Latest news with #Chromebooks


Express Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
NED gets new boys, girls' hostels
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah emphasised his government's dedication to higher education, digital empowerment, and youth development through pioneering initiatives such as the People's Information Technology Programme (PITP). He said this while addressing inauguration ceremony of newly constructed buildings at NED University and distribution of Chromebooks for top performers of PITP on Friday. CM Shah announced that Sindh has allocated Rs42 billion for public sector universities in the current financial year — the highest among all provinces — to support operational needs, research, infrastructure, and innovation. The CM also inaugurated two major infrastructure projects at NED University — the new building for the Department of Food Engineering, equipped with advanced laboratories for Rs96.48 million, and the International Boys Hostel, which accommodates 112 students and was funded with Rs67.11 million. Additionally, a dedicated Girls Hostel block for 52 female students, funded with Rs98.52 million, was recognised as a step towards promoting gender inclusivity in engineering and technical education. PITP PITP has succeeded in partnership with NED University, Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET), and Sukkur IBA. Notably, 13,565 students trained under PITP-I surpassed expectations, exceeding targets, the CM said. Of these, 4,353 graduates have secured employment, contributing Rs49 million in direct income to the provincial economy. CM Murad appreciated the notable female participation, being 40 per cent at Sukkur IBA, 36 per cent at NED, and 33.6 per cent at MUET, with 62 per cent of MUET students coming from rural backgrounds, underscoring the programme's inclusive approach. The CM distributed 300 Google Chromebooks / laptops to the top-performing PITP students through a transparent and merit-based selection criterion. He stressed that the selection process was completely merit-based, transparent, and tailored for each institution.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
If You Invested $1000 in Alphabet a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now
For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries. Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks. What if you'd invested in Alphabet (GOOGL) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to GOOGL for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today? Alphabet's Business In-Depth With that in mind, let's take a look at Alphabet's main business drivers. Alphabet is one of the most innovative companies in the modern technological age. Over the last few years, the company has evolved from primarily being a search-engine provider to cloud computing, ad-based video and music streaming, autonomous vehicles, healthcare providers and others. In the online search arena, Google has a monopoly with more than 94% of the online search volume and company is gaining market share in the cloud-computing, driven by continued strength in Google Cloud Platform and Google also enjoys a dominant position in the autonomous vehicles market, thanks to Waymo's relentless efforts. In addition, it has bolstered its footprint in the healthcare industry with its life science division, Verily. The company has also become a renowned name in the world of entertainment on the back of is also known as the maker of smartwatches (Pixel Watch), laptops and tablets (Chromebooks), and smart home products (Google Nest).Alphabet, headquartered in Mountain View, CA, runs several businesses, most of which come under Google, which reports under two segments — Google Services and Google Cloud. The non-Google businesses fall under the Other Bets revenues were $350 billion in 2024, up 14% over 2023. Google Services, Google Cloud and Other Bets generated 87.1%, 12.4% and 0.5% of total revenues, Google Services includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The segment generates revenues primarily from performance and brand advertising, which remains crucial for the overall business. Ad revenues accounted for 75.6% of the total revenues in Cloud is comprised of Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace. Its key capabilities include AI infrastructure, database and analytics, collaboration tools, cybersecurity and generative Bets is a combination of multiple businesses, generating revenues primarily from the sale of healthcare-related and internet services. Bottom Line Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For Alphabet, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today. A $1000 investment made in July 2015 would be worth $5,247.99, or a gain of 424.80%, as of July 18, 2025, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 196.12% and gold's return of 183.10% over the same time frame. Analysts are anticipating more upside for GOOGL. Alphabet is riding on strong cloud and search growth. Google Cloud is benefiting from accelerated growth across AI infrastructure, enterprise AI platform Vertex and strong adoption of Generative AI solutions. The company expects capital expenditures in 2025 to be relatively higher than in 2024, aimed at building technical infrastructure, primarily for servers, followed by data centers and networking. Its dominant position in the search engine market is a strong growth driver. In first-quarter 2025, GOOGL saw continued double-digit revenue growth in Search. Alphabet surpassed 270 million paid subscriptions with YouTube and Google One as key drivers. However, increasing litigation issues are a concern. Intensifying competition from Microsoft and Amazon in cloud computing is a headwind. Shares have underperformed its industry year to date. Shares have gained 5.92% over the past four weeks and there have been 4 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2025 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati


