Google just announced their intention to move into the OS space with a new operating system called Chrome OS that will be available in 2010. From what I can gather it seems as though it's primarily aimed at netbooks and similar low power computers. Google aims to make Chrome a lightweight, speedy and secure "Cloud Based" offering. I am just guessing, but I would imagine their goal is to get as close to an "instant on" as possible on a SSD equipped netbook. I am not sure what "Cloud Based" will mean, but I would guess that it might include either online extension of the HD and/or apps running on the Google apps platform and open sourced. My reasoning is that these are the current and future limitations of netbooks are processing power, storage and OS overhead, and if Chrome could mitigate those limitations they will have a real value proposition. Allowing developers to create and host apps on the Google Apps platform (a-la iphone apps store) would also drive some revenue for Google and Developers. For more check out: The official announcement Gizmodo's Take on Chrome |
In '07 Google acquired Grand Central, a VOIP telecom company and Grand Central services are about to be re-launched as GoogleVoice. Currently the service is only open to legacy Grand Central users, but Google has just acquired 1 million phone numbers from Level 3 in Boulder. Just from the basic information on the Google Voice home page, Voice seems to have an exceptionally rich and deep feature set, covering the gamut of VOIP features and best of all, it's free (at least for individuals). While it's clear that it is going to be a slam dunk for consumers, it's less clear but potentially more revolutionary for the Enterprise. More... With the addition of Voice, Google has a very wide and complete communication & collaboration product set, but where is it all leading? Currently, there is little integration between the various products on the Enterprise side. The possibilities are staggering, imagine if Waves and Voice were integrated, now you're cooking with gas, all of your project communications Voice, SMS, E-Mail, BBS, Documents and Instant messaging could be accessed from one place, and most importantly searched with Google's familiar search. Why not add the RSS feeds as well, Project Tweets, Calendar and etc. The possibilities are really intriguing, The trouble for Google in my opinion is how to maintain focus and avoid falling into the same trap as Microsoft, who's Massively integrated product suite is clunky, complex, bloated and just really tries to do too much, ending up doing none of it well. I have no idea where this will end up for Google, but it is terrifically exciting and I can't wait to see what happens. |
| I have had my Lenovo S10 for almost a year now, so I thought it would be a good idea to update folks on how it's been going. In short, it's been great, in fact, almost unbelievable given the low price. More...I have been using it as a backup, travel laptop and I use it pretty much every day. The light weight and compact dimensions are really the killer feature of Netbooks and in my experience it is well worth the trade off in performance and display/keyboard size. The only modification I have made to my S-10 was to max out the RAM (which was a snap to do BTW, one panel on the bottom of the computer gives you access to everything you need). Performance wise, it has performed perfectly well in run of the mill use like web surfing and apps and office productivity work. I have MS Office and Open Office draw and both suites work just fine, which I had not expected. The small size is perfect for plane use, where the small screen height is a decided advantage. Battery performance has been somewhat meh, and in actual use lasts 2-3 hours. Take this with the following caveat, I run the s-10 on the highest performance energy setting. The battery management software is o.k., but it seems to turn down the processor and display as power runs low (I am sure as designed). The trouble for me is that it keeps it there even after a recharge, it's a small PITA, and you may be able to fix it somewhere, but I can't be bothered with looking. If you are a Project Manager and have a lot of meetings, this is the gadget for you, take it to the meeting and make all the updates on the spot. By the time you are out of the meeting, the minutes are already in the team's in-boxs. |
| I really think Google Waves has the potential to be a true game changer in the coming years. I have used Google's Enterprise Apps version for the past few years or so, as well as Picasa, Maps, Search, Sketchup, Gmail etc. All of these offerings are good in their own right, but the "Package" was lacking something that was keeping it from being coherent. I did not know it until I saw it, But I think Waves might be the missing link. Here are a couple of factors (for lack of a better word) which I think have the possibility to make this a real breakaway moment for Google. 1. While pre-web generations were focused on perfection of all things, post web folks aren't. Stay with me for a second here. High Fidelity, HDTV, ever more complex software (hello MS Office, I am talkin to you), etc etc. The coming generations, the ones who came into their formative years post millennium are more focused on convenience over perfection. Their environment is remarkably different than the one I and my cohorts matured in, in their world nearly everything is disposable and impermanent and often free. My kids happily watch a television program or movie on the computer usually for free when and where they want. The quality is lousy, but they honestly don't care. Media, communications and software are all available from multiple channels for low or no cost and are disposable. Texting is a crummy way to communicate, but it is convenient and free, e-mail and e-mail software is largely the same, ditto for cell phones, music, ipods nearly anything else you can think of. This multichannel commodity mindset has yet to hit the world of productivity and collaboration SW, but when it does it will rapidly change the IT landscape. Open standards, strong search, flexibility and convenience are all going to become a necessity to effectively deliver IT services in this multi-channel world. With Waves, I think Google is extremely well positioned to be serve this demographic. 2. Search is likely to be increasingly important in the productivity world. I for one, NEVER manually categorize any of my e-mails and excepting spam, never delete any. Why should I? I can retrieve any e-mail in seconds with search, and the same is true for documents. Any non-professional categorization (and many professional ones) are imperfect. How many times have you sat in a colleagues office waiting for them to dig through all their e-mail folders to try to remember where they put that e-mail. Now add mutli-channel multi-format communications and collaboration and stir. How are you going to effectively keep track of all that? Waves, that's how. Google has replaced the tired "folder" metaphor with the much more relevant thread or Wave's metaphor. I also happen to be of the opinion that this will also replace the "team room" metaphor popular in Sharepoint and collaboration products. Waves puts things into context as apposed to categories, the context being the communications chain. When I go back to try to get a document, or e-mail or whatever, what is more helpful? That it is in a folder or that it is in a conversation? The first thing I always want to know is the context of the thing, what are the communications on either side of it? Waves should be able to do this much better than it's competitors. 3. What universities do matters and universities do open software. IMHO, this has been and will continue to drive the move to open source. My IT colleagues are scared witless about "not having support". But forces are strongly and rapidly pushing away that fear. Increasingly crappy and expensive customer support of overly complex and buggy COTS software and a mature open source catalogue with robust online collaboration tools have nullified the actual risk of "not having support". When all of the above is taken into account, I'd say the needle is swinging in Google's direction, slowly but surely. Agree? Disagree? |
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