The Hindu Business Line : Google keeps `em guessing

NO, Google is not coming out with that low-cost personal computer. Google's spokesperson made it amply clear recently that there is no such plan for the search giant, putting at rest all those rumours that had abounded on the Net.

Speculation was rife that Google's co-Founder Larry Page would make the announcement about the company's entry into the hardware business at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Those who ardently follow Google had even found a name for the computer: Google Cube.

But it was not to be. Larry Page came on stage in a robotic car, made a demonstration of Google Earth and announced that the company was working with Volkswagen to try to put the software on car dashboards.

He also inaugurated the Google Video Store that would let users rent or buy downloadable videos online. But no word on Google Cube.

All those who expected Google to get into the hardware business can be excused. After all, Google has oodles of wealth in its stock price - over $120 billion in market cap.

It keeps coming out with new software applications such as desktop search tool and Google Pack.

And the company, once a simple search engine, now is regarded as the biggest rival to Microsoft. Remember all that talk about a possible Google operating system? There is no end to speculation when it comes to Google.

Now a little more about Google Cube that did not happen - at least for now. Many experts believe that such a low-cost computing device that puts the intelligence of a PC on the network is very much in the realm of possibility.

They believe that, if it is not Google, somebody else will come out with such a device in the near future. The reason: proliferation of broadband to homes, development of technologies such as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and the strong growth of online advertisement.

Such experiments to give away a low-cost PC, or even a free one, had been attempted before. But it was too early to do that.

Now, broadband connections are reaching homes thick and fast, replacing slow dial-up connections. This makes it possible for many revenue streams, such as online movie downloads, to take off in a big way.

Second, is the coming of age of Web technologies. For instance, AJAX lets users experience online applications just like they are sitting on a desktop. Sites such as netvibes.com are a good example of this development.

So instead of having software for word processing and spreadsheets on your computer, you can access the same online without any hassles.

So a device that will have the very basic virtues of a PC, but can source all those applications through a network is very much possible.

This device can connect to the Internet and also bring together other devices such as TV and music systems, so that you can watch the downloaded movies on your TV screen and listen to MP3 songs from your music system.

And if there is one company that can wean away users from Microsoft Windows, it is Google. Already, most of us have Google as our home page when we log on.

This goes a long way in addressing the issue of familiarity that operating systems such as Linux face today in competing with Windows. But for Google, this issue may not be that serious. Mind you, Microsoft had changed the rules of the PC game in the past to become the Microsoft of today. Now at the threshold of another revolution, perhaps Google might do the same.

vipin@thehindu.co.in