CHROMEBOOKS portable dumb terminals in a dying form factor for the 21st century and other google chrome OS related nonsense

so I just got one from google, will liveblog

free 3G from verizon for 2 years, 100MB/month

no caps lock key

oh lol I heard about that

lol @ google

no buttons on trackpad

looks kinda boring

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/IMG-20110523-00101.jpg

lol it looks like a fake they would use on a furniture showroom for staging a desk

it does!

you can leave it out and no one will steal it, oh look a fake laptop

nice keyboard, kinda reminds me of another line of laptops, can't think which though :(

they call the address bar the omnibox, isn't that cute? no it's dumb

took about an hour for the OS update to apply the first time I turned it on

default is to prefer wifi connections over 3G, A+

this thing has virtually no hard drive, right

I think it's got 16GB? can't figure out how to tell yet

part of the strategy appears to be to hide the hard drive from the user so completely that they will give up trying to find it and submit to the cloud

these things make really good sense in a setting where different people are using different computers all the time and are saving things to the network. i work in a school where we have 1 macbook for every two kids and they do pretty much all of their work in google docs or on the web. really the only thing they are doing locally on the machines is photoshop / final cut but they have a mac pro lab where they can do that, and one of these days aviary is probably going to be good enough to fill that role.

there is a chromebook app store!

lol @ 100mb a month

how heavy is it?

not very? heavier than an ipad2, lighter than a regular laptop... I guess usual netbook weight

SSD, no cd/dvd drive

first app downloaded: notepad

doesn't seem to be any GPS capability w/ google maps, which is kinda ridic when this is native capability on google maps for other 3g devices like blackberry, ipad, etc

does it have a gps chip?

dunno

acer and samsung are producing the actual real life chromebooks, this is an eval device straight from google, no manufacturer or specs provided

http://sullysrental.com/home/images/sawzall.png

you know what you must do

am i missing something? what is the point of this thing?

^^^ asking the tough questions

to get to files you have on your hard drive, you go to wrench icon -> tools -> file manager, it opens as another tab in yr browser where you can easily review all the files you cannot open

james, imagine if one night you and your friends got really really high on the promise of cloud computing, this is the mess you would wake up to in the morning

right--excellent!

I downloaded sonic youth's 2002 perf at terrastock

it is a rar file, there is no rar app for chrome so

this thing is just for browsing the web, right?

how was yours free? I want a free one too. I don't get anything for free.

to get to files you have on your hard drive, you go to wrench icon -> tools -> file manager

it's not a good sign when everything you do starts with a spanner

why would an enterprise user need to download a file?

it's not a computer - it's a terminal

it's an OS with a file system and it can run native apps, but there are not many apps available, so at this point it's just for browsing the web

I filled out a survey last year when they put out a call for testers, never heard back from them and totally forgot about it until one showed up today, it helps if you are responsible for IT purchasing at your place of business

xps to akm

by 2013 this will either be great or extinct

It just seems like you'll come across interesting things, try to download them, and be fucked because there's no room and no way to run them.

hey that's how every computer in the world gets fucked up!

why would an enterprise user need to download a file?

let's say an enterprise user runs a report from a data warehouse that outputs in pdf or csv format, they need to email it to their boss who never bothered to learn how to do it themselves. how do they attach it to an email without downloading it?

one of your suppliers has new images that need to be integrated into your marketing materials. they direct you to their online image database where you can download the zipped files. how do you download them?

