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????Chrome家族的主角終將出場。Chrome是一款以互聯網為中心的操作系統，谷歌（Google）希望它能改變整個計算機產業。上周，谷歌在舊金山的年度開發者I/O大會上，揭曉了大家期盼已久的Chrome操作系統筆記本（即“Chrome筆記本”），同時還推出一項針對企業、學校及政府客戶的硬件和軟件訂閱計劃。 ????下面是該計劃的詳細內容：企業客戶可通過支付月租費使用Chrome筆記本，起價為每用戶28美元（針對學校的價格為每學生20美元）。月租套餐包括以下幾方面：支持遠程實施和管理用戶的云管理控制臺、設備和應用程序、谷歌所謂的“企業級支持”、設備保修和更換。但谷歌并未在套餐里提供面向企業的應用程序。這意味著如果用戶想使用谷歌的企業級應用程序套件（包括Gmail、谷歌日歷、谷歌文檔等應用程序），那么他們必須另外再支付每用戶50美元的年費。（如果你問我，我認為將谷歌所有的企業級應用與Chrome筆記本一起捆綁銷售顯然更合理。不過沒有人問我的意見。） ????不過即便如此，給員工每月訂閱谷歌Chrome筆記本以及每年訂閱商業應用程序的費用加起來，可能也要比給他們配備安裝有微軟（Microsoft）Windows或蘋果（Apple）OS X全套系統的筆記本費用要低。而且基于互聯網的谷歌Chrome操作系統還具備其它優點，特別是對已在云端存儲了電子郵件、文檔和圖片等大部分數據的移動工作者而言。例如Chrome筆記本的啟動速度更快，其電池續航時間據稱也長于傳統筆記本。 ????不過上述優點平板電腦也具備。在谷歌Chrome團隊廢寢忘食地完善Chrome筆記本時，摩托羅拉（Motorola）和三星（Samsung）已制造出搭載谷歌自有操作系統Android的平板電腦。當然，蘋果iPad也在企業用戶中變得越來越流行。我們不禁要問：既然企業客戶買得起平板電腦，那他們憑什么要選擇價格差不多的Chrome筆記本？ ????谷歌已開始全面進軍企業領域，這點毫無疑問。畢竟，企業客戶是谷歌的主要對手微軟的傳統客戶群，而且也有望成為谷歌新的收入來源。這家總部位于山景城的搜索巨頭已通過向企業出售基于云端的商業應用初涉該領域，但我并不認為Chrome筆記本能贏得企業客戶的芳心。不過谷歌是一家不怕實驗的公司。它向來不吝于大舉發布新產品，讓用戶決定自己是否需要它們。谷歌將與筆記本制造商合作，推出新的產品，然后觀察收益如何。 ????我們很快就能知道Chrome筆記本是否能取得成功。由三星和宏碁（Acer）制造的兩款首發版Chrome筆記本將于6月15日上市。谷歌已公布了多家首批試點客戶，其中包括美國航空公司（American Airlines）、羅技（Logitech）和KIPP（美國一個全國性的特許學校網絡）等。它們將作為第一批實驗者，檢驗學生、員工和高管們是否已準備好迎接幾乎完全在谷歌云端上展開的數字生活。 ????譯者：項航 |
????Chrome, the web-centric operating system that Google hoped would revolutionize the computer industry, is finally ready for its star turn. This week, Google (GOOG) took the wraps off of its long-awaited Chrome OS netbooks (dubbed "Chromebooks") at its annual developer conference in San Francisco, I/O. It also revealed a hardware and software subscription plan aimed at businesses, schools and government customers. ????Here's the deal: Enterprise customers will pay a monthly fee starting at $28 per user for a Chromebook (schools pay $20 per student). The fee includes a cloud management console for remotely administering and managing users, devices and applications, plus what Google calls "enterprise-level support," device warranties and replacements. What's not included? Google Apps for Business. That means that if users want the company's enterprise-level app suite (which includes Gmail, Google Calendar and Docs and other applications), they'll have to pay an additional $50 a year per employee. (If you ask me, it would have made more sense to bundle all of Google's business offerings with the Chromebooks. Then again, nobody asked me.) ????Even so, the combined cost of Google's monthly Chromebook subscription and annual business apps fee is still likely to be lower than arming employees with full-powered laptops that run on either Microsoft (MSFT) Windows or Apple (AAPL) OS X operating systems. And Google's web-based Chrome OS has other advantages, especially for mobile workers who are already storing most of their data -- like emails, documents and photos -- in the cloud. For example, Chromebooks boot up faster and claim to have a much longer battery life than traditional laptops. ????Then again, so do tablets. And while Google's Chrome team was hard at work on perfecting the Chromebook, the company's very own Android OS was being refitted to power tablets from Motorola and Samsung. And of course, Apple's iPad has become more and more popular with business users. The rise of tablets begs the question -- why would corporate customers pick Chromebooks over equally affordable tablets? ????There's no doubt Google has been gunning for the enterprise. After all, corporations make up archrival Microsoft's traditional customer base and a potentially lucrative new revenue stream for Google. The Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant has made some headway in selling its cloud-based business applications to companies, but I'm just not sure Chromebooks are the way to winning corporate customers' hearts. Google, though, is a company unafraid to experiment. It's shown a repeated willingness to make big announcements about new products and let users decide whether they want them or not. They'll sign up big laptop makers, push out a product, and count votes at the cash register. ????We should find out whether Chromebooks is a winner for Google soon enough. The initial two Chromebooks, manufactured by Samsung and Acer, will launch on June 15. For now, Google has announced a series of pilot customers including American Airlines (AMR), Logitech (LOGI), and KIPP (a nationwide network of charter schools).They'll be the guinea pigs in determining whether students, workers and executives are really ready for a digital life that takes place almost exclusively on Google's cloud. |
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