Dell Inc, the world’s third-largest personal-computer maker, is testing Google Inc’s Chrome operating system (OS) on some computers, a move that might give users an alternative to Microsoft Corp’s Windows.
Trials of Chrome OS are being conducted on prototypes of netbook and tablet computers, Stephen Felice, Dell’s consumer and small and medium business president, said in an interview on Thursday at Dell’s annual analyst meeting.
“We have to wait and see how this product is received,” Felice said at the meeting in Austin, Texas. He called Chrome a “very compelling” operating system.
Dell is trying to lessen its dependence on PCs, moving into technology services and smartphones and releasing a tablet computer called Streak that is powered by Google’s Android OS. Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said on Thursday that Chrome “runs great on many Dell products.”
Chrome OS, a free operating system based on the open-source Linux software, is designed to let computer users quickly boot up their machines and access the Internet. Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, aims to have Chrome drive more users to the Web as a means to boost advertising sales. The first machines using it are due later this year.
Chrome and Android will “eventually play a role” on personal computers, Felice said. The concept of “always-on technology,” which allows users to quickly get online, could be compelling to customers, he said.
Microsoft Windows runs about 90 percent of the world’s PCs. Mark Martin, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment.
Google, at the time of the Chrome OS announcement last year, said it was working with Acer Inc (宏碁), Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), Hewlett-Packard Co, Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) and Toshiba Corp, among others.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, declined to comment directly on Dell’s plans.
“The Google Chrome OS team is currently working with a number of technology companies to design and build devices that deliver an extraordinary end user experience,” the company said in an e-mailed statement.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
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