thechromesource – Google Chrome and Chrome OS News and Resources

What is Google Planning to Announce Tomorrow?

Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Yesterday, we reported in the Daily that Google is planning a press event tomorrow, led by VP of Search Products Marissa Meyer. This is what was published on Fortune’s Google 27/4 blog.

Please join us on Tuesday, July 20th for a brief press event at Google’s office in San Francisco.  Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products and User Experience, will be speaking, and we’ll be introducing a few new things we think you’ll be interested to see.  We’ll kick off with a continental breakfast followed by the presentation and product demos.

While there could be a good amount of speculative nature in this post, here are some bubbling developments that have been rumored lately and could have something to do with what is being unveiled tomorrow.

Music

During Google I/O, the company showed off a new Android feature that allows users to stream music that is stored on their computer to their phone. Many said that this was a quiet attempt to show off Google’s coming music service. Google’s China site already has music, and according to one commenter on this blog located in China, this service has been available for a few months, likely lending to lax copyright laws in a country where no one has ever really paid for music anyways.

Social Networking

Most regard Google’s first social attempt, Buzz, as a flop namely because of privacy violations that occurred at the outset. But Google has corrected course to some degree, and whatever you may say about it, Buzz still exists. The rumor milling around is that a further expansion to Buzz is coming soon, possibly with profiles just like Facebook. But how much like Facebook does Google want to be? Remember, Eric Schmidt has said that Facebook users in turn still search quite a bit with Google, and the fact that Schmidt recently met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg suggests Google would probably try something that goes in a different direction.

Search

Let’s not discount here who will be presenting tomorrow. Marissa Meyer is the VP that is responsible for the search user interface that we use today, and she has been a part of the company since the early days. Is it possible that we will see a key new element in search? Google is desperately missing a travel option on their home page, so it is quite possible that something related to Google’s purchasing of travel search company ITA Software. Although the deal is under review, that doesn’t mean Google hasn’t already been working on something. That’s good, since right now search rival Bing is seemingly held together by its innovative travel functionality, and not on its core search.

Whatever the case may be, we’ll be interested in the resulting news. As soon as we have information on any developments, they will be posted right here.

Hexxeh’s Working on a Chrome OS Tablet

Posted on 13. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

He ain’t talkin’ any more about it, but he posted this picture of a tablet running Chrome OS Flow earlier tonight.

I’m guessing based on the wires plus that this thing look torn apart that there’s no touch capability or input otherwise yet. But since Hexxeh’s been able to get a broad amount of hardware working on Flow maybe something significant will come out of this.

Hardware cost: $80. I was thinking it must be one of those Chinese ARM tablets, but Hexxeh confirms its x86.

I’m really hoping that we see a tablet with Chrome OS come out this year.

WebOS May Now be the Focal Point of HP’s Tablet

Posted on 07. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

One of the official Google hardware partners for Chrome OS has been known to be computer behemoth HP. We’ve been very interested in seeing what HP would be able to offer Google’s forthcoming computer OS since they really are one of the only computer manufacturers that has been able to create and produce designs that are, shall we say, less utilitarian and more eye-pleasing than the rest of the PC market.

But recently HP bought the financially struggling Palm, possibly to boost its position in the ever-growing mobile market. Palm has been able to design and launch smartphone products that have been critically praised of late, however because of the growing dominance of Android phones it has not been successful in boosting its flagging market share. This, in a nutshell, is why Palm desperately needed HP in order to survive.

But the fact of the matter is that now with Palm in the fold, it’s quite possible that HP will focus on developing a tablet that runs Palm’s WebOS rather than Chrome OS as might have been originally planned. WebOS sounds surprisingly similar to Chrome OS as a cloud operating system based on the Linux kernel, although WebOS may be more focused upon social media aspects, so there may be a niche edge there for Palm in that space.

So, we’re not saying that the new Palm-HP relationship (Palm is now a subsidiary) means that HP will not release its own version of a Chrome OS device this year. It does, however, leave one curious how much in terms of resources will be spent on WebOS versus Chrome when the former is something built specifically for Palm devices and could be more successfully branded for long-term opportunity in HP’s eyes.

We shall see, as it will be dependent on either device’s success, that being a laptop device or tablet. This will be HP hedging its bets on both operating systems in the end.

Aviary Adds “Browser/OS” Option for Screen Captures

Posted on 06. Jul, 2010 by admin.

Do I detect the solution to a problem coming? In edition to having developed a Chrome extension, a company called Aviary also has a browser-based screen capture utility, recently added a “Browser/OS” drop-down box as one of its options for snapshots.

Really, what purpose would there be for adding this to your ability to create a screenshot unless it was for a certain web-based operating system coming out at the end of this year? Taking a picture of your computer screen shouldn’t require what web browser or operating system you are using, except when the resulting file is stored somewhere other than your hard drive, such as in the cloud.

