The Cr-48 running Chrome OS is so dull

After two weeks living in the cloud as part of the Google’s Pilot Program for its Chrome operating system and the Cr-48 laptop, I find the whole thing rather dull; that’s a good thing though.
The Pilot Program is fairly simple and straight forward. On the site Google explains...

The Chrome operating system is a work in progress. We’re looking for the right users to try it out and tell us how we can make it better. Each participant in the Pilot program will receive a Cr-48 Chrome notebook; in return, we'll expect you to use it regularly and send us detailed feedback. Sound interesting? Please note:

• Chrome OS is for people who live on the web.

• It runs web-based applications, not legacy PC software.

• The Pilot program is not for the faint of heart.

• Things might not always work just right.

 The Pilot program is open to individuals, businesses, schools, non-profits and developers based in the United States.Learn about Chrome notebooks for business

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. We'll review the requests that come in and contact you if you've been selected.

For the most part I have been able to live in the cloud with little to no use of my Window’s PC or Laptop. My job requires me to use several proprietary programs and a VPN connection when I’m out of the office. In my personal use I have only had one instance that I needed to fire up a Window’s laptop and I’m not sure it was due to the Chrome OS or just bad site design. For some reason while attempting to pay for an airline ticket via Orbitz, the site would give an error message saying that my address was incorrect for the card I was using. No big deal, but had if I didn’t have another laptop/PC available, it could have been an issue.

As an average user, the Cr-48 has been easy to use and for the most part trouble free. Sure there are still issues that need to be addressed, like file sharing, the ability to use external devices (HDD, SD cards, Printers etc...) and the ability to use Netflix. I don’t personally see a reason to worry about these issues until the 2nd or 3rd updates, if Google hasn’t addressed these issues by then “Houston we have a problem...”

Overall I am pleased with the software and the hardware, though under powered, seems to work well enough to give users a good idea of what cloud computing can be like. So much so, it’s actually dull, not a lot of bumps in the road. I know that there are issues for users that build software applications and edit media like photo’s, music and video; in it’s current state, cloud computing isn’t ready for those power users. But for average “joe’s & Jane’s” it’s more than capable. Saying my overall experience with the Cr-48 is dull isn’t a bad thing, it’s a good thing. No malware, viruses or tricky configuration issues, the things that make computing an adventure and a headache. Using the Cr-48 running Google’s Chrome OS on a daily basis is bland, no teeth gnashing, just a flight in the cloud with slight turbulence. I really like Chrome OS and I think millions of other “average users” will be very happy with a Chrome OS PC or laptop and all its dullness.


* This article was created and posted using Google ChromeOS and the Google ChromeOS netbook cr-48.

7 Days in the Cloud

Last week I came home from work to find I was a “Chosen One.” The shipping box still cold from sitting outside in 15 degree weather, sat on the table near the front door. “I don’t remember ordering anything, and it’s too early for Granny’s cookies to arrive,” I thought. The box held much mystery for me, mystery that lasted all of 30 seconds or as long as it took me to get the shipping box open. Inside I saw the Cr-48 box I had seen in a YouTube unboxing video and you guessed it, a Google ChromeOS Cr-48. Oh the magic of Christmas, long gone since my childhood, had returned to my warm my heart once more. Like an Olympian winning the gold I let out a roaring cheer which prompted my wife to come running perhaps thinking I had found the map to El Dorado. Please forgive this moment of artistic liberty.

Seven days have passed since I discovered I can live in the cloud and although it’s not perfect, and there are some limitations, I can say “I like the air up there”

I won’t bore you by having you read that which has already been written and written some more. There are dozens and dozens more sites with unboxings and pictures of the screen and you’ve no doubt already heard the Cr-48 doesn’t do Netflix, won’t allow you to load media from an external HDD or SD card, has Flash issues and so on. By that reckoning one wonders why Google sent out such a busted hunk of junk, at least that seems to be the opinion of some out in the blogosphere.

For me, “Average Joe user," it’s a very nice bit of software & hardware. I’m not a Java coder, I don’t program in C/C++ and I don’t manipulate HD video, audio or photographs. I don’t play Modern Warfare on my computer, I have an Xbox 360  and a PS3 for games and to watch Netflix on. As I’m writing this post, I am doing so on my Cr-48, using Google Doc’s, then I’ll copy and paste into WordPress, even add a photo. Later I’ll check my email, Facebook and Twitter accounts and I can tell you they’ll work just fine. Netflix, isn’t supported; yet as mentioned, but I can watch movies and TV shows on Hulu. I’ve reserved library books, done my banking, created a blog (ChromeHead’s), had several video chats via Google Talk and even done a little Christmas shopping on my unmarked little black notebook.  It boots faster than my iPhone 4 or either of my two other laptops, has great battery life and setup was a snap.