I mean, I get the nirvana this device is designed to support, I just don't think we're there yet, especially with enterprise business systems that evolve just slightly faster than actual biological evolution

let's say an enterprise user runs a report from a data warehouse that outputs in pdf or csv format, they need to email it to their boss who never bothered to learn how to do it themselves. how do they attach it to an email without downloading it?

the ipad is a proto-chromebook in this regard

I actually spent the last few weeks evaluating an ipad2 so the comparison is fresh in my mind, I'd say the chromebook feels like a proto-ipad

you can download a csv to an ipad, and open it, the good thing with the ipad is a lot of ppl are developing apps to support non-mac file formats and protocols (I can RDC to a windows server from an ipad!)

the chromebook will become more useful if google can gather the necessary "there's an app for that" momentum, at the mo their app store feels more like the lolful blackberry app store

the touchscreen of the ipad does feel like the future of device interactivity tho

Dear Chrome Pilot user,

Streaming is not currently supported on your device. We're working with Google to ensure that Chromebook users can instantly watch TV shows and movies from Netflix. More details will be announced in the coming months.

i meant the ipad's way of handling the lack of a file system will determine the success or otherwise of other platforms that want to do the same thing (especially a PC-ish platform like this chromebook)

gotcha

thank god www.adventureti.me is working

I guess I could disappear into a k-hole of residents videos on youtube

lol i wonder if some crazy spod will get "CHROMEBOOK" tattooed on his back

let's say an enterprise user runs a report from a data warehouse that outputs in pdf or csv format, they need to email it to their boss who never bothered to learn how to do it themselves. how do they attach it to an email without downloading it?

the thinking is that the data warehouse is using a web-based system that doesn't need a file output, and your boss has access to the same cloud file storage, so you don't attach it, you share it to your boss through a system like google docs.

one of your suppliers has new images that need to be integrated into your marketing materials. they direct you to their online image database where you can download the zipped files. how do you download them?

if you are designing marketing materials you are probably using indesign or illustrator and you want a computer for that, not a chromebook.

Yeah, I think chromebooks will be applicable in schools and battery-farm workplaces, not so much for DTP

(or DJP)

;_;

you didn't seem impressed

why aren't I using an online app for a design program? because either the existing ones aren't robust enough, or because businesses are already leveraged (from a software and experience perspective) in things like illustrator. same thing goes for my hypothetical data warehouse - most data warehouses are not cloud-aware, let alone ones that were implemented 5-10 years ago.

the chrome OS is an opportunity to change that model, but even with the chromebook I still need to download files before uploading them to google docs - that's efficient! would be interesting if a download link prompted you to transfer a file directly to an online storage area but it doesn't work that way. you still need local storage, if only as a waystation.

if we want all-cloud, we need online storage services that act like local hard drives. it would be cool if every chromebook came with 100GB of free online storage as integrated as the local hard drive, and apps to support the top 50 file formats. that would be a game changer.

xp to moonship obv

gadgets are like Pokemon to me

except for the iPad

google has produced a great product that fits so narrow a criteria as to preclude any widespread adoption, I don't see how they're going to compete against existing tablets/smartphones/laptops/netbooks in any meaningful way

you don't upload files to google docs. you work online in google docs. if you are authoring things that need something more robust than google docs you need something more robust than a chromebook.

the chromebook is for people who want their users to do a few things through a web app. in my case, i have 75 students who need to do email, internet, no-frills document creation and basic spreadsheet practice. i don't want them to fuck around with a file system, with downloading things while at school, with making private directories that i can't get into, etc etc

imagine using chromebooks to run a telemarketing call center or to use as customer kiosks. it would make way more sense to use chromebooks for these purposes than a full-fledged PC.

chromebooks would actually be awesome for retail, especially if you are doing something that's already web-based like, say, a cell phone store.

i guess this brings up the issue of security

the chromebook prolly couldn't run an integrated call center or point of sale app unless it was pure HTML, doesn't seem to like enterprise java apps much

it could get there, but currently has a very narrow scope of applicability imo

and now for some paranoia

http://memeburn.com/2011/05/chromebook-awesome-if-it-wasn%E2%80%99t-from-google-2/comment-page-1/

oops that link was goofy

http://gearburn.com/2011/05/chromebook-awesome-if-it-wasn%E2%80%99t-from-google/

the chromebook prolly couldn't run an integrated call center or point of sale app unless it was pure HTML

right, which at this point is pretty much what is going on at the AT&T store, the ebay call center, the apple store, etc etc

maybe I'm out of the loop, but call centers running *pure* HTML apps? every predictive dialer or caller screen-pop app I've seen relies on some java or windows component for integration back to the phone switch, even if it's running in a browser. a lot of call center apps nowadays are directly integrated with chat clients and corporate email servers. those aren't apps a chromebook is going to run right out of the box.

