Chromebook?

[MacPC]

I am curious if anyone has a Chromebook?
As I understand, the Chromebook is made by HP, it has a MBA look-a-like form factor, I am wondering if it is made of cheap garbage plastic like all HP laptops( for that matter, all garbage PC makers use cheap plastic, YUCK)?

 

[Renzatic]

Get a Chromeboox Pixel. It's all aluminium, all the time.

 

[roadbloc]

I used to own one. The hardware was nice but ChromeOS rendered the thing pretty useless.

 

[Renzatic]

If all he wants to do is surf the internet and use various Google services, they're perfect for the price.

Save for the Pixel, which is an amazing machine hobbled by lack of a spacious HDD, all Chromebooks are disposable computers meant for simple, everyday use. They're grandma computers, in other words.

 

[MacPC]

They're grandma computers,

HAHAHA, You are too funny. What if grandma has no internet connection, grandma will probably serve chicken salad on the keyboard!

----------

Get a Chromeboox Pixel. It's all aluminium, all the time.

aluminum case for that price?

----------

I used to own one. The hardware was nice but ChromeOS rendered the thing pretty useless.

it sounds like a bogus OS, more like a BS to me. If there is no internet connection, the thing is totally useless, right?

 

[Mousse]

I used to own one. The hardware was nice but ChromeOS rendered the thing pretty useless.

You know, you can install Ubuntu on a chromebook and turn it into a full laptop. Most of the Chromebook's intended audience would not be savvy enough nor would want to. But it can be done. I'm tempted to get a Chromebook just to have it run Linux.

Odd thing about me, I can't leave well enough alone. Everyone of my devices has been hack/rooted/customized beyond it's original purpose. My phone has a custom ROM, the Missus Nexus 4 got rooted, my kids Nexus 7 got rooted, my Nook HD+ has the full android treatment (root, CWM and CyanogenMod).

 

[Renzatic]

it sounds like a bogus OS, more like a BS to me. If there is no internet connection, the thing is totally useless, right?

Not quite. With the recent addition of packaged apps, you can install and run all your games, word processors, and whatnot directly from the HDD. ChromeOS does take a big hit to functionality when running offline, but it isn't suddenly rendered useless the moment your internet connection dies.

You know, you can install Ubuntu on a chromebook and turn it into a full laptop. Most of the Chromebook's intended audience would not be savvy enough nor would want to. But it can be done. I'm tempted to get a Chromebook just to have it run Linux.

Yup. It's for this reason I was deeply considering picking up a Pixel. The screen and build quality make it a surprisingly decent computer at first glance. Thing is, with Google only offering a 64GB SSD as the sole high end storage option, and no way (that I'm aware of) to upgrade it later, it's just too limited for what I'd want to use it for.

 

[MacPC]

Oh really, I didn't realize I can install Linux on it, that's good to know. Thanks

 

[localoid]

I am curious if anyone has a Chromebook?
As I understand, the Chromebook is made by HP, it has a MBA look-a-like form factor, I am wondering if it is made of cheap garbage plastic like all HP laptops( for that matter, all garbage PC makers use cheap plastic, YUCK)?

There are currently four different Chromebooks, with some models available in a variety of configurations. Some use ARM processors, some have Intel CPUs.

HP just released a new model -- the HP Chromebook 11 (ARM). Acer makes the Acer C7 Chromebook (Intel Celeron). Samsung makes the Samsung Chromebook (ARM). Google sells the Chromebook Pixel (Intel i5).

There are probably a few older model Chromebooks still available, such as the HP 14" Chromebook, etc.

There are rumors that a few other new models of Chromebooks will appear before year's end, possibly including at least one made by Asus.

With the recent addition of packaged apps, you can install and run all your games, word processors, and whatnot directly from the HDD.

That's not true. You cannot install "all your games, word processors, and whatnot". You can only install "apps" from the Chrome Web Store and you can run most games/programs that will run in a Web browser window. However, you cannot run/use Windows programs that use an (Windows) installer such as Microsoft Office, Skype, Photoshop, etc.

As others have noted, Linux can be installed (be they either ARM or Intel) on Chromebooks (with a little work, in Developer Mode) and accessed via dual-boot.

 

[Renzatic]

That's not true. You cannot install "all your games, word processors, and whatnot". You can only install "apps" from the Chrome Web Store and you can run most games/programs that will run in a Web browser window. However, you cannot run/use Windows programs that use an (Windows) installer such as Microsoft Office, Skype, Photoshop, etc.

Yeah, I should've clarified a bit. Packaged apps are still Chrome web apps, but are set up in such a way they're installed, launched, and look more like native applications on any of the other OSes.

So no, you can't install Photoshop, Office, and other Windows/Mac/Linux programs in ChromeOS. But so long as you've got the packaged app available, you can grab Google Docs, Bejeweled, Dropbox, etc., and use them without having an internet connection.

edit: It's hard to tell if this is the right page or not, considering that Google keeps redirecting me, but I think these are all the apps you can choose from.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

Chromebooks with haswell chips are on the way. If you plan on using Linux on it you may as well wait.

If you actually want to use Chrome OS then this will be a nice machine to try it out on.

 

[localoid]

Chromebooks with haswell chips are on the way. If you plan on using Linux on it you may as well wait.

If you actually want to use Chrome OS then this will be a nice machine to try it out on.

I think pre-ordering the brand new Acer C720 Chromebook is possible now through some vendors, which has an Intel Celeron 2955U (Haswell), 4GB DDR3L RAM, 16GB SSD, and a claimed 8.5 hour battery life, for around $250. Personally, I'd wait for a few reviews to come in before ordering, but that's just me...

