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Eyeing Google, Splashtop partners with Yahoo (ComputerWorld)
ComputerWorld
investigates
a partnership between DeviceVM Inc. and Yahoo.
"In a pre-emptive strike against Google Inc.'s Chrome OS, DeviceVM Inc. plans to make Web search the centerpiece of its popular instant-on operating system.
Users of the Linux-based Splashtop platform will be able to type in a search query within seconds of turning on their laptop or netbook, said Dave Bottoms, senior director of product management, in an interview.
For American and Japanese users, the search query will go to Yahoo Inc. For Chinese searchers, it will go to Baidu. For Russians, it will go to Yandex."
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It's not a competition - it's a joke Posted Jul 23, 2009 18:22 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] Users of the Linux-based Splashtop platform will be able to type in a search query within seconds of turning on their laptop or netbook, said Dave Bottoms, senior director of product management, in an interview. They can do it today - Splashtop is old news. Sure, they can enter search query in seconds, they can reach the YouTube... and then what? How can you upload this nice video you've just made with your cam? There are a lot of stuff missing if you want to use web browser as an OS. Minor things like notifications (when new mail arrives), games (can run something loke "The World of Goo" in browser?), etc. AFAICS the year Google is planning to spend will be spent not in building the platform (how hard it is to create minimal Linux distribution with only browser installed?), but in making sure it'll be good enough for a lot of user's needs! This requires cooperation with vendors and ISVs, changes in browser and new APIs - not sure how well Google can do that, but I doubt DeviceVM can go beyond nice skin of Firefox... Splashtop and Chrome OS are fundamentally different: Splashtop is kind of "preview mode" - where you can search the web and write e-mail, but for "real work" you'll boot full-blown OS anyway, Chrome OS is the attempt to make Web Browser a real OS - where you can use the device without ever asing any other program. I doubt Google will succeed (it's hard for me to imagine just a browser and nothing else), but... who knows?
It's not a competition - it's a joke Posted Jul 24, 2009 3:49 UTC (Fri) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]
Maybe Google will do something about all their web applications sucking.
The problem with Chrome OS is that unless Google wants to break compatibility with Windows for it's online applications then they will never be able to offer a consumer more then what you can get from installing Firefox or Chrome browser on XP.
I seriously doubt that Google is going to sacrifice compatibility with 95% of it's market in order to give away a Linux netbook OS for free.
It's not a competition - it's a joke Posted Aug 1, 2009 21:07 UTC (Sat) by dmag (subscriber, #17775) [Link]
> Maybe Google will do something about all their web applications sucking.
This is LWN, we don't just say something 'sucks', we have to say why. Google Apps are used by tens of millions of people, so they must be doing something right.
Perhaps you are comparing Google Apps to the wrong thing? If you compare it to MS Office, of course you will find it lacking. But if you compare it to "read/edit anywhere you have any browser/phone/net connection", then it's better than MS Office.
> The problem with Chrome OS is that unless Google wants to break
I'm not sure what you're getting at. Is Google hampered by web standards? Yes and no. It didn't hamper the Gmail team, who made webmail so good that people ditched their desktop apps. Google Apps allow simultaneous editing (you can see each-other's cursor and type in real-time). Google Wave will change the industry. (Saying "I will never use wave" is like saying "I will never use a wiki". They are both 'just' web pages.)
The current web standards in current browsers have plenty of untapped potential. (See http://raphaeljs.com/ or The Lively Kernel.)
Personally, I don't think they have to improve Google Apps: People who use it aren't looking for features, they are looking for ubiquitous access and sharing. (emailing revisions back was always a nightmare.)
> I seriously doubt that Google is going to sacrifice compatibility
You are missing 2 things: First, Chrome comes with Gears, which improves the Google Apps experience because you can work without a net connection. Everything works without Gears, of course, but having Gears pre-installed makes the apps 'work better'.
Second, the MAJORITY of devices that access the internet are not desktops. Google doesn't want to "control" smart-phones and netbooks. They just want to make sure that MS can't.
Third, pitting Google OS vs Microsoft Windows is comparing apples and oranges. MS invests millions of man-hours to make Windows. Google just put together the Linux kernel and enough userspace to run Chrome. I could build a prototype of that in a day. (Google Android requires a bunch of programmers to maintain, Google OS does not.)
Yet, I'd consider running Google OS because 99% of what I do on my netbook is web stuff anyway. (Hopefully someone will port Tux Paint to Raphel.js so my kids can use Google OS too.)
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