unless the chat client / email server is google apps

in which case they're prolly not integrated with the phone switch? recent call center evolution has been towards unified communication - agents log in and queue up to handle chat, email, and phone calls, everything gets routed and treated the same by the call center management software. that's the type of optimized business app that a chromebook isn't going to support, at least in this iteration.

if you're saying the chromebook will work well in companies that rely exclusively on google docs and apps, well yeah, I agree totally. but that doesn't seem very exciting or transformative, and I'm guessing represents a pretty narrow slice of the business world.

battery life on this thing is fantastic btw

like how many hours

dying form factor

i know this is like consensus now but i disagree so much. netbooks are really the perfect form factor for me. i have to do long journeys all the time and with a netbook i can just open it up and work anywhere even on the tiny little table seats on trains to birmingham. i see these ppl with their tablets sitting across the aisle desperately trying to type an email smearing their fingers across those disgusting greasy screens and i just wonder what people see in those dumbass tablets.

fuck the cloud tho

Ed, serious question ...

did the citrix app for chrome get built? article here : http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=2306031

if so, it suddenly becomes much more viable imo.

this thread just makes me want a macbook air all the more, I was gonna buy one but then upgrades were rumored

Yeah I'm interested in the citrix v google cloud concept too. I dont know a huge amount about this stuff but as someone who works in the ISP space this stuff interests me quite a bit. There's a huge debate in our country at the moment about the NBN - a planned govt rollout of fibre to the home, basically - and so many people say "well why would I want this? Im happy with my cheap ADSL" but if everything moves to cloud/streamed/on demand, then it immediately becomes very pressing an issue. Esp here where they charge for fucking data by the mb (thats slowly changing but not encouragingly so).

battery life is around 8 - 10 hours

re: dying form factor, yeah me being snarky there but after using the ipad for a couple weeks it did feel a bit hard to get excited about yet another laptop... I usually hate touchscreen keyboards but have to admit they make a lot more sense when they're hueg, ps maybe you should consider handing out disinfectant wetnaps to yr disgusting + greasy fellow passengers

chrome web store
Your search - citrix - did not match any items.
Suggestions
Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
Try different keywords.
Try more general keywords.

network connectivity has been wonky, especially when switching between 3G and wifi, actually had to reboot the thing yesterday because it wouldn't connect to anything lol

media player is beyond rudimentary, wouldn't even play an mp3 I downloaded

Sounding compelling.

from a consumer perspective, the conclusion of this article is otm - chromebook is essentially a crippled netbook. if they subsidized manufacturers in order to compete on price (or implemented the cloud-based hard drive suggestion I made yesterday ha) they would have had a chance to make a splash. I think ppl who get all excited and run out to buy a chromebook on june 15 are gonna be disappointed.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/227916/chromebooks_are_doomed_to_fail.html

if we want all-cloud, we need online storage services that act like local hard drives.
They sort of dallied with this some years back with FUSE, but you can't write one for every service.

I've thought for a while that there should be a standard IO API, one that could be integrated into OS file open/save dialogs. Then you could hit "attach" in GMail and browse to a pic on Flickr or Facebook or grab an article from Google Docs or save from Word right to GDocs.

The current way of having to go "share" from whichever site or app you're using right now seems ass-backwards to me.

