And now, for Google's next trick ... Google PC??....GoogleOS???

Guardian UK ^ | Tuesday January 3, 2006 | Dominic Timms

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Speculation is mounting that Google will this week unveil a no-frills personal computer costing as little as $200

Dominic Timms
Tuesday January 3, 2006

They built a $123bn business around online text search then diversified into video, email and, more controversially, book publishing. Now Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have set their sights firmly on Microsoft with the expected arrival of a cut-down Google personal computer.

Speculation is mounting that Page will use a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Friday to unveil details of a low-cost computer or internet-enabled device that will run on a new operating system developed by Google.

Because the device - similar in concept to the Mac Mini unveiled last year by Apple's Steve Jobs - doesn't use Microsoft's Windows, it could cost as little as $200.

Despite its low price it would enable users to collect and store internet-delivered content such as films, music and photos then show it on TV.

According to the LA Times, Google will announce details of the new device at CES, where it could also unveil its partnership with Wal Mart to sell the machines.

The report follows comments made by US analysts just before Christmas, suggesting Google would expand into hardware.

In a briefing note, Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck said the US online giant would launch Google Cubes - simple network-based boxes that could link and control home entertainment, computer and automation systems.

"In fact, Google could over time become more of a hardware company than anything else," Mr Peck said.

The idea of network computing - where dumb terminals connect to a network pulling down applications where necessary - has been around since the early days of the PC, .......

[dhuffman@awod.com]

BTTT

[Jack Black]

Google OS? What for? Well if what you really want is web browsing you're getting a whole lot more with Windows. You're paying for it too, as the price of the basic version is near $200. And then there are the security issues, problems with virusi and such.

The PC at this point is MORE powerful than the minicomputers (remember those?) that it replaced. It replaced those because it was faster, cheaper and simpler - albeit not quite as powerful.

The wheel has come full circle. It's now easy to imagine a faster/cheaper/simpler OS than WindowsXP. Very easy.

Linux is faster/cheaper (but not simpler) and has 10% of the market, mostly servers where faster is very important and cheaper is potentially a bigger deal ('cause Windows Data Center Edition is a lot more than $200 bucks.)

Even if G-OS is only cheaper/simpler there is probably a market for it. Linux tried be cheaper/simpler but failed. Too much legacy UNIX cr*p showing through for Joe Sixpack. But that doesn't make it an impossible problem.

[TChad]

It'll be called GoOS!

I vote for Gooie.

[Sonny M]

If I were them, I would be thinking about how to prevent Microsoft from taking over their business by just creating an identical search engine like they did to Netscape, Wordperfect, Lotus, etc,etc,etc. Its not as though advertisers are getting a better bang for their buck paying Google instead of Yahoo or AOL.

Ironically, Microsoft is more scared of google then the other way around.

Googles error may be hubris, but microsoft is right to be scared, Google is now the bigger company and it more competitive in terms of atttracting talent then microsoft is (they even landed one of microsofts top execs).

That said, AOLs search is powered by google, with its recent deal and agreement with Time Warner.

[Sonny M]

No, they sell your eyeballs.

In other words, advertising.

Like a giant billboard.

In that case, they will get even bigger.

They can guarantee more people will see your ads or banners or what not, then anyone else can or possibly will.

And last I checked, billboards still bring in money.

[VeniVidiVici]

Microsoft is vulnerable, and arrogant!!! :

Calm down and take the blue pill. It's OK.

This thread is about Google. Can you say Google? G-o-o-o-o-g-g-g-g-l-l-l-l-e-e-e.

See? I knew you could. ;-)

[theFIRMbss]

> A 'real' Thin Client is a much different animal, think PC without a disk drive, OS and software maintenance

Once upon a time, there was a tavern Where we used to raise a glass or two Remember how we laughed away the hours, Think of all the great things we would do Those were the days, my friend We thought they'd never end We'd sing and dance forever and a day We'd live the life we'd choose We'd fight and never lose For we were young and sure to have our way Di di di di di di Di di di di di di Di di di di di di di di di di Then, the busy years went rushing by us We lost our starry notions on the way If, by chance, I'd see you in the tavern, We'd smile at one another and we'd say Those were the days, my friend We thought they'd never end We'd sing and dance forever and a day We'd live the life we'd choose We'd fight and never lose Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days Di di di di di di Di di di di di di Di di di di di di di di di di Just tonight, I stood before the tavern Nothing seemed the way it used to be In the glass, I saw a strange reflection Was that lonely woman really me? Those were the days, my friend We thought they'd never end We'd sing and dance forever and a day We'd live the life we'd choose We'd fight and never lose Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days Di di di di di di Di di di di di di Di di di di di di di di di di Di di di di di di Di di di di di di Di di di di di di di di di di Through the door, there came familiar laughter I saw your face and heard you call my name Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser For in our hearts, the dreams are still the same Those were the days, my friend We thought they'd never end We'd sing and dance forever and a day We'd live the life we'd choose We'd fight and never lose Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Right!

