What Will The Expanding World of ChromeOS Mean For Windows? 263
Nerval's Lobster writes "Hewlett-Packard is the latest PC manufacturer to jump into the Chromebook game, whipping the curtain back from a 14-inch device loaded with Google's Chrome OS. Powered by a dual-core Intel Celeron processor, and touting roughly 4.25 hours of battery life, the HP Pavilion Chromebook follows in the footsteps of other Chromebooks released by Acer and Samsung over the past few months. While these manufacturers continue to produce devices loaded with Windows, the growth of Chrome OS could spark some worry among Microsoft executives, who have become used to their hardware partners operating as Windows-only shops. But is Chrome OS a true threat to Windows, or just a way for manufacturers to gain some additional leverage in negotiating with Microsoft over licensing fees and other matters?"
Re:Windows? (Score:2, Informative)
Chrome OS is great for what it is... (Score:4, Informative)
I've been using Chrome OS for over 2 years since google sent me a CR-48. I use it daily to catch up on news, emails, comics, facebook .... It sits on my nightstand is perfect for how I use it. The OS is really nice and easy to use. I would no hesitate to buy one of these devices for my dad, aunt, etc where I have to be "tech support".
Re:Windows 8 (Score:5, Informative)
I don't usually respond to ACs, but when figures need correcting I make an exception. MS shipped 1.25m Surface tablets Q4 last year but sales figures were only around 700,000. Compared to iPad sales of 22million over the same quarter, that's awful for a major-league product from a tech titan like MS: http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-surface-with-windows-rt-tablet-sales-disappoint-in-fourth-quarter-7000010688/ [zdnet.com]
Windows 8 also doesn't have anywhere else to go but up. It's first quarters numbers will always be inflated by people chasing the latest and greatest at any cost, large enterprises stockpiling licenses early. Also, while it's profit isn't exactly weak, it's certainly not as dominant as it was was 2010 Q1 and previously, especially compared to other tech companies - the eponymous Apple being on of them - that seem to be capitalising nicely on Microsoft's slow erosion. Whether it can be halted is another matter but based on recent sales figures, it's not looking good for Microsoft ever returning to it's former glory days.
ChromeOS does not work like that (Score:4, Informative)
A piece of hardware that boots very fast to a browser and is semi-useful when connected to the Internet.
When the Internet is not available, you have a useless metal brick.
ChomeOS and Google Docs do not need a permanent internet link. The work offline quite nicely. Here is a quick overview...I Googled it. http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/landing.html [google.com]
Re:Evolutionary Niche (Score:2, Informative)
Chromebooks are going to be a big hit in education. I work in schools and am testing a Samsung right now. The battery life on it is rated at 6 hours, which will get you through a school day with no charging. Add to that, many school districts are taking advantage of Google's free Apps for education domains, which gives you the same version of Google Apps that businesses are paying for.
For as low as $250 on some models you get a device that does 95% of what students need to do with it, lasts all day without charging, has a screen big enough to satisfy most kids and has a full keyboard.
What's not to like?
The other 5% is the killer.
That pitch sounds good to people who don't understand that computers are tools. To paraphrase the sentiment with a different tool: "instead of buying a screwdriver with interchangeable heads why not spend 2/3 as much on one that can only be used on the most common size of screw?"
The answer is of coarse: "I need something that works on more than one type of screw. Just because that type is a minority of the screws I work with does not mean I can ignore it, and buying two screwdrivers at 2/3 the cost each is both inefficient and more costly."
Similarly while a Chomebook does 95% of what teacher/students need and costs less, teachers and students actually need a tool that does 100% vof what they need, and that isn't a Chromebook.
Re:Celeron? (Score:5, Informative)
Who cares? CPU isn't the limiting factor on either a tablet or a chromebook. The lack of productivity software is.
What lack of productivity software? I have a quad core i7, and Gmail/Google Drive is my "productivity software".
I understand what you're trying to say, of course, but for many, many people, web based software is more than enough for them.
Samsung Chromebook (Score:3, Informative)
I just picked up a Chromebook yesterday and am fast at work getting Ubuntu running on it. It's a great little machine, fast, light, great battery, cheap as heck. It's perfect for just getting online fast.
These things are going to really slice away at the low cost PC market which in turn will take a real dig at Windows. When I see the market share numbers for where Windows is at I see most of it as just people picking up the cheapest thing they can find to get online. These Chromebooks are perfect for that and undercut the price by a huge amount. This Samsung was $215 from Best Buy. All the Windows 8 machines they had there were several hundred dollars more.
Re:Windows? (Score:5, Informative)
Face it: Microsoft was a real innovator in the early 90s.
Uh, what exactly did Microsoft innovate? As far as I can tell, people who think Microsoft innovated in the 90s only think so because Microsoft's products are the first place they saw some things, not because Microsoft was the first, or even the best, to do them.
They did have sharp business practices. I will give you that.
Re:The Year of the Linux Desktop arrives? (Score:4, Informative)
Not to mention with the ChromeBook all you are doing is trading the openness of X86 for a system that is as locked down as a cellphone.
Go educate yourself, seriously. All chromebooks come with a dev mode switch that unlocks the bootloader and lets you do *whatever you want* to the hardware. Such as installing Ubuntu.
Only on Slashdot can such an ignorant, and *factually wrong* post get modded "insightful"