[user1007]

Anybody ventured to the Chrome operating system yet?

I just saw that Acer is offering a Chromebook with an internal hard drive and Intel chipset for $200 list/retail. I haven't seen it yet but my Acer laptop was a real work horse and served me well for many years. Someone else is still using it. It was the best configured machine for the money out there at the time I bought it. Industrial design, human factors and finishing on the thing were terrible though and it looked ugly as sin in short order. Among other things, the finish came off where my hands touched it.

Anyhow the price point is intriguing to me as I have been lusting for a tablet. The Samsung Chromebook with ARM processor and no hard drive is better looking at a price point of $249. And then there is the Intel Samsung around $500.

I know there are real dual system tablets coming out the first of the year that will run an Android system and real Linux if you want. May be worth waiting.

 

[Ryan147861]

Yea chrome books aren't that ideal for people like you. As for processing power, you don't need a real powerful CPU because there are no programs on a chrome book. Everything is done through the chrome browser. I have never actually used a chrome book but I have played around with chrome os. If you want to try it go over to hexxeh's chrome builds (google it) and you can try it on your computer or in a virtual machine. If you need help or have other questions feel free to ask me.

 

[Ryan147861]

Glad to hear you like it!

 

[ronnie77]

I absolutely love the idea of everything been cloud based, they do say cloud computing is the future and what bigger leap can you take then having all of your data stored on google's server with no need for a hard drive.

Brilliant i say.

 

[TheBobmanNH]

Great until you're somewhere with no Internet (airplane anyone?)

The idea of pure cloud-based computing is nice but the reality of it is at the very least not fully realized. Chromebooks are probably good at what they do, and at their price point tough to beat, but just make sure they provide all of the functionality you need.

 

[user1007]

Great until you're somewhere with no Internet (airplane anyone?)

The idea of pure cloud-based computing is nice but the reality of it is at the very least not fully realized. Chromebooks are probably good at what they do, and at their price point tough to beat, but just make sure they provide all of the functionality you need.

I happen to like Google things a lot. For security reasons and in case they ever turn mean with all the data the have? I find comfort in my local harddrive and flash drive?

I have left my email sitting on a server somewhere in Arizona for ages and do not download most of it to my machine. I manage it in the cloud. I am into cloud computing to a point. I do know if the air conditioning goes out on my green hosting company even with wind power or whatever? The cloud servers holding my mail will be goners. They are supposedly redundantly back up to some other servers in places like Boston that need heat to keep the chips warm in the winter.

My usb drive backup holds everthing I need secured.

The new Acer version of a Chromebook is really not bad. I have not made the jump yet though and just continue to moan and groan when I drag this Toshiba laptop around. It is nice but heavy by current standards and borrowing my friends Chromebook for a day was really nice.

I carry my 4g internet connection in my pocket so I am not beholden to wifi cafes and so forth. I hope no clever hacker ever breaks the code to the connection device though.

 

[TheBobmanNH]

I happen to like Google things a lot. For security reasons and in case they ever turn mean with all the data the have? I find comfort in my local harddrive and flash drive?

I have left my email sitting on a server somewhere in Arizona for ages and do not download most of it to my machine. I manage it in the cloud. I am into cloud computing to a point. I do know if the air conditioning goes out on my green hosting company even with wind power or whatever? The cloud servers holding my mail will be goners. They are supposedly redundantly back up to some other servers in places like Boston that need heat to keep the chips warm in the winter.

My usb drive backup holds everthing I need secured.

The new Acer version of a Chromebook is really not bad. I have not made the jump yet though and just continue to moan and groan when I drag this Toshiba laptop around. It is nice but heavy by current standards and borrowing my friends Chromebook for a day was really nice.

I carry my 4g internet connection in my pocket so I am not beholden to wifi cafes and so forth. I hope no clever hacker ever breaks the code to the connection device though.

Sorry if I somehow came off as anti-cloud computing. Google has most of my stuff (along with DropBox) as well, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that for the most part. Having data in the cloud is a HUGE convenience, and I honestly couldn't give a crap if they're "doing something" with my information.

But there are facets of my life that I need real storage for. There are times when I'm "offline," be it on a plane or in an area that has no cell coverage or whatever. My mobile internet service is capped at a few GB, which is fine for me, but if I had to get ALL of my music streaming rather than locally? I could imagine hitting that cap pretty quickly.

Like I said, Chromebooks are great, but they have limitations that people should be aware of if they want to use them as their main computer.

 

[user1007]

Sorry if I somehow came off as anti-cloud computing. Google has most of my stuff (along with DropBox) as well, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that for the most part. Having data in the cloud is a HUGE convenience, and I honestly couldn't give a crap if they're "doing something" with my information.

But there are facets of my life that I need real storage for. There are times when I'm "offline," be it on a plane or in an area that has no cell coverage or whatever. My mobile internet service is capped at a few GB, which is fine for me, but if I had to get ALL of my music streaming rather than locally? I could imagine hitting that cap pretty quickly.

Like I said, Chromebooks are great, but they have limitations that people should be aware of if they want to use them as their main computer.

Was not coming at you and I think we are in complete agreement. And indeed you are absolutely correct. While they boot up amazingly fast they still boot up with the capability to run Google apps. Issue for me because I still need Windows, DOS (emulated) and Unix/Linux to run some software for which there is not yet a comparable app at PlayStore.

I did like the weight of the thing I played with and I did not have to think about lugging peripherals like a charger.

I do understand what you mean about use on airplanes and so forth. I used to live on them when you had to carry extra battery packs for your 400 pound laptop. Best computer I think I ever owned, for its time? Poquet fit an airline tray perfectly. It ran on two AA batteries for days and shut down the keyboard between each keystroke. Still left the screen lit unless you set it to turn off with last keystroke.

Fujitsu bought the company ages ago but I don't know what has happened to the technology since?

The Panasonic luggable I carried for a time was nice, for it's time too but so heavy.

 

[user1007]

My mobile internet service is capped at a few GB, which is fine for me, but if I had to get ALL of my music streaming rather than locally? I could imagine hitting that cap pretty quickly.

Is CLEAR service available to you? I love it. No data caps. No slowdowns if you use too much. I pay $45/month. I think comparable service with fastest speeds is $10 more or something.

You have to buy your own connection device though. Hotpsot to which you can have 6-8 devices attached will set you back $50 at some place like Best Buy or from CLEAR online. No contract. Just pay for service once a month.

 

[GBrackins]

what bigger leap can you take then having all of your data stored on google's server with no need for a hard drive.

but do you trust google with all your data??????????? anybody want to go mining? :thumbup:

 

[ronnie77]

I think chances of all google's server going "kaput" is a lot less then your hard drive frying, and how many people do you know keep regular backups of their information?

 

[GBrackins]

I have an external that backs up in real time, plus I use Carbonite. My mama used to say, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone's not out to get you!" If my hard drive in the 'puter fries I can restore locally from the external. if the house burns down I can restore from Carbonite.