Tim Cook is unimpressed by Chromebook’s lead in the classroom
Google’s Chromebooks may have come under fire from student privacy groups recently, but there’s no denying that the push into the education sector has been a success for the company. Apple’s Tim Cook certainly didn’t seem very happy about Google’s lead in the classroom during a recently interview with Buzzfeed.
He avoided mentioning the Chromebook by name, but stated that the low cost computers used in schools were only proving popular because they were the cheapest option around for testing students. He also preferred to simply refer to them as “test machines”.
By this Cook is referring to the transition that many state schools have seen from paper to computerised testing, which is one reason why low cost Chromebooks have seen such speedy adoption. Cook apparently doesn’t think much of standardized testing either, suggesting that Apple’s products instead help kids to “engage on a different level”.
“Assessments don’t create learning … We are interested in helping students learn and teachers teach, but tests, no. We create products that are whole solutions for people — that allow kids to learn how to create and engage on a different level.” – Tim Cook
Although testing may be a part of it, the appeal of Google’s educational platform likely extends beyond lower cost hardware. Google’s Apps for Education software includes Gmail, Calendar and Docs, offering a comprehensive set of tools for educators and students.
I suppose it’s not so surprising that Cook failed to appreciate that schools may have actually weighed up the wider opportunity costs when opting for Chromebooks and Google’s Apps for Education over iPads. He doesn’t seem to offer any alternatives to bring cost effective educational tools to the student masses either, although he does hope to host coding events at Apple stores nationwide to encourage kids to get into programming.
Read more: Report: Chromebooks make up more than half devices found in schools
Apple is going to have its work cut out for it in the education sector if Google’s forecast that there will be more Chromebooks in schools than all other devices combined by the end of 2015 turns out to be correct.
Google’s new Pixel X is available now at the Play Store
At the most recent Google Nexus release event in San Francisco, we were introduced to the Pixel C and were not given a release date. Well Google just put the Pixel C up for sale starting at $499.00 for the 32Gb model. If you recall the latest tablet from Google runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow, comes with a 10.2″ display with 308ppi, is rather svelte at .517kg, is powered by the super powerful NVIDIA Tegra X1 with Maxwell GPU, and has 3GB of RAM. The Pixel C is made from anodized aluminum giving it an ultra durable and premium feel, has stereo speakers and has a USB type C port.
The Pixel C is Google’s take on a tablet with a keyboard and was designed from the ground up alongside its keyboard, so you can switch in an instant between swiping and typing. Plus, the screen adjusts to different angles, so you can work or watch comfortably wherever you want.
The new Pixel C is available now for $499.00 with free shipping. The Play Store has them in stock and will ship them in 1-2 business days.
The post Google’s new Pixel X is available now at the Play Store appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Report: Chromebooks make up more than half devices found in schools
While Apple might be “all the rage” these days among certain sects, this wasn’t always the case. Long before Macs were associated with artists, videographers, and other creative types they were instead targeted primarily at another crowd altogether: students and schools. In today’s world though, Chromebooks have apparently stolen the education spotlight.
According to a new report from CNBC, Chromebooks now make up over half of all devices found in classrooms in the United States. Apple continues to be an important force in education, but over the past three years Apple’s marketshare in education has reportedly dropped from 52 percent to just 24. Microsoft has seen similar decline, going from 43 to 24 percent.
According to a new report from CNBC, Chromebooks now make up over half of all devices found in classrooms in the United States.
That’s a far cry from the way things were during my 90s childhood. In those days, pretty much every school computer lab was dominated by Macs, with a few Windows (or sadly sometimes even DOS..) machines found in a few classrooms here and there. And most of those machines were at any given moment playing either Oregon Trail or some variation of SimCity. Those were the days.
See also: Lenovo N20 Chromebook Review
A lot has changed it seems, and in very little time, given Chromebooks made up less than 1 percent of the education space in 2012. To put it all into perspective, Chromebooks have made up 4.4 million of 8.9 million devices sold to schools and school districts this year, and every school day 30k Chromebooks are reportedly activated.
It’s been amazing to us to see that growth happen just in that short amount of time. If you look at the overall market for devices in education, it’s actually expanded a lot and Chromebooks have actually taken a lot of the expansion. – Rajen Sheth, Google’s director of product management for Android and Chrome in business and education
While it’s great to see Google’s Chromebooks on the rise, both in education and even among general consumers, the cloud-centric platform’s gains in education aren’t completely surprising. After all, Chromebooks are highly affordable, easy to manage, very secure, and students are doing more and more in the cloud, meaning that “full-fledged” traditional PCs aren’t necessary for the average student.
The only important question I have left is “Can they play SimCity?” (The answer is sort of.) What do you think, surprised to see Chromebook’s meteoric rise in schools?