Forbes
3 days ago
- Forbes
Android & ChromeOS: Google's Plan To Reinvent Your Laptop And Your Phone
Google's plans to merge elements of Android and ChromeOS bring significant opportunities to both ... More laptops and smartphones. Despite initial reports, ChromeOS isn't turning into Android, but it is evolving into an upgraded operating system with Android fundamentals at its core, promising improved performance and, as you might expect, more advanced AI features. Google ignited speculation last week when Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat told Tech Radar the company will be 'combining ChromeOS and Android into a single platform.' The announcement immediately prompted questions about the future of both Chromebooks and Android devices. Could this move spell the end for ChromeOS as we know it? How would the Education sector, which relies on the simplicity, multi-user capabilities, and inherent security of ChromeOS, adjust to running full-blown Android with its slower update cycles and touch-first app ecosystem? Android and ChromeOS Won't Merge Completely However, the truth is that we can expect rather less dramatic changes to either OS, at least in the near future. Samat quickly clarified his statement in a recent tweet, stating: 'Great to see so much interest in this topic! To reiterate what we announced in our 2024 blog post: we're building the ChromeOS experience on top of Android underlying technology to unlock new levels of performance, iterate faster, & make your laptop + phone work better together. I'm excited about it!' — Sameer Samat, President, Android Ecosystem. The blog post in question explains how Google's ChromeOS development will continue unabated, but will become increasingly reliant on Android underpinnings. This should result in a more unified code base that reduces the workload for developers and streamlines access to AI features, such as Gemini. More importantly, the company has stated its intention to continue delivering the 'unmatched security, consistent look and feel, and extensive management capabilities that ChromeOS users, enterprises, and schools love.' If Samat intended merely to reiterate these claims, rather than announce a full-scale merger of the two operating systems, then we can be confident that ChromeOS isn't going away any time soon, but there will be a lot more Android under the hood from now on. What Does Android Code Mean For Budget Chromebooks? However, this change still raises important questions about how Chromebooks might handle a greater reliance on Android in the future. Google claims the new code base will usher in 'new levels of performance,' but entry-level Chromebooks, costing $250 or less, currently offer much lower hardware specifications than would typically be required for a smooth Android experience. It's not unusual to see ChromeOS devices with just 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, a specification which seems woefully underpowered compared to budget Android devices. It will be interesting to see what effect Google's plans will have on hardware requirements and pricing in the future. Android Joins ChromeOS: Significant Benefits For Both It would, of course, be great to see some benefits coming in the other direction, from ChromeOS to Android. For example, Android's emerging desktop mode promises a powerful, large-screen experience for smartphones connected to external displays, but it's a far cry from the mature, polished desktop experience offered by ChromeOS. A shared underlying codebase could accelerate development in this area and significantly improve interactions between laptops and smartphones. Google adds Linux support to Android with an experimental Terminal app. The unified codebase could also unlock new features for both platforms: Android apps could run directly on ChromeOS, eliminating the current need for a complex virtual machine layer and providing better performance and greater compatibility. A key benefit of ChromeOS is its ability to support multiple users per device. Adding proper multi-user support to the Android stack would make it easier for Google to bring this capability to Android smartphones and tablets. ChromeOS can run Steam games, thanks to built-in Linux support. ChromeOS also offers established support for running Linux apps, and even games on the Steam platform. We've already seen early signs of Linux support in Android via the new Terminal app. Since Linux support is a vital component of ChromeOS, we can now feel confident that this feature will continue to be developed, bringing exciting new opportunities to Android devices. Imminent changes to Android and ChromeOS may not be as dramatic as we thought, but significant changes are coming that should benefit everyone. Would you want an Android-powered Chromebook?


Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
Why Google's ChromeOS merging with Android make sense
Google announced this week that it will merge ChromeOS with Android in an effort to streamline its operating systems. The confirmation came from Android Ecosystem President Sameer Samat, who first made the announcement in an interview with TechRadar and later posted it on X. Android and ChromeOS were developed in parallel, but now both operating systems are merging. The merger was originally expected to happen in 2015, so it has been a long time coming. Google had been hinting at the merger for some time, including last year when it announced that ChromeOS would be built on the Android tech stack, including the Android kernel. For years, ChromeOS has been centered on laptops, while Android has dominated the mobile ecosystem. ChromeOS, for its part, has been a semi-successful operating system, but it has often been described as a 'barebones' OS. Essentially, it's built on Linux and stripped down to the bare essentials. One of ChromeOS's advantages is its ease of use. While it offers a desktop environment similar to what you would find on a Windows laptop or Mac, it mainly includes basic tools like a file browser, video/image viewer, Settings app, and the Chrome web browser. ChromeOS run web apps, Android apps and Linux apps, but not the best-in-class apps. One of the advantages of ChromeOS is that it can run smoothly on low-end hardware. Google has partnered with major OEMs to launch Chromebooks, and in fact, ChromeOS has received major updates in recent years. These include improved desktop management, Phone Hub integration, AI features, and the Chromebook Plus certification for high-end devices, among others. Google merging ChromeOS and Android makes a lot of sense. While Chromebooks have been a popular choice for students, these devices have struggled to compete with Apple's iPad and Windows computers, despite improvements in Chromebook hardware in recent years. At the same time, Google has faced an uphill battle in making its Android tablets as capable as the iPad, even though features like multitasking and desktop-like functionality have been added. To date, despite Google's promises, Android still doesn't feel desktop-ready. Most Android apps don't look great on larger screens. Sure, Android has improved support for keyboards and mice, and even includes features like multiple desktop support, already present in ChromeOS but the operating system still feels best suited for mobile, not for larger-screen devices like tablets and laptops. It's no surprise, then, that Google previously experimented with ChromeOS tablets, an idea that failed to gain traction. In fact, ChromeOS has started to feel directionless in recent years. Honestly, Android does everything ChromeOS does but much better; meanwhile, ChromeOS can do what Android does, but actually worse. At one point, ChromeOS was a frequent topic of discussion, but lately, Google has barely mentioned it during its annual developer conferences. Chromebooks have also become less visible in the marketplace, raising questions about the future of ChromeOS. While Google continues to highlight Android and its new features, ChromeOS has largely been pushed to the sidelines. In fact, Android is becoming more like ChromeOS, thanks to the upcoming addition of desktop multitasking support. With Google turning Android into a more capable desktop operating system while ChromeOS remains largely unchanged, it suggests that Android may eventually take over the role of ChromeOS. Now that Google is merging ChromeOS and Android into a single unified operating system, although how Google plans to do this still remains unclear, a single platform could bring complete cross-functionality, which would be a major change. In fact, it could be the beginning of Google's personal computing efforts, which the company has struggled to compete with both Apple and Microsoft. Right now, there is some level of cross-functionality between ChromeOS and Android, but it feels half-baked. ChromeOS already supports Android apps, and the Google Play Store somewhat bridges the gap. A merger between ChromeOS and Android would allow developers to focus on a single platform, enabling consumers to access apps seamlessly whether they are on a phone, tablet, or laptop. A unified operating system could solve this fragmentation, especially if Google develops a desktop version of Android. This would open the door to an Android-based platform that retains the familiarity of Android while offering the flexibility to run just as well on tablets as on laptops. However, a key challenge for Google is deciding whether to retain Chromebooks or move away from them entirely. Chromebooks run on reference platforms and currently benefit from up to 10 years of software updates, as promised by Google. Achieving that same level of long-term support with a unified operating system may be difficult, especially since traditional laptops typically receive far less