
Google to Announce Chrome Laptops for Students - $20/Month - Kylekramer
http://blogs.forbes.com/quentinhardy/2011/05/10/google-to-announce-chrome-laptops-20month/
======
niels_olson
I finished grad school in 2009 and have been using a Cr-48 since January. I am
now thinking about how I will advise my kids. My oldest is 9, so a its a ways
off, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if she is expected to have a computing
device by high school. I would not recommend the Cr48 experience to a student.
The lack of utility offline is very non-trivial.

During a month in Japan, the Cr-48 was literally nothing more than a flat
surface to set my MacBook on. I left my iPad home with the family, and I
_really_ wished I had brought that instead of either laptop.

The smartphone/tablet operating systems are much better suited to mobile
computing, specifically because they do support local storage. Syncing with
the cloud is not the same as dedicating all storage to the cloud. Very, very
different. In-browser apps like SourceKit are as close as it gets right now,
but as soon as you pull the network connection, even SourceKit gets _really_
flakey. I like SourceKit, but I think the supporting architecture just isn't
ready yet.

I can't over-state how much this has made the Cr-48 a non-starter for me.

My full Cr-48 review here: <http://wherein.posterous.com/>

~~~
zmmmmm
> The lack of utility offline is very non-trivial.

So the question is, does $20 / month get you connectivity as well? Fingers
crossed it includes a data plan sufficient for most student's use, in which
case it could be a very economical way for them to get a good mobile data
connection without a prohibitive contract.

~~~
niels_olson
You can't buy 100% connectivity. Or even a reliable 85%. It's simply not
available in the marketplace. You drop enough packets and some part of your
work flow is going to fail, likely taking your data with it.

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bphogan
You're going to need a whole new breed of faculty to support this. Tons of
schools are still shackled to Office. I have tons of PowerPoint slides that
look like crap when opened with Google Docs, and look even crappier when
exported _from_ Google Docs so I can share them with people who refuese to use
the cloud. The same holds true for Word and Excel documents.

I'm not saying it's impossible... but I don't think the current education
system is ready for that. Explain to the average college student (a non-
techie) why the slideshow their professor gave them won't open on their Google
laptop.

OTOH, our school is experimenting with lab virtualization, so all you need is
the frontend software. I can run full Excel on my iPad, so maybe that's a
usable route.

~~~
mlinsey
Microsoft's own online office site (docs.com) is underrated. Ironically enough
it might become the killer app on Chrome OS.

~~~
ch0wn
Doesn't it require Silverlight? I doubt you can easily install Moonlight on
Chrome OS.

EDIT: I just saw that they provide a crx version of the plugin, so it should
be possible.

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nopal
I was an education major for a while in college and have many friends and
family who are educators, and I have to say that I absolutely hate when
technology is thrust upon students and teachers without any thought as to how
it will be applied.

A computer (or iPad or Kindle) can be a great educational tool, but there
needs to be serious, thoughtful planning and training before these devices are
put into the classroom. I like the idea of getting technology in the hands of
kids so that they can experiment and discover (even more so with disadvantaged
kids), but I think technology too often gets in the way in the classroom.

How many lessons would be more effective if a teacher walked though things on
a chalkboard?

Addendum: I just found a PDF [1] outlining a iPad pilot program. The only
tangible objective it lays out is creating an e-Portfolio. Look at all of the
cost and effort required to get there! Perhaps there are compelling reasons to
use iPads in the classroom, but too many proposals read just like this.

[1]
[http://www.ipodsibilities.com/iPodsibilities/iPodsibilities_...](http://www.ipodsibilities.com/iPodsibilities/iPodsibilities_Blog/Entries/2011/4/12_Mobile_Learning_Experience_2011_files/iPad%20Proposal%20PDF.pdf)

------
kenjackson
Problem with this is that I can buy and own an AMD C30 based ASUS netbook for
$299[1].

With this I have access to Office, browser of my choice, can sync my
iPod/iPhone/iPad to it, connect it to the TV in my dorm (HDMI), and play WoW.

So in 16 months I've made back the money, and have a generally all around
better experience.

[1] [http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/ASUS-Eee-
PC-1015B-Fusion-C-...](http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/ASUS-Eee-
PC-1015B-Fusion-C-30-10in-TFT/2336229.aspx?cm_mmc=ShoppingFeeds-_-
BingShopping-_-
Notebook/Mobile%20Devices-_-2336229_ASUS%20Eee%20PC%201015B%20-%20Fusion%20C-30%20-%2010%22%20TFT_ASU-1015B-MU17-WT)

~~~
ippisl
Add to that, that with the AMD C30 a student can download pirated university
books(and not only books) and save tons of money.

My feeling is that the device will be offered for free/mandatory in some
universities in order to try to reduce book piracy and make money for the
uni.or at least some universities will try this. This also ties well with
google books.

------
blocke
We'll have to wait for the details. This makes it sound like you are renting
the device which would be a very bad direction for the industry to be moving
in.

If it's something like how cellphones have a monthly cost for X months with an
ETF but you really own the device then it wouldn't be as bad. Might even be
decent for the poor student with a work study allowance like I had when
starting out.

~~~
jonknee
Why would a rental/lease be a bad option? Businesses do it for all sorts of
equipment. Students already do it for books, why not for other things that are
required for school?

