Anand's Thoughts on Google's Chrome OS
by Anand Lal Shimpi on December 8, 2010 6:23 PM ESTThe Hardware
Google tells us to expect the first Chrome notebooks towards the middle of 2011, however it is releasing a reference platform to select press and users in its pilot program starting now.
The reference platform is manufactured by an unknown OEM (possibly Inventec) and features Intel’s Atom processor. The first Chrome systems will be notebooks although Google indicated that it has plans to expand both into smaller and larger devices. Assuming the Chrome notebook launch is successful, you can take that to mean we’ll see smaller Chrome notebooks, potentially even tablets, as well as Chrome nettops/desktops.
The reference platform is called Cr-48 and it is a 12” notebook running the Chrome OS. Google wanted a full sized keyboard and reasonable screen size, which is exactly what it delivers.
The Cr-48 appears to have a standard chiclet keyboard with a few differences. There are no function keys, there’s an integrated power button (ala the new MacBook Airs) and there’s no caps lock key. In its stead you get a search button similar to what you’ll find on Logitech’s Google TV keyboard. You also get a row of dedicated feature keys for things like increasing/decreasing brightness, volume, etc...
There’s no support for optical media although you do get a single USB port on the Cr-48. Currently there’s no support for USB peripherals beyond keyboards/mice, this includes USB storage. Google says it is currently working on USB storage support however there’s nothing there yet. Even printers can’t be connected directly, Google turns to its Cloud Print service to discover and print to nearby printers.
The Cr-48 only features VGA output as it is Pine Trail based and the platform doesn’t support DVI or HDMI output. Based on Google’s pictures there also appears to be an integrated SD card reader.
Battery size remains unknown at this point but the Cr-48 is expected to last up to 8 hours on battery and a week on standby.
Retail Chrome notebooks will be made by Acer and Samsung. I suspect the limited list of launch partners has to do, in part, with what I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Microsoft can’t be too happy with Windows partners shipping devices that clearly circumvent the Windows ecosystem and thus we don’t see anything from companies like ASUS, Dell and HP. Acer is particularly surprising but we’ll have to wait and see how this one pans out.
Google expects the first retail Chrome notebooks to be priced below $400, similar to Atom based netbooks running Windows 7.
A very attractive part of the Chrome platform is the OS is open source and Google isn’t charging for the OS either. Granted Microsoft’s fee for Windows 7 to netbook vendors isn’t that high, but in markets with razor thin margins, not having to pay for an OS can help OEMs actually make money selling hardware.
I do suspect we’ll have a bit of the netbook syndrome initially with Chrome notebooks. Since they’ll all be based off of Intel Pine Trail platforms, they’ll all have very similar performance characteristics. Also since this is a new and unproven platform, I wouldn’t expect too many SKUs from Acer and Samsung based around Chrome OS initially.
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kevith - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
Is it just me, or are the prices of data insanely expensive? 50 dollars pr month for 5 GB?!!In my country WLAN with a 4Mb/s usb 3G-modem and 10 GB/month is 160 DKR, which is around 30 USD. My daughter has it, and she has to be careful of what she's doing, because after 10 GB they will not charge extra, but simply lower the speed to 64 Kb/s...
So 100 MB for free is almost a joke.
And that's why I'm very sceptic to all cloudbased computing anyway, or Google OS and its eventual future competitors: We'l be even more tied up to these companies.
(I've just gone totally Linux, can recommend it warmly, it's not that hard anymore, they too have developed.)
Mumrik - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
"Every player in this space wants to be what Microsoft was during the PC era"Haha, I think claimed that era has passed might be jumping the gun a bit :-D
rs2 - Thursday, December 9, 2010 - link
A smartphone is not a computer. A tablet might be, but not if it's running the same OS as an iPhone. Similarly, Android, iOS, webOS, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, and MeeGo are not "personal computer" operating systems. Your definition of "personal computer" is so broad that my TI-89 calculator is feeling snubbed for being left out of your article.Ubiquitous computing doesn't mean that all of a sudden everything that has a web browser in it is a personal computer. There also needs to be parity in terms of capabilities, and today there is definitely not. I wouldn't feel comfortable trying to compose a document or PowerPoint presentation on a smartphone, I wouldn't want to use anything short of a laptop or better for software development and coding, and I just plain can't play most games on anything short of a laptop or desktop either.
Until such discrepancies in functionality are well and truly dealt with, a smartphone is not a tablet, and a tablet is not a personal computer.
name99 - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
The comments here are very short-sighted.The INTERESTING point here is the future of files.
Google has gone down the same road as Apple here, trying to pretend that files do not exist, and providing pretty much zero concessions to their existence in the UI. Both, for example, provide extremely limited ways to share files between silos --- eg you can have multiple PDF readers on your iPad, but you can't read a file that is in one of their silos using one of the other PDF readers.
Presumably Google's theoretical grand strategy here is the claim that you don't need files because whatever would be a file (the canonical example being, eg, a Google Docs spreadsheet) will instead be a whatever-you-call-it living in the cloud.