 

[MacPC]

Thanks all for your replies.
I was just curious about what the deal is with this Chromebook, after reading this post, I definitely not to go buy one. By the way, I also checked out the google's Chromebook website the nicest one, with the MBP like unibody case goes for around $1100.00! OUCH!! And I thought Chromebook is meant to be a disposable laptop.
With that price why would anyone choose it over a MBP or MBA?

 

[Xerotech]

Thanks all for your replies.
I was just curious about what the deal is about this Chromebooks, after reading this post, I definitely not to go buy one. By the way, I also checked out the google's Chromebooks website the nicest one, with the MBP like unibody case goes for around $1100.00! And I thought Chromebooks is meant to be a disposable laptop.
With that price why would anyone choose it over a MBP or MBA?

ChromeOS/Android/PC fanboys.

 

[leftywamumonkey]

Get a Chromeboox Pixel. It's all aluminium, all the time.

I don't know about that. It's old hardware with unimpressive specs, well besides the display. I'd imagine anyone spending $1300+ on a notebook wouldn't want to use Chrome OS exclusively either. It's really hard to recommend to any user. The Pixel that is, not all Chromebooks.

Well, I think Chromebooks still haven't matured yet, but that's a different thought.

 

[malman89]

I love the idea of using a Chromebook, but when you're looking at $250-350 for a Chrome OS laptop when you can buy a brand new A6/8 or maybe i3 laptop for $300-450, it's a tough sell to me.

Even though 95% of what I currently do with my laptop - browsing, email, forum trolling, feed reading, video streaming, doc/spreadsheet editing - can be done wonderfully online and offline in Chrome OS, there's just something about me that can't justify that kind of money on a "limited" machine.

 

[localoid]

I love the idea of using a Chromebook, but when you're looking at $250-350 for a Chrome OS laptop when you can buy a brand new A6/8 or maybe i3 laptop for $300-450, it's a tough sell to me.

The newest (Haswell) Acer chromebook is $250 and the new (ARM) HP Chromebook sells for $280, but the HP has a IPS screen, so you're paying a small premium for it.

But, you can get Chromebooks for less than $250. The (old) Acer 11" (Intel) Chromebook is currently available for $200 brand new, and sometimes available for as little as $130 refurbished. Best Buy currently has refurbished Samsung (ARM) Chromebooks for $180.

I've played with the older Acer and the Samsung models. Both are very usable, and well worth their current street prices, provided you can live with their limitations.

Even though 95% of what I currently do with my laptop - browsing, email, forum trolling, feed reading, video streaming, doc/spreadsheet editing - can be done wonderfully online and offline in Chrome OS, there's just something about me that can't justify that kind of money on a "limited" machine.

Installing Linux doesn't require that much technical expertise and opens up a world of possibilities for the Chromebooks, if you need to run programs such as Skype, photo/audio/video editors, or other types of programs.

 

[calearne]

Deleted.

 

[ValSalva]

Yeah, I should've clarified a bit. Packaged apps are still Chrome web apps, but are set up in such a way they're installed, launched, and look more like native applications on any of the other OSes.

So no, you can't install Photoshop, Office, and other Windows/Mac/Linux programs in ChromeOS. But so long as you've got the packaged app available, you can grab Google Docs, Bejeweled, Dropbox, etc., and use them without having an internet connection.

edit: It's hard to tell if this is the right page or not, considering that Google keeps redirecting me, but I think these are all the apps you can choose from.

All good but if you have no internet access you don't have your files to work on, correct?

 

[Renzatic]

All good but if you have no internet access you don't have your files to work on, correct?

That's a good question.

On a guess, I'd think so. What's the point of having an app you can use without an internet connection if you can't save and open your files locally?

 

[roadbloc]

it sounds like a bogus OS, more like a BS to me. If there is no internet connection, the thing is totally useless, right?

Pretty much. Without an internet connection it's useless and the filesystem is locked down to 1 "downloads" folder. You can slap Xubuntu on it (after much time working around Google's locking down) but even then it'll suffer from a lack of Apps due to its ARM architecture.

My Chromebook was probably the worst computer I've ever owned. And that is saying something since I've owned several Packard-Bell computers in my time.

 

[localoid]

All good but if you have no internet access you don't have your files to work on, correct?

That's a good question.

On a guess, I'd think so. What's the point of having an app you can use without an internet connection if you can't save and open your files locally?

You can of course save files locally on a Chromebook. Chromebooks have a files manager app that allows saving/opening files locally, so, for example, you can save files in your downloads directory. As long as you have an offline-capable app to open these files, you can open and use these files offline.

Some Chromebooks apps will store files locally. For example, you can use an offline version of Gmail and store some email locally, and you can setup Google Drive to store some of your files locally.

There are several offline-capable apps for Chromebooks that will work without an Internet connection. For example, Angry Birds is offline-capable, meaning you can run it without an active Internet connection. However, some apps require an active Internet connection to run and aren't offline -capable.

There are some offline-capable apps for Chromebooks, such as Secure Shell, which is a stand alone SSH client, that can't connect to an external SSH server on the Internet if you don't have an active Internet connection but you could use it to connect to local SSH servers on your network while you're offline.

Google's Use your Chromebook offline page provides some examples of things you can do offline.

 

[calearne]

Deleted.

 

[MacPC]

Sounds like the Chromebook is one more piece of garbage add to the landfill in Africa. More pollution to the environment.

 

[Mousse]

Well I picked up the HP11 at best buy today and the charger that's included is a cheap piece of junk, It gets very warm (almost hot) when charging!

I would much rather use the official iPad charger but would it be safe?[/B

It would take longer to charge, that's about it. The HP charger puts out more amps. Heck, Google's ad says you can charge your HP11 with your smartphone charger if you wanted to. It'll take a looonng time though. It's one of the major selling points.