Update: Thinking more on it while watching baseball, I do the same thing for
my DVR. No up-front fee or contract, but I have an expensive piece of
technology for a low monthly fee. I could buy a Tivo, but this works fine.

~~~
blocke
You are comparing watching TV to a vital communication tool that is essential
to the student experience. It's fair enough that you may not have an issue
with it. But in my opinion the thought of a large multinational being able to
go "poof, I hereby revoke your access to the Internet" in an academic
environment to be frightening.

There is also the factor of "crap, I somehow missed a payment and now I can't
complete my coursework" when colleges are busy trying to get rid of computer
labs because "everyone has a laptop".

If a student were to outright buy a netbook using financial aid then those
concerns go away.

Again I wouldn't give a crap either way if it were a contract/ETF arrangement
but rent to always rent just seems like a bad financial habit to develop early
in life.

~~~
jonknee
My ISP is a large corporation and can say "poof, I herby revoke your access to
the internet" and I'd be pretty screwed. Miss a payment there and suddenly
that distance learning class goes away too. Same for if you miss a payment to
the university FWIW.

There are pros to this arrangement. Laptops get stolen all the time at
universities and students aren't always known to keep great backups. Being
able to log-on from anywhere (in one of those disappearing labs, another
student's laptop or your smartphone) and having access to your stuff is a big
win.

I think it's interesting and while wouldn't want this to be the only option I
can definitely see the benefit of it being _an_ option.

~~~
blocke
This makes a couple assumptions.

The first is that you wouldn't be fiscally responsible for the full cost if
the device was stolen from you. In this case it would be worse than owning out
right. As now you're on the hook for the cost of the device you lost at the
time you need to pick up another device. Are they going to allow you to rent
the second device? Details would be nice.

Also when at a college your college is usually your ISP. And at the one I work
at as long as you have access to the classroom then you have access to the
network.

I agree with the backups part but that is independent of this particular
arrangement as Google Apps works on non-rented devices too. :)

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mscarborough
Interesting move. Seems like an attractive option for students, especially if
they let you swap out hardware when newer laptop models are released.

I wonder how much data collection will be built-in to the default installs;
how locked-down those installs might be if you are paying them each month; how
ads will be integrated into the platform. Seems like Google could make a good
bit of money with this.

------
KeyBoardG
Can't you get a full Windows or Ubuntu laptop with student discounts on flex
payments for around the same?

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pasbesoin
OT: I'm suddenly put in mind that the U.S. is being turned into a nation of
renters.

(With concern about the negative connotations associated with the
term/relationship.)

------
kin
It's too soon to say how well this will do but if it's exactly like the Cr-48
it may have difficulty doing well. There needs to be SOME hardware
functionality like being able to use a USB or something. Else, it would just
be an iPad with a keyboard. Which doesn't sound so bad but it's no laptop
replacement.

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TomOfTTB
This is hardly innovative. MSN was using a similar deal to sell their dial-up
service in 1999. It failed then too (since it was a bad deal overall and
people who don't have the credit to buy a $499 PC are prone to defaulting on
their debts)

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xbryanx
It's interesting that techs and nerds are focused on this since, I think this
laptop will be most useful in the humanities. When you can't run git, matlab,
r, excel, etc. on a student machine you're science/tech degree is gonna be
pretty schackled day one. Still think this is super rad for the wordsmiths out
there.

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bostonvaulter2
So will this include a decent data plan? That would be real news.

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omouse
Yay! More lock-in! :D

~~~
jrockway
Yeah, the web is notoriously closed.

~~~
blub
You are not using "the web", you are using services provided by specific third
parties.

Those third parties can do whatever they want with their property, especially
when it comes to free services such as Google Docs, Facebook, Yahoo Mail, etc.

~~~
jamesgeck0
So, basically, you're using the web.

------
xnerdr
In my Adwords experience I can safely say Google has the worst customer
experience I have ever known. It makes Ebay look good.

Buyers should note these are cheap because they're going to be tracking your
every move. Every site you visit and everything you type will be logged using
the autocomplete function as it already is within Chrome.

------
phlux
This is something I have been thinking about for a long time -- and I really
thought that KNO was going to bring it;

If you're going to offer an open device (meaning you put your own apps on it,
its just a regular machine in the traditional sense) to students and think
that they will have some magic incentive to pay for that device - that
thinking is flawed - as (even as HNers point out) they can spend money they
were planning on already spending on a system they have total control over and
more choices WRT its features.

However, if you were to partner and build a knowledge/content delivery
platform which was the real value of a device - and the hardware was
incidentally delivery mechanism, then you could begin to have something of
value.

For example, an OS, apps and content designed to be together and be a part of
the curriculum.

I think this is where Khan Academy can really make a revolution - especially
if they have support from various directions.

Right now, Khan Academy has content organized by subject - and there is the
beginning of a teaching/tracking platform which provides tools for tracking a
students progress.

This is the idea that needs to be expounded upon and put onto any of these
systems-to-students ideas such as the google laptop.

Google is _already_ going after education and enterprise organizations to
provide email and apps-for-domains.

They _really_ need to look at Khan Academy as the vector for really getting
into this in a meaningful way.

If we take the idea of _Meaningful Use_ from the medical space, and create
_Meaningful Education_ and begin to put a lot of great thought into the
education platform - we could change the world of education.

We need real platform development that accounts for the content, context and
containers in such a way that we really utilize technology in an augmenting
way.

Google's approach with this model is bottoms up - where we need more tops
down.

There are far too many assumptions that providing technology without
contextual content and tools will foster innovation etc. but really we have
not seen a real thought-out approach to this problem.

