The Google Chromebook. You can use it on a unicycle!
huh… VERY interesting.
Just one more step in Google’s World Domination plan, I guess. I’ll admit, I’m excited to see it happen. As long as they beat Apple to it.
I bet Google is going to monitor and record for “research” everything that you type into that thing though.
First off – cool mention of unicycling!
As far as the devices themselves, my first thought was that they would have to be dirt-cheap to make sense. Why are they better than a netbook? A netbook is small, too, but is quite useful beyond (and without) the Internet. The Chromebook is a stripped-down netbook without a stripped-down price tag. (and you can be cloud-centric without a Chromebook AND DAMN IT, WHERE IS JOHN CHILDS???!!!)
Then I started to think, why would I ever want an iPad? A small, thin netbook closes up so that the screen is protected… AND runs just about any Windows software. I’m sure I can get a fart app that runs under Windows. And do I really need a touchscreen?
Years ago, we talked about the imminent convergence of PDAs and cell phones. That happened and we’ve moved beyond (and sadly lost the stylus in the process). I think now we have a confusion of devices. Laptop, netbook, tablet, Chromebook, ebook reader. Eventually it will get sorted out. Miniaturization, ever-faster components, better display technology, and battery technology will drive all those devices in a similar direction. Today I want a Kindle as a book reader, not a too-heavy iPad that has to be charged every few hours (as opposed to every few weeks). But what about tomorrow’s tablet that is as light as a Kindle and runs just as long?
Today’s product differentiators are simply today’s necessary trade-offs and compromises. (yes, I made that up myself)
I don’t want the chromebook yet, but maybe in a couple years when it has taken over.
Hehe 
+1 for the spoof!
LOL, “less for more”.
It might be simply because I’ve spent all evening (and apparently the first two hours of the morning too now, hello tomorrow, when did you arrive?) revising, so my entertainment threshold is greatly lowered, but I found both of those hilarious!
That is all.
I like my netbook.
That depends on who you are. As someone who “supports” computer users, this device might make them very happy. And me too.
Some people love old MGs and Triumphs. Other people like cars they don’t have to work on every other weekend. For the average user, having something that “just works” is worth many other drawbacks.
I’m with you there. So far they’re not for me either. Just a ton of other people.
You will keep asking that until you’ve used one on a large screen (they’re seductive). 
Oh, you lost yours too? Hint. 
In other words, you want an iPad that’s lighter, has more than the typical 10-hour battery life, and has a low-res display in black & white!
Me too. Today, I want to run local software on a local machine with a keyboard. Because that’s the kind of user I am. But as cloud computing gets more robust, safe and available, a device like that Chromebook becomes more and more useful to nerds like us too. And as this happens, storage capacity will continue to double according to Moore’s Law, battery life will continue to improve, and the price will probably continue to go down.
And if we’re really lucky, cellular Internet (or some form of Wi-Max or similar) will actually get more affordable while it also continues to get faster! I’m more skeptical about the cellular providers…
This is slowly becoming true, I hope it will really boom though, it will be nice when I can get unlimited 4g service for 20-30 dollars a month. Or when a 5g service is available… oh the life.
Hey, now! Don’t diss E-Ink! It’s not so lo-res. And you can read it in direct sunlight! Didn’t you see the ads with the babe sitting on the beach reading a book in bright sunlight? That hooked me. And I’ve NEVER read my Kindle in direct sunlight yet. Except for five minutes sitting in a Chinese restaurant with the sun glaring through the window. I was sweating, but reading. Then the waitress came over and drew the blinds. But for those miserable five minutes, E-Ink lived up to its promise. (I also only have to charge my Kindle once a month)
Shouldn’t that be:
or
?
I thought the whole point of the thread was “Hehe. Unicycle. Hehe.”
you thought wrong!
LOL, yes, but I covered that and moved on…
Dave, I just don’t know! All this time shifting from the past to the future reminds me of the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I’m going to stick with today/today, although either of yours reads more eloquently. You know, I’m actually trying to give this my typical uni57 over-analysis, but I’m having a hard time. The weather suddenly turned hot yesterday. Maybe the heat is getting to me. I do see your pattern. Product differentiators are always one step ahead in time. Beyond that, it turns my brain to mush.
I’m just going to have to go with “Hehe. Unicycle. Hehe.”
That’s a commercial. I prefer reading product reviews from third parties. Rather than “not so low-res” I’d rather see the actual specs and form my own opinion. It’s amazing what technology companies have the audacity to say & do these days. T-Mobile, with “the nation’s largest 4G network”? It’s not actually 4G. It’s just a solid 3G signal that they decided to call 4G! 
I know the Kindle must have an excellent display for reading, and is probably the best all-around e-reader on the market. But it’s only an e-reader, so I think it’s only a matter of time before it gets absorbed by more versatile tablet devices that can do what it does, plus a ton of other stuff. The battery life is the other thing the Kindle’s got going for it; probably hard to keep that while making it do all that other stuff…
That would be in the rec.sport.unicycling forum. This is JC, so we automatically looked at the stuff around the unicycle. Right? Everything’s always on-topic around here! 
It’s easy enough to look back and see how fast this technology evolves. My “cool” Samsung Moment (Android phone) was the latest thing two years ago. Now it’s a dinosaur. We’re testing a couple of Samsung Epics, and they make the Moment look like a Model-T.
But I retract my comment about Moore’s Law above. What’s happening these days with solid state memory is not so much about increasing capacity, it’s about making it affordable. Hard drives are way in the lead on capacity – for now – until they become obsolete.
I miss Beavis and Butthead…
Like the natwest advert saying, and i quote…
‘The results are in. There’s nothing hidden, just the facts’
Not sure how you guys read this but are they hiding the facts?