I love that these chromebooks have matte screens, though. just came indoors because i couldn't see a damn thing on the screen

battery life is around 8 - 10 hours

battery life on my netbook is over 8 hrs and it has a hard drive and shit going on?

i guess 3g would draw a lot ...

one good thing about these attempts is you'll have google pushing for faster connection speeds that the telecoms sit on for decades.

ha, didn't even notice about the screen, being useless outside is always a good feature in a mobile device

a standard I/O api for online would be great, but in the absence of that it could be as easy as mapping a network drive to an authenticated online storage area (jungledisk lets you do this already), then whatever you open/save/download would go to that location by default and you're really in the cloud, maaaaaaan. but the challenge of cloud storage is still cost. free services have limits and mass storage options are not cost-effective. I can buy 10 1TB drives for the annual cost of 1TB of online space.

the battery life is prolly closer to 24 hours (obviously it's sleeping for a good portion of that) I only need to charge it once a day tho I'm switching back and forth between this and my regular laptop

chromebooks' worst competition is netbooks, they will do everything this does and more for the same or less $$, tho I guess security is the chromebook's big selling point - there is no antivirus software for chromebooks btw

old man yells at cloud computing

^ trademarked by am0n fyi iirc

my next test will be resetting this thing back to factory defaults and then see how much of my apps / data / settings / etc get retained by the magic cloud when I log back in

assuming that resetting the device is an option

you have to click on the white rabbit

close! first steps in resetting device:

1. Turn off your Chromebook.
2. Locate the developer mode switch on your Chromebook. Consult the help information provided by your Chromebook manufacturer if you’re not sure where this switch is located.

great, I love hide and seek! but why can't I just click a button instead of hunting for yr gaddamn godmode g-spot

gave the thing a full cavity search

cannot locate developer mode gspot

if only there were some way to search the internet for more information on this

there's a flashbios kit for chromebooks, ppl have been loading win7 and ubuntu on them lol

then you can have your own personal cloud at all times

ahaha

there's a flashbios kit for chromebooks, ppl have been loading win7 and ubuntu on them lol

I like the sound of that. The hardware itself is quite attractive.

Anyway old man, been enjoying this thread immensely.

oh look I found a shell

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/screenshot-20110526-110354.png

why does crosh sound so dirty

finally located developer godmode gspot dipswitch

IT IS HIDDEN BEHIND A PIECE OF BLACK TAPE IN THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/IMG-20110526-00119.jpg

now I am resetting back to factory defaults

this splash screen does not give me feelings warm or fuzzy

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/IMG-20110526-00121.jpg

bad touch

lol

show me where the developer touched you

lol

amazing macro zoom shot!

restore was partially successful

things chromebook remembered: apps I installed, bookmarks, browser plug-ins, the OS/firmware updates I applied

things chromebook did not remember: my handsome user account photo, data I entered into some of the apps (e.g. notepad), any files saved to the hard drive (duh), saved network connections, user / system settings

google is positioning the chromebook as a highly disposable machine - the device doesn't matter when everything's in the cloud, right? but restoring the chromebook after just 3 days of use did result in some data loss. more importantly, I wasn't sure what would be lost and what wouldn't be, and neither will a general user. downloaded apps don't always make it explicitly clear whether the data you're entering will be cloud data or local data. seems like it's not an all-the-way solution, some things are up on the cloud, some things are local to the device, and it's not until you lose the device and restore that you will find out what was stored where.

as far as how the chromebook remembered the things it did, I have a "chrome sync" entry on this page now

https://www.google.com/dashboard/

which is interesting to check if you're curious about what kind of tracking info google is keeping on you

I guess a bad time to go to the people in Missouri who's houses got shat on by a god-tornado and say "Hope you backed up all your files and shit to the cloud!!"

oh they are in the cloud

it seems like cloud computing would be something Lesko would be on about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYTjiIm4h_Q

its got to be better than:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l_79tXqhac

I think thats called "crap computing"

"cloud more like flawed amirite"

Any VPN support? Google is taking a "Stay Tuned!" approach in their FAQ...

