The Slow-Motion Internet
February 23, 2011
The Internet is no longer fast enough for Google.
To see why, try the Chrome netbook. It’s a prototype device that exemplifies one of the company’s visions for the future: the idea that we can do nearly all our computing online, accessing information anywhere on a whim. This netbook has a pared-down operating system that’s essentially a powerful Web browser. It stores almost no files or software. Almost everything you can do on the device requires an Internet connection.
When I got my hands on the Chrome netbook, I understood why Google (one of our TR50 companies) finds the idea compelling. I liked the convenience at first—I always had the files I needed, because the machine forced me to store them remotely, "in the cloud." But one day, I waited minutes for my Web word processor to open a file. I couldn’t look at the computer’s task manager and solve the problem—I just had to stare at a spinning wheel. Another time, my favorite streaming radio station took forever to load. Once it did start playing songs, the connection hiccupped, giving the effect of a skipping CD. Before long, I gave up using the netbook and went back to a computer that could work offline.