Google Chrome OS Smartbooks to Hit this Month?

if its faster than XP i might dual boot it on my netbook....? maybe....

Netbooks are already on the decline, tablets are starting to take their place. Chrome OS was the ideal fit for a netbook but the successors are running something closer to a phone OS (including Google's own Android) with an app store backing it up.
So question is, is Chrome OS really relevant?

"Do you trust the cloud?"

no.

I'll take my local HDD, with my OS and data on my person.

I'm not interested in storing all my stuff in someone elses house and then needing their permission to access it.

Netbooks on their way out? Tablets cannot and will not take the place of a netbook. For starters, you can't input text fast enough with a tablet, making office work or even basic emailing nigh impossible on a tablet. Second, tablets are more expensive. Third, netbooks tend to run an OS that allows you to do useful things (Windows or one of many Linux distributions). The same thing can't be said of iOS or Android, which, no matter how great they are (especially Android) aren't suited to true work.

I think we will see a division of the market: people who want to get work done will buy a netbook, people who want a nice toy will get a tablet.

The intresting thing about Chrome OS is that it runs on ARM architecture. Granted, a wide variety of Linux distros can already do that, but netbook manufacturers never showed intrest in making ARM netbooks. A company the size of Google can easily change that.

Finally netbooks will get a truly power efficient CPU rather than Atom. And if Chrome OS is written to be truly minimalist, it could be faster on an ARM than Windows is on x86...

While I certainly agree on the division, I feel there is a strong difference between a netbook and a notebook. My notebook I can get serious work done on, the keyboard is large enough and the screen resolution is high enough, my Acer Aspire one is good enough for email, surfing and basics, pretty much what a table is good for (which I probably will not buy unless there is some sort of real keyboard option).

Cloud computing shouldn't be such a scary thing to people, because they are after all using e-mail to send important messages and files.

What is the difference if you are emailing those same documents or storing them in your google account. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, especially if you are already using gmail to host your e-mails!!!

Storing your documents in google docs keeps everything on a secure server, so you don't have to worry about your hard drive crashing and losing everything.

If more people understood how their data is handled, they might not be so paranoid about using cloud computing.

Cloud computing shouldn't be such a scary thing to people, because they are after all using e-mail to send important messages and files.

What is the difference if you are emailing those same documents or storing them in your google account. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, especially if you are already using gmail to host your e-mails!!!

Storing your documents in google docs keeps everything on a secure server, so you don't have to worry about your hard drive crashing and losing everything.

If more people understood how their data is handled, they might not be so paranoid about using cloud computing.

You already have your stuff on someone's server. Your e-mail provider has any files or confidential information you've e-mailed or received.

Are you going to stop using e-mail? I think not!!

How often has anyone ever had an HDD fail? Apart from a virus, I have never lost a single byte to harddrive failure. I still use every harddrive I have ever owned... the oldest harddrive is 11 years old in May (granted its is in a home server that gets almost no use). The benefits of Cloud are primarily theoretical to me, it may come across as paranoid to address the cons of cloud storage security as any more probable... but without a solid item in the pro column, any con sticks out.

I have been gradually moving towards Linux, but with a pay component in the newest Ubuntu... who knows what the future will hold.

I had an HDD corrupt files on me, but it was a 15 year old HDD that I dropped a few times, but even so full reformat and used it for a few years more before i finally got rid of it

I have had plenty of hdds die, in desktops and especially laptops, many in family and friends computers. When I say die I mean die, as in it runs fine as long as it is wrapped in ice packs, but the minute it warms up it fails. Dead.

Twice. Both within the last 4 years, and not just a few corrupt packets or anything, they were totally unusable.

thanks, but no thanks

Consider yourself extremely lucky. There are always exceptions. I repair computers for a living and have seen more failed hard drives than I care to count. I've even had hard drives that I've purchased that were defective and failed within the first month of use.

I personally think cloud computing is a good thing, because you have redundancy, less system resources required, and you can access your files from any computer with internet access.

