Google PC Rumors at CES

Fascinating, isn't it, that the hottest rumor during CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas this year was about a Google PC? There are two ways you can leverage this to your advantage.

First, if excitement at your company about a Google PC springs from a desire to get away from Microsoft, you can fan the flames of rebellion to your advantage. You may leave a copy of the book "Just Say No to Microsoft" from No Starch Press laying around. The author gets a bit worked up at times, but offers excellent advice about switching to Macintosh or Linux. Tired of your budget being eaten by Microsoft Office invoices? Read advice about switching away from Word and Office in chapters 4 and 5.

Such head-on assaults won't knock Microsoft backwards, but they may slow the growth of Microsoft on your network. You benefit from such a slowing by retaining more budget dollars and increasing security. Once a vice president authorizes one non-Microsoft product, authorizing a few more is an easy next step.

Second, if your company loves the idea of a Google PC to move to a thin desktop client that users can't screw up easily, several Linux distributions will provide today what a Google PC may provide in the future (if one ever does hit the streets).

Companies put PCs on desks to give knowledge workers flexibility and application choices. But supporting those choices, and maintaining their security, takes more time and money than anyone expected. A locked-down Linux distribution, even on older hardware, makes a great pilot demonstration. You can't replace all your Microsoft-laden PCs with Linux in this lifetime, but you can pick your battles and roll some out where important.

Would it help your budget and manpower requirements if 20 percent of the next desktop rollout wasn't Windows and Office? Many corporate PCs never run anything but e-mail, a browser, and a simple word processor. Locking down Windows so users can't change it takes effort, but locking down a Linux operating system to that degree takes little work.

Just tell your vice presidents the Linux boxes are the best guess at what a Google PC will look like. They'll buy that, because they all wish they could have gotten some Google stock when it hit Wall Street.