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    Google launches notebooks with 'no programs'

    CBC – Thu, 12 May, 2011

    A line of notebook computers that operate with no programs on them has been unveiled by Google.

    The company's new Chromebooks use the Google Chrome operating system, based on the company's Chrome browser, Google announced on its blog and at its annual Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco Wednesday.

    That means they have no programs, no desktop and nothing to start up, according to an animated video promoting the computers.

    They are reliant on an integrated web browser and web applications for all their functionality. The web, rather than a local hard drive, is also used for storing user files such as music, documents and videos.

    That means the notebooks can boot in eight seconds, don't require updates and can't lose data in hard drive crashes, the company said.

    Google also promises that its built-in security means anti-virus software is unnecessary.

    The computer's functions are limited when it's disconnected from the internet, although the Chrome browser can support the use of Gmail, Google Docs and Google Calendar offline, along with other applications or websites that use HTML5 to run when disconnected from the internet.

    In addition to using WiFi, the Chromebook can be purchased with optional 3G wireless service, providing internet connectivity wherever 3G phones can get a signal.

    Chromebook models made by Samsung and Acer will go on sale online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain starting at $349. The company said they would be available in other countries "over the next few months" but would not release details about a Canadian launch.

    In addition to individual users, Google is also targeting schools and businesses, with monthly rental subscriptions that allow them to manage applications and permissions on a fleet of Chromebooks, starting at $20 per month per school user and $28 per month per business user.

    Google gave away Chromebooks for free to developers at the I/O conference.

    What do you feel about this article?

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    3 comments

    • i tutor dr phil
      i tutor dr phil  •  1 year 0 months ago
      my 7 year old dell 9100 dimension with a pentium 4 and hypertheading can boot WindowsXP in 20 seconds.......

      why do i want this new thing?

      i can tweek my computer even more if i want AND change to a better video card every year or two.

      maybe somebody will want that new thing buts its a 349 dollar paperweight to me.
      .
    • A Yahoo! User  •  1 year 0 months ago
      They are trying to get people into the cloud-dream... as if anybody with a braincell in their skull will ever trust their private and personal data to an off-site who-the-hell-knows-where server owned, operated, and monitored by Google.

      Their company motto is, "Don't Be Evil" but with the type of trust they demand and the power they wield over those who give it to them, it is hard to imagine them NOT being evil eventually.

      "Absolute power..." and all that, right?

      When you have people shelling out $350 for a cloud-tablet, you've got to be smoking the white powder that grows under the bathroom sink!
    • knowan
      knowan  •  1 year 0 months ago
      Umm, both the Google Chrome OS and the Google Chrome browser are programs. And $350 is about $100 too much for a device that does nothing but run a browser. Plus if you've got no wifi then it's useless, so it's pretty much restricted to using around your home.

      An interesting concept, but it'll never catch on.
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