Grounds crew fail with rare first-person commentary

The original video is here.

"No excuses"

President Obama speaking at the NAACP's 100th anniversary.

To witness that speech, delivered by the president of the United States... it's an incredible miracle.

Why Google Chrome OS could fulfill the "Desktop Linux" prophecy

The term "Desktop Linux" has an alternate meaning to many people who follow the computer industry, and that meaning is "something that's probably never going to happen, but which with regularity, idiots proclaim is imminent".

Fair enough.

I agree that it's highly unlikely that Linux as we know it will ever become the norm on the desktop. The closest the industry got to even experimenting with that possibility was the Linux netbook debacle of 2008, which was a true debacle for the concept of "Desktop Linux".

For something to supplant Windows as a viable desktop operating system, it needs to provide something unique and novel compared to Windows- not simply a somewhat compatible and quirky Windows clone, which is what today's best Linux desktop systems are (no offense).

But for anyone who's working on the next platform outside of Microsoft, it makes sense to start with the Linux kernel as your basis. And if anyone out there is big enough, and has a significant enough strategic and technical capability to accomplish something truly bold, it's Google.

So Google's going to create a type of desktop computer interface that's dramatically simpler than anything we've seen before. It will be a tight, fully self-contained OS, with seamless Google app integration and great support for web apps. It will do those things a heck of a lot better than any version of Windows. And who knows what else.

And it will be free.

Google's Chrome OS rate of adoption is tricky to predict, because it depends in large part on the deals Google is able to strike with PC manufacturers. If Google gets distribution on significant consumer netbook brands, adoption will be enhanced dramatically. Absent that, all of Chrome OS's potential is still there, but the likelihood of dramatic, early adoption will be far less.

But regardless of what happens, right now, one thing is clear: if there ever is going to be "Desktop Linux", it's probably going to be Google Chrome OS. And once that happens, there will exist- for the first time- a roadmap that leads, eventually, to the reality of fulfilling the "Desktop Linux" prophecy once and for all.