that seems pretty crucial into making/pretending the cloud is your hard drive

And like it or not, VPN = "Cisco VPN" in corporate-speak for a lot of folks.

no direct VPN support, I read somebody saying they got a web-based VPN connection to work but I didn't have any luck w/ a sonicwall one

it seems like the whole cloud idea depends on the success of all these tech companies wanting to play together- like you can't use amazon cloud music player with ubuntu - not that the 1% loss of users will matter, but thikn of the implications! AACK!

lol 1%

one of the misconceptions that gets thrown around when ppl talk about the cloud is "all your apps run in a browser now" and yes, that's largely true, but there are large portions of enterprise software with very specialized browser requirements. I implemented an oracle system last year, and unless you've got a particular version combination of browser and java running in concert, the application will either perform unpredictably or not work at all. of course, that's not the same version that the company's new website runs on (support for IE 6 was dropped by the web developers), so the solution is to have ppl connect to a remote citrix-type server session and run the oracle system on an older browser version there. o yay thank u web cloud for fixing all my compatibility woes.

of course the chromebook supports neither java nor remote connection software, so it's a fail on both fronts. dumbing down the client is a good thing, but to make headway into enterprise business (which is the directly stated goal of the chromebook), it will have to support stuff like remote sessions into virtualized servers, VPNs, etc.

I dunno, maybe a year from now they will have all this stuff worked out. it just would've been impressive if they had some of the more popular remote connectivity options figured out from the get-go. I can see a lot of CIOs saying to google "come back when you can support a VPN".

I think you must work where I work! That is pretty close to our misery as well. We used to have clients accessing an oracle database directly but now through the "update" and the miracle of microsoft's .net framework we have them getting lost in a "web" of evil, crashing regualrly, taking forever to work and getting user profiles corrupted in adam database hell!

10 years ago I used to run around making sure everybody had the right dlls on their machines, now I try to figure out which mystical IE/firefox/java combination will make the software work

and entertain the notion that a laptop which will run none of it is the solution

It seems like with java every time an update comes out people can't use whatever program anymore - you have to tell people DO NOT UPDATE YOUR FRAKING JAVA

It seems like with java every time an update comes out people can't use whatever program anymore - you have to tell people DO NOT UPDATE YOUR FRAKING JAVA

LOL.. I set the desktop picture of my work's FileMaker server to a repeating text pattern that says just that.

one of the misconceptions that gets thrown around when ppl talk about the cloud is "all your apps run in a browser now" and yes, that's largely true, but there are large portions of enterprise software with very specialized browser requirements.

I went through this the last time I had to deal with Level 1 Visa PCI compliance. Google Chrome is a complete non-option as it's being updated faster than The Powers That Be fully qualify each version. Chrome won't even load our time clock/payroll system.

Ugh we get so much malware at work because HR are using some software that relies on a 2-year-old version of Java, so IT rolls this version out onto everyone's PC (not just in HR) every night, overwriting any newer versions

so many Java exploits in rogue banner ads, I got one from looking up an Excel-related question on a reasonably reputable tech forum, even though I had Java disabled in my browser I still saw the Java splash screen come up and then my antivirus went nuts (which is good, because several other people got something the AV couldn't even find, most likely also via Java)

level 1 PCI compliance, ugh. level 2 makes me want to blow my brains out.

sounds like citrix is a major part of google's pitch, this is the first para on the chromebook biz info page

Chromebooks: work better.
Crashes, long boot times, application conflicts, endless updates, viruses, security issues and obsolete hardware all frustrate IT managers and end users - and most users don’t need or want the complexity and annoyance of their current PCs.

Increasingly the browser is the only tool users need, making a new and better computing model possible. Chromebooks can instantly run your browser-based apps, whether in the cloud or behind your firewall, and apps virtualized through technologies like Citrix®. And an entire fleet of Chromebooks can be managed from one web-based console - making life better for users and IT admins alike.

