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While they are at their core small computers, netbooks were made to have a slightly different function than their laptop predecessors. Laptops are frequently being built as substitutes for desktops for many common functions, and some are even advertised as such – remember that category called “desktop replacements”? Netbooks, however, seem to have taken up the niche that laptops used to fill – portable computing.

Like the laptops of old, netbooks tend to be underclocked, and their size generally allow for very limited storage and expansion space. There are programs available, however, that allow you to get just a little bit more utility out of your tiny netbook.

While I will always have fond memories of the Windows OS, I must admit that the Apple side is seductive, and their Dock does a great job of keeping programs I use all the time in such easy reach while keeping my desktop uncluttered. Rocketdock is a free program that adds a dock to any side of a netbook’s screen and adds utility to everyday use.

When I go online, I find that Google’s Chrome browser is a great performer on netbooks. It doesn’t use as much of the netbook’s limited resources, is quite fast, and is constantly being updated. If you have a touchscreen, you might want to look into getting ChromeTouch as well, which is an extension of the Chrome browse and adds touch control to the Chrome browser.

While you’re online, if you find an interesting site and bookmark it, Xmarks will keep your browser bookmark and site passwords in synch among multiple PCs. While there already exist other programs that do this, Xmarks stands out among the rest in that it works across browsers,  keeping Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer all synced among a network. And while many people are firm believers in AVG Free for protection, Microsoft Security Essentials takes away less from your netbook performance while still doing a good job of protecting your computer.

Depending on what you do with your netbook, some of these programs might not be right for you. There are a bunch of other programs out there of course, so with a little effort, I’m sure you can find a solution to whatever problem you have.

Via jkOnTheRun

Acer, already the second largest computer maker in the world, has ambitious plans for the future. According to Bloomberg, Acer is tossing its hat into the already over-saturated yet underdeveloped market of eReaders, facing off with the likes of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, and others. No specifics have been announced other than it will have a 6-inch, monochrome (assume E-Ink) screen and ship in Europe.

More surprisingly, Acer is announcing an online apps store. Jim Wong, president of the Acer IT product division, has stated it would contain hundreds of applications, “otherwise you can’t call it an app store.” It will likely be a cross-platform marketplace for Android, Windows Mobile, and ChromeOS.

However, Acer’s most stunning announcement is the fact it has announced plans to rush forward with a ChromeOS netbook to provide a “a change to the Microsoft-Intel environment,” according to Wong. The mention of Intel hints that this new product line might be ARM powered as an alternative to the standard Atom on-board most mainstream netbooks. Acer plans to release the netbook sometime around Q3 2010, on schedule with Google’s release date for ChromeOS.

Via Bloomberg, image via Wikipedia.

Google’s browser Chrome, as of today, now holds 4.63% of the browser market, meaning that is has finally surpassed Apple’s Safari. This gain is attributed to the release of Mac and Linux versions of the browser. Safari has stayed relatively static, losing a miniscule 0.15%.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the biggest loser this past month. It lost one percentage point, bringing its share down to 62.7%. Some people are predicting that if this trend continues, Internet Explorer will have under half of the browser market in six months.

Google is still continuing to improve Chrome. It released an extension today (currently only for Windows) that allows one to go to similar pages from the browser itself. More and more people may become dissatisfied with Internet Explorer and switch to Chrome, Safari, or Firefox (or another browser), which are, in my opinion, better alternatives to Microsoft’s product.

Via Computerworld.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting Google’s netbook for a while now, and for neither the first time nor likely the last, rumors have surfaced about what specs we should expect to see in the thing.

The Google netbook will run the Google Chrome OS on a 10.1-inch screen that will be HD-capable and powered by the Nvidia Tegra.

The system will also include an ARM CPU and 64 GB SSD – small, but lightning-quick. It should have 2 GB of RAM, Bluetooth, 3G suport, a webcam, 3.5mm audio jack, multi-card reader, and a few USB ports.

