Other operating systems
Is cloud computing the future?
The announcement by Google that it was going to create a new operating system caused a firestorm of discussion. Much of the discussion, however, downplayed or even ignored the fact that the proposed (it doesn’t exist yet) Google Chrome operating system would be a minimalist version aimed solely at getting on the Internet. A system [...]
Google announces new operating system
It looks like the Internet appliance that I have been saying we need may be arriving. Google has just announced its Chrome operating system that is a stripped-down OS geared to using the Chrome browser and providing just Internet services. The blogs are all breathless and bubbling with talk about competition with Windows but that’s [...]
Yet another PC category – smartbooks
The PC line continues to splinter into sub-groups. The netbook is getting a smaller cousin called the “smartbook“. Most netbooks use the Intel Atom chip and run Windows XP Home. The new category uses a different, less-powerful processor called “ARM” and is likely to be Linux based. It will be cheaper and even more [...]
Linux and the home PC user
Every now and then, I say something about Linux because I keep hoping it will become more familiar to home PC users. In particular, the distribution called Ubuntu seems to offer a usable desktop alternative for the more knowledgeable. It keeps getting updated and presumably more easily used. Unfortunately, it still relies too much on [...]
Intel operating system
The small computer platforms that are becoming more and more popular may be offering a chance for other operating systems to challenge Windows after all. Because of Microsoft’s muscle and iron grip on the PC ecosystem, I have voiced doubts about Linux variations ever getting much of a foothold on netbooks.
One possible contender with [...]
Linux and the average PC user
Following up on the preceding post, I’d like to point out Adrian Kingsley-Hughes’ ZDNet post, The state of Linux – Is it ready for the “average” user? He concludes that it is easy enough and probably worthwhile for many PC users to give Linux a try. He also concludes:
That said, I don’t think that Linux [...]
Latest version of Ubuntu Linux
Most home PC users won’t care but Ubuntu Linux is out in its latest version, “Jaunty Jackalope”. I mention it because the developers keep making it better and there is always the prospect that some home users might want to try it. Reviews are very good. For example, CNET says:
Here’s what the official press release [...]
Does Windows matter anymore?
At ZDNet, Jason Hiner (Editor in Chief of TechRepublic) opines that we have reached a time when Windows or whatever operating system (OS) is used is becoming irrelevant. It’s the Web that matters. He concludes:
Twenty years ago, we thought the computer was the revolution, but it wasn’t. The advent of the Internet – and the [...]
Oracle buys Sun Microsystems
Having been jilted by IBM, Sun Microsystems went looking for another suitor and found Oracle. ZDNet reports:
Oracle said Monday that it will buy Sun Microsystems for $9.50 a share in cash, or about $5.6 billion excluding debt, in a deal that plunges Larry Ellison & Co. into the hardware market. The company added that the [...]
Microsoft to offer crippled Windows 7 for netbooks
Netbook PCs are priced sufficiently low that Microsoft’s usual price for Windows becomes a substantial fraction of the total cost. In the case of Vista, the operating system wouldn’t run at all. To keep Linux from making any headway, Microsoft was forced to keep Windows XP alive and to offer it at a reduced price [...]
Will Google’s Android be used on netbooks?
Google developed an operating system (OS) called Android that has been used as a smart phone platform but is now being seen as a possible OS for other mobile devices and for netbooks. Some even see Android as a rival to Windows, at least on smaller systems. According to the Wall Street Journal, HP and [...]
