Hasta La Gadget!

According to a report in the Financial Times, Google is making a full-throated move away from Windows PCs for the company’s workforce. Apparently the big G is now giving staffers the option of a Mac or Linux rig as an alternative to a Windows computer. The FT article suggests that the move is spurred on by security concerns — some specifically related to a flurry of attacks against the company which emanated from China, a country Google has recently been at odds with over censorship. Although security could be at issue, some of the employees interviewed for the article seem to suggest the changes — which mean staffers require CIO approval for a Windows PC — might actually be geared towards bringing Chrome OS into the Googleplex full-throttle. “A lot of it is an effort to run things on Google product,” said one unnamed source, “They want to run things on Chrome.” Another employee is quoted as saying that, “Before the security, there was a directive by the company to try to run things on Google products. It was a long time coming.” Regardless of the reasoning behind the move, if Google is moving the company to Macs and Linux instead of the world’s most popular computing platform, it’s certainly notable. We’ve reached out to both Microsoft and Google for comment, and will update you if and when we have word.

Google said to be moving away from Windows internally, Mac and Linux systems on tap instead originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 22:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, what’s this? Acer officially saying it will not launch a Chrome OS device at Computex or in the “short term,” just like our sources told us a few days ago? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s going on. Like we said last week, Google’s other operating system just doesn’t look like it’s ready for prime time yet, and it’s a little premature to expect devices running Chrome OS to “launch” in just two weeks — although we’re sure we’ll see someone throw an early Chromium build on a new tablet or netbook, and show it off at the upcoming Taipei computer show. Of course, we are expecting Android tablets and smartbooks to be in full force at the show, and we’ll be there hunting down the best ones. Hit the break for Acer’s official Chrome comment.

Continue reading Official: Acer will not launch Chrome OS devices at Computex

Official: Acer will not launch Chrome OS devices at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer said it would be first to market with a Chrome OS netbook, and it’s looking like it may meet that lofty goal. Sources told VentureBeat that the company will debut multiple new products featuring the cloud-based operating system at Computex in June, less than three weeks from now. Then again, Chrome OS has been slated for the second half of 2010 for some time, so Acer may not be alone in introducing insanely-quick boot times at the show. We could even see devices earlier; we’ve been invited to an Acer press event in NYC on the last week of May, and it’s not too late for Samsung, Asus or Verizon to show off a partner device at Google I/O. It’s going to be a exciting few weeks, eh?

Acer to launch Chrome OS devices at Computex? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not much by way of detail here, but Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam just confirmed that his company is working on tablets with Google in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got to work with at the moment — McAdam said tablets are “part of the ‘next big wave of opportunities,’ but didn’t say what OS the Google devices would run, just that Verizon’s “looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience.” That sounds like something Google’s been working on for a while, so we’ll take a guess and say it’s Android-based, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a Chrome OS tablet or netbook make the scene at some point in the future. We’re also wondering who’ll build this thing: any number of companies from Dell to Toshiba to MSI have already started working on Android tablets, and we’re sure HTC and Motorola would totally jump at the opportunity. A nice crisp confirmed fact wrapped in layers of chewy speculation — just how we likes it.

Update: Bloomberg scored some more details in an interview with Marquett Smith, Verizon’s VP of corporate communications; the tablet is said be Android-based, and more details will be released later this week. Let the wait begin!

Verizon confirms it’s working on a tablet with Google (Update: Android!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, it had to happen at some point. After eons of watching Mac OS and Windows users swiping away nonchalantly on their touchpads, Linux laptop buyers can now also join the multitouch fray. Synaptics has announced official Gesture Suite support for a wide range of Linux-based OS flavors — Chrome OS, Fedora, Ubuntu, RedFlag, SuSE, and Xandros get name-dropped in the press release — which will all benefit from its set of multi-fingered touch and swipe responses. The infamous pinch-to-zoom is quite naturally included in the Suite, which will come bundled with new installations of those operating systems. We’re not seeing any mention of a downloadable update as yet, but we imagine that’ll be corrected in due course, whether by the company itself or the resourceful Linux community. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Synaptics extends multitouch Gesture Suite to Linux, Chrome OS included

Synaptics extends multitouch Gesture Suite to Linux, Chrome OS included originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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