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Comment by tartaglia | Hacker News Reader

I just had a vision: Amazon Basics Laptops

That's very interesting. A CR-48 looking, basic laptop with workable keyboard and trackpad. Chrome/Chromium OS (similar to CloudReady) since all the schools are on Google. If they could get it to $249 with reasonable performance, they could crush it.

Since we’re fantasising, I’d say a bare metal Linux distro — or a fork of Chromium OS — running as web client for AWS Workspaces. The downside is that you need an Internet connection at all times, and possibly a subscription.

To continue the fantasy: Amazon uses their experience with Stadia to deliver high-quality virtual desktops to thin client laptops.

You own nothing but the locked-down terminal that connects you to the AWS virtual desktop cloud.

Would they really want to use Google's OS? I would expect a FireTop, right?

I would assume that they would go under the Fire branding, like FireBook.

They had a FirePhone but they seemed to not push it to hard and dropped it.

They couldn't convince developers to publish applications to the Amazon Store, which meant that the device was substantially less useful than a Google Android phone.

That's not a vision, that's a nightmare.

Wait till you hear the best part. Like the Kindle, they will ship it with ads as screensaver. Additionally, you will receive promoted notifications once in a while.

You pay 529.99$ upfront, or a monthly subscription, in order to remove the ads and enjoy your O.S. powered by AWS Workspaces.

We're already living in Cyberpunk 2077...

And like their Halo Band, it'll listen in on your conversations to constantly assess your tone + upload semi-nude pics of you to AWS?

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