Google makes the grade with Chromebooks at 51% of devices deployed in schools
In a new report from Futuresource Consulting, it has been revealed that Google Chromebook devices now make up over half of the computer devices deployed in U.S. classrooms. As recently as 2012, Google only held 1% of the education market, so the growth has been “shocking” as described by Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder. In just 2015, Google Chromebooks have accounted for 4.4 million of 8.9 millions devices sold to schools and school districts through the third quarter, which translates to 30,000 new devices being activated every single day.
The big loser in the market with this move to Chromebooks is Apple. The Cupertino headquartered company saw its market share fall from 52 percent to 24 percent. The other big player in the education market, Microsoft, saw its share fall from 43 percent to 24 percent.
The education market is considered one of the few bright spots for the industry right now. Recently the market for PCs and tablet devices has been in a decline, but school districts continue to purchase large volumes. Perhaps more important for the major platform competitors, students who achieve a level of comfort in a particular ecosystem through schoolwork and in the classroom may be more likely to purchase something similar when they get out on their own.
One of Google’s major advantages in the education market has been the low price point for Chromebook devices, generally in the $200 to $300 range. Offerings from other companies have often been double that, although Microsoft appears to be poised to push device costs down to be competitive with Google. Meanwhile, Apple is working on plans to target teachers and to retain their dominant position at the collegiate level.
Along with the increasingly dominant position for Google, the company is getting some extra scrutiny as well. This week a spat has opened up between Google and the EFF over the Chrome Sync feature found in Chromebooks and the Chrome browser.
source: CNBC
Come comment on this article: Google makes the grade with Chromebooks at 51% of devices deployed in schools
Googles denies EFF allegations that it has violated student privacy
In a recent complaint to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has alleged that Google is violating student privacy by collecting and data mining student information obtained through Chromebooks used by schools. The EFF says the Chrome Sync feature, which is turned on by default on Chromebooks and is available through the Chrome browser, is being used improperly in violation of Google’s promises and FTC prohibitions against deceptive business practices. Google says the EFF is off base with their allegations and Chrome Sync is a benefit for students with no connection to advertising or data mining on Google’s part.
Google points out that Chromebooks or the Chrome browser used in an educational setting are configured to use the Google Apps for Education suite of tools. Those include items like Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar and Sites. Google spokesperson Jonathan Rochelle notes that “There are no ads in these Core Services, and student data in these services is not used for advertising purposes.” Instead, the feature is made available so that students can seamlessly move between school provided laptops and their own personal computers.
The EFF complaint does not appear to include any specific allegations that data mining or advertising has actually been conducted against student data. The EFF seems to be more concerned with the fact that student information is transmitted to and then stored on Google servers, which Google could then access for the nefarious purposes the EFF alleges.
Meanwhile, one of the creators of the Student Privacy Pledge that Google is a party to, along with Microsoft and Apple, has come down on the side of Google in the dispute. The Future of Privacy Forum executive director Jules Polonetsky issued a statement saying,
“We have reviewed the EFF complaint but do not believe it has merit. Chrome Sync is a setting within the control of the school IT administrator, and can also be changed by parents or students. This feature allows students to log in at home or at a library and have access to their school bookmarks, favorites and other settings. We don’t believe the complaint raises any issues about data use that are restricted by the Student Privacy Pledge.”
Do you think the EFF has a legitimate gripe in this case?
source: Fortune
Come comment on this article: Googles denies EFF allegations that it has violated student privacy
The EFF claims that Google spies on school kids
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a complaint alleging that Google is being a bit creepy when it comes to school kids’ personal information. The search engine stands accused of data-mining the users of the Chromebooks that are handed out in schools as well as those using Google Apps for Education. It’s doubly galling because, if true, Google has broken a promise that it made in January to not to exactly that. The firm, along with many others, signed the Student Privacy Pledge, barring it from vacuuming-up student data that wasn’t for educational purposes.
Via: WSJ
EFF accuses Google of breaking a pledge not to track students
Google’s efforts to provide cost effective Chromebooks and Google for Education services for schools and students may have backfired this week, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and is requesting an investigation.
The complaint alleges that Google for Education tracks information about student browsing habits without obtaining permission from students and parents. Although the EFF acknowledges that Google itself does not use any of this data for targeted advertising, it suggests that data is being used to improve other products.
More specifically, the group found that Google’s “Sync” feature for Chrome is enabled by default on Chromebooks that are sold to schools and this allows Google to track data ranging from every web site visited to site passwords. Furthermore, Google’s system management tools also allegedly allow administrators to transmit student data to third party websites and services.
