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ASUS' latest Chromebook is rugged enough for kids
ASUS made a name for itself in the crowded Chrome OS scene with the Chromebook Flip, and now it's ready to bring that design know-how to the classroom. The company's new Chromebook C202 is tailor-made to survive the kind of abuse you'd expect in schools. It has the rugged, drop-resistant body you've seen in rivals, but it's also designed to help out in the event it does break. Its modular body lets you easily replace parts like the battery, keyboard and power socket, and it's easy to tear apart the whole machine with standard tools.
Project Brillo is Google's platform for the Internet of Things
Google wants to be everywhere in your home, not just hiding inside your thermostats and smoke alarms. That's why, as rumored, it's just announced Project Brillo, a super-slim operating system that's designed specifically for devices collectively known as the Internet of Things. If you're feeling a sense of deja vu, don't -- the company has already dipped a toe or two into this market before, with 2011's quietly abandoned Android@Home project. As expected, Project Brillo is based on Android, but pared down enough to operate on a wide variety of day-to-day (and traditionally dumb) objects -- doorbells, baby cameras, ovens and so on that speak to each other via Bluetooth and WiFi.
Google reportedly building an OS for the Internet of Things
The Information reports that Google is working on a new Android-based operating system to run specifically on the emerging class of low-power devices, aka the Internet of Things. This new OS, dubbed "Brillo", is supposedly quite petite and may require as little as 32 or 64 megabytes of RAM to run. This marks a significant departure for Google considering its latest Android build demanded at least 512MB of RAM. However there's a lot to be gained by being the OS that drives out smart bulbs, thermostats and locks. Not only does it free OEMs from having to design their own IoT communications schemes, it should also strongly position the Mountain View-based company as the invisible backbone of tomorrow's smart home. If this rumor is indeed true, Google will likely announce it at next week's I/O developers conference. Stay tuned.
