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Why it won't: - A computer does not cost as much as a car, so it's not as expensive to buy more than you need. - It can't be cheaper enough than ordinary PCs

Why it won't: - A computer does not cost as much as a car, so it's not as expensive to buy more than you need. - It can't be cheaper enough than ordinary PCs to accept the restricted functionality it offers, because ordinary PCs are already available at the bottom of the pricing barrel. - Most people need wireless connectivity not more than once or twice a year. - The cloud is overrated.

NumberFiveAlive 16y ago
I'm not saying it will succeed (that remains to be seen) but: 1. Not if you don't have the money for a computer in the first place. My grandparents would really like to get online, and the difference between a $400 laptop and a $200 netbook is significant. 2. Not if all you need is the basic functionality this device offers. 3. This is just all sort of wrong if you don't live in a metropolitan area. 4. That's your opinion, and a valid one, but I love the cloud. I'm moving everything I can to it. Of course, I don't personally concern myself too much with security, but I still think it's a great tool for a lot of casual computer users.
- jamesaguilar 16y ago
  1 > I think the number of people in that position is relatively few. Specifically: the number of people who, when buying a new computer once in four years will consider a $100 difference in price significant, is small. 2 > Maybe, but there's also a question of the quality of that functionality. The cloud equivalents of almost any piece of software are significantly more limited even for non-power users. 3 > Meh? Do people in rural areas lack wifi? Do they take their laptops out of their houses to places without wifi but with 3G signal much more often than people in urban areas? I doubt it, but maybe there is something about rural people that I am not aware of. :) 4 > I think the cloud has a lot of potential, but as it is right now I believe it has been oversold. But you're right, there are many valid opinions on this one.
  - NumberFiveAlive 16y ago
    3. Yup. I'm exclusively accessing internet through 3G right now, and I'm only 15 minutes from town. No DSL or cable options for me. 4. I agree it's been totally oversold. Those "To the cloud!" emails make me roll my eyes, even if that one does have April Oneal from TMNT in it.
ladon86 16y ago
I have to disagree with point 3. At least in the UK, almost everyone uses wireless rather than wire connections in the home 73% of the UK population have home internet access, and 60% of the UK population use the internet every day. I think there's a huge market for a personal home browsing device, which is a large use case of the ipad, available here at a much lower cost.
- mattmanser 16y ago
  He's talking about the wireless anywhere feature, not general inhome wifi.
shortlived 16y ago
> - Most people need wireless connectivity not more than once or twice a year. Where do you get this idea? Why in the world would I ever want to "wire" my house for the internet by running cat5 cables everywhere when I can buy a box that will do all the work for me?
- jamesaguilar 16y ago
  The wireless I'm talking about is the 3G wireless. That's the wireless discussed in the article too. It obviously cannot be wifi that they are discussing because that is not a differentiating factor between this laptop and non-Chrome OS laptops.
- riprock 16y ago
  As a gamer, I trust cat5 cables way more than wireless connections (I have both at home)...anything to mitigate the possibility of disconnection and higher latency. I also don't have any numbers to prove this, but I'm fairly certain my download/upload speeds are faster on cat5 than wireless as well. It's really noticeable when I remote desktop another computer on the network -- on cat5 I notice very little latency, while on wireless I get constant fps lag.

NumberFiveAlive 16y ago

I'm not saying it will succeed (that remains to be seen) but: 1. Not if you don't have the money for a computer in the first place. My grandparents would really like to get online, and the difference between a $400 laptop and a $200 netbook is significant. 2. Not if all you need is the basic functionality this device offers. 3. This is just all sort of wrong if you don't live in a metropolitan area. 4. That's your opinion, and a valid one, but I love the cloud. I'm moving everything I can to it. Of course, I don't personally concern myself too much with security, but I still think it's a great tool for a lot of casual computer users.

jamesaguilar 16y ago
1 > I think the number of people in that position is relatively few. Specifically: the number of people who, when buying a new computer once in four years will consider a $100 difference in price significant, is small. 2 > Maybe, but there's also a question of the quality of that functionality. The cloud equivalents of almost any piece of software are significantly more limited even for non-power users. 3 > Meh? Do people in rural areas lack wifi? Do they take their laptops out of their houses to places without wifi but with 3G signal much more often than people in urban areas? I doubt it, but maybe there is something about rural people that I am not aware of. :) 4 > I think the cloud has a lot of potential, but as it is right now I believe it has been oversold. But you're right, there are many valid opinions on this one.
- NumberFiveAlive 16y ago
  3. Yup. I'm exclusively accessing internet through 3G right now, and I'm only 15 minutes from town. No DSL or cable options for me. 4. I agree it's been totally oversold. Those "To the cloud!" emails make me roll my eyes, even if that one does have April Oneal from TMNT in it.

ladon86 16y ago

I have to disagree with point 3. At least in the UK, almost everyone uses wireless rather than wire connections in the home 73% of the UK population have home internet access, and 60% of the UK population use the internet every day. I think there's a huge market for a personal home browsing device, which is a large use case of the ipad, available here at a much lower cost.

mattmanser 16y ago
He's talking about the wireless anywhere feature, not general inhome wifi.

shortlived 16y ago

> - Most people need wireless connectivity not more than once or twice a year. Where do you get this idea? Why in the world would I ever want to "wire" my house for the internet by running cat5 cables everywhere when I can buy a box that will do all the work for me?

jamesaguilar 16y ago
The wireless I'm talking about is the 3G wireless. That's the wireless discussed in the article too. It obviously cannot be wifi that they are discussing because that is not a differentiating factor between this laptop and non-Chrome OS laptops.
riprock 16y ago
As a gamer, I trust cat5 cables way more than wireless connections (I have both at home)...anything to mitigate the possibility of disconnection and higher latency. I also don't have any numbers to prove this, but I'm fairly certain my download/upload speeds are faster on cat5 than wireless as well. It's really noticeable when I remote desktop another computer on the network -- on cat5 I notice very little latency, while on wireless I get constant fps lag.