FORTUNE -- Chrome, the web-centric operating system that Google hoped would revolutionize the computer industry, is finally ready for its star turn. This week, Google (GOOG) took the wraps off of its long-awaited Chrome OS netbooks (dubbed "Chromebooks") at its annual developer conference in San Francisco, I/O. It also revealed a hardware and software subscription plan aimed at businesses, schools and government customers.
Here's the deal: Enterprise customers will pay a monthly fee starting at $28 per user for a Chromebook (schools pay $20 per student). The fee includes a cloud management console for remotely administering and managing users, devices and applications, plus what Google calls "enterprise-level support," device warranties and replacements. What's not included? Google Apps for Business. That means that if users want the company's enterprise-level app suite (which includes Gmail, Google Calendar and Docs and other applications), they'll have to pay an additional $50 a year per employee. (If you ask me, it would have made more sense to bundle all of Google's business offerings with the Chromebooks. Then again, nobody asked me.) More
You can't get any more CR-48 ChromeOS prototype laptops, but the real things are coming soon.
In a quick tweet last night, Google's (GOOG) Chrome Lead, Sundar Pichai, Tweeted that Google had run through its supply of the CR-48 laptops. He also reiterated Google's plans to release partner devices mid-year. So far, the only partners that have been named are Acer and Samsung. However, last year, on a number of occasions, HP (HPQ) MORE
Seth Weintraub - Mar 11, 2011 2:25 PM ET
Google's cloud-based operating system seems promising. Too bad the lousy demo hardware gets in the way.
Google's Chrome OS isn't as farfetched as it sounds. The underlying concept, the computer and operating system as portals to content in the cloud, seems like an inevitability, really. While a lot of content still resides on hard or solid state drives, all signs point to a day when we'll rouse a MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Mar 1, 2011 4:27 PM ET
By announcing their most popular blogposts of the year, Google also showed the power of their homepage.
Here's the info from Google's (GOOG) 2010 wrapup:
The top posts this year run the gamut from policy changes to product arrivals:
A different kind of company name - 10,604,183 unique pageviews, more than 30 percent of the year's total. Our April Fools' Day post about changing our company name to "Topeka" had a crazy-high number MORE
Seth Weintraub - Dec 31, 2010 4:21 PM ET
Wedbush Morgan analyst Lou Kerner raised his rating on Google to Outperform from Neutral
Google's (GOOG) efforts in Mobile and OS/Browser markets will start to pay off, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Lou Kerner.
In a research note today, Kerner wrote:
We are raising our rating and price target on Google based on our belief that mobile and social secular trends are accelerating the growth of time spent online and the growth of global MORE
Seth Weintraub - Dec 14, 2010 12:35 PM ET
Initial thoughts after the first few hours with Google's ChromeOS reference design laptop.
FedEx dropped off my Google (GOOG) ChromeOS laptop demo unit this morning. The box has the now famous exploded hamster jet cover art and very few parts inside. I also ironically got a Steve Jobs figurine in the mail today too. They didn't seem too happy to be in each other's company:
Read on to see the CR-48 in action..
Seth Weintraub - Dec 9, 2010 4:36 PM ET
....at least to New York residents.
SeatGeek's Ben Kessler tweeted this morning that his Chrome OS Netbook was waiting for him at his doorstep. According to Flickr, the picture was taken in Manhattan.
PCMag editor Lance Ulanoff just tweeted that his ChromeOS Netbook arrived as well. In Manhattan.
NYC's Laptop Magazine also just got theirs. So did Larry Dignan of ZDNet.
Lifehacker Editor Kevin Purdy got his all the way up in Buffalo.
Well, Westchester MORE
Seth Weintraub - Dec 9, 2010 12:35 PM ET
Every day, the Fortune staff spends hours poring over tech stories, posts, and reviews from all over the Web to keep tabs on the companies that matter. We've assembled the day's most newsworthy bits below.
The Google Chrome OS homepage.
After some rumor and speculation, Google finally launched its Chrome OS web store, a marketplace not unlike Apple's App Store and Android's market, with roughly 500 free and paid apps, including Amazon's MORE JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Dec 8, 2010 6:00 AM ET
The two tech giants need to fend off rivals and each other to protect their growing app businesses. So why is the same open standard their weapon of choice?
YouTube Mobile on Android
We've already debunked the mysteries surrounding HTML5 itself -- the pros, cons and progress -- but one pesky question remains. Namely, what do Google and Apple, two companies that obviously thrive off sales and earnings, have to gain MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Dec 6, 2010 4:37 PM ET
Every day, the Fortune staff spends hours poring over tech stories, posts, and reviews from all over the Web to keep tabs on the companies that matter. We've assembled the weekend's most newsworthy bits below.
Facebook previewed its Profile redesign over the weekend during 60 Minutes' company profile and sitdown with Mark Zuckerberg. For members of the social network whose profiles haven't updated to the new layout yet, expect an increased emphasis MORE JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Dec 6, 2010 6:00 AM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
Receive Fortune's newsletter on all the deals that matter, from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road. SUBSCRIBE
Covering the digital giants of Silicon Valley and beyond, an in-depth look at enterprise companies, and the startups disrupting them. Written by Michal Lev-Ram and emailed twice weekly. SUBSCRIBE
Anne Fisher answers career-related questions and offers helpful advice for business professionals. SUBSCRIBE
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
| Citigroup Inc | 32.36 | -1.00 | -3.00% |
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
| Nasdaq | 2,933.17 | -15.40 | -0.52% |
| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
.
