiving client. Only, if the browser gets traction (and there a billion gullible guys out there, see oytunes).
Let’s see if MS reacts at all.
#8 – Ah_Yea – That was hilarious. I’m ROTFLMAO!
P.S. Shouldn’t your name be Ah_Yeah??? Just sayin’.
>> Michael said,
>> “all apps would be provided by Google on-line.”
>> no thanks, I’d rather choose what software I use.
That’s fine for YOU, but I think the average 4-app user will gladly take the free ones.
Most people I know have given up their stand-alone email application for the on-line version.
Heck, most don’t seem to understand they even changed.
If Google makes an Internet appliance that comes “pre loaded” with an office suite, most users won’t understand that it is on-line.
They’ll be darn happy they don’t have to load or upgrade software. Also, they will be glad their documents weren’t lost when their internet box blows up.
I am NOT saying that a Google Internet Box will replace every desktop with locally-loaded software.
I, myself, won’t convert over easily. But, most of my extended family certainly will.
#24, Greg,
I think you are underestimating the intelligence of most computer users. When people discover, and the words gets out, that no, you can’t control all the files on your computer and those pictures of the naked kid in the bath are getting the law involved, look for people to ignore a box like this.
Sure, there just may be some people that want a shiny new computer for under cheap, but very few.
But then, maybe I am overestimating the general intelligence levels out there.
hhopper. Glad you liked it!
“and those pictures of the naked kid in the bath are getting the law involved”
Just don’t have pictures of the naked kid in your computer. Or even better, don’t *take* damn pictures of the kid naked. The kid will thank you later. I know I did.
People buy computers to run programs not to test drive OSs
By far the most popular program in the world for computer use now is browsers – whether they be internet explorer , Firefox / Mozilla , Opera , Safari , Opera and now Google “Chrome”
Most computer users do not even know the word “browser” and use their computer for little more than email , browsing and playing solitaire late into the night
Who wonders what the challenge of solitaire on a computer is ?
When these average users lose their browser address bars and instead are placing their web addresses into a google, yahoo or msn toolbar searchbox – they do not even know that the browser address bar is missing
Put up a browser that had built in email client program ( if needed or wanted), has solitaire built in and is stable – and it will matter little to 99.6 % of computer users – less the geeks in the world
The only troubling matter in the equation is what will google do with all the data it is collecting and will it become the new Microsoft monolith
Its good to have choices in life and in the computer field
I’ve been listening to all the talk about Google Chrome, the cool little demonstration videos and the EULA back tracking and find it all very interesting.
I have to say I haven’t used Chrome yet but that’s okay because this isn’t a product review.
I’m most interested because everyone is calling Chrome a Browser and I’m not sure it is.
John C Dvorak, has said he thinks this will lead to a Google operating system but I’m not sure this isn’t the operating system itself, loosely anyway.
Maybe I’m linking elements together incorrectly but for me you have to consider 3 elements and the impact they will have on the Technology Industry and beyond.
First, Google Apps, essentially a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. Why bother with Microsoft Office if you can have all your applications on the Internet and using Google’s computing power rather than you own.
This is what is being called ‘the cloud’, Apple have their MobileMe platform allowing you to store your files on the Internet so that you can access them from anywhere.
All of these services are trying to achieve the same thing, use the Internet more, use it for storage, processing, synchronisation etc.
Secondly, there is Internet access and generally it is getting quicker and more available away from your office or home; there is WiFi, WiMax, 3G etc
Third there are the devices themselves. Asus Eee PC, the really small PC using a Linux based operating system. With this you don’t get a huge amount of power but it’s very portable and hey if your going to use Google’s Servers for your processing needs why do you want a big laptop when a small one will do.
Also there is the iPhone, which I’m using to write this post, or Google Android or whatever the competition comes up with in the future. These devices are pretty much connected to the Internet or could be 24 7.
So put them all together and what you get is ultra small and ultra mobile devices which are incredibly powerful (they have the power of Google’s servers) and they are constantly connected to the internet for browsing, email, letters and reports, spreadsheets, presentations or data access.
You can choose a pocket sized smart phone or a more traditional laptop style or indeed an ultra mobile, a tablet, or if you prefer a windows PC or a media centre to give you access to your Video on Demand service.
The choice is yours, to suit your needs and your budget.
So why do you want to pay for that ultra fast PC, unless you are gaming, or why do you want the power of Microsoft Windows or Office when it’s all more conveniently on the cloud and you can access it anywhere via the same interface and applications you are used to. You can access you office files without the need to bring them home in your brief case and you can access your home files to see how much you need to pay that bill for.
There are of course some down sides to this scenario but most of these will be fixed over time.
What do you do when you don’t have access to the Internet, I travel most days by London Underground, and until they get WiFi it’s going to be dead time in this scenario.
Also there are security and EULA issues.
Finally there are alternatives, kind of, why not put all your files on a memory stick and if you need applications you can use a U3 memory stick to take your desktop with you from computer to computer.
So is Google chrome a browser or a platform giving you access to the cloud and all of your computing needs through any device running it.
As always, we live in exciting times, which is why I love tech and my job so much.
Jim Stevenson
Managing Director
Bletchley Group
http://www.bletchleygroup.com
What’s in it for Google? besides a sweet platform for Gears? – Indexing the dark web.
By owning the browser, and by default having google servers providing live hints within the address bar, Google can aquire the URLs to the those sites that are not (by design or not) currently indexed in seach engines.
The dark web consists of sites/pages not linked or only linked within their own subwebs. This gives Google an advantage in the search game – more indexed sites. Sites that the other seach players can’t currently crawl as they don’t know where they exist.
Potentially next time your spelunking around looking for prerelease info on a website before it goes public you may be providing a google crawler with a direct link to the content. Making it searchable before release.
Might be far fetched, but worth considering.