Google’s web browser, Chrome, jumped up to 15.5 percent of the market share as August came to a close and the browser celebrated its third birthday. READ MORE
It takes a lot of patience to read a giant corporation’s financial filings, let alone compare this year’s version to last year’s. But ZDNet’s Ed Bott has done just that to Microsoft’s 10-K second quarter report, and discovered something most interesting: The company no longer views Linux as a threat. READ MORE
Google and Virgin America–Inc. Tech’s Business Travel 50 winner for both in-flight entertainment and food and drink–have partnered to allow Virgin customers the chance to test out the new Chromebooks for free. READ MORE
You spend all day (or at least we do) using a browser—Firefox, Chrome, Safari or IE—to do most everything you do on the Web. But if you want to use the Internet to talk to someone face-to-face, you can’t use your browser to do it. You have to switch to Skype, or GoToMeeting, or some other separate application. Even Google’s own video chat client has to be downloaded before you can use it. READ MORE
And they deride Apple products as mere fashion accessories: The recently unveiled Samsung Series 5 Chromebook (along with a model from Acer, one of the two new Google Chrome OS-based netbooks I previously wrote about) has already gone on sale at the luxury fashion discount site Gilt Groupe, ahead of the wide-release sale date of June 15th. READ MORE
We’ve laid out the concept of Google’s initiative to roll out Chrome OS-based netbooks — now meet the actual devices. Samsung and Acer will each introduce their version of a “Chromebook” next month. The netbooks are similar in both concept–web-centric, cloud-based (as in no traditional HDD for storage purposes) lean machines with impressive start-up times and battery life–and their respective specifications. READ MORE
Would you pay $28 a month for a netbook-like device with cloud back-up, built-in security, always-up-to-date software and a free replacement every three years or as needed? Google is betting that you would. This deal (and $20/month for schools) is clearly intended to lure business customers to its newly announced Chromebooks and away from Microsoft, with its never-ending cycle of new Windows versions and security updates. READ MORE