Reality never matches the sales pitch.

well yeah, really just focused on the citrix bit there

I went through this the last time I had to deal with Level 1 Visa PCI compliance. Google Chrome is a complete non-option as it's being updated faster than The Powers That Be fully qualify each version.

You know Firefox 5 is due out in like three weeks, yeah? You guys might end up on IE.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00507ATX6/ref=s9_al_bw_ir01?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=0ZX8BVSJGC2CRYJASEYG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1298146042&pf_rd_i=2858603011

first week sales figures for these will be interesting

a $450 browser kiosk

kiosk in the cloud

what no file system!?

there is a rudimentary local disk but the OS practically hides its existence from the user

well if you are using google docs I guess taht if your fuckin file stsyem

that's the idea

included: (1) gigantic padlock

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/acer/Chrome3G_image_C._V180066111_.jpg

laptop labrette

$450 is not quite right ... more like $28/month or less, if you buy google apps

a $450 browser kiosk

― 40% chill and 100% negative (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, June 15, 2011 12:49 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah waay too expensive, need to be less than half that

Free sounds about right.

ill take 10

This went well.

lol this has become my son's workstation for online gaming and watching offcolor mario and lego youtubes (he's 10)

for all the hooha about the ipad being a consumer device it's a much better dumb terminal option

huh

wait, these cost like ... £400?

that can't be right

i got one for €180, i cant complain.

one of the new ones? what's the difference anyway?

oh no, its an old one. the new ones have faster processors and twice the ram, i think.

pixel

let's all buy some

i wish google went the amazon route and just gave everyone a free laptop practically.

Looks amazing... if it were $650.

i bought a acer c7 on a whim during christmas.
little did i know chrome os disallows downloading anything illegally.
have any of you who chromebook owners tried to dual boot with chrubuntu?
what are the advantages and is it worth switching os?
i'm mildly retarded and ignorant of os outside of windows so any info/help would be appreciated.

lately been feeling the $250 samsung is a much better device for my needs than my ipad

i got an ipad instead of a laptop because i figured that all i did with a mobile computer was web stuff (really), so get the smallest thing. realized that most of the web stuff i do involves typing, and that typing on the ipad is a horrible experience when you're used to 100+ word per minute.

also, a mini/nexus 7 is ACTUALLY what i want from a handheld computer. apps/references that can be used one-handed, and don't require really any textual input. i know most ppl aren't wearing lab coats all day, but the mini-tablet form factor is perfect for big pockets that atm are already stuffed with little books. plus, the only other thing i really do with an ipad is play games and watch videos, both of which a tablet is much more suited to. and since a nexus 7 + chromebook is actually cheaper than an ipad4, and a fraction of the cost of a macbook air, it sorta makes sense even as it seems extravagant because its two things i don't REALLY need at all. otoh, i could sell my ipad and my iphone, and come close to covering the cost of both gadgets and a nexus 4. and that's if you don't factor in how much cheaper my monthly wireless bill would be

hi guys i work for google btw

the one i realy want is the transformer, but the pocket's never quite ready for it. and the new phone does most of what i want anyway

holy shit, 1 year ago?? felt so ahead of the curve :'(

may 2011!!

imo the 'click' in his head that paul newman was waiting for in cat on a hot tin roof was the sound of the transformer tablet snapping into its keyboard base

Have the new Samsung fwiw. £229, does everything I want except download music, so I am Youtube-only at present

there's that google music locker thing. also mp3s in yr google drive should be accessible i'm guessing

Spotify?

ipad+apple keyboard is actually p sweet if you want to slim down

Are laptops really a dying format? I mean they're just so much better for a lot of things than tablets are. I'm sure tablet storage and processing capacity will catch up eventually but until then they don't offer much I can't use my phone for.