The Google Chromium OS will be a fascinating experiment when it comes out next year. It suffers from a constant need for a connection to the internet, but with Google apps like Gmail, Maps, Docs, Calendar, and Wave, it will feature an integrated and lively interface, streamlined for mobile use. A $300 price tag could be in the works as well.

All these details are moot until the Google netbook hits stores, but if the pieces come together as projected the Google netbook will be a fine thing to get one’s hands on.

Via TFOT.

Jolicloud has racked up $4.2 million in venture capital, and a lot of hopes are riding on its success. But how will it look once Google’s Chrome OS hits the netbook world?

Tariq Krim, the operating system’s mastermind, says he doesn’t know for sure how everything will play out but knows Jolicloud will be able to compete. While Google will rely mostly or entirely on Google Apps for the Chrome OS, Jolicloud will be making use of third-party partner services like Dropbox to customize the user experience.

Furthermore, Jolicloud netbooks will be able to run high definition video, which is hard to do on netbook browsers today. Chrome OS will be based mostly in the cloud, but with Jolicloud users will be able to store files locally and then sync with the cloud at their discretion.

Even so, Jolicloud doesn’t have the market in the bag just yet. Krim says that hardware is becoming less and less important, and consumers’ rising spending on cloud services could lead to unanticipated restructurings of the tech industry. In other words – we’re going to have to wait and see how it plays out for Jolicloud.

Via The Washington Post.

VS.

I have posted before about the competition between Google and Microsoft, which really started to heat up earlier this year. But Google is not just going up against Apple: they are also competing against the giant Microsoft, and they are putting up a pretty good fight.

The battle really escalated this year as each company infringed on the other’s traditional territory. Google has been making a move into the browser and operating systems market, and Microsoft has been trying to establish a presence as a search engine.

Even just a few years ago, it was inconceivable that Google would be able to go up against Microsoft. Microsoft has long been a dominant force in the computer industry, but now their role is being challenged by a web company. Microsoft seems worried, which is why they have spent millions trying to get some of Google’s search market share with Bing.

Google’s online applications also represent a huge threat to Microsoft programs, such as Office. Microsoft has, for years, pulled in a huge amount of money with sales of Microsoft Office. Google presents a huge danger on this front with its user-friendly online word processors, which are free for personal, non-commercial use.

Microsoft is on the defensive with its software and operating system, but it’s on the offensive in the search engine market. This June, it overhauled its Live Search and instead launched Bing (I don’t loveMicrosoft, but I do have admit that Bing is kind of cool). Though Google still commands the search market, Bing is slowly but steadily gaining. Microsoft also plans to team up with Yahoo to try to get more search market share from Google.

Google, on the other hand, tried to push its online office applications into the corporate sphere this year. Microsoft is not just sitting idly by: it has announced plans for online office applications as well. In 2010, it plans to offer online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

Google as further challenged Microsoft with its browser, Chrome, and planned Linux-based Chrome OS.

Analysts say that the battle between these two companies has only just begun and things will really begin to get interesting in 2010. This may frustrating for people running Microsoft and Google, but it will mean lots of interesting developments for us.

Via Computerworld.

For many years, Apple and Google have complemented each other: Apple made computers, an OS, and software, and also acquired quite a presence in the music industry, while Google stuck to the world of search engines. But recently, the two companies have each been branching out into each other’s territories, bringing them into direct competition.

It’s not that the two companies did not have any ties earlier: they did, sharing two directors, which caused a bit of a legal tussle culminating in the resignation from Apple’s board of Eric Schmidt.

More recently, Google has attempted to break into the music industry where Apple rules with iTunes. In one example,Google considered buying Lala.com until Apple elbowed them aside, acquiring Lala for $85 million.

Google has recently launched a music search and listening service that it says will integrate with its forthcoming operating system, Chrome OS.