But it’s not all sunshine and billowy white clouds. The touchpad is a challenge, you have to learn what gestures do what. Another issue with it, it isn’t 100% accurate and I can’t seem to find just the right sensitivity setting(s). The Cr-48 is a bit under powered, just doesn’t seem to pack enough of a punch to handle the content of some sites. Using the built in camera to post video on YouTube was not good; the video quality was pixelated, choppy and maybe running at 15fps, which was odd because in Google talk the quality of the video and audio wasn’t too bad all things considered.

I have made an honest effort to live by the Cr-48 for the past 7 days and honestly it really isn’t hard or what I would call a life changing event, heck most of us spend 80% of our time or more in a web browser and ChromeOS isn’t much different than a browser. For the “Average Joe or Jane” there is a small learning curve and a few technical wrinkles. The question is, what the Cr-48 is and isn’t; it isn’t a Window’s notebook or Apple Macbook, it isn’t a gamer or programmers machine, It’s not particularly well suited to raster photo images, edit audio or video clips. What the Cr-48 is, is a small sample of what life could and will be like if you choose to live in “the cloud.” The Cr-48 running Google’s Chrome OS Beta is a good first step in a new direction, but new directions can be scary for many, as I’ve noticed by the number of neophobes writing about Google’s little black notebook.

Talk to you again at day 14...

Note: While writing this, Google Doc’s froze/crashed but I didn’t lose a single keystroke.

Cheers

Negative Press: ChromeOS and the Cr-48

No doubt a lot of you have read negative reviews on the Cr-48 running Google Chrome OS Beta. it’s odd that tech sites would write things like...
“The Intel Atom processor and integrated graphics make for a horrible graphics experience. You can forget about streaming HD video on the Cr-48. In fact, you can forget about watching standard-def content full-screen on the Cr-48. Watching 480p YouTube videos isn’t doable, unless you’re really into stop-motion. We can only web experiences to get heavier and richer as hardware acceleration goes main stream. The average consumer would assume their Chrome notebooks were broken if they couldn’t perform a task as simple as playing a YouTube video.” Read the full article
There are two things wrong with this. Number one the Cr-48 is not final spec, call it an educated guess, but I’m sure the retail models will have dual core processors yadda, yadda, yadda... Secondly I’m sure there are Flash improvements and yes the ability to play “Netflix” coming soon to the Cr-48 and I’m sure the retail version of the hardware and software will be more than capable enough to handle Netflix and even push HD video and audio.

Why would a tech site print something like this? Do they not understand the word “beta?” More than once the writer makes comparisons of the Cr-48 and the Macbook Air. What the (insert expletive here)!? I have to wonder if all the ads from hardware and software manufactures may have influenced the article(s) in someway? Now don’t get me wrong there were other sites “ChromeBashing,” like; no need to wade to far in this water. One site did make a logical  statement...
“Forget most of what you'll read in reviews of Google's CR-48 Chrome OS notebook. Because it's just a test unit, there's no telling how its performance or design will carry over to consumer-facing Chrome OS machines from Acer and Samsung, so ogling the hardware doesn't serve much purpose.” Link
Words spoken by someone using their head for more than just a hat rack.

Google Chrome OS & Cr-48 Impression(s)

Like a lot of tech enthusiasts I have watched and waited for Google to get its Chrome Operating System out to market. Then Google announced the Cr-48 and the launch of its Beta Program. The wait was over, my pulse raced as I went to apply to be a tester (Pilot Program Link). To my surprise a few days later I got home to find a package at my front door, happy day indeed.

Okay a quick montage; the “unboxing,” opened the shipping package, then the actual box that held the laptop, powered it up, set up the network, signed in, took an update and viola!
It actually took a lot longer for me to take an update on my Xbox 360 than unboxing the Cr-48 and going through the process I just mentioned.

“So what’s it like,” you may ask? You already know how to use a web browser; from a hardware perspective, it’s not much different than other notebooks/netbooks. It boots up very fast, setup is extremely simple and using it is not the teeth gnashing experience you usually have when trying new software, more specifically, operating systems. Video and audio quality are not HD but they work well enough; I streamed a movie from my Amazon VOD library and the sound was good, not stellar and the picture was SD (360p). The overall build quality is pretty good, I do wish the lettering on the keyboard were a bit brighter. Where there is a little patience required is the touchpad, learning how many fingers to use for scrolling or correcting a spelling error can be a little frustrating. At the end of the day it’s not a bad little netbook.

Google’s “little black book” is actually pretty cool. If you can bare in mind, it’s beta hardware and beta software and it’s FREE, then there should be very few complaints. It’s not flashy, it’s not made from a “single piece of al-u-minium” (Watch this YouTube to get the joke). I’ll talk more about what the Cr-48 is and isn’t and express some opinions on a number of reviews I’ve read, next time.


Cheers...