As Google begins to internally test Chrome OS, we’ll slowly start to see these types of little functional elements occur. Although Aviary is not owned by Google, they are an Apps partner and signed on early to be a part of the Google Apps Marketplace. In a past interview with another company that has been an early partner with Apps Marketplace, MindMeister, I was told that Google keeps product liasons in close contact with these third party companies.

I’m going to need to be able to take screenshots in Chrome OS as well as edit images and this may just be the ticket to doing that. Have you come across any other way it’s going to be possible? I haven’t other than perhaps by using Aviary.

Chrome OS Tablet May Still Surface at Computex

Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Being in Taiwan for the Computex conference has certainly been beneficial. We’ve seen some interesting remarks from those who are in the know at Google, as well as some talks behind the scenes about the future of cloud computing from product managers and executives from several technology companies.

With all due respect, we can’t name any names other than what has been put out in public, but I personally would expect to see Chrome OS to really start to gain momentum in the third quarter and some fantastic developments coming at the end of 2010 near the holiday season.

There are still some things we want to show you direct from Computex, and we’re excited about what’s to come. Keep following us on the RSS feed and Twitter, with more social media elements in the works for thechromesource.

With that being said, thanks a lot for reading our stuff. We really wouldn’t be able to do this without you, and there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes here to continue making this site an authoritative source that you can rely on.

Best, Daniel Cawrey.

Partnership Between Chrome and Adobe’s Flash May Be in the Works

Posted on 29. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Larry Dignan of ZDNet is publishing a rumor that we may hear an announcement in the coming days of a supposed partnership between Google and Adobe for its Flash technology to be bundled within future versions of Chrome browser. When I first read this report, I was a bit surprised. After all, Google has slowly decided to kill Gears and has set up a HTML5 beta on YouTube, probably the most Flash intensive site on the planet since all videos on the site require the plugin in order to play.

But what does Google have to lose? It feels like this is being said a lot lately, but there is still a lot of the web that uses Flash and if Apple is not going to support it on their mobile platforms now they aren’t going to in the future, either. That creates competitive advantage for Google in its own push to have a platform for users with Android and Chrome OS. Apple has its own benefits, and while many have been calling out that the death of Flash is here that will surely not be true if Google partners up with Adobe.

Perhaps there will be some sort of agreement to help make Flash run faster and secure. After all, those are the two biggest pitfalls of Flash. Many experts would agree that having Flash installed on a browser creates vulnerabilities, and the fact that Adobe has a miniscule security team to try to thwart potential attacks would make Google and its expertise seem like a good match.

But we’ll see. While we’re waiting, take a look at this comparison of Flash vs. HTML5 performance.

Kyocera to Release $169 Pre-paid Android Phone

Posted on 26. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Kyocera has announced that they will release an Android phone called the Zio M6000 that will cost only $169 upfront, with CDMA technology. This is pretty affordable for those who want to get an Android phone, and since new ones are seemingly arriving every day it seems like buying an unsubsidized on would be the best way to go. Plus, it looks like although the Zio will come with Android 1.6, it will be user upgradeable to 2.1. Check out this video:

While a service provider for this phone hasn’t been announced yet, ARMdevices has said that Kyocera traditionally has been a manufacturer for pre-paid mobile services, which would include companies such as Virgin Mobile, Cricket, Boost Mobile and MetroPCS as possible suitors.

If this is indeed a prepaid phone, it would be a great deal. And it also means that the hardware for Android is becoming cheaper. Take a look at the specifications for the Zio M6000:

3.5″ 800×480 touch screen
600 Mhz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor
3G (CDMA for now), WiFi and stereo Bluetooth
3.2-megapixel camera
Android 1.6 but it will be user-upgradeable to Android 2.1

Sure, it’s not a Nexus One “superphone” but it gets the job done for the average user. Plus, in the video above by Mobileburn, they state that this is one of the lightest Android phones that they have come across.

Although I’m not sure that Google intended to have Android be released on new phones almost every week, I doubt that they are too worried about it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chrome OS fragmented in the same way, with Google releasing their own “super” hardware netbook and/or tablet with other manufacturers marketing their own lower cost versions.

We’ve already seen evidence of a $200 tablet by Freescale, and when you consider that Chrome OS will not charge a license fee for its platform I would expect to see devices from manufacturers other than Google releasing gadgets on the cheap, with Google branding their own hardware and commanding Apple-like margins because of their brand value.

Anyways, expect to see the Zio M6000 in the second quarter if you’re looking for a smartphone without a contract.

We May See a Chrome OS Netbook Mid-2010, But Not For Sale

Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

There has been a lot of speculation that there will be a Chrome OS netbook that will be available from Acer in the middle of this year, which would only be about four months away. I’m not sure where this kind of information is coming from, but I think that this was something that was leaked by an insider to keep Acer’s name in the news about Chrome OS. Ther reality is that yes, we will probably see something from Acer in mid-2010, but it won’t be something that we as consumers will be able to buy yet.

That’s because one of the biggest computer shows, Computex, will be convientley showing off the wares of many manufacturers in early June. Doesn’t that sound like mid-2010 to you? Plus, Computex is held in Taipei, Tawian. That means that major companies such as Asus, MSI and of Acer will be there, and they will probably be showing finished products that run on Chromium builds.