Operating systems and software is another traditionally Apple-dominated area that Google is trying to push into. Google is going to release an operating system, Chrome OS, sometime in 2010. It also has a web browser, Chrome, which has just recently been made available for Mac. (Of course, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still dominates the web browser scene.)

Mobile phones are another area in which Apple and Google will compete. Apple itself is relatively new to the mobile phone scene, releasing the iPhone in June 2007. Google has released a phone OS called Android and plans to release its own cell phone to consumers next year.

Despite the headaches it must be causing in Apple and Google board rooms, this kind of competition tends to be great for us consumers. Both companies will have to continually improve their products to stay competitive, which should mean lots of great, high-quality products for us in the future.

Via the Wall Street Journal.

Google has answered Mac and Linux user’s prayers this Tuesday by announcing that it has made betas for Chrome that will be compatible with both OSes. These are not final perfected versions of Chrome, but due to the open-source nature of Chrome they should quickly grow to become bigger and better.  Mac OS X 10.5 or later is necessary for the Chrome’s Mac beta, while the Linux beta runs on Gnome and KDE.

Chrome delivers ultra high-speed web browsing with loads of cool features. Now Mac and Linux users have a chance to judge for themselves if they will abandon their current reliable browsers for  this lightning speed (but possibly quirk-riddled) creation.

Via WebMonkey.

Acer says it will be the first PC maker to get a Chrome netbook on the market.

The news was announced in Chairman J.T. Wang’s recent interview with Digitimes, in which the Chairman stated that he was “confident” Acer would be the first.

The announcement shouldn’t be tremendously surprising – Acer is one of the only manufacturers with an Android netbook on the market, so it makes sense that it would use this partnership with Google to jump into the Chrome space ASAP. We should expect Acer’s Chrome netbook by mid-2012.

The world’s second-largest PC maker has designs on being the first to offer a Chrome OS Netbook. However, this new machine’s hardware shouldn’t just be more of the same – Google says new Chrome netbooks will have bigger keyboards and screens, SSDs, 802.11(n) Wi-Fi and x86 or ARM processors.

Via CNet.

The netbook world has been eagerly anticipating the Google Chromium OS since its initial announcement just a few months back, and Dell has already released a beta for those of us too impatient for the real thing. However, the work isn’t over; we could be getting a number of unanticipated but welcome features come the official release.

A recent demo displays the Chromium UI with a user accessing music playback application Lala. Google already uses Lala pop-up windows to play music through Lala in its search engine, and hopes to implement this as an attraction to prospective Chromium netbook buyers.

Lala sells streamable songs for 10 cents each and hosts users’ old music collections in the cloud. This will allow owners to get their music from anywhere with internet access without lugging around gigs of data, something netbook lovers in particular tend to appreciate.

And even if you don’t have internet access, Lala says its upcoming iPhone application will keep the last few hundred songs you’ve listened to on tab so you can play them without the internet. This could be a welcome addition to Chrome as well.

Anyway, here’s the demo:

Via Wired.

The Google Chrome operating system isn’t pre-installed on netbooks just yet, but if you’re interested, below are some netbooks that have been “officially” tested and that claim to be compatible with the software. On these netbooks, you can assume that everything works, including 802.11 Wi-Fi, Ethernet, the touchpad, and the suspend/resume functions.

• Acer Aspire One AOD250* – $299.99 at Amazon.com
• Acer Aspire One AOP531h – $269.99 at TigerDirect.com
• ASUS Eee PC 1008HA – $339.95 at Amazon.com
• ASUS Eee PC 900 – $282.25 at Amazon.com
• Gateway LT20* – $259.99 at TigerDirect.com
• Toshiba Satellite A205-S5000 (This is a 15.4″ laptop, but you can get one at netbook pricing for about $350 on eBay.)

*These netbooks ship with both Atheros and Broadcom 802.11 wireless adapters. The Atheros adapter works out-of-the-box with the Chrome operating system, but the Broadcom adapter does not.

Via Google.

