Bloodthirsty thrill in Google vs. Microsoft, a cheaper Kindle, and the automation paradox

Today’s Short Circuit finds coverage of Google’s decision to build a PC operating system called Chrome OS. In the Wall Street Journal,  Jessica E. Vascellaro and Don Clark write, “Google Inc.’s plan to build a computer operating system confirms what Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has downplayed for years: The Internet giant is challenging Microsoft Corp. in virtually all its businesses.” They call it a risky strategy that could distract from Google’s focus of selling online advertising. Meanwhile, the New York Times editorializes, “There is a kind of bloodthirsty thrill in learning that Google plans to develop a personal computer operating system to compete with Microsoft Windows. We like competition, especially in a market that Microsoft has so thoroughly dominated since the dawn of the PC.” The Times urges Google to ensure that Chrome OS provides security and privacy protections. The BBC reports that Google is working with Chrome OS hardware including Acer, Asus, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba on Chrome OS projects.

The Mercury News reports that Amazon is reducing the price of its Kindle by $60, to $299. Amazon, according to the Mercury News, attributes the price reduction to increased volumes and lowered manufacturing costs. The larger Kindle DX remains at $489, the News reports.

In Slate’s Human Nature blog, William Saletan addresses the automation paradox, citing an earlier Washington Post item by Shankar Vedantam. Vedantam article focused on the June Metrorail crash in DC, which killed nine people. Writes Vedantam writes that the problem with investigations into such crashes focus “on discrete aspects of machine or human error, whereas the real problem often lies in the relationship between humans and their automated systems.”

In Saletan’s post, he mentions that problems with the human/machine interface can be addressed by taking control away from machines, taking control away from humans, or “teach the humans how to read and collaborate with the machine’s intentions.” Saletan adds, “We have to know when to second-guess our machines and how to operate without their help. Sometimes, they’ll err fatally unless we intervene. But our intervention can itself be fatal. The key is to understand when to step in and when to butt out. That’s the role of human intelligence in a machine-controlled world.”

In related news, The Boston Globe reports that a Green Line trolley operator “who told authorities he was text messaging his girlfriend before a serious crash on May 8 was indicted yesterday on a negligence charge that carries up to three years in prison.”

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In “Rick’s Short Circuit,” I tour general-interest Web sites looking for technology news to summarize for you so you can spend more time visiting www.edn.com and www.tmworld.com or following me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Rick_editor.

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Highlights from EDN and Test & Measurement World: Contributing editor and Northeastern student Jennifer Kempe takes a look at SCRATCHbot (Spatial Cognition and Representation through Active TouCH) technology from the combined efforts of the Bristol Robotics Lab and the University of Sheffield; she wirtes that the technology “represents another important advancement in the development of animal-inspired artificial intelligence.”See also:

Google’s Chrome O/S: Why Is Anyone Surprised? (Our own Brian Dipert addresses the emerging operating system.)

Verigy introduces V101 zero-footprint tester for cost-sensitive ICs. (But how does the V101 compare to Ocelot? The Ocelot targets SOCs more than MCUs; I’ll check for more details.)

EEs, vendors search for their voice, and answers, in social media.