Our Crunchgear colleague John Biggs has an item in the NYT today about Wal-Mart’s $200 Google PC that runs a version of Linux called the gOS (which does not stand for the Google Operating System, but rather is a version of Ubuntu). Excerpt:
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 Webtop is going to be a classic disruptive technology, starting out cheap and at the margins, but slowly working its way up the food chain. (Update: Duncan reviews the gOS computer).
Is this an official Google thing, or just someone trying to ride G’s coattail?
Anyone else think Wal-Mart is the last place you’d go looking for a Linux box?
This has nothing to do with Google, the name of the Linux distro just happens to be named gOS. If PC mfgs start shipping Google applications on the PC does that make it a Google PC too?
Bad reporting, I didn’t expect it from NYT and I didn’t expect it here either. Stick to startups, not the PC industry.
Erick…bring us more info pls. Is Chris correct?
Yes, he is Jeff. ZDnet has the details.
http://blogs.zd...related_content
My friend said right Google need real operating system.
VMWare will do the job. People will use windows more and boot VMware.
@Tubi #2 – Yes, Walmart is the last place you and I would go looking for a Linux box, but the folks that these computers are supposed to cater to are probably the ones that go to Walmart more often and don’t really care whether there’s Linux or whatever else under the hood. I think they’d just be happy to be able to own a computer at such a low price and still be able to do stuff they’ve always wanted to.
Walmart has sold Linux in the past – desktops and notebooks
No good games running Linux. But it runs 60% grandma speed.
Plus it’s hard to use. It’s not small business friendly.
Thanks, St #5.
I am seriuosly dissapointed in TC…what aweful and inaccurate reporting. You even call it the “Google PC” and the “Google Operating System.”
beautiful
@10
Dude get a clue. Google will never officially OWN the computer. That would be way to anti-trust and they learned from Microsoft how to do that.
Its kind of like how Firefox is not the “Google Browser” even though Google provides like 80% of mozilla funding
#11, you are telling me to get a clue?
TC needs to get a clue…they are the ones that wrote “Google PC” and “Google Operating System.”
the g stands for green, iirc. seriously, TC. how about a little research before writing an article?
and you missed the best part – it’s a 16×16cm mini-ITX motherboard shoved into a huge case because “wal-mart customers associate performance with size”
“No good games running Linux. But it runs 60% grandma speed.
Plus it’s hard to use. It’s not small business friendly.”
No good games, and not small business friendly? I wan’t to work where you do.
You got me on the games.
Linux runs faster than windows on less hardware.
It’s actually easy to use, especially Ubuntu based.
I couldn’t think of a better Small Business OS
Who cares TechCrunch made a mistake? I’d rather see harmless mistakes than lame-ass posts about internal memos, or some “war of words” between a couple of Web 2.0 geeks.
@9
I don’t know when the last time you used linux was, but its come a long way in the last couple years. I installed ubuntu in about 25 minutes on an emachine I picked up for $350 at best buy. It detected the wireless card I installed in it, an worked flawlessly out of the box.
And by box, I mean internet. Cause its free. And has no box. Your arguments about small business friendly and a lack of games don’t really fit well together, as games may be a distraction for employees in a small business situation.
And seriously, free is so awesome.
So awesome. Stop fearing the unknown.
This is fantastic. Get more people online.
What’s needed is adobe to make flash work on linux. I think Microsoft has said that Silverlight will eventually work on linux. So linux computing will get interesting.
Utter, total, absolute CRAP!
http://fakestev...er.blogspot.com
This is not a “Google PC” and it’s not running a “Google Operating System”. Google has absolutely nothing to do with this. Even the article you link to in the NY Times article says “works with Google” and the ZDNet one says “Google-friendly”.
Are you CrunchTards even trying anymore?
what an interesting discussion
First of all its based on Ubuntu and yes, it’s setup to run the Google web applications. I am not getting it.. why are you blaming the author of this article?.. he never said that this is THE GOOGLE PC or THE GOOGLE OS.
But let’s come back to the system itself?
So it’s a green pc?