The Chromium OS has been open-sourced for hardly a week and some industrious tinkerers over at Dell have already delivered a beta version especially designed for the Dell Mini 10v netbook.

Here’s how to get it:

I have released an USB key image file to: http://linux.dell.com/files/cto. The file name is: “ChromiumOS_Mini10v_Nov25.img.”  It contains a functioning image of my USB key loaded with ChromiumOS.  In addition, I have made a best effort attempt to get the Broadcom Wi-Fi adapter working in this image.  It’s definitely not perfect (read: highly experimental, untested, unstable, yada yada…) but it does appear to function.

This version’s boot time is around 12 seconds, a bit longer than earlier reported. The makers mentioned a few other minor issues you might be interested in knowing about:

• It will take more than 5-10 *minutes* for the ChromiumOS network connection manager to “see” the access points and allow you to select and connect – be patient.
• Wired connections appear to work fine and appear quick to connect.
• There are currently issues with both the connection manager as well as the underlying components (wpa_supplicant) that can easily break or get hung. When in doubt, reboot and give it another try.
• Use this image at your own risk – it comes to you totally unsupported and very minimally tested.

Still, for the amount of time that the Chromium OS has been available for netbook users to mess with, it looks like a solid effort. For more info on how to get Google’s new operating system on your netbook, read the article over at Dell.

The Chrome OS doesn’t yet provide anything that the Chrome web browser doesn’t, but we thought we’d share the procedure for downloading it onto your Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook anyway. First, grab yourself a USB drive that’s 8 GB or greater. (The actual download is roughly 7.5 GB.)

Essentially, the installation involves copying the Google Chrome OS image file onto your netbook. You’ll also need access to a computer that’s running Linux in order to turn the downloaded IMG file to a bootable file.

Technically, a Dell employee (nicknamed Doug A) came up with this entire process as he was testing out compiling a copy of the Google Chrome OS for himself after seeing it run on various netbooks last week. Doug A explains:

“To copy onto an USB key (8GB minimum), find another Linux machine and utilize the “dd” command to put the image onto the USB key. Example: dd if=ChromiumOS_Mini10v_Nov25.img of=/dev/sdb. In this example, /dev/sdb is my entire USB key… use “fdisk -l” to see how your USB key is named for your particular environment. Be careful to select your USB device (again, use fdisk -l to double verify and confirm the correct device filename) and not another device…”

The Google Chrome OS image file for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook is named ChromiumOS_Mini10v_Nov25.img and can be found here.

Via MobileComputerMag.

Google says Chrome’s coming in 2010, and while some analysts correctly predicted that the project would be open sourced within days last week, the IDC is now saying that Google Chrome won’t see serious enterprise adoption for 10 years.

Analyst Al Hilwa of the IDC backed up this position by saying that, while updating on the cloud might be fantastic for Chrome OS netbook users, enterprises won’t easily get on board with the concept:

“[Cloud-based updates] are not going to eliminate problems. You’ll still have occasionally an update that comes in and it will screw up something. Enterprises don’t want to see that kind of thing. I think they’re making some bets on this and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”

Furthermore, the fact that Chrome OS and the Chrome browser only run Web apps without access to downloadable local apps could be a turn-off even for netbook users:

“You wonder if netbook users are going to be okay with that, and if they will want to store everything in the cloud. Before it’s all over, there’s going to be some offline applications and then there will be some offline usage of data. They’re going to have Flash memory and people will store data locally. There’s almost no way around that.”

Based on that reason, Hilwa’s perspective is that Chrome OS will be a consumer phenomenon for five years, but it’ll be 10 years before Chrome OS can get 5% of the enterprise computing market in on the fun.

Via eWeek.

Google’s fabled OS has been released for open sourcing as the Chromium OS. By Google’s own admission, it’s “intended for people who spend most of their time on the web”, which seems like a long way to say ‘netbook users‘.

Enjoy some videos about the Chromium OS below.

