Would You Use A Chromebook If You Got One For Free ?

Google has unveiled the Chromebook - a laptop that runs on Chrome OS. The Chrome OS is a cloud based operating system which means that all your data (or most of it) will be stored on a remote server rather than on the local hard drive. Another way of saying it is you can literally rip apart and destroy your Chromebook (assuming you have deep pockets) and still get a good night's sleep because your data is safely backed up somewhere on the net.

The following are some of the advantages of Chromebook as touted by Google.

•  Boots in 8 seconds flat.
• Full support for Adobe Flash and the latest web standards.
• A rich collection of web apps catering to every ones need.
• Share your Chromebook with friends and family without giving them access to your email and personal data. 
• Automatic OS updates provided seamlessly over the net. 
• Secure out of the box - Providing multiple layers of protection,including sandboxing, data encryption, and verified boot.
• 3G and WiFi support.

Google has roped in Samsung and Acer to market the first set of Chromebooks.

If the price is right (free), this could be an exciting proposition for any one. In fact, Google says it will offer Chromebooks to the student community for a monthly fee of $20 per student and for the business community for a monthly price of $28 per user (Source), which is exciting if this price also includes a data plan.

For the rest of us, the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is set to cost US$429, while the Acer Chromebook would cost US$349 for the Wi-Fi version. The 3G version would be slightly dearer.