If you already use e-mail to send confidential information or files, then security is a moot point, because if a resourceful hacker wanted your information... they would find ways to access it.

I'm keenly aware of how cloud computing works, and I have to say it has its uses like e-mail, but for the rest of my personal data: photos, videos, games, homework, budget etc. They have no business holding that data.

My point in my post was if they decided they could cut me off from my data, or since it is stored on their servers they will have the ultimate decision in editing it, distributing it, and encrypting it. It is a very closed system I want no part of.

I'm more interest in the ARM-based netbooks...
I hear its gonna have Nvidia's Tegra 2, 2GB RAM, 64GB solid state storage, and 10.1 inch screen.

...Then combine it with an open source distro based on the Chromium OS project.
=> http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os
=> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA5RQv9mBoY

(Chrome OS is based on it. Only difference is the "additional bits" and support Google provides with Chrome OS.)

As for cloud? I'm not really interested in that. I'm already using Linux on an x86 based PC. I just want to tinker with an ARM-based solution.

Cloud computing is indeed promising but yes their are limits hope google knows that too.

What do you have to pay for? Ubuntu One storage over 2GB? I guess that's normal, after all cloud storage is very expensive on their side. Or are you referring to the one (1!) paid piece of software in their software center? While I certainly see no reason to offer closed source, non free software in the software center, the cloud storage is perfectly justifiable.

Very few people need to do more than checking and replying to their emails, browsing the web and do some minor word processing like writing a letter or adding some quick numbers to a report while they are on the move. That's not something that requires a serious notebook, is it? A tablet can do the browsing and emailing, though it can't do that nearly fast enough without a physical keyboard, but word processing is out of the question...

A notebook is of course better, but I wouldn't want to use anything over 13" on the train...

There are perks to the pads like Ipad. I am in the military and let me tell you, something that small and versitile is a very very good tool when you need to be constantly available. Notebooks are great, but, if all you're looking for is something to get the simple jobs done and look cool doing it, this is the way to go.

I thought I'd toss in another idea/use for the Crome OS. HTPCs.

I have a mini-ITX setup at home that gets crippled by XP and have been dieing for Chrome to come out ever since I heard of it. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but at least with my usage of my HTPC, I don't need storage. I don't particularly care to store video when I can just stream what I want right to my TV.

"Do you trust the cloud?"

I do - my own cloud anyways. :-)

And yes I am being serious. With the advent of low cost SAN (AoE), open source virtualization software, gPXE, Apache, etc I think there is going to be even more opportunity for DIYers and computer hobbyists to build and customize.

I hope M$ will not ask again for royalties, like what it done with Android.

While I still prefer to store my data on hard drives, I do believe there are some benefits to cloud computing.

1. Hard drives do fail and cloud computing provides a secure method of storing data.

2. Accessibility! I use GoogleDocs and OfficeLive to edit spreads and docs from any computer, anywhere. All you need is any computer and an internet connection.

Remember, if your data is stored at your house, you're protected by your civil rights. If it's stored at google's datacenter you are not.

Now, I'm not saying I've got anything special to hide, but that doesn't mean I'm going to voluntarily give up my rights either.

"How often has anyone ever had an HDD fail?" I have. I foolishly didn't back up most of my files as well. As a self-employed game developer, it sucked hardcore. Lost an entire project at the time. I now have a server for my websites, and just back up my files there every few weeks, but I have indeed had a hard drive just drop dead over night.

"Do you trust the cloud?"

Yes. After I apply strong encryption to what I store there.

This is so what Google is all about. You are not Googles customers. But someone else is. As have been the case since the start of Google. And it pains me that people are enthusiastic about this. Where's the problem? Well, the future of IT and computing is driven into directions which are not in our interest. That's the problem.
Cloud computing is not in our interests. Distributed computing, distributed storage and power is in our interest. For someone else to hold everything, making you a client, is in someone else's interest.

I'm well aware that most of you have no memories from the age when computing really was not in the user's own hands. And that's a pity. Everything we have gained, through the PC revolution, we have gained because *everybody* participated in getting a PC and thus created a mass market.