Yesterday, Google released public information about its new Chrome OS at the official press event. They showed videos of the OS and gave real-time demonstrations to reporters.
It looks a lot like the popular browser of the same name. It uses tabs like those in the browser instead of buttons in the task bar. The colour scheme is also very bright with a lack of colour. This may pose problems for laptop users in terms of battery life.
Here are a few screenshots to give you an idea:
I guess this would be the equivalent of the start menu in Windows. It’s called the applications panel and it’s where you launch programs from. May of these are affiliated with Google as you would expect such as YouTube, Google Reader and GMail however they also have others such as Facebook, Twitter and their old rival, Yahoo Mail.
The Chrome browser is integrated fully with the OS, as one would expect. Other Google services such as Google Talk also work seamlessly with it by launching discreet pop-ups and notifications when user interaction is needed.
Here is chess, an example of an app, running in a tab in the new OS. All apps can either run as a tab or can be viewed in full-screen.
Google’s Chrome OS project, first announced in July, will become available for download within a week.
Google has previously said they are working with Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba on the project. It is expected that Google will be very careful are launch and will only endorse a small set of devices for installation.
There has been a lot of news around the Google Chrome OS, including Linux OS and reports that it was going to launch back in October.
There has been a lot of reports about Google Chrome OS which Google officially announced they have been working on. Since that time I have been very keen to get my hands on the product and give it a good test.
I came across a very interesting article today about installing Google Chrome OS for Linux machines.
At this stage I’m getting fed up. Every day I open my inbox there are a dozen e-mails from colleagues and readers of the
various publications I write for including Crenk asking about the news or a new product. There’s always at least one talking about the supposed upcoming Mac Tablet.
‘What do you reckon will be included?’, they ask.
Honestly, I’m nowhere near 100% certain. Obviously you’d have a touch screen QWERTY keyboard, media centre of some sort and maybe even fingerprint recognition (I believe Apple have patented that idea).
In truth, only the bigwigs at Apple could tell us. And even then they would probably just numb our brains with pre-release jargon so we all buzz around the internet still asking ‘Ohh, what could it be?!’
My reason for writing this post is clear and simple. I want to know what you would like in a Mac tablet. Send us in your thoughts, opinions and ravings here at Crenk. Either leave a comment below of tell us on the Crenk Twitter.
They could be about anything – ‘when will it be released?’, ‘what features will it have?’, ‘how much will it cost?’, ‘what will it look like?’ and so on. I look forward to reading your replies.
There has been a lot of talk recently about Windows 7 which is the new operating system coming soon from Microsoft. However, on the Mac side they have released Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard. Currently you are able to pre order Snow Leopard via Amazon. Price is only $29.00 which is very affordable compared to Windows 7.
Google’s mobile platform Android is taking off very quickly. Multiple phone makers are picking up on the OS because of is functionality and features. Now, HTC have come out of the OD closet and stated that by 2010 over half of their phones will use the popular OS. This follows the Android success of their previous phones the G1 Magic and the Hero.
They have also announced that a new phone coming out in a couple of month’s time in either September or October which will be based on the Qualcommis platform from Brew mobile. While they may be stepping away from the Android OS for a little while I’m sure that they are busy as beavers behind the scenes working closely with Google and their Android platform.
The developers of mobile phones actually quite like the Android platform as it’s extremely easy to work with. Because Android takes care of the look and feel of the phone developers just have to give it their own little twist instead of starting from scratch with themes, user functions and then get on to the programs.
Netbooks are taking the market by storm. While they haven’t overtaken the laptop or notebook in many areas including sales they are ideal for family environments where each person has a netbook for e-mail, internet etc… and perhaps one central computer when you need performance and reliability. Syncing and even using those net-books with a Windows OS can be annoying because the screen is small and there isn’t a lot of RAM to keep you ticking over.
This is where Jolicloud comes in. It’s a new OS designed especially for netbooks. The desktop OS is designed like the main screen of a smart-phone with large icons taking you to your main programs and websites such as Twitter, Google, RSS feeds, E-mail and Skype. This is a great feature. Think about it. On a netbook you haven’t got a lot of things that need to be done. Just basic things so you might as well have them all up on the home screen along with some great search tools and tabs.
