jaker's ugly brother

MichaelY said:

Unable to create a viable market for Chrome, Google has been forced to salvage what's left of it and Android

I'm not sure if the author is talking about Chrome the most dominant browser on earth, or Chrome the operating system, which now outsells Windows in the laptop market and saw a 57% growth in the first half of 2015. Either way, this doesn't make any sense.

I'd like to see a citation on that 'outsells Windows in the laptop market' claim. Sounds like horse hockey to me. Here are the Amazon bestsellers in laptops:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/electronics/565108

Number 1 is indeed a Chromebook. As is  number 5. The other top 10 are all Windows. Notably, number 6, the HP Stream, is a 'real Windows' laptop at the same price point as a Chromebook.

Anecdotally, Chromebooks are the number 1 most 'tried and regifted' gadgets I know of among friends and relatives. People I know try them out because they're so cheap, then toss them in a drawer or give them to a relative once they realize how limited they are.

Jeff D said:

delreyjones said:

I don't know what Chrome is, but I thought browsers and operating systems usually are different things.  Is Chrome a two-in-one product that is both browser and OS?  Or are they distinct pieces of software that share the same name just to confuse me?

They are Chrome Browser and Chrome OS. Different software, but a lot of the same base code. Closer to a 2-in-1 than a convoluted plot to cause you confusion. :-)

A lot of the base code is different, too. This is something I think Google intentionally obfuscates. Chrome OS is really a somewhat stripped-down and specially configured version of Linux, with auto-updates turned on and the Chrome browser running in full-screen mode at login.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing (I personally think it's a pretty cool idea, tech-wise), but it is a lot more complex and fragile than Google presents it as.

One key point of (very) possible failure: What happens to the existing Chromebooks if/when Google gives up on Chrome OS? Will Google still send out updates? For how long? Will they do anything to make it clear to existing owners that their laptops are no longer getting security updates and are thus no longer secure?

I personally see this as a real possibility because Chromebooks are being sold as super-cheap alternatives to Windows laptops. So they're sold at razor-thin margins. It's hard to imagine that Google makes much money per laptop, maybe a few bucks, if that. Is it enough to offset the costs of Chrome OS development, testing, and marketing? I doubt it. It's not a trivial product, and supporting it costs Google a lot more than $free.

Why is the Samsung Galaxy 5 watch left out of the comparison? It's a much more compelling competitor to the Series 8, and in most ways a better, cheaper, more proven alternative to the Pixel.

You own an iPhone, you get an Apple Watch. You own an Android phone, you get a Samsung Galaxy watch. Or maybe roll the dice on the longevity of and customer support for the Pixel.

Given that bubbly crystal just asking to be bashed into something, I'd think twice before buying the Pixel. It looks like an expensive repair waiting to happen.

"That said, our test driver believed the bust was going to slow or stop to allow us to merge into the traffic, and that there would be sufficient space to do that."

So, basically, the expectation was that the vehicle in control of the lane would yield right of way to another vehicle traveling much more slowly in another lane?

Sounds like it's 100% the Googmobile's fault. It executed an unsafe lane movement, which is illegal in California.

The bus driver had no legal reason to slow or stop. And in fact might have felt compelled to maintain speed in order to avoid a sharp stop which would have potentially endangered standing passengers.