software support than Chromebooks. The US Department of Justice has been calling for Google to divest its Chrome browser, following an August ruling that the company holds a monopoly in the search market. Chrome, the browser Google launched in 2008, is at the center of the controversy. It provides Google with user data that is then used for ad targeting, generating billions in revenue. With the DOJ now considering the idea of forcing Google to sell Chrome, the outcome could be disastrous for the tech giant. Google will almost certainly fight the case and present counterarguments as to why Chrome should remain under its control. However, one possible way for Google to protect ChromeOS while mitigating the risk of losing both users and revenue could be to merge ChromeOS with Android. If Google is forced to sell off its Chrome browser, the future of the Chromium codebase becomes uncertain, as Google is its largest financial supporter and technical contributor. This could further complicate the future of ChromeOS. Therefore, merging the two platforms may ultimately be in Google's best interest. Anuj Bhatia is a personal technology writer at who has been covering smartphones, personal computers, gaming, apps, and lifestyle tech actively since 2011. He specialises in writing longer-form feature articles and explainers on trending tech topics. His unique interests encompass delving into vintage tech, retro gaming and composing in-depth narratives on the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. He covers major international tech conferences and product launches from the world's biggest and most valuable tech brands including Apple, Google and others. At the same time, he also extensively covers indie, home-grown tech startups. Prior to joining The Indian Express in late 2016, he served as a senior tech writer at My Mobile magazine and previously held roles as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. Anuj holds a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. Email: ... Read More


Digital Trends
4 days ago
- Digital Trends
Google confirms merging Chrome OS and Android into one platform
Why it matters: Google's push to blend Chrome OS and Android could supercharge affordable laptops like Chromebooks, making them more versatile for work and play. This move echoes Apple's seamless ecosystem across iPadOS and macOS, potentially shaking up the PC market where Windows dominates but innovation lags. What's happening: In a bombshell interview, Google's Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat outright confirmed the company is 'combining Chrome OS and Android into a single platform. This follows months of rumors and aligns with Android 16's new desktop-friendly features, like proper windowing and external display support. But then Samat later clarified on X that it's not a full-on merger killing Chrome OS; instead, it's about weaving Android's tech stack deeper into Chrome for better app compatibility and hardware efficiency. Recommended Videos The big picture: Chrome OS has long borrowed from Android, starting with Google Play Store integration back in 2016, allowing millions of apps on Chromebooks. We've seen hints of this evolution for years—remember when Android apps first hit Chrome OS? Now, with AI taking off and foldables rising, a unified OS could mean Chromebooks evolve into hybrid beasts: lightweight for browsing, robust for productivity. It might boost Google's Pixel lineup too, turning tablets into laptop rivals. Critics worry about bloat or higher hardware demands, but fans see it as Google's smartest play in ages. The details: Timeline unclear: No firm dates yet, but Android 16's desktop tweaks suggest progress by 2026. No firm dates yet, but Android 16's desktop tweaks suggest progress by 2026. Key changes: Expect enhanced multitasking, better keyboard/mouse support, and seamless app scaling across phones, tablets, and laptops. Expect enhanced multitasking, better keyboard/mouse support, and seamless app scaling across phones, tablets, and laptops. Impacts: Chromebooks could get longer updates like Android devices, but older models might struggle. Google's eyeing how people use laptops today to refine it—think more touch-friendly interfaces without losing desktop power (and yes, those horrible fingerprints on the screen). Chromebooks could get longer updates like Android devices, but older models might struggle. Google's eyeing how people use laptops today to refine it—think more touch-friendly interfaces without losing desktop power (and yes, those horrible fingerprints on the screen). Competition angle: This pits Google directly against Microsoft's Windows on ARM and Apple's M-series chips, aiming for energy-efficient, app-rich computing. What's next: Google's keeping details under wraps, but watch for beta tests in upcoming Android updates. If executed right, this could redefine budget computing—stay tuned as we test the first merged devices. For now, it's a bold step toward a truly connected Google world.