Nicole Monteregina
Warning: This post contains existential beliefs. If you have a perfect, godless knowledge of the meaning of life, discredit my opinion and skip to next post. Otherwise, follow me, blind believers!
Either dirt has a fetish for fine art or God exists.
I say that because every winter crystals form on my office window. It’s an old, single pane window. It has no business living in an energy-efficient world. But its side effects can be mesmerizing.
Last month, during a particularly negative below cold spell, I entered the room to see something like this, only it was much more mathematical. Like something a computer would do in geometry, spilled all over the lower half of my window. But it wasn’t as mechanical as computer art. It was organic. Precise but spontaneous. As if the creator of math and science Himself had sent a memo.
The other windows in my house don’t do this, but this easterly-facing one does on occasion. Does it come from God or chaos?
Either way, it’s exquisite.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw88I&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]
A lot of good ideas here—dare I say more than OSX Lion. Would like to see how it behaves with a mouse and keyboard, however.
I’ve been using Google’s new Chromebook for over a month now. I use it a lot, often times reaching for it over my Macbook.
Why? It starts and stops faster. In a single second even. It connects to the internet faster. In seconds, mind you. The thing is quick and lightweight. Much like a tablet computer or iPad.
Better still, the Chromebook has a full-size but no-nonsense keyboard, making it the faster and better input device when compared to tablets. And it has a lot more “apps” than closed-system tablets.
Admittedly, the trackpad is finicky. But overall, I’m very impressed with the Chromebook, especially as it’s replaced some of the functions I used to prefer on either my desktop or laptop. It might be the best living-room laptop ever made. And it’s a great travel option as well.
If manufacturers price this thing under $300, I think it will make significant waves in the computing world upon release this summer.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFeD3qGVsrM[/youtube]
I watched the Google Chrome OS demo today and came away impressed. The product won’t meet the need of power-users, producers, and mult-media creators. But for everyone else, including power-users when they don’t need extra power, Chrome OS is the first legitimate consumer rival for both Macintosh and Windows I’ve ever seen. Much more so than Linux ever was (at least in a consumer sense).
Some highlights about Chrome OS, which has a planned release of “mid-2011” in select Acer and Samsung laptops:
- “Nothing but the Web.”
- Chrome OS features a fast and simple setup process, remarkably fast boot times and an instant resume feature to minimize wait time when the OS wakes from sleep.
- Unified experience across Chrome on netbooks, desktops and more.
- Multiple user support and guest mode — everything a user does in guest mode is private and history is deleted instantly when a session is ended.
- Verizon Wireless cellular data connectivity (international options are available as well) in every Chrome OS notebook/netbook — no contracts, no activation fees and monthly plans starting at $9.99.
- Updates are seamless — no user operations are required to update the OS or apps.
- Most secure OS in the world — security is a major focus of Chrome OS; all Chrome OS data is encrypted by default.
- Verified boot — core OS components are in firmware that cannot be modified.
- Enterprise options — Google is working closely with partners like Citrix to ensure the enterprise market is addressed.
- Google’s Chrome OS PCs get faster over time, not slower like other PCs.
- Initial manufacturing partners include Acer, Samsung and Intel.
Will Chrome OS overtake the world? No. But I could see it becoming as ubiquitous as Google’s own Gmail, if not bigger. Which is huge.
In other words, watch this space. Desktop computing is about to change. If only in how we store an access many of our files.
See also: Will Google Chrome OS change computers?