Why are Google, Apple and Microsoft so interested in students?

[OyaYansa]

 

Something moves in the world of technology. an almost underground current that is beginning to be seen in some aspects. We do not refer specifically to the so-called convergence of operating systems, the goal of making mobile and desktop computers share the same ecosystem of applications and services provided - and this is what interests owners - for the same brand.

For several months several important announcements have been made by the main technology companies. First, it was the start of Google's Fuchsia Project, designed to create a new convergent operating system to replace the Chrome OS of Chromebooks. The new OS will be fully compatible with Android applications and has already been seen.

On the other hand, Microsoft does not want to miss this train, and announced Windows 10 S, a version of W10 adapted to more economically affordable equipment and fully focused on its application store.

What are both companies looking for? Easy: catch the user in their ecosystem. Google already does almost on Android, with many apps and services for all kinds of things, but now they want to do it at multiplatform level and for everyone, not only for advanced users

 

Apple, for the moment one step ahead
While these two companies announce efforts, Apple is not far behind. It just does not move at the same speed because they have already managed to attract millions of users to its ecosystem. Many of the owners of an iPhone also have an iPad and a Mac, and that is precisely what Google and Microsoft are pursuing right now.

The main difference is that Apple does not bet on low cost as its two main competitors. Chromebooks are quite cheap laptops, like those that come with Winows 10 S. Without going any further, Microsoft has just announced in the US a range of PCs below $ 300.

Getting it is difficult, since you have to convince the user to buy all kinds of products and to ignore the siren songs of other brands, but not impossible. To achieve this, the three aforementioned companies have targeted the target public most vulnerable to their efforts: the students.

 

Why do these companies want to sell a laptop to your child?
The goal of all technology, like that of any private company, is to make money. To earn money you have to sell more products and services, in this case software and equipment, but why this interest in students? That Google, Apple and Microsoft want to sell a laptop to your child before you have an explanation.

The word is loyalty. If from small they get used to working with an operating system, especially if mobile and computer converge, when they are older they will be used to it and will continue using it. It may seem a simplistic logic, but the truth is that Windows has worked perfectly: most of the po[CENSORED]tion has neither tried nor is interested in switching to another system.

Now all these companies want to repeat the move but on a larger scale and earlier, hence they continually make offers for students, either with Chromebooks or with new Windows devices, beyond applications to edit text online or file sharing. They want everything, from start to finish: from turning on the computer until you save and share work and how you follow the evolution in the mobile: all in the same ecosystem owned by the same company.

The best example of this, so that it is well understood, is perhaps Google Docs. If you have a Chromebook, you use the Google operating system. You work in Docs and share your files via Drive, also from Google. Then, you solve problems with your Android phone, also from Google.

All technological giants have their guaranteed short and medium term survival. Now the goal is not to become IBM or Messenger: to work ten years ahead or more, to lay the first stone of its future benefits by loyalizing clients that are not yet.

 

Why competition is good for society
This is good for the winner of the race, but also for society. A bounce soon their efforts translate into better software and hardware, cheaper equipment and more complete educational programs. Thanks to the competition, we have more options than ever to study and work, and they are already starting to move to promote educational programs focused on technology in the classroom.

The acquisition of computer skills at any level is good news. The economy is already digital and will be even more so in the future. Think that in technology the time invested is never lost and that today's mobile can be the key to the work of the future. In fact, it is almost certainly the case.