Google ChromeBook

Hey Guys,

So I was looking at the Google products late last night and found Google have released a Chromebook. It runs on Google's new OS ChromeOS. Which means you will be doing everything through Google's web browser Chrome and the Internet. You have access to the Chrome web store where you can buy web apps like angry birds or picasa.

The Chromebook is designed to take advantage of software as a service applications (SAAS, also known as Cloud Computing) such as Google Apps Gmail, GCal, GDocs or Microsofts web based Office applications Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.

This does offer a number of advantages: 

• Instant web - Chrombooks boot in 8 seconds.
• Always connected - with built in wifi and 3G you will be able to use the Chromebook nearly anywhere. Same experience everywhere - Since your email, docs, apps etc are all stored in the cloud as long as your able to open a webpage you will have the same experience every time.
• Forever fresh - The Chromebook updates automatically without you needing to do anything and is claimed to improve overtime with the updates.
• Security Built in - Chromebooks run ChromeOS which is said to be designed from the ground up to defend against the ongoing threat of malware and viruses.

However there are some limitations to the Chromebook. ChromeOS relies on an internet connection, unless the specific Cloud services you choose offer offline modes a service/internet outage could leave you unable to work until it is resolved. 

The specs of the Chromebook are also quite low tech, with a 12.1Inch LED screen an Atom processor and 2G of DDR3 RAM. Web browsing is said to be lightning fast and snappy, however when playing HD flash games from the web store or viewing 720p HD video from a flash drive it has been said it struggles slightly.

Currently Samsung and Acer are producing the Chromebooks. The price for the Chromebook is unfortunately similar to same spec laptops that run Win7, which brings up the debate why buy a Chromebook if I can buy a laptop that can do more for the same price? 

Hopefully as the Chromebook develops we will see the price become more competitive and as the Cloud services continue to improve I could see myself using a Chromebook not too far into the future.

Google Apps Gmail Overview

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to get something down into my blog that looked better then a blank white space. Here's a brief description of the Email (Gmail) tool/application that Google provide in their Google Apps suite.

Gmail is one of the core applications provided in the Google Apps Package. With Gmail, your inbox has substantial storage (currently 25GB) to minimize the need to delete any of your emails. In Addition, you are able to use Google's speedy search functionality to quickly find old emails or conversations. Instant messaging is embedded in Gmail so you can respond to an email in real-time. Also, your Gmail is available from any computer or any place around the world all you need is an internet connection. Gmail is easy to use, but not simplistic in its functionality, which means less time required for training.  You can also use Gmail offline after enabling the offline feature in Gmail labs.

Below is a short video describing the benefits of Gmail in the Google Apps package.