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)

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).