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Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

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Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#41

Post by hvs »

kenjackson wrote: post #25
NumberFiveAlive wrote: post #4

I think price is the real key. If it's around the $200 mark, I'll probably even pick one up for surfing while sitting on the couch or toilet. My grandparents need/want a laptop, and literally all they'll ever use it for is to google stuff. They'll possibly want to upload pictures from their digital camera they never use, but if that's made simple via USB and some cloud based service (existing or otherwise), then this…

But you could likely get a cheap Windows netbook for nearly the same price, as OEM Windows 7 Starter will cost ~$40 OEM. So rather than $200 you pay pay $240, but you also get the ability to run Office, iTunes, FireFox, hook up printers, scanners, cameras. etc... Is this worth an extra $40? It feels like it is, even if I rarely use any of these features. But there's probably also some value in being able to say, "Thi…

Have you used Windows 7 Starter on a netbook? Two words: just horrible.

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#42

Post by mikeryan »

adolph wrote: post #8

It is amazing that the article treats Google TV failing as a foregone conclusion: Alas, Google TV fell apart because it didn't have great app support, and more importantly, that content owners didn't want their content shared through the browser. (I am not a Google TV user.)

Just a note, in case people don't know, right now Google TV has no 3rd party Android apps. Only web apps which can't interface with any of the TV components which is where the coolness occurs.

3rd party Android apps aren't supposed to come out until Q1, but I'm not sure they are going to hit that date considering the "don't show anything at CES" stance Google has recently taken.

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#43

Post by orangecat »

pedanticfreak wrote: post #28

ChromeOS is zero maintenance. As a technical person with a few gadgets, that's one less thing to worry about. For non-technical people I can only imagine it as revolutionary. Android, by comparison, is the Microsoft Windows of mobile operating systems. It requires customization, maintenance, and care. If I recommended an Android device to someone I am certain I would be paid regular visits as the designated mechanic.…

Android, by comparison, is the Microsoft Windows of mobile operating systems. It requires customization, maintenance, and care.

Like what?

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#45

Post by MrJagil »

roadnottaken wrote: post #23

Good points: # [These days] the only people who know how to take advantage of all [the functionality of their computers] are the people writing malicious code. # If it's $199 or less, it'll be a big hit; likewise, if it's over $299, it just won't make sense. Bad points: # Even if it doesn't compete on price with iPads and Android tabs, it's going to compete for the same audience... if you have a tablet, you won't wan…

Please explain why you think they are good points instead of just listing them again. Your post does not entice discussion.

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#46

Post by kenjackson »

rbanffy wrote: post #36
kenjackson wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But you could likely get a cheap Windows netbook for nearly the same price, as OEM Windows 7 Starter will cost ~$40 OEM. So rather than $200 you pay pay $240, but you also get the ability to run Office, iTunes, FireFox, hook up printers, scanners, cameras. etc... Is this worth an extra $40? It feels like it is, even if I rarely use any of these features. But there's probably also some value in being able to say, "Thi…

> But you could likely get a cheap Windows netbook for nearly the same price And be their support guy forever?

And Chrome OS fixes that problem? You clearly haven't received your cr-48... :-)

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#47

Post by rbanffy »

kenjackson wrote: post #46
rbanffy wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But you could likely get a cheap Windows netbook for nearly the same price And be their support guy forever?

And Chrome OS fixes that problem? You clearly haven't received your cr-48... :-)

It's hard to believe a stateless box can be hard to manage. There isn't much to go wrong in it. At least, not when compared to a barebones Windows netbook.

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#48

Post by kenjackson »

rbanffy wrote: post #47
kenjackson wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Chrome OS fixes that problem? You clearly haven't received your cr-48... :-)

It's hard to believe a stateless box can be hard to manage. There isn't much to go wrong in it. At least, not when compared to a barebones Windows netbook.

Support and managing state are two different things.

For friends and family, the support I provide is almost never about state or ramifications of state. The most common set of questions are actually around printing (why does it print the webpage name at the bottom of the page? I don't want that. Or the computer says it's out of ink, but I just put new ink in it). Chrome just complicates this.

The next biggest set of issues is hooking up the laptop to TVs. Nobody did this a year ago, and this holiday season I've already gotten like three calls on how to do this.

Windows and MacOS have gotten sufficiently mature that a lot of the old issues just don't come up any more (or we've past that stage where there were a lot of adult complete computer neophytes... even my parents are decade old computer users now).

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#49

Post by drivebyacct2 »

tdoggette wrote: post #18
drivebyacct2 wrote: post #16

If they add an NX client and/or a shell, I will sell my MBP. I really, really, really like this device and concept.

It's a linux box underneath; I'm sure we're at most weeks away from a "terminal" app that you can have open in a tab that works like you'd expect.

That's the problem. With Chrome OS's verified boot, that's unlikely to happen on retail devices. It's trivial to get a real shell on the Cr-48.

Re: Why Google's Chrome notebook will succeed

#50

Post by bsk »

evgen wrote: post #27
adolph wrote: post #8

It is amazing that the article treats Google TV failing as a foregone conclusion: Alas, Google TV fell apart because it didn't have great app support, and more importantly, that content owners didn't want their content shared through the browser. (I am not a Google TV user.)

When Google is telling the OEMs who had planned CES 2011 Google TV rollouts to pull back and delay announcements so that they can "refine" the software then you know things are bad. 2011 is gone for Google TV, and by 2012 they will be facing better, strong competition from people who actually know what they are doing in the consumer space. Apple will keep getting better, Netflix and Amazon will get aggressive about g…

So Google successfully forced content producers, distributors and TV manufactures to adopt smart TVs, capable of showing google ads and ad sense.
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