Apple, in contrast appears to have not even this level of grand strategy to their thinking --- they are winging it month by month, and it will be very interesting to see what iPad2 + iOS5 bring in this regard in a few months.
It's not at all clear that this desperate attempt to pretend that files don't exist is a good idea or something users have been crying out for. Users don't want the HASSLE of managing files, I agree, but I think we can do better than both these two options. Google's option, in particular, strikes me as having the potential for all sorts of future legal fun
(a) Anti-trust --- if all your docs are locked up in Google Docs, they would appear to be a whole lot more securely locked up than anything MS ever achieved. How exactly does a competing spreadsheet/word processor/whatever get into such a market?
(b) Interaction with other individuals --- If I want others to see work I've done on a file, the current paradigms are well understood. I email the file, or copy it to a public folder on a file server, or transfer it using a flash drive. Sharing a google docs type document with just one other person (as opposed to making it publicly viewable) requires a whole new set of paradigms, and while one solution is to send an email URL to the document, there are actually many situations where you what you want to send other people is exactly a static version of what the document looked like then, NOT a live version that reflects every change I (and others) will subsequently make.
I suspect to see much fun and amusement over the next few years as doctors, lawyers, politicians et al discover various ways that Google Docs they try to share (and subsequently modify) leak those new changes to the rest of the world.
(c) Sharing with other programs. I don't want to go all luddite here and go on about the perfection of the UNIX command-line and the way one can flow data through pipelines from one command to another, but I suspect that almost everyone is going to find in time some particular cross-application way of working they utilize, but which others don't know about or care about, so which is not supported in the various (limited and hardwired by the OS manufacturer) ways of sharing that are provided.
All of which makes me think that PCs are not going to go away. It makes sense to keep tablets and phones as simple as possible because the very point of these devices is their form factor. But it ALSO makes sense to retain PCs, with their rich keyboard input (not just typing but modifier keys, function keys etc), and rich UI (menus allow you to create large and powerful programs like Photoshop, or Mathematica, or Dev Studio --- no menus and no easy way of finding how to do things means much simpler programs).
Apple, I think understand this. AND, I think, understand the value of having cloud services available for phones, pads and PCs, they just can't admit this until they have their own cloud infrastructure ready for the public.
Google, I'm not so sure. Google has misfired with respect to UI so often that I'm not at all convinced they understand the needs and desires of most users. So it seems to me that here Google are solving what they think is a problem [and it is a problem], how can we provide a safer, easier, less hassle computing experience, but they AREN'T thinking of the flip side that Apple has more covered, namely what do our users do when they need more power? I suspect Google is being more condescending that Apple here, in that they are assuming most users just don't need "real computers", whereas Apple's strategy is more "use your phone for phone things, use your pad for pad things, and use your mac for everything else".
chewietobbacca - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Is great for my mom, who doesn't use her computer for much more than online browsing and work things. But that's also the other problem - some work things won't work without Windows, and I don't see apps reaching what Excel can do for her (she's in accounting)Right now though, I'm just praying Fusion/Bobcat really are all they're hyped up to be, to take us away from this crap Atom has given us
maxusa - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Lately Anand made several rather bold conclusions based on wishful thinking and hearsay. Come on, dude, pull your head out of the gutter, you, CEO and founder of one of the most popular technology review publications online.HINT: If you want to target 90% of personal computers 15 years ago and today, you still develop code against one platform only. Based on multiple sources, Microsoft commands 88-91% of the personal computer market share as of November 2010.
Or, perhaps, Anand is just testing his readership for how much baloney it can swallow?
spiral529 - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
I think the Citrix Receiver implementation is one of the most exciting aspects of Chrome. Instant access to any enterprise application, including the MS Office suite, could really make it practical for enterprise users.There is a nice demo of Receiver for Chrome from Tuesday's event. You can view the video at the following URL (Citrix coverage starts around 21:30):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjb5kFLOz_Q&fea...
Conficio - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Here is my list of things making this a No Go:* Configurable alternatives to the Google App Store
* Basic upgradability, more RAM
* Installable VPN, for Open Wifi access. I want to get to the web under my security control. Corporate anybody, enterprise?
* Auto update ? NO, NO, NO! Can you hear me now? This is supposed ot be a "PC" as in personal computer and that is the one thing I won't give up on personal freedom. I want to be in charge as to when I take the risk that my system feezes or stops to function. Not in the midst of a meeting or vacation for that matter. Auto anything must be optional!
* An array of server type apps for my desktops/home servers that make my data there accessible on demand remotely. Why? I can't control that my employer uses non cloud apps, but hopefully I can access those via such server programs I can install.
VooDooAddict - Saturday, December 11, 2010 - link
What about dropping this OS on existing Netbooks?It would open up more potential buyers to the app store and put some of that hardware to use that otherwise sits there unused.
529th - Sunday, December 12, 2010 - link
This is like a kids OS in terms of being innocent of the other potentials of the internet. Its a good idea but this was the first thing I thought of after reading the app store section. LOL