No way, even though i think they use the C7-D which is a carbonfree CPU and the overall powerconsumption should be way less than 40 W, this is not a green pc at all!
I’ve never ever seen a manufacturer (or let’s say assembler or system integrator) that put a smallformfactor mainboard in an ordinary ATX case which is made out of plastic and named it a Green PC.
Regards
Sascha
Epiacenter.com
To get a better idea of what this computer actually is click on my name’s link. First as others have pointed out the g stands for green (because it is a low wattage computer) however it uses an over sized case in order to fool ignorant Wal-Mart shoppers. Two it does have a lot of Google applications integrated and does have a quite beautiful interface. See the link for pictures of the interface. This could be a nice computer for the average Word Document, MP3 playing, web browsing computer user who’s short on cash.
Because the author said: “…Wal-Mart’s $200 Google PC that runs a version of Linux called the Google Operating System”
Strike one. It’s not a Google Operating System at all. Has nothing to do with them.
Title of the article is “Google PC At Wal-Mart for $200″
I have Google applications on my Windows XP PC, does anyone call it “Google PC”?
Strike two
And just for kicks, “The Webtop is going to be a classic disruptive technology, starting out cheap and at the margins, but slowly working its way up the food chain.”
Yeah, Wal-Mart/Sams Club has been selling Linux-based PC (Lindows/Linspire) for years, and it has gone no where. What about the “Internet PC” from the late 90’s? That “classic disruptive technology” is no where to be found.
TechCrunch is good at covering startups, CrunchGear is almost good at covering gadgets (behind Engadget and Gizomdo). Don’t try and be what you are clearly not. Just because Google appears to be involved, doesn’t make it a “Google PC” and doesn’t make it worthy of writers who know nothing about the PC industry putting it on TC.
That’s strike three.
If you want a forth, take it directly from the gOS people “…gOS is an entity entirely independent from Google. Furthermore, while we make use of many applications from Google…”
I’m with everyone else… very misleading headline to be seen in my rss reader…. and the real story is – this PC that’s being marketed as ‘Green’, is anything but.
In Soviet Russia, the PC googles you!!
Please correct this article! Information in the very first sentence is 100% verified inaccurate.
@9
Five years ago I would have agreed with you, but Linux has come along very, very nicely in the past few years. The latest release of Ubuntu 7.10 is proof that the Linux desktop is truly here. Ubuntu 7.10 is a wonderful OS that beats the pants off of Vista in terms of usability, security, and overall quality. Most hardware compatibility issues (including wireless cards) have been resolved and the interface is very polished and easy to use. Ubuntu also runs well on low-end hardware in contrast to Vista’s very steep requirements. It is true that Linux does not have many native games, but gamers are a minority in the PC market. Most people just play free Flash games on the web and Flash is available for Linux. You should try it for yourself. Download the live CD linked at my post name and give Ubuntu a try. I’m using it right now to write this!
I really like gOS, i saw a video at http://it.youtu...h?v=FjR6HY382JQ about it
Erick, this is unbelievably bad “journalism”, and should be pulled immediately.
Did Michael A actually approve this for publication?
Holy cow!
Even though the price may seem very low, you can actually buy a branded system for even less. Take for example, a Dell GX270 w/ Windows XP (refurbished) for $125: http://www.ever....asp?auto=35488 – Add a $75 17″ flat LCD from Craigslist – http://sfbay.cr.../466523264.html – and you almost got yourself a complete system for $200. MY POINT: you can get better for less money and have not to shop at WalMart.
THIS IS THE GOOGLE PC!
All of this misinformation is astounding!
Dvorak says it’s the Google PC, who you gonna believe?
The thing runs gOSh!
http://fakestev...er.blogspot.com
I just have to chime in with the “THIS IS NOT A GOOGLE PC” comments.
They are correct, this is NOT a Google PC.
It just so happens to run Google Apps on it. Quite obviously because Google makes the best web apps out there, and if I owned Everex, I would do the same.
Smart move on Everex’s half, dumb move on whoever put the GooglePC idea into people’s heads.
