5 unanswered questions about Chromebooks

May 13, 2011, 6:00 PM — Google is attempting to reinvent mobile computing with its Chromebook, but in spite of all of the features and analysis available to us, there are nevertheless some important questions but to be answered. We won't know about some important aspects of the Chrome OS laptops until we get our hands on one, and other questions are largely about the viability and reliability of laptops that are in every respect web-based. Here are five of the top unanswered questions.

Chromebooks can connect external devices just as cameras and headsets, nevertheless iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users are required by Apple to use iTunes--desktop software that can't be installed on a Chromebook. Will there be some sort of workaround for Apple users to connect their devices to a Chromebook? Otherwise, that pretty much rules out getting a Chromebook as your sole computer if you as well have an iDevice.

With such a massive endeavor, Google better have a plan. Remember the data glitch that caused emails to be deleted for thousands of Gmail users previously this year? Or, more recently, Amazon's cloud web services crash? We know that Google Apps will have offline capabilities, nevertheless users need better reliability assurances earlier adopting a computer designed for constant Internet connectivity.

Remote management tools are a must for IT admins, nevertheless it's after all unclear specifically what capabilities Google's Chromebook enterprise tools will have. Remote desktop control? Laptop tracking and reset? Group policy settings? Google's $28 per user subscription plan for businessescan be an affordable way for small businesses to provide laptops to its users, yet to actually satisfy enterprise users, Google needs to woo its IT decision makers.

The top complaints about Google's Nexus One smartphone were 3G connectivity flakiness and, as my colleague David Coursey put it, a "sort of benign neglect" of the Android ecosystem. Business users, Google announced, will get technical support, however what about everyone else? Who will Chromebooks users turn to for support with their Chrome OS laptops? And, importantly, what will the quality of that support be?

Tablet computers, including convertibles, have come of age. Now IT must devise a workable balance by ensuring security of mobile data without squashing worker productivity. This Mobility KnowledgeVault will walk you through four key factors to build a workable plan and highlights real-world examples of businesses that are succeeding at fulfilling the productivity promise of mobility.

From data encryption to secure printing, there are many challenges IT mangers at small and midsize businesses face to secure mobile devices. Check out the resources in this Mobility KnowledgeVault to help develop a master plan and read:Techniques to secure data on mobile devices5 things CIOs need to know about mobile printingThe definitive mobile security checklist

There are six major mobile operating systems in use now and each one offers its own set of security and management challenges. The resources in this Mobility KnowledgeVault will help you keep these devices secure on the corporate network with expert tips on management tools, endpoint security software, increasing application support and more.

A recent IDG survey of businesses with 100-500 employees reveals data security is the top barrier to supporting employees' mobile devices. . This KnowledgeVault highlights survey results and explores how IT leaders are dealing with issues from encrypting mobile data without impacting performance and remotely disabling devices, to dealing with the Apple App Store for iPad and iPhone apps.

ITworld Answers is a service that helps IT pros resolve innovation questions. Post a question, and let your peers in the ITworld community take a crack at solving it!

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Chromebooks Are Doomed to Fail

A month from today, the Chromebooks from Samsung and Acer will hit the street. Google hopes to revolutionize mobile computing and free us from the shackles of the traditional PC experience, however the Chromebook is going to fizzle.
But, there are some things you can't do strictly on the Web--like play Portal 2 or Minecraft, and living completely in the cloud takes a significant culture shift. There is as well a huge trust factor with storing your entire life online, and the small issue of what happens when you can't get connected to the Internet and your Chromebook is a glorified paperweight.
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Microsoft lands Skype; Google launches Chromebooks

the Mountain View online professional networking upstart -- revealed details about its coming initial public stock offering. According to our professional colleagues at The Associated Press, the IPO would give LinkedIn a market value of anyway $3 billion. LinkedIn plans to sell 4.8 million Class A shares at $32 to $35 each. Investors including founder Reid Hoffman intend to sell 3 million shares. Proceeds for the company would be about $146.6 million. The shares, which are expected to be priced later this month, would trade pursuant to this agreement the "LNKD" ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange. The LinkedIn offering will be the first big IPO among social-networking upstarts. Others expected to go public in the at once couple of years include Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga.

Mountain View Internet juggernaut Google, in the meantime, revealed at its yearly I/O developers conference in San Francisco that it's launching its own cloud-based music service. According to a post on Google's blog, the service "lets you upload your personal music collection to the cloud for streaming to your computer and Android devices." does with iTunes.)

Speaking of Google, it disclosed that new netbooks running the Chrome operating system will be available June 15. The computers, manufactured by Samsung and Acer, will be sold in the U.S. by Amazon and Best Buy. "These are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won't wait minutes for your computer just in case and browser to start. You'll be reading your email in seconds," Google executives Linus Upson and Sundar Pichai wrote in the blog post. The move puts Google into territory now dominated by Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows software and Apple's Mac OS. The Chromebooks as well will be relatively inexpensive -- from $349 to $499 with optional 3G connections. Google as well is offering Chromebooks on monthly subscriptions for businesses at $28 each and schools at $20 each.

Cisco Systems' stock dropped near 5 percent a day afterwards the San Jose maker of network equipment -- including routers and other gear that direct data across the Internet -- reported revenues for its most recent quarter. Cisco, you might recall, has been facing greater competition from such rivals as Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networks. During its net sales increased 4.8 percent from a year before to $10.9 billion, its quarterly profit dropped 17.6 percent to $1.8 billion. "This quarter played out as we expected," CEO John Chambers noted in a statement accompanying the results. "We have acknowledged our challenges. We know what we have to do." Yes, unfortunately, that means significant layoffs, Chambers told investors, even though he didn't specify how many Cisco workers would lose their jobs.

Yahoo stock dropped near 4 percent as investors worried about the Sunnyvale Internet content powerhouse's relationship with Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group, which recently transferred control of its Alipay online payment service to a separate company. Yahoo, which owns a 40 percent stake in Alibaba, had said the transfer occurred "without the knowledge or approval of the Alibaba Group board of directors or shareholders." The stock decline followed a 7 percent drop in Yahoo's share price two days before.

Frank Russell writes the 60-Second Business Break, posted weekdays by 2 p.m. at MercuryNews.com and SiliconValley.com. Contact him at frussell@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.

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