“We are calling on the FTC to investigate Google’s conduct, stop the company from using student personal information for its own purposes, and order the company to destroy all information it has collected that’s not for educational purposes,” – EFF staff attorney Sophia Cope
To complicate the matter, Google has signed up to the Student Privacy Pledge, a voluntary agreement that prevents the selling of student information or the use of their data for anything other than educational purposes. If Google has been allowing third parties to track location or other data, then it would have breached this agreement.
Google has already stated to the EFF that it will soon disable a setting for Chrome Sync on Chromebooks that are sold to schools, but the group also wants the FTC to see if the company has violated rules on deceptive business practises. Google has also responded by stating that it is confident that its tools comply with the law and its public promises, including the Student Privacy Pledge. We will have to see if the FTC is interested in taking this any further.
ASUS Chromebit review – the little Chrome OS dongle that could
Current Google CEO Sundar Pichai once said he wanted to see Chrome and Android in every screen available, a goal that is now looking more real than ever. Android is obviously all over the spectrum, but there is a whole other beast Google has been very good at taking over the market with – Chrome OS.
This web-based operating system now exists on laptops, desktop computers and even all-in-one PCs. These are known as Chromebooks, Chromeboxes and Chromebases, but that is not where Google wants to let things end. This light, fast and affordable platform is now making its way into a new form-factor that allows more flexibility.
Today we are focusing on the ASUS Chromebit, a small dongle that can fit into any pocket and convert any HDMI-enabled screen into a full-fledged Chrome OS device. Yes, even your TV, likely the largest screen you own.
But what is the benefit here? That is something we will talk more about later in the review, but let me give you a little teaser here – the ASUS Chromebit is only $84.99. Interested? Keep reading for more details!
Buy the ASUS Chromebit from Amazon
Buy the ASUS Chromebit from Newegg
Design & build quality
Thinking back on how big computers needed to be just a decade ago, this thing does seem like a marvel. We used to own large boxes that took over a huge part of our desks. Now I find myself getting an ASUS Chromebit in the mail, in a box that could easily fit a glass. This thing fits right in the palm of my hand and can easily outperform my first desktop computer. If you want numbers, it measures in at 123 x 31 x 17 mm. That’s just digits, though, so I am better off telling you it is about the size of one of those wide highlighters we used to have back in school.
The ASUS Chromebit certainly doesn’t look bad, but it’s also nothing to write home about. And that’s a good thing! This is not a product you will be showing off to anyone. It will live behind your screen and stay hidden most of the time, something it does a very good job at. It is discrete, both in size and aesthetics.
What you probably will care about is whether it’s well-built or not. After all, this is a portable device of sorts. The idea is that you can use it at your living room, desk, work, presentations and even hotel room. This jack of all trades can do it all, so it needs to be built to withstand such lifestyle.
Hopefully the guys at ASUS never read this bit, but I actually dropped the Chromebit once. It fell out of my pocket and came out of this accident without a single scratch. Literally, the thing still looks new. This is pure testament of its good build quality, but you don’t need to mess up (like me) and put it to the test to know this. You can feel it right off the bat, the first time it lays on your hand.
Even if built mostly of plastic, the Chromebit definitely feels solid. It has a certain weight that let’s you know it’s definitely not a hollow product, a factor that gives off a level of security I never had with a Chromecast.
Hardware & specs
Let’s go through the externals first, shall we? Everything is pretty straight forward here. Uncover one end of the ASUS Chromebit and you will be presented with a full-sized HDMI connector. The box also includes an extension for those TVs that make it hard to connect this device directly to. On the other end we can find a USB 2.0 port for connecting all your peripherals and storage devices. There’s also a small power jack on the side, which is used to keep your mini PC alive.
Let me touch a bit on that energy system, though. It’s already bad enough that it uses a non-USB power port, but there are a couple other inconveniences I found here. For starters, you can’t plug this into the TV’s USB port and grab energy from there. This is justified, though, as it is a Chrome OS computer and needs more energy.
What really gets to me is that the included Power cable is uncomfortably short. I would say this cable is about 1.25 meters, which makes it a pain to plug in if your TV (or whatever screen you are using) is a tiny bit too far from an outlet.
How about them specs? Let’s go over them real quick.
- Chrome OS
- Rockchip quad-core RK3288C CPU
- ARM Mali-T624 GPU
- 2 GB of RAM
- 16 GB of internal storage
- 100 GB of Gogole Drive storage for 2 years
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- Bluetooth 4.0
Performance and OS
Now, the moment of truth. How good is the ASUS Chromebit as a computer? Let’s begin with the OS, which will really be what most of you will care about. That is because, like most other Chrome OS devices, the Chromebit is very good at some things, but very bad at others.
Keep in mind this pretty much runs a glorified version of the Chrome browser. Google has added plenty of offline features and apps to Chrome OS, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it heavily relies on an internet connection. Regardless, most people use computers for the internet alone, which is the whole idea behind the very existence of this operating system.