Also, in late May, Google will hold its developer conference, dubbed Google I/O. A look at the sessions that will be held has some Chrome OS topics  scheduled. There may be some news that comes out of the conference, most likely of which will be an announcement of a uniform programming language for use across Google’s platforms to help streamline development when the operating system is actually released. This will most likely be of Google’s own experimental language, called Go.

Look, anyone that has taken a look at the latest builds of Chromium by running Hexxeh’s Flow would know that while the OS is progressing, there is still some development that still needs to be completed before Google is going to give the green light for manufacturers to sell devices with this platform. While I’m sure they want to get something out that competes with Apple’s iPad soon, rushing the development cycle for this is not going to create a lasting impression on users if the product is not ready.

So if you’re in such a hurry, Acer, why don’t you advertise the fact that you have the Windows 7/Android AOD250 netbook on the market? Sure, it’s not a tablet. But it’s probably a more polished product that what Chrome OS can offer consumers over the next six months:

So expect to see some interesting hardware developments by June, but don’t expect to see something that you can actually purchase until the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Chrome OS to Compete Against Apple’s Tablet

Posted on 01. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey.

Who’s going to make the GoogleBook that is supposed to come out later this year? It’s not known yet, but it looks like there may also be a tablet. The rumor is that HTC is going to show off a tablet that is sporting Android at CES next week, and that there might be a Chrome OS version as well. The idea is to have something that competes with Apple’s impending tablet offering, which is expected to be unveiled later on this month at an official press release.

It’s possible that the ever-prolific HTC has been working on this for a while, although they have been focusing on phone products primarily,  this may have been in the pipeline for some time. The rumor is that Google and HTC have been working together for over eighteen months, but if that is that case I would suspect that was initially for the development of the Nexus One phone, which is going to go on sale pretty soon, maybe even this month.

Netbooks, nettops and tablets. This could become overwhelming. But one thing is clear: Apple’s tablet will be going head to head with Chrome OS at some point soon.

Chrome OS Netbook Will Be Priced at $300

Posted on 28. Dec, 2009 by Daniel Cawrey.

This was first reported by IBTimes yesterday, and now other outlets are reporting that the first GoogleBook (yes, it’s the best name I could come up with) will be machine that is very competitive in the netbook market and will be sold at a very affordable $300 price range. The specifications that are being reported include:

-NVIDIA Tegra chip and an ARM CPU, which is integrated

-64GB solid-state hard drive

-2 GB RAM

-10.1 inch 1,280 x 720 HD multitouch display

-Built-in webcam

-Multi-card reader

-Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth

-USB ports, headphone jack

This is a pretty impressive set of features. The reports don’t indicate who is going to be making it, but it’s clear that if this device is going to be sold for $300, wireless carriers are going to have to subsidize the cost with what may be a hefty data plan. But being locked into a contract for two years or so might work for a netbook this powerful. It may not necessarily be a bad idea for this type of gadget to adopt the wireless phone/smartphone life cycle. I think that in order for this to be successful, it needs to be as simple or even more simple than using a phone to keep users interested in this product.

At this point, I would be curious to know how much carriers would charge in a GoogleBook data plan. This is because there have been rumors of wireless carriers like AT&T setting up tiered plans for wireless data as they currently do for voice based on data’s popularity with smartphone, especially the iPhone.

The plan is still to have the GoogleBook out by Christmas 2010, just in time for the impending 4G rollout. In order for this technology to be able to fully embrace a thin-client cloud computing architecture, 4G is probably going to be a necessity for this device to succeed.

Google DNS the Default in Chromium OS?

Posted on 20. Dec, 2009 by Daniel Cawrey.

Every time you go to a website, Domain Name Service is looking up the IP address that resolves the hostname for you that you type in. So should we be surprised that Google has their own public DNS? Well they do, and you can use it if you configure your network settings so that your DNS servers are set to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (that’s memorable). According to the official site, Google’s DNS uses load balancing and something called “smart caching” so that peformance is improved. Also, they claim that their DNS is more secure.

With the broadband speeds that most users are at now, this may not be a bad idea. DNS may actually hold back pages from loading if information from several sites needs to be properly loaded. Since Google’s AdWords is prevalent on so many sites that may be another factor that led them to release a public DNS service as well.

So, at what point does the Google DNS show up as the default on Chrome OS? Right when it is released? I have already written a bit about privacy issues that Google faces. With Chrome OS, their chief method of making a computer work faster than before as well as adding more security will be done by sourcing everything to the cloud. But some may find it concerning that most regular users of a GoogleBook would not think of what their default DNS settings are or how to change them.

A DNS record could be saved along with the account that is logged into a Chrome OS machine. Besides that, when you are logged into Chrome OS, you are using your Gmail login, so everything could be potentially tracked unlike signing out before doing a Google search on a PC today.

What do you think? Would Google save all those DNS resolve requests?