I had to dig into this one a little to see exactly where Google was going. They are really playing in the “white space” (buzzword bingo) of the emerging collaboration and device platform space. The device is not a traditional machine in the sense that you have everything local to you and synch to your resources, or in the sense that you can install things locally. The premise is that everything is stored “in the cloud”.
Same experience everywhere
Your apps, documents, and settings are stored safely in the cloud. So even if you lose your computer, you can just log in to another Chromebook and get right back to work.
The idea is that you connect with a quick boot (8 seconds) and instant resume once booted, then connect to the network to get all your content and apps. In practice, this may be workable in highly connected areas, but certainly limits mobility outside of metro connectivity and as one who spends a good deal of time traveling for a living I can attest to the fact that finding hot spots is non trivial at best once you are off a campus.
This, combined with the fact that the hotspot market is still fragmented and there is not yet a single contract that lets you jump on ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Airport, Starbucks, etc. means that while there is a theoretical coverage map for Wi-Fi, there is a barrier to implementation that has to be managed as well. This becomes a real issue if that is the only way to get my apps and data that I need.
Security and OS Management
Security built in
Chromebooks run the first consumer operating system designed from the ground up to defend against the ongoing threat of malware and viruses. They employ the principle of "defense in depth" to provide multiple layers of protection, including sandboxing, data encryption, and verified boot. Learn more about security.
As you can read in the preceding linked article, security is a big focus and it appears to be well addressed. The network layer aside, onboard the process is redundant and well though through, with flexibility and scaling considered. I am interested to learn what the extent of the on board storage really is as there has to be a cache for settings and such as well as the core OS and restore. A limited flash storage is the obvious answer, but how is it implemented? The site does not go into detail yet on this topic but I look forward to learning more.
3 G connectivity
The Google site points out a 3G model as well, that comes with a free 100MB / month connectivity from Verizon. Free is pretty relative as we all know, and it will be baked into the rental somewhere. The Verizon costs are shown here, and in line with the iPad plan that I currently use to supplement my Wi-Fi.
100MB of data per month - Free
Limitless day pass - $9.99 per day
Additional 1 GB of data - $20 per month
Additional 3 GB of data - $35 per month
Additional 5 GB of data - $50 per month
The pricing model for the device discussed so far seems to be an inclusive rental model of some type that provides the machine and storage for a flat rate, and then the provider contracts would sit on top of that.
Running Applications
As for applications, the plan is to use the Google Chrome Store and everything is HTML 5 / web based. The store is growing quickly and certainly has a broad selection of apps, but it will be a compromise for the foreseeable future. As a Chromebook user, you will have to use apps that are not the equivalent of the full on desktop experience until these environments achieve parity, and I would propose this is still out 3-4 years for most apps, and will not happen at all for others.
As to whether this matters to you or not, it all depends on your usage profile. As a student doing basic papers and presentation, playing some games and consuming media, this is not a problem. As a business professional needing Photoshop / GIMP, CAD, advanced document publishing, complex spreadsheets or data analysis, well, you will need to still have a content creation machine even if you are able to share or consume on the lightweight device. This points back to the cloud approach and what the consumer needs in respect to global platform coverage that “just works”.
The disclaimer
At the bottom of the site, in grey print is the following disclaimer which I just noticed.
* Obviously, you're going to need a wireless network, be willing to use it subject to the provider's terms and conditions, and be ready to put up with its real life limitations including, for example, its speed and availability. When you do not have network access, functionality that depends on it will not be available.
So – are we ready for Chromebooks? I believe the answer is No, in a broad sense we are not ready. Is the idea very interesting and does it have limited applicability? Yes, it is and it does and I look forward to where Google goes with this, but I’m glad it’s not on my dime.
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