It will be interesting to see if they are thinking outside of the box that many here are still within!

The PC has been such a constant for so long!

[Tarpon]

That's true, but a usb flash drive makes a nice personal storage device. You can already get them at 10GB, just for the data you can't afford to let others snoop.

[Tarpon]

I manage a bunch of clients. They are simply becoming overwhelmed by it all and can't maintain their systems securely and their data is spread over too many incompatible systems. When something goes wrong, they loose a lot of valuable stuff. Many have turned to hard copy for backup.

It's fine if you are a large corporation and can afford the full time IT staff, but if you are a small business, you get in deep fast.

The PC has created a standalone monster. Turning to on line 'software as services' can be the answer.

[isom35]

I'll ne impressed when the google search engine begins to talk to us, then argue with us, demand the right to vote, etc.

[Salamander]

"Yeah I know he should have backed it up, but who really does this"

If I told you how many hundreds of gigabytes of external HD space I have, you'd faint.

I have backups of backups plus countless CDs of saved graphics.

Even my laptops have hot-swap HD bays in case the primary drive crashes.
I can usually get into safe into mode long enough to recover/transfer my irreplacable data.


I had a WebTV back when they first came out.

[They were great for flame wars conducted within the firewalled groups]....;D

"Google already gives you a GB of space for gmail"

I will not even allow *any* Google cookies on my machines, much less have them archiving my personal data.

I wouldn't use Gmail if you paid me to.

[Salamander]

http://www.google-watch.org/


Enjoy....:)

[Wolfstar]

That's true, but a usb flash drive makes a nice personal storage device. You can already get them at 10GB, just for the data you can't afford to let others snoop.

An excellent suggestion, and a very smart use of the USB drives.

[FYREDEUS]

And we see with GMail that Google has a good experience base by now with offering online storage...there could be interesting synchronicity between a Google thin client box with Google OS, Google Desktop, Google Search, Gmail, etc etc etc...for many people of MODEST computing needs such a network-computing device leveraging well-integrated useability with the familiarity of the Google name might seem quite attractive.

[NZerFromHK]

To this technically-aware (but not exactly extremely IT-savvy) person, it seems to me that the concept of a "thin client" computer using Google is like going back in time to the times of mainframe/minicomputer terminals where we all use individual clients to access the functions on the main computer.

Of course the connection speeds differ and we are dealing with different types of networks, but still it sounds more like "back to the future". And I found one IT article that says essentially the same things:

http://www.cnet.com/4520-6033_1-5759958-1.html

[Tarpon]

To a large extent it is back to the future. Only in this case, instead of batch terminals, think of it as Internet terminals.

Consider this -- To technically savvy people it all sounds like not worth while. Techies love to float in their own pond. But when you get to people that want to get on the network, want to browse, want email, but haven't a clue how to do it ... that's the market software as service is meant to serve.

I run into too many people who go out buy computers, put them on the broadband cable and end up with so many viruses in less than a week that the new machine is unusable.

What if you had to buy software for your cell phone, boot it each time you turn it on, install applications, update software, and then try and use it daily. Since the answer is no, you just want to use the cell phone, you probably don't know that the software in the cell phone is updated transparently by the network, without you doing anything. What you want to do and all you care about is the phone works.

So the modern thin client is a bigger cell phone that connects to the net and has a browser as it's main application ... all most people really need, or want. The rest of the software you want to use, it's available on line from many suppliers. Store your files on a USB thumb-drive or on line. You subscribe to what you want.

Techies will still buy PCs, but the vast majority of people who just want to use the Internet will buy IMHO thin clients, ie the Internet cell phone. An ideal situation for developing countries. Gonna happen, as net speeds go up, it's going to be sooner rather than later. Too much hassle for the average Joe in keeping their PC running, the less technically savvy, the more likely the customer. Probably be nothing more than a swap out for your current cable box -- or a version of this.

I have DirecTV tivo, it works just like this, all it needs is a display to be a fully functioning Internet terminal.