The netbook is based around the app idea. You can run a number of apps right on the desktop even if they are web based. For example, Wikipedia and Gmail are all available to open on the desktop. Twitter and Facebook are also available for your social needs. The interactivity and smart-phone feel of Jolicloud makes it so much better than what others would have left it at.
It’s also very easy to install and is designed to be installed on Netbooks with limited performance capabilities. The layout and the themes look great. Its basic but has great colours and is finished nicely. All in all, this is a great OS filled a gap in the market and I’m sure that many will flock to it. 8/10
Name Mangler is a batch file renamer that supports all common renaming tasks: Find and Replace (including support for regular expressions); Number Sequentially; Change Case; Set Extension; Add Prefix/Suffix; Remove/Insert Characters.
EverSave is a clever tool which allows you to save all of your documents – if possible – in a specific time interval or by changing the frontmost application.
SyncMate FREE Edition is a perfect solution for information management. It is easy-to-use synchronizer for Mac and Pocket PC, that will help you keep all your documents, text messages, contacts, calendar entries and events and other stuff well organized.
Paparazzi is a small utility for Mac OS X that makes screenshots of webpages. This will help you to temporary access to the WebView for username/password info, so capture of pages behind a required login is now possible.
AppFresh helps you to keep all applications, widgets, preference panes and application plugins installed on your Mac up to date. All from one place, easy to use and fully integrated into Mac OS X.
Pref Setter is an application used to edit plist (Property LIST) files, geared towards viewing / editing Mac OS X’s preference files. Very useful for setting those “hidden” preference settings that aren’t available directly in an application.
Skim is a PDF reader and note-taker for OS X. It is designed to help you read and annotate scientific papers in PDF, but is also great for viewing any PDF file.
OnyX allows you to verify the Startup Disk and the structure of its System files, run miscellaneous tasks of system maintenance, configure some hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock, Dashboard, Exposé, Safari, Login window and some of Apple’s own applications.
Cyberduck is an open source FTP, SFTP, WebDAV and Amazon S3 browser for the Mac. It features an easy to use interface that allows to toggle between bookmarks and the browser outline view.
Visual NetTools is a set of network scanning, security, and administrator tools for Apple Mac useful in diagnosing networks and monitoring your computer’s network connections.
Punakea is a little app trying to help you cope with the day-to-day struggle of managing your files. Designed to complement Spotlight, it allows you to tag your files and bookmarks.
iPhones seem to be everywhere these days and even the release of the G1 phone hasn’t really had an impact on their growing marketshare. Palm have also announced that they will soon be launching their new smartphone called the Palm Pre, which is getting a huge amount of buzz at the moment. Thus bringing us to the final major player in the market who is yet to release a smartphone that can actually take marketshare and thats Nokia.
Nokia announced about three months ago that they will be releasing the N97 which is their rival to the iPhone. The N97 will be release in the 2nd quarter of 2009 and its sure to raise some eyebrows.
Here at Crenk we are still yet to get our hands on a new N97 test version, but I thought I would provide our readers with a basic overview of the phone and how it compares to iPhone and G1.
32GB Onboard memory (expandable through microSD card upto 48GB as total capacity)
(neither iPhone nor G1 go beyond 32 GB as total capacity )
Battery : 1500 mAh (Heavy duty ! )
(iPhone : 1400 mAh ; G1 : 1150 mAh )
5 MP Digital Camera (DVD quality video capture)
(iPhone : 2.0 MP ; G1 : 3.2 MP )
OS : S60 5th Edition
(iPhone : iPhone OS 2.2 ; G1 : Android 1.0 )
Weight : 150 g (approx.)
( iPhone : 133 g ; G1 : 158 g )
Price : $550 (before network subsidies so expect it to go way cheaper than this)
(iPhone : $199(min.) ; G1 : $179(min.) )
Conclusions:
After a direct comparison with all the feature of the n97, G1 and iPhone3G the Nokia is by far the leader from a hardware perspective. However, it terms of the software and the OS, Nokia is a long way behind Google and Apple but this is expected.
