What's really good...
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Still undecided...
Anyway, I have a lot things I'm passionate about, I think am passionate about Computers/Technology, Music (listening actually), Gbuzzy yes I love it a lot, what else am I passionate about? (Thinking)... Yeah, yeah I love politics (as in being in the know of governmental happenings around me) not the kind of politics OBJ, IBB, Jona et all are playing in Naija o!
There are too many stuffs to talk about but that'll be when this alomo clears from my system. Adios (for now).
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Can Google beat Microsoft?
Google dropped a major bombshell earlier this yesterday: they’re launching their own operating system, known as Google Chrome OS. The new operating system will be lightweight, is based of its Chrome browser, and is clearly Google’s challenge to Microsoft’s longstanding domination of the OS market.
While I'm still trying to catch my breath over the announcement, I can’t say I'm particularly surprised – the rumors have been bubbling for a long time now and projects like Android (Mobile Phone OS) show Google has had an interest in this arena. But the Google OS leaves a lot of questions to be answered. How will it differ from Windows? How will it work? And most of all, can Google actually do what many consider impossible: beat Microsoft on its home turf?
GOOGLE STRENGTHS
This paragraph from Google’s announcement helps clarify what Google is building into this operating system:
“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”
Essentially, I think Google Chrome OS aims to solve problems associated with Windows (especially Security), primarily that it’s a bloated operating system that isn’t built for a computing world based on the web. To do this, Google Chrome will run within a windowing system on top of a Linux (linux) kernel. This means that web applications will work immediately on this operating system.
Google has always been known for its minimalist interfaces, its lightweight products, its web savvy, and the sheer speed of its products (Google Search, Chrome, AdSense, GMail, Google Docs etc). It intends to take its vast knowledge and strengths and port them over into the OS market.
Am sure it will be designed to be a lightweight system, just like the Chrome browser. Unfortunately, Google didn’t divulge many other details, and it will be a while until anyone gets their hands on it. Clearly though, Google’s setting the stage for a major battle with Microsoft. Just as Microsoft is trying to break Google’s stranglehold on the search engine market by first launching MSN Search (that did not grab any significant market share then the rebranding fron MSN Search to MSN Live Search and further rebranding to Windows Live Search and still further rebranding to Live and the eventual release of bing on the 1st of June, 2009). Google may be trying to do the same with the Windows-controlled market.
THE BIG QUESTIONS
The reality is this: we know almost nothing about Google Chrome OS. The announcement is hot out of the oven, which leaves us with a lot of questions. Here’s what we hope to answer in the next few days or weeks:
Is it free? – Microsoft Windows can cost hundreds of dollars for the premier versions, which brings up the cost of new PCs. Since Google OS is open-source, it’s almost certain to be free, although Google has not explicitly stated anything of the sort. Could Google charge for specific features or extensions? Nobody really knows.
Will Google OS have advertising? – If they decide to provide this OS for free, they will almost certainly monetize it with ads. With Google’s expertise in web advertising, they may be able to utilize non-intrusive advertising to create a new revenue stream. Imagine browsing your music files and having ads for John Mayer downloads on the side.
What kind of support will it offer to desktop apps? – It’s based on Google Chrome, a browser. But can it run Microsoft Word and Photoshop?
Will it be extendable by 3rd party developers? – Will there be a developer platform for Chrome OS, not unlike the ones offered for many other Google products? The fact that it’s open source makes us think this is a possibility.
How will it interact with current hardware? – Could I wipe my current computer’s hard drive and run it on Chrome OS? What kind of driver support will it have?
Is it going to be a fork off Unix like Mac? Or is it going to be just another flavour of Linux?
There are lots of other issues to address too, but clearly this is only the beginning of a long story that poses a lot of questions.
While there are a lot of questions we want answers to, one matters the most: Can Google OS take on Windows? Any OS that wants to manage desktop computers clearly competes with Windows. So far, nobody has been able to make major inroads (although Apple recently achieved 10 percent market share) in a space that Microsoft has dominated for years.
CAN GOOGLE BEAT MICROSOFT?
Yet Google has been the one company to present a serious challenge to Microsoft to-date, especially on the Web. Microsoft’s attempts to compete with Google in search have been fruitless overall. And while we don’t know how Bing (bing) will do, few people believe it will ultimately change the fact that Google is synonymous to search, just as Windows is synonymous to the OS.
We’ve said time and time again that competition is a good thing, and Microsoft hasn’t faced serious competition in the OS market in a long, long time. The question is whether or not Google Chrome OS will squash or be squashed by Windows?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Still Growing
Telecommunications in
While some countries in the region are struggling to clean up disorderly regulatory regimes left behind by corrupt previous governments, foreign investors from
A dispute about licence fees between the government of
Following the majority-privatisation of
A peace agreement signed in 2007 gives hope for a normalisation of affairs in
Five years into peace, following more than a decade of civil war which destroyed much of its infrastructure,
Home to one of the world’s most isolated cities, the fabled
Following more than a decade of civil war,