Linux expert's theory
Linux expert Glyn Moody thinks that Google is set to give
away free computers.
The writer of Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source
Revolution said that Chrome OS based free netbooks could be offered by Google
as a way to push its advertising. He said that with open source code the unit cost of
software close to zero, but if people use netbooks the hardware will be pretty
cheap too.
If all the applications are web based the netbook will
not need hard disks or even much RAM. Moody thinks that Google could knock out a netbook for
about $20 and make back the cost with the extra advertising revenue. He points out that Google recently bought the company
Teracent to stick display advertising on the web which would mean that its
netbooks would be sending out personalised display ads in real-time.
If Google are sticking such things on a free netbook it
means that most of the great unwashed will carry them and Google's ad revenues
would climb even higher.