I have been reading TC for the past 6 months and it appears to me this is probably one of the worst reporting ever. Please retract this article.
Call for TC to retract this article immediatly
http://googlesy...-google-pc.html
Two days and no correction.
These is great for the future of a internet based OS and thin clients
Hey lads- relax a bit. And maybe lose the tone of outraged sensibility.It makes you sound pompous,and so up yourselves you must have to get up early in order to get over yourselves before work.
A sub-editor wrote the headline. Different hands wrote the piece. The Sub got it slightly wrong. It happens. No one died.I assume none of you with the arrogance and simple bad manners to ‘demand’ the piece be retracted rather than suggesting a correction, well I guess none of you have ever made an error under pressure.
Now go and get some fresh air.
When you come back you might actually get the point of the story.Low energy 2W quiet machine doing most of what most people want,cheap. The target market is not geeks.
If it is easy for the novice to use it will allow more people get online. They won’t care about Linux,Windows or the fact they’re using Web Apps.
After all, you don’t need a Ferrari to go down to the shops.
Heard of the Wii?
Wow, I don’t know what all the fuss is about… I think the title is very misleading but… The point is that the average person can now afford a computer to do almost everything they could want for 200$ + a monitor… I’m no expert but I have Linux (Ubuntu, KUbuntu, XUbuntu 7.10) installed on 4 pcs (AMDK2, Celeron, Duron, Sempron) at home plus on my laptop. And my 68 year old mother upgraded her desktop from 7.04 to 7.10 with some simple phone support from me! Ubuntu works better on my laptop than Win2k and Win XP which I finally abandoned. Some of my hardware wouldn’t work with Window$ because I couldn’t find the right drivers for free, but with Linux ALL my printers, scanners, (hardware) modems, and wi-fi worked during the install. Most people that tried Ubuntu 7.10 are very happy with it. I realize lot’s of you would rather spend your hard earned cash to make Bill rich but a lot of people would prefer to save money if they can. I’m just curious to know why they modified Ubuntu into gOS rather than just using Ubuntu in the first place since 512mb and 80G is plenty for the task. But like I said, I’m no expert… I’m for anything that will make the internet accessible to the masses and FREE software is a start….
My bad. I changed Google Operating System to gOS. But it is effectively a Google PC. Per the NYT:
“What makes it stand out, however, is GOS, a version of Linux specially made to run Google applications like GMail and Google Documents.”
My mistake was to assume the G stood for Google based on this description. The name is a bit of deceptive marketing, if you ask me.
NYT is wrong too, both of you are bad reporters (oddly enough, both are also on TC payroll, shocking?).
It just happens to run Google applications, it was not “made for it”. I guess my Sony PC is really an InterVideo PC because their software came loaded on it.
Ignorance.
John Biggs here. Yes, this is deceptive. I was disappointed when I saw it but I understand the value of this machine. They’re definitely touting this as a “Google OS” and they are hoping that adding a lot of Gs will make people confused. However, the OS does allow you to access Google apps from the Task Bar, kind of like creating little shortcuts to the actual webpages which appear in Firefox. The real news is that it is a $198 Linux machine that is good for Grandma, Grandpa and Mom and Dad – provided, trolls, that said parent or grandparent is not good at computers and not specifically you or your own parents/grandparents who are actually good at computers and have lots of money. It does not run Google OS nor is a Google PC, so leave Britney alone.
Just to be clear, I am the one calling it a Google PC because that is effectively what it is. You get a suite of Google apps with it as the default apps, making the main experience on the PC a Google experience.
That is different than just getting a PC loaded with an InterVideo app (@40) or any other random app that you may never use.
For all the folks deriding TC, NYT, and others who have called it a google PC, have a look at the review of gOS over at hackosis.com, specifically the Synaptic screenie 80% down the page that shows connection attempts to googlepc.com for updates. While gOS isn’t from Google, there’s some pretty serious coattail riding going on. It’s not the Google PC, but it sure looks like its makers would like you to think so.
I like it – Google coming…
All news at http://googlepc...s.blogspot.com/