At this morning’s announcement event, Google demoed the OS on a netbook. According to the speaker, the netbook goes from cold to usable in under 10 seconds, a number Google is working “very, very hard” to decrease.

Here’s the demo:

I’m excited.

Via ChromeBlog.

Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet is proposing an interesting idea about what’s going to happen once Google releases its Chrome OS, and it’s different than what most people are predicting. She thinks Chrome won’t look so great once it takes the stage in late 2010.

Why? Firstly, the Google Chrome OS is optimized to run on netbooks as an “extension to Chrome,” the browser by Google. It’s meant to fully integrate Web apps with the desktop, improving the user experience.

However, Microsoft has its own extension to web browsers, one that attacks IE, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome in one fell swoop – Microsoft Silverlight. Silverlight 4 is coming out in mid-2012, and adds support for data binding, enterprise networking, and printing. All of this is meant to appeal to not only bread and butter consumers but enterprise app users as well.

Furthermore, Foley says sources told her Silverlight is going to merge with the Windows Presentation Foundation programming model:

“Now that the two share the same compiled assemblies, tools and the like, that idea isn’t really so far-fetched. Until that happens, Microsoft plans to continue to offer both WPF and Silverlight, steering developers of more complex, resource-intensive applications toward WPF and Web-centric app developers toward Silverlight.”

On the other hand, Google execs have made no comment about whether Silverlight will be able to work on the Chrome OS, prompting Foley to imagine that Google sees Silverlight as “more foe than friend of the Chrome OS.”

So, what’s the point of all this? Foley believes that, despite the fact that Silverlight isn’t an OS, the Google Chrome operating system is starting to look a lot like a glorified browser. While Silverlight can run on PCs and phones in the near future, Google Chrome is “a dedicated Linux-based netbook OS that will only work with certain predesignated peripherals.”

Chrome OS may end up being more of a Silverlight competitor than a Windows one, if what Foley says is true, which should certainly dampen some predictions of its raging success.

While it was first rumored that Chinese netbook manufacturers would be getting their hands on the Google Chrome OS first, an early version of the operating system could be available as early as next week.

Google has stated that Chrome will initially seek to enter the netbook OS market, and that the full Chrome OS will be available for consumers by the second half of 2010. A beta as soon as next week would come completely out of left field, considering that Google likely has its hands full trying to get Google Wave out of beta. But who’s complaining?

The Chrome OS is an open source project being put together by Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, HP, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba. It’s expected to slim down boot speeds as well as other important metrics, based on Google’s explanation for the project:

“We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear—computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers toboot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them.”

If Chrome can deliver on those fronts, you can count me in, but I won’t be keeping my hopes up – I’ve had my heart broken before.

Via CRN.

The community has long been waiting for Google Chrome OS-Based netbooks to arrive. It’s possible that they will be a reality in the very near future.

The Chinese netbook industry has always been at the forefront of technological innovation and this time, things are no different. Rumor on the street is that Chinese netbook manufacturers may be releasing netbooks equipped with the Google Chrome OS.

Currently, plans are for Google to release the full version of the Chrome OS next year, but they also plan to introduce a preview version of the software beforehand. Some sources in China have rumored that notebook manufacturers will start to introduce netbooks with Chrome starting as early as next month.

Nothing’s solidified yet, but we’ll make sure to keep you posted on any further progress.

Via JKOnTheRun.

Shanzai.com, citing “trusted industry insider sources,” claims that we’re going to see the Google Chrome OS some time this October. This claim comes despite the fact that Google is projecting release mid-2010.

Netbooks will be the initial targeting category for the new OS, says Shanzai, but UMPCs and tablets will get their hands on Google Chrome if a test in netbooks goes well.

The idea of an October release is certainly appealing, especially considering that that’s when Windows 7 will be released as well. I’ll admit, an OS war would be a lot of fun, but I can’t quite get myself to drink the Kool-Aid on this one.

We’ll see who’s right by Halloween, anyhow. Expect updates as the rumor mill churns on.