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.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years. However, a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry. “This year is a crisis,”
HIGH-TECH: As leading-edge process technologies become more complicated, only a handful of players are able to provide design services, the company’s CEO said Artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) yesterday said that revenue would grow significantly again in 2026 after adding a major AI chip customer, reversing moderation amid a product transition next year. The Taipei-based application-specific IC (ASIC) designer reiterated its strong revenue growth forecast for this year and 2026 after its stock plummeted about 23 percent to NT$3,145 from a peak of NT$4,085 on March 6 amid growing competition. Alchip said it has built strong partnerships with cloud service providers (CSP), denying that it had lost orders to smaller competitors such as Faraday Technology Corp (智原). Faraday said it has secured