The only thing to keep in mind is that you will have to sacrifice popular programs that any user would otherwise have at their disposal when working with Windows, Mac OS X or Linux. Say goodbye to Photoshop, Lightroom, Microsoft Office, most games and any other program you would usually run natively from a PC. Everything is web-based (or limited).
That’s not to say the OS is bad, as there are plenty of benefits to be had with it. Keep in mind that because it is a web-based OS, it is also very light. Super light. This thing will boot up faster than any other computer. In fact, the Chromebit was usually on by the time my TV decided to boot up. And because it doesn’t need much resources, it can run very well without crazy specs.
This takes us to the next point – how well does the ASUS Chromebit perform? Those who have used a lower-end Chromebook will find a very similar experience going on here. The computer runs perfectly if you are a basic user. I was streaming Full HD videos with no issue, and I never saw any hiccups with casual usage. Nor did I find any bugs or problems.
My only gripe with the Chromebit is that those 2 GB of RAM are definitely not enough for any multi-tasker out there. I found that even having 4 tabs open started slowing down the machine, something that is simply unacceptable in my line of work.
But if you never really open 4 tabs or more, this may not be an issue at all. I mean, this is an $84 computer, after all. If multi-tasking is the only thing I can complain about, in terms of performance, I say ASUS is doing a really good job.
Should you buy the ASUS Chromebit?
With that, we come back to the question you asked yourself at the beginning of this review – should you buy an ASUS Chromebit? As it goes with most devices, the answer is not as simple as a “yes” or “no”. I will tell you this device is not for everyone, though. Who is it for?
It’s portability and affordable price point make it a great secondary computer for those who move around frequently, are always on-the-go, or need a good presentation machine. It will take care of all your browsing needs, as long as you don’t go nuts with multi-tasking. Now, things may be a bit more complicated if you want to make this your primary computer, but it’s definitely doable depending on your needs.
A casual user who simply wants to browse the web, visit social networks and stream movies/music will be satisfied. I can also see it being a great tool for public places (schools, hotels, libraries, etc.), as it is affordable and very easy to manage for IT departments. If you only need to use the web, don’t multi-task much and won’t need your traditional programs, this little dongle is great.
And the Chromebit definitely has its market, which is something I happen to be fond of… it has its purpose and place in the wide ecosystem of devices we own. I personally wouldn’t say the same about Chromeboxes, which sacrifice portability, screen and keyboard, yet cost about the same as a Chromebook. I just don’t see the point in that. But for $84.99, I can definitely get behind something like the ASUS Chromebit.
If you fit the category described above, it’s certainly a great buy. And at this price you would be hard-pressed to find anything better.
Buy the ASUS Chromebit from Amazon
Buy the ASUS Chromebit from Newegg
ASUS Chromebit review: Turn any display into a Chrome OS machine
If you’ve got some spare time, search for the words “Android dongle” on eBay — your screen will be filled with little, Android-powered HDMI doodads that purport to make your dumb TV smart. But what about Chrome OS, Google’s other operating system? For years, it lived most prominently on notebooks, but the new $85 Chromebit from ASUS is Google’s attempt to give Chrome OS even more of a life beyond the laptop. Got a spare monitor with an HDMI-in port? Or an HDTV that could stand to be smarter? Just pop in the Chromebit and voilà: Your dumb display is now a Chrome OS computer. It’s not that powerful, and it’s far from perfect, but the Chromebit is just cheap and just good enough to find a home in classrooms and tinkerers’ dens. Slideshow-341501
Google Wallpaper Art extension will make your Chromebook look gorgeous
Life in the tech side can get a little bit repetitive. Sometimes we make things a bit more interesting by switching the wallpaper in our computers, but other times we are way too busy to feel that drive. Google wants to take that load off your back and beautify your wallpaper with an extension that will do all the work for you.
This Chromebook extension goes by the name of Google Wallpaper Art. It is a very simple concept, but it’s one that will improve your mood and get you out of the daily digital routine. This extension takes images from the Google Cultural Institute and makes them your wallpaper. Images will be refreshed every single day, so your Chromebook will always feel refreshed and inspiring.
But just what the heck is the Google Cultural Institute? We know many of you have never even heard this department mentioned. The Google Cultural Institute is in charge of digitizing art, images and other content from museum exhibitions. Their goal is to bring high art to the masses and making influential content available to the public, online. By the way, this does include both classic and contemporary art. One day you may be rocking a Monet, while the next you’ll marvel over Banksy’s stencils.
If you happen to find interest in any of these wallpapers, just open the app and find out more information about it, as well as the Google Cultural Institute. This does only work with Chrome OS devices, though. Trying to download it from another operating system will not work.
AIVAnet 