Google PC Cube? Google Operating System?

[Bozo Galora]

well, I did a forum search for google, google O/S, and google PC and found zero.

sooo.......
this MAY make things interesting in 2006, or, then again, may not

Cheap PCs, anyone?
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-p...,0,3503327.story?coll=la-home-business

(snip)
Google will unveil its own low-price personal computer or other device that connects to the Internet.

Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap ? perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars.

Bear Stearns analysts speculated in a research report last month that consumers would soon see something called "Google Cubes" ? a small hardware box that could allow users to move songs, videos and other digital files between their computers and TV sets.

Larry Page, Google's co-founder and president of products, will give a keynote address Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Analysts suspect that Page will use the opportunity either to show off a Google computing device or announce a partnership with a big retailer to sell such a machine.

And that's not the only Google theory out there. Content producers wonder whether Google's push into video search will unravel the economics that make Hollywood hum. If viewers can find and legally download an episode of "Seinfeld" through Google, will that cut into cable and network television's profits?

And what if Google, after equipping cities, starting with San Francisco, with Wi-Fi wireless technology, starts to offer pay-TV service for free?

(snip)

 

[RichUK]

Lol they are just using a well known name to market what is probably going to be a pile of sh!t

with reference to the Google Cube that is.

 

[kyleb]

Originally posted by: RichUK
Lol they are just using a well known name to market what is probably going to be a pile of sh!t

with reference to the Google Cube that is.

Uh, why would Google (a company with significantly good reputation) ruin their image by creating a terrible product to sell at retail?

 

[Atheus]

Google PC? maybe. Google OS? no way, not from scratch surely. Maybe a google linux distro... but what would be the point?

 

[Bozo Galora]

remember MS sued google over stealing away one of their top people

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?...tle+Suit&sector=Regions&subsector=Asia

is "googlezon" in uour future?

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-12-18-googlezon_x.htm

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: kyleb

Originally posted by: RichUK
Lol they are just using a well known name to market what is probably going to be a pile of sh!t

with reference to the Google Cube that is.

Uh, why would Google (a company with significantly good reputation) ruin their image by creating a terrible product to sell at retail?

Perhaps i should have worded that a bit different, and re-read before making such a bold statement, let me explain.

I just see it as being a gimmick, i personally don?t see it taking off as well as they might think. This is from a personal perspective, other people might welcome this product as a potential "Need to have piece of equipment" in their home media setup etc.

With reference to

a small hardware box that could allow users to move songs, videos and other digital files between their computers and TV sets

I just don?t see it as ?The next big thing to hit personal entertainment?, and its not as if there really is a hole in the market that Google is trying to exploit, this is just a rehash of current tech. Also using a custom made operating system could easily swing both ways, but going by Google?s main page I can see it being quite ?Dumbass proof?.

You?ll notice that they are teaming up with Walmart, which indicates they are trying to hit a very wide target audience, as I imagine that it will be released throughout all Walmart stores. So initial thoughts would indicate that Google does intend for this to be a big hit and be ?The next big thing? and not just for a few select audiences, being that everyone goes shopping for food.

We'll just have to wait and see.

EDIT: typo's

 

[Greenman]

The reality is, if you don't play games or run vertical market software, a linux box would work just fine. You could build the whole thing into a very small box, make it rock solid, and sell it dirt cheap. And if they burned the OS on to a rom chip, it would be almost bullet proof.

 

[vegetation]

Originally posted by: Greenman
The reality is, if you don't play games or run vertical market software, a linux box would work just fine. You could build the whole thing into a very small box, make it rock solid, and sell it dirt cheap. And if they burned the OS on to a rom chip, it would be almost bullet proof.

Except this has already been tried, tested, and failed by other more prominent companies with their internet devices a few years ago. Basically, what kills such devices is the same reason why Macs don't have a larger marketshare: can't run off the shelf windows software. These type of machines are also plagued by quality problems since we're talking about POS components to literally save every penny. Think about the crappiest setup you can build off Newegg or whatever and lower that factor by half, you then got yourself one of these. The only salvation these types of machines can bring for profitability is bundling them with dialup subscription plans that nobody wants, so if they're crazy to try that then it's definitely going to bomb big time.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: vegetation

Originally posted by: Greenman
The reality is, if you don't play games or run vertical market software, a linux box would work just fine. You could build the whole thing into a very small box, make it rock solid, and sell it dirt cheap. And if they burned the OS on to a rom chip, it would be almost bullet proof.

Except this has already been tried, tested, and failed by other more prominent companies with their internet devices a few years ago. Basically, what kills such devices is the same reason why Macs don't have a larger marketshare: can't run off the shelf windows software. These type of machines are also plagued by quality problems since we're talking about POS components to literally save every penny. Think about the crappiest setup you can build off Newegg or whatever and lower that factor by half, you then got yourself one of these. The only salvation these types of machines can bring for profitability is bundling them with dialup subscription plans that nobody wants, so if they're crazy to try that then it's definitely going to bomb big time.

and if you would have had large advertising campaigns MP3 players a few years ago (well, mid to late 90s) how would they do (think about how long it took for them to take off, the napster revolution combined with the improving of technology and Apple themselves made it take off). Now that "media" is such a buzzword, and people are starting to have their entire music collections digitized's numbers are growing exponentially, and there's beginning to be a break through (slow and steady) in video with Apple's new generation of ipod, itunes and the growing popularity of DVR's/Tivo's/etc.

Off the shelf window's software is becoming less and less of a problem. More and more activities done on a computer are becoming more and more cross platform... playing MP3's, Video Files, etc.

The problem is a lot of companies have great ideas, but the technology isn't there [ see: Apple Newton ]

The adoption of broadband in more and more houses only adds fuel to this fire. Hell, I'm getting 15mbps FiOS this month for $55 p/mo.

In the future, (almost, if not) each room of your house will have a media station with a hard drive where you'll be able to watch/rip/record video and audio from a central location. Maybe all the pieces are in the right spot for Google to launch this...


(edits: Forgot to proofread)

 

[Al Neri]

bump
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