Dell Confirms Switch to Google's Chrome OS
Dell will use Google's Chrome OS on upcoming devices.
Dell confirmed in an interview Monday that the company is currently in talks with Google about using the upcoming Chrome OS on its laptops.
The news comes after Dell put the smack-down on Microsoft last week, promoting its Ubuntu Linux-based products as more secure than those using Windows 7. Now Dell is seeking to use another alternative, turning to Google's upcoming Linux-based OS scheduled for release later this year.
Details on the deal weren't all that forthcoming, however there was indication that devices are currently in development, and that the relationship would last between two and three years.
"There are going to be unique innovations coming up in the marketplace in two, three years, with a new form of computing, we want to be on that forefront," said Amit Midha, Dell's president for Greater China and South Asia. "So with Chrome or Android or anything like that we want to be one of the leaders."
Earlier reports indicate that Dell development was previously confirmed by reference within the Chrome OS code itself. HP and Acer were also listed, indicating that these three manufacturers could have Chrome-installed devices ready for consumers by the end of the year.
The statement he made wasn't about the relationship but rather the state of the marketplace they are trying to tap into which he predicts will more fully emerge in the 2 or 3 year time frame.
You basically answered your own question. Linux is more secure, because less people use it. So less people target it.
I'm using Google Chrome Browser 6.0.437.3 dev and its awesome.
I feel Google's Chrome OS has a lot of promise and can herald something new and great.
With such a great OS for free, prices of PC's should become even more competitive!
I wouldn't say that it was more secure, just less likely to be attacked. The two are not the same thing. People used to say the same thing about Apple's software but year after year it is been proven at the security conventions that it just isn't true.
Personally, I would rather have more attacks aimed at my machine with very good protection and a very small risk of a successful attack than have a single attack that destroyed my OS, stole my personal info and corrupted my stored data.
But the best security measure is to stop doing stupid things with your computer.
In the end it's really up to what the user is doing. If you're going to look at pron and torrent music/videos then you're putting your computer at risk. No one is to blame but the user at that point. A smart user can use the web with minimal protection without getting infected.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
Linux has great support, but its not support for Grandma's, its support for other enthusiasts or at very least semi-enthusiasts. Is this going to be like the first line of Netbooks which had something like a 60% return rate because they were running a version of Linux instead of Windows? Its not that there is anything Linux can't do, but there is a lot Linux can't do for a computer illiterate user (and who else buys Dell?)
"Most people use Microsoft Windows, and pirates want to do as much damage (or control) as possible: therefore, they target Windows. But that's not the only reason; the Apache web server (a web server is a program located on a remote computer that sends web pages to your browser when you ask for them), which is open source software, has the biggest market share (against Microsoft's IIS server), but it still suffers from much fewer attacks/flaws than the Microsoft one.
Linux uses smart authorization management. In Windows you (and any program you install) usually have the right to do pretty much anything to the system. If you feel like punishing your PC because it just let your precious work disappear, you can go inside the system folder and delete whatever you want: Windows won't complain. Of course, the next time you reboot, trouble begins. But imagine that if you can delete this system stuff, other programs can, too, or just mess it up. Linux doesn't allow that. Every time you request to do something that has to do with the system, an administrator password is required (and if you're not an administrator on this system, you simply can't do it). Viruses can't just go around and delete or modify what they want in the system; they don't have the authorization for that.
More eyes make fewer security flaws. Linux is Open source software, which means that any programmer in the world can have a look at the code (the "recipe" of any program), and help out, or just tell other developers "Hey, what if blah blah, isn't this a security flaw?"." -- http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/index.php?lang=
[posted on linux]
Dude, laptops. Still can't build those.
A top-3 PC OEM is not going to "switch" to a niche OS. Adding Chrome OS option? Yes.
Switch -- which implies dropping current offerings in favor of a new option? Not bloody likely.