Sometimes less can be more…
And that’s what the makers of ‘gOS’ are counting on. gOS is an Ubuntu 7.1 (Linux) variant that is packaged with a collection of Google’s web based services (including Google Office), the Firefox browser, and a few other web centric applications. The desktop, reminiscent of Mac OS X, offers simplified access to all of these services:
This OS will be offered preinstalled on a system that will be sold by none other than Walmart. Priced at $199, it offers the average person all of the core services they will likely need on a computer except for one.
Internet access…
That said, I believe there are ways to provide for that as well. Now that we are seeing PC’s dropping below the $200 price point, it might make sense for the market to start thinking of them the way wireless carriers think of phone handsets. There will always be a ‘high end’ market just like there is with handsets. But there is also probably a market for a service that bundles a system like this with internet connectivity for a basic ‘cell phone like’ plan and commitment. Keep it for a two year contract, then trade it in for a new one when you renew. It could also be subsidized by advertising, something Google and others are looking to bring to the cell phone market.
With a combination of packaging, ad/sponsorship subsidies, and Moore’s Law, it might even be possible over time to deliver access to the internet at a price point almost everyone can afford. It’s clear we need to begin to close the ‘digital divide’ that limits access and opportunity for many of the poor in this country.
This might be a way good start…
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