NYC

Just as we're wrapping up day one of Google I/O 2011,  Forbes  received an interesting piece of information regarding Chrome OS. According to an unnamed senior Google executive, tomorrow's keynote will see the launch of a Chrome laptop sold as an attractive $20-per-month "student package." If true, this will make a compelling option for laptop-seeking students bounded by a limited budget (booze before books, right?), and  Forbes  speculates that a similar enterprise offering will follow soon -- makes sense considering Google's already cozying up to businesses with its $50-a-year Google Appssuite. Anyhow, all will be unveiled soon enough -- keep an eye out for our Google I/O day 2 liveblog tomorrow for the full monty. Forbes

A month or so ago, we reported that Kno was looking for a way out of the tablet hardware business and intended to transition itself into a purely software-centric operation. Well, now Bloomberg and All Things D tell us that a deal has been worked out to make that desire a reality. A $30 million investment round led by Intel Capital has reportedly been arranged, whose stipulations include granting Intel a license to the hardware designs and blueprints of the original dual-screen tablet. Chipzilla's share of the new buy-in is estimated at around $20 million, though before you start fantasizing about what the company's financial and R&D muscle could do for the platform, we should note that it apparently doesn't intend to build any tablets of its own. The goal is simply to obtain the kno how and share it with its OEM partners (while inevitably tying that gesture of goodwill to more chip orders). As to Kno itself, it'll try to exploit the new cash in its co...