UPDATED 14:10 EDT / MAY 29 2012

NEWS

Google Chromebook and the new Chromebox: Another Node for a Services World

Google announced today its latest Chromebook, and a new Chromebox that continue to show that hardware increasingly represent nodes for an increasingly dominant services oriented world.

It will soon be true that everything is a node. We won’t need desktops or laptops.  A device networked to a PC will simply become a device connected to the network, complete with apps you either buy or just use in exchange for a few dollars, or maybe even just data that you provide as a form of currency.

You can see that reality unfold with these new offerings from Google.  First off, the new Samsung Chromebook has the lastest Intel chip embedded into its core. It has 3G built in with dual-band WiFi and an new form of an OEM. It’s not hardware installed into the C hromeboox from third-party manufacturers but services that come with their own set of offerings. For example, The Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 comes with 12 free sessions with Gogo Inflight Internet, allowing you to connect on Gogo-enabled flights.

It’s the apps that matter with the new Google devices. Both the Chromebook and the Chromebox feature what Google calls an apps interface. You can use them alongside your browser or other apps. You can “pin” commonly-used apps for quick access, display multiple windows side-by-side or experience apps in full-screen mode.

The Chromebook and Chromebox come integrated with Microsoft Office files and common file formats that are accessihle without installign any software.

But it’s the integration with Google Drive that’s compelling. It comes fully integrated with the File Manager and will also support offline access with the next release of Chrome OS that should be aviailable during Google I/O in the next six weeks. It will also offer offline support for Google Docs. Offline-capable web apps are also available in the Chrome Web Store.

The Chromebox should appeal top people like myself who work at home and want a centralized experience for work and home.

And thats what I think makes this offering one that will have wide appeal. We are all becoming node enabled.  And these nodes increasingly don’t care if you are using it for work or your personal life. They are agnostic and meant to always be that way.


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