Lol @ the Chromebook though, that just looks like the worst of both worlds.

yeah, they're on the way out. people who "need" a keyboard (or significant local storage) outside of their office will be a tiny niche in a few years

also relative to tablet-type things, they're increasingly just not worth the bother financially for, e.g. apple. i think apple will keep the form factor as a "loss leader" to attract the computing equiv of taste-makers, i.e. developers, scientists, etc. but clearly the resources they're allocating to mac os are not what they used to be.

makes me wonder what kind of resources Google is putting towards the Chrome OS

yeah unfortunately we're stuck in this awful watershed where tablets lack the computing power and feature rich apps of laptops, but fewer folks are buying laptops so the money that drives development + innovation is draining away

keep hearing estimates that anywhere between 2013-2016 tablet sales will outpace laptop sales

I've got a keyboard for my ipad and it's a pretty killer combo, but activities I still dread on the ipad include working with spreadsheets and doing music/video editing

and I haven't seen recent versions but the achilles heel of the chromebook was the baked-in assumption that there will always be internet connectivity wherever you go

wait aren't tablet sales already way more than laptop sales? certainly ios sales >> os x sales?

if you count all laptops vs all tablets, more laptops were sold in 2012, but it's been shrinking every year against tablet sales

but partly clouding this picture is market penetration - tablets went from 0 point something to everybody wanting one in 3 years, at some point saturation will cause a plateau

Was super close to buying a transformer to replace spousal laptop, ended up almost getting surface to preserve officeness, ended up getting ipad4 plus logitech keyboard. she already knows ios and can do what she has to do on rare occasions with pages, etc. at least that's the plan.

having used a 7" tablet format, i'll opine that a full size ipad on its own is sorta cumbersome and unpleasant to hold. it's slippery. i like using it tabletop with the logitech ultrathin keyboard cover though.

Laptop not going away until brain-to-text dongle erupts

I bought a brain-to-text dongle for 10 bucks, it's called a 'bluetooth keyboard'

ipad serves as my laptop and has for about a year now. only need to steal my gf's laptop for a handful of things.

do you use it like laptop?

yep

Then it is laptop

well I mostly use it on my bed w/ the keyboard elsewhere so physically it does not represent a laptop most of the time

so i got a chromebook and god damn ubuntu is taking for frikkin ever to install

brave man

right now I use a first gen iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard case combo, but I p much never bother with the keyboard bc lol I never remember to charge the keyboard and turning on Bluetooth drains the battery and also lazy

I 80% use iPad for web browsing, being my car stereo sometimes, and playing FIFA. I have some cool apps for this that I rarely use and would frankly not miss. also I am probably old fashioned in that I still blog and I prefer a traditional laptop setup (wd be v helpful for recording attendance at school, too).

all of this is to say I'm debating selling this iPad and keyboard to get a chromebook because it seems to be a better fit for my needs. and then I read this thread and maybe that's stupid.

short version: does anyone here have a chromebook? do you like it?

i just got one and i love it

which one did you get? I'm looking at the Samsung one rn.

That's what I got.

I like it but it is a little shoddy all around. but it's pretty cheap, which forgives a lot.
If screen res is important to you, you will find going from iPad to chromebook a little hard on the eyes.

i actually find the shoddiness sort of endearing, in a way. like, it's a reminder that this is basically a whatever piece of technology, computer as commodity instead of computer as object.

it's really quiet, too. fanless apple laptops are pretty much impossible to get, though ipad + keyboard is basically a fanless apple laptop.

got one (samsung $249 dealie).
things i like: battery life can last me days since I am not on this all day. keyboard is really responsive and quiet so i can type next to sleeping people and not disturb them. back/forward/refresh keys are cool. display quality is good.
things that could be better: you get what you pay for, but the build is kinda like...dont drop me EVER. also, was kinda bummed about no delete, home, or end keys, but im managing fine with ctl alt arrow key workarounds. wish there were more things available offline, but i have only done cursory searches for things i might actually need offline (ie mostly just typing shit).