Ask Paul: October 25 (Premium)

Happy Friday! And Happy (early) Halloween, since this will be the last Ask Paul of October.
Ambient computing
Simard57 asks:

Is your vision of Ambiant Computing evolving as you expect?

Yes and no. Like so much else I think is obvious, it’s happening more slowly than I’d imagined it would.

Will the different ecosystems (Alexa, Google, Apple?, others...) become compatible with each other or will the walls separating them be in place for a long time?

I feel like the combination of actual interoperability (Cortana and Alexa working together, for example) and the need for universal compatibility on the part of third-party devices and services (at least with the most popular assistants) is already solving this problem. But only for the top players: Microsoft and Samsung (and whomever else) will need to be proactive on the both fronts to ensure they’re not just left in the dust.

lastly - who will win? if you were a betting man would it be Google, Amazon or the field? I am betting on the field.

If you had asked me this a year ago---maybe even a month or two ago---I would have said that Google is the obvious winner in the long term but that it would never be totally dominant because Alexa and Siri will always command large audiences. Today, however, I’m increasingly thinking that this market is Amazon’s to lose, and that Amazon and Google will either be neck-and-neck for the foreseeable future or Alexa will be number one. Amazon is so serious about this market, it’s rather incredible how many products and services they release. Google just seems curiously inactive by comparison.
Pixelbook Go
christianwilson asks:

Do you have any plans to review the Pixelbook Go?

No, sorry. I don’t feel this device differentiates itself from third-party Chromebooks enough to even consider it. And with Chromebook, there isn’t as much need to get a clean version of the OS from Google, since all Chromebooks are crapware free. You can just shop on specs, quality, and price.

I am considering a Chromebook for around the home and have looked at several options. The Lenovo Chromebook S340 is one that has my attention but I really like the look, size, and hardware specs of the Pixelbook Go. The pricetag is a bit higher than I want to spend on a Chromebook but if it is a quality computer that performs significantly better than the "budget" Chromebooks out there, I don't mind spending the money.

My favorite Chromebook is the Acer Chromebook Spin. It’s a year old, but it has a 3:2 display and a 2-in-1 form factor, which I like. It’s about $725 on Amazon. The two Chromebooks I’m seriously evaluating right now, the Acer Chromebook 714 (high-end model is about $600 on Amazon) and HP Chromebook x360 14 (Core i3 is about $450 on Amazon), are both quite good as well. The former has a fingerprint reader, which is fantastic (I find Chromebook sign-in to be a bit tedious) and the latter in a 2-in-1 convertible. Both are excellent b...