Why Microsoft Should Underwrite nVidia

With the recent announcement of Google Chrome OS, many are wondering what Microsoft should do about it. Though doing nothing might work, it is doubtful that the greater market will see it that way.

As rough and slipshod as Chrome OS might be today, we know that the Google development cycle never stops, unlike the fitful stops and starts of the cycle of Microsoft. But something developed by nVidia could be the savior for Microsoft in the netbook scene.

the ION platform, which is an nVidia solution on a chip that melds with an Intel Atom processor fixes many of the shortcomings of the Intel Atom solution.

As this notice about a netbook change for Asus shows us (Maximum PC) -

Asus is about to make a big change to their Eee PC line of products. The netbook pioneer has announced that all their future Eee PCs will come equipped with Nvidia ION instead of the slower Intel solution most netbooks and nettops use now. Nvidia claims that ION is ten times faster than Intel’s integrated solution.

ION is famous for being capable of outputting 1080p video without using much power. The ION platform is also able to run Aero cleanly on Windows 7. “These PCs will run circles around most Atom-based systems, so they are an excellent solution,” said Industry analyst Jon Peddie. With the upcoming Flash 10.1 supporting video acceleration, you can expect smooth flash video at long last.

That capability means that Microsoft Windows 7 will run more than acceptably on a netbook, which is certainly going to appeal to more users than any polished version of Chrome OS. It is what the user base knows, it will be the same look and feel as what they find on their desk. And it will require no period of acclimation whatsoever.

So, while Intel might not like the fact that their entire solution is not being used, the nVidia ION solution will be a godsend for Microsoft in their war to fend off Google on the net top. They won’t have to continue to offer XP either! All that is required is to make the nVidia platform monetarily acceptable to the masses, which means a small price reduction.

Microsoft can do themselves quite a favor by doing a small favor for nVidia, which will keep the green glow going, and at the same time help the nVidia CEO open a small can of whoop-ass on Intel.

Everybody but Intel wins big, and Intel still wins, just not quite as big as they’d otherwise like. The only possible loser is Google, and they still win, just on a smaller scale (people will still be searching with Google!)

§

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

•