gOS: The Conceptual Google Operating System

Earlier this week Everex launched the gPC TC2502, which is a sub-$200 PC sold at a major US retailer, but what makes this unique is that it runs the gOS. The gOS (GreenOS) is designed to be a conceptual Google Operating System that is based upon Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. Though this is not the conventional GNOME desktop environment but an Enlightenment E17 desktop is used that is heavily modified and reflects a green Google theme. The gOS provides easy access to Google services such as YouTube, Google Product Search, Google Calendar, and Google Maps. Also a click away are other web services such as Wikipedia and Facebook. This isn't a pure Internet desktop but Xine, Skype, OpenOffice.org, and other applications are available for this Linux LiveCD. We've been trying the gOS out for a while and it's a rather nice slim desktop Linux distribution that would be perfect for Internet cafes and other public places.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=902&num=1

A Computer That Works With Google, Not Microsoft

Advocates of Linux, the free open-source operating system, like to say that buying a standard-issue computer involves a Microsoft Tax, because you have no choice but to pay for Windows. New versions of Linux and inexpensive hardware like the new Everex gPC TC2502 make that tax avoidable.

This computer has a 1.5-gigahertz Via processor, 512 megabytes of memory and an 80-gigabyte hard drive. What makes it stand out, however, is GOS, a version of Linux specially made to run Google applications like GMail and Google Documents. It also runs OpenOffice, an open-source office suite that can handle Microsoft Word documents, and some multimedia applications.

The interface features an intuitive desktop interface with a set of icons. Clicking on the Map icon, for example, brings up Google Maps. The ostensible goal is to move much of the processing from the PC to the Internet.

The gPC is available now at Wal-Mart for $200, including a keyboard and mouse. A monitor costs extra, and the Microsoft Tax is missing entirely.

JOHN BIGGS

www.nytimes.com

Can Google and Wal-Mart break the Microsoft desktop monopoly?

Despite the great hype, both here and elsewhere, over Everex’ new “Google PC” this may be less than meets the eye.

Or it could be more.

It may be less because the Everex gPC TC2502 is not much of a computer. It runs a 1.5 MHz processor, with just 512Megabytes of RAM and there’s no monitor. It looks, in fact, like a stranger from the mid-1980s.

A version of the same PC, running Windows Vista, was released in July for $298, also through Wal-Mart, as a back-to-school item. This is the picture we ran with that story. The New York Times ran the same picture with its story today.

But the price point here is just $199, and it does run Open Office, and there’s no reason why, if this does well for Christmas, Everex couldn’t bring out new versions which are more attractive, even laptops.

The GOS (Google Operating System) being shipped is actually just a version of Linux licensed through Google, which includes fast access to things like Google Mail, and Google Documents (although you can also run Open Office for that).

The keys to the story, of course, are the brand names — Google and Wal-Mart. Combine Google’s branding power with Wal-Mart’s distribution and you have a very mighty force indeed.

But what happens when these buyers need tech support, as they will? Will Wal-Mart handle the back-end of these transactions well, or poorly? Is Everex scaled to handle it? Who’s going to connect these things to the Internet, which seems like an essential service for them? What happens when these poor buyers get the bill for that service?

And if it does turn into a Christmas fiasco, will the companies get another shot at the market?

blogs.zdnet.com