Microsoft, Google Shacked Up Together In... >>
<< No, I Don't Want To Click For More Pages
 tdicon 

Rumors, Conspiracies, etc.

by Mike Masnick

Tue, Jan 3rd 2006 1:46am





Rumor Machine Gets Cranking: Google PC?

from the a-little-more-evidence-please dept

It's not the first time this has been rumored, and probably won't be the last, but an LA Times piece has people buzzing about the possibility that Google is planning to announce a PC that will be sold at Wal-Mart later this week at CES. This has all the makings of the supposedly "big" announcement Google and Sun made back in October. For a few days before there were rumors all over the news about how Sun and Google planned to announce something, which way too many people (including the press) immediately assumed was Google offering their own version (perhaps web-based) of OpenOffice and taking on Microsoft directly. Of course, the actual announcement was nothing of the sort. It wasn't even that interesting. Google certainly could introduce their own PC with their own OS, but it seems unlikely. It's also not that clear that it would sell that well. Wal-Mart did recently try to sell super cheap PCs based on Linux, but they didn't sell well and were removed from store shelves. Would it be that different if they had a Google brand slapped on them?

9 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  •  
    identicon
    sad, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 6:22am

    No Subject Given

    what would be different is if everyone looked at all the comments on /. for this same topic

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Wolfger, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 6:40am

    I think it's different.

    I think Google-branded Linux-based PC would sell much better that any other Linux brand. Linux, once you get past the install stage, is not terribly difficult to use, but the name Linux scares a lot of people. They simply don't want to touch a Linux computer because they've heard that Linux is complicated and they believe it. Google would be a friendly face, though. People trust Google. Possibly more than they ought to. I think they would be willing to give Google OS a try, so long as they don't hear the word "Linux".

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    •  
      identicon
      Andrew Strasser, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 9:04am

      Re: I think it's different.

      I think that is most people's hindrance from a linux environment as they don't feel comfortable with the coding. So maybe Windows2 or whatever it may be called these days could definatly help with that sort of thing. The question is will it be as capable for all user purposes as an IBM compatible.

       

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    IMHO, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 6:45am

    selling ice to eskimos

    people will buy anything with the right marketing and audience targeted correctly...would a 50-something grandmother buy a googlePC rather than a simple e-machine? i wouldn't think so...but would a starving college student/tech-school geek buy one? advertising...it's all in the advertising. google definitley has the brand marketing on their side already...

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Ben McNelly, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 7:00am

    oh no...

    I have been waiting and still am skeptical, for "the" google OS.... But now can we expect it to come with AOL bundled!?!?!? Sooooo frustrating. I absalutley hate AOL... Dont know anyone who is even semi-computer litterate that doesen't.. And so all we can hope is google has not been corrupted.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Fragger, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 9:17am

    No, not that!

    If Google teams up with WalMart, I will lose all respect for them and learn to live Google-free. Evil, soul-sucking WalMart...

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Jaluna, Jan 3rd, 2006 @ 10:45am

    All Java interface with Solaris OS 10 for amd64 un

    Forget about Linux...
    Java will be the interface with the end user
    and Sun Solaris 10 OS for amd64 will be the runtime foundation for that box.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    gaby de wilde, Jan 5th, 2006 @ 8:58pm

    google hardware

    yesit will sell like hell! I've never seen it, I've never seen a walmart but.... yeah I want one!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Unique Valentine, Oct 22nd, 2006 @ 7:05am

    Google

    I think Google branded Linuxbased PC would sell much better that any other Linux brands. Linux once you get past the install stage, isn't terribly difficult to use, but the name Linux scares a lot of people.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Microsoft, Google Shacked Up Together In... >>
<< No, I Don't Want To Click For More Pages
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Advertisement
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat
Advertisement
Recent Stories

Thursday

03:59 New Anti-Corruption Social Network In Russia Requires Numerous Personal Details To Join: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (0)
00:56 European Governments Seeking To Water Down EU's Proposed Data Protection Legislation (2)

Wednesday

20:56 Auditor: Canadian Law Enforcement's Statistics On ISP Subscriber Data Requests Completely Unreliable (2)
17:00 DailyDirt: Messing With Mice Brains (3)
15:38 Suburban Express Changes Terms Of Service To Screw Sued College Students Out Of University-Provided Legal Aid (17)
14:24 Marsha Blackburn Rushes To The Defense Of Awful, Protectionist State Broadband Laws (15)
13:10 Last Week Was A Victory, But The Fight For The Open Internet Is Nowhere Close To Being Done (18)
12:03 How Hillary Clinton Exposed Her Emails To Foreign Spies... In Order To Hide Them From The American Public (34)
10:50 Encryption Backdoors Will Always Turn Around And Bite You In The Ass (20)
09:47 Plaintiff Awarded Damages In Default Judgment Against Censorious Dentist Who Billed Him $110,000 For His Negative Review (16)
More arrow
Advertisement
Support Techdirt - Get Great Stuff!

Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.