The key also is that the App Store has made a huge impact on making the iPhone such a big success, and with the Android Market just being launched I’m sure that the G1 will slowly gain more and more marketshare. Where does this leave Nokia? Nokia really need to think hard and long about how they are going to open up their software to outside developers and then allow the average user the ability to pick and choose the applications that are right for them. OS has never been a strong point for Nokia, but it is about time they actually improved this sector if they are going to continue to be a major player in the smartphone market.
Also that the ‘App Store’ is something that has played a very critical role in making iPhone a worldwide success and now the same thing is occurring in the form of ’Android Market’ for G1, Nokia(being ‘new’ to open developer support for apps) can’t afford to reach the standards set by the other two veteran smartphones(specially iPhone)
Currently at the Microsoft PDC 2008 they are showcasing the new Windows 7, the latest Windows OS. Windows 7 is being demonstrated and also new user interface enhancements are introduced. The new Windows 7 desktop has many changes compared to Vista. It features a thicker taskbar, improved system tray and no sidebar. Here are some of the screenshots of Windows 7 from PDC 2008.
With the sidebar you can see that it is now a lot larger and actually shows the icons below the taskbar, instead of being an overlay which it is in Vista.
Apart from the basic taskbar being thicker, there isnt too many changes in the basic design.
Over at Sizlopedia they have been able to get leaked information about what new and improved features are going to be in the new Windows 7.
BitLocker Drive Encryption
Should your computer be lost or stolen, BitLocker protects your data by helping to prevent offline software attacks. Turning on BitLocker encrypts the hard drive where Windows is installed, including all information that is stored on that drive.
Device Information Retrieval
It downloads information from Microsoft for your hardware devices and displays it in the Windows 7 Devices and Printers control panel, and when you first install and use a device, in the Device Stage.
Driver Protection
Driver Protection helps prevent the operating system from starting drivers that are known to cause stability problems. These drivers are listed in a Driver Protection List database that is stored on your computer
Dynamic Update
Dynamic Update enables Windows 7 to perform a one-time check with the Windows Update website to get the latest updates for your computer while Windows is being installed. If updates are found, Dynamic Update automatically downloads and installs them so your computer is up to date the first time that you log on or use it.
Desktop Gadgets
Gadgets are programs that run on the desktop and provide at-a-glance information, and easy access to frequently used tools.
Homegroup
HomeGroup allows you to easily link Windows 7 computers on your home network so that you can share pictures, music, videos, documents and devices. It also makes them ready to stream media to devices on your home network such as a media extender.
Internet Printing
When you use this feature to print, you will first need to connect and authenticate yourself to an internet print server. Internet Printing makes it possible to use printers located anywhere by sending print jobs using HTTP.
People Near Me
This new feature allows you to send invites for programs to other people in the local networks.Users who are invited need to have it installed on the computer as well.
All these changes are very interesting but are they going to make Windows 7 be a smashing hit and leave all the worries about Vista behind them?
Yesterday, Google released public information about its new Chrome OS at the official press event. They showed videos of the OS and gave real-time demonstrations to reporters.
I guess this would be the equivalent of the start menu in Windows. It’s called the applications panel and it’s where you launch programs from. May of these are affiliated with Google as you would expect such as YouTube, Google Reader and GMail however they also have others such as Facebook, Twitter and their old rival, Yahoo Mail.
The Chrome browser is integrated fully with the OS, as one would expect. Other Google services such as Google Talk also work seamlessly with it by launching discreet pop-ups and notifications when user interaction is needed.
Dear Readers,
Google’s mobile platform Android is taking off very quickly. Multiple phone makers are picking up on the OS because of is functionality and features. Now, 
Netbooks are taking the market by storm. While they haven’t overtaken the laptop or notebook in many areas including sales they are ideal for family environments where each person has a netbook for e-mail, internet etc… and perhaps one central computer when you need performance and reliability. Syncing and even using those net-books with a Windows OS can be annoying because the screen is small and there isn’t a lot of RAM to keep you ticking over.
