i just ordered one. i'm pretty excited about it. i can't be the only one.

10/22/2012 3:38:38 PM

I didn't know what a chromebook was but I was advised not to buy one



Harsh critic here:

June 17, 2011
Whatever you do, don't buy a Chromebook
Google's cloud-only Chrome OS vision is simply not baked, and it's not likely to ever to come together

http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/whatever-you-do-dont-buy-chromebook-377

10/22/2012 3:46:22 PM

Quote :

"JUNE 17, 2011"

10/22/2012 3:58:19 PM

I didn't realize they had a $250 model, kinda really want that even if I end up scrapping the Chromium at some point.

10/22/2012 4:17:39 PM

so do these thing have drivers for cameras/camcorders/scanners/etc.?

10/22/2012 4:51:03 PM

^^ right, that's basically my stance.

although, apparently you just turn on "developer mode" and they give you root to the underlying system, including a simple ctrl+alt+t terminal launch. they so much as advertise that you can install generic linux software.

so as far as i can tell it boots up fast, is cheap, is sleek, is light, has a browser, has a terminal, has a nice keyboard/touchpad... they made it an offer too good to refuse really. even if all it ends up providing is a laptop that i can travel light with, it's not that bad of a deal at $250.

^ depends on if there's linux support, so the answer is probably, but not out of the box. or at least that's my take on it.

10/22/2012 5:00:48 PM

I have one of the original giveaway chromebooks. They have steadily adopted more and more windows/ubuntu like interface.

Its fine for browsing on the couch.

10/22/2012 5:09:45 PM

I can't seem to grasp how these are as good, let alone superior, to my netbook with Ubuntu.

10/22/2012 6:05:41 PM

well, it shouldn't be hard to have a better user experience than ubuntu.

but for serious, it may not be. what are the specs/pricepoint on your netbook?

10/22/2012 6:16:08 PM

The ARM CPU of the new chromebook is what would kill it for me.

10/22/2012 6:45:46 PM

I think I'll stick to my lap dock powered by my bionic. It should be especially nice if they ever upgrade to ICS and webtop 3.0

Sounds like the same thing, except my lap dock has 4g lte

10/22/2012 11:27:00 PM

it depends on what you do to your android installation, but this is a fully unlocked linux machine. very different.

i'm wondering if i'm going to be able to tether this to my phone... which would be awesome. there is bluetooth, so it's certainly possible.

10/23/2012 12:56:06 AM

^^^ Mine's a few years old, so not really a good comparison.

I just don't like the idea of the limited functionality of a Chromebook and being tied to having an internet connection to do ANYTHING, with no real upside that I'm aware of over just an inexpensive laptop or netbook.

[Edited on October 23, 2012 at 9:13 AM. Reason : wait, am i understanding that Chromium is now a fully functional Linux OS, not tied to cloud usage?]

10/23/2012 9:08:00 AM

^it does have offline apps for when youre not online

10/23/2012 9:16:19 AM

in it's default state it is tied to cloud usage, but from what I've gathered from the chromium faq it is indeed a fully capable Linux distribution. they specifically mention that you can install Linux software.

10/23/2012 11:01:55 AM

Well, I've been holding out for a couple of years to buy an iMac, but I'm not on fire about the one that dropped today (not $1800 on fire, anyway). My old netbook is my only computer, and it's been dropped a few times and is hanging by a thread. It's had hard miles--a couple of combat zones, every hemisphere, several continents, etc...I really need a new computer.

Ubuntu is OK, but I primarily like it because it isn't Windows. Aside from buying a Mac, maybe a laptop with Chromium would be a decent solution, if it is, in fact, a fully functional Linux OS.

10/23/2012 6:29:35 PM

mine will be here tomorrow, i'll let you know if it's as sweet as i'm hoping.

10/23/2012 9:00:40 PM

Would love to know your impressions of it stock and with whatever linux distro you end up with on there

10/24/2012 3:51:08 AM

been using the CR-48 since it came out and am running the dev channel. for the most part, it's a decent living room throwaway laptop/browser for guests if their smartphones are dead. other than that, it collects dust.

10/24/2012 12:24:22 PM

so i have to say, first impressions are it's not as sweet as i was hoping. not quite as smooth as you'd like, doing things like installing python look to be feasible, but probably a bit more of a pain in the ass than one would like.

i'm not giving up on it yet though.

10/24/2012 5:44:43 PM

okay so as it turns out the being tied to the internet thing is absolutely no problem. this little $3 or so program that runs on my unrooted android phone lets me create a mobile hotspot from my unlimited (tmobile) 4g phone.

i think this little guy's going to be just fine. if i can get a legitimate installation of python i'll be good to go.

10/24/2012 11:35:56 PM

Quote :

"if i can get a legitimate installation of python i'll be good to go."

now fully convinced this is impossible.

10/25/2012 12:34:33 AM

Quote :

"not quite as smooth as you'd like"

I have a cr-48 and I still use it quite often for websurfing and what not. It was tempted to get the new chromebook to have something with a little more juice to eliminate the occasional sluggishness. I guess the new one doesn't fix the issue.

10/25/2012 9:03:23 AM

this thing's growing on me. it'll really grow on me if i can figure out how to get a c compiler.

10/25/2012 10:34:07 PM

i'm thinking of getting the Chromebook, rather than a windows-based laptop, for my father for Christmas. he has zero computer experience other than when he used them back in the early 90's. this seems to be a better option over Windows in my mind but i'm not sure. what do you guys think? he is 66 years old, basically no computer experience at all.

11/5/2012 9:06:15 AM

^ You should def go windows, as it might confuse him when he can't do things with a Chromebook that everyone else does that has a Windows machine.

11/5/2012 10:36:26 AM

I agree. I think the chrome book might be too limited for a non-tech person. He might have a difficult time grasping what he can and cannot do and when (i.e. when not online). I think windows can definitely be too complicated but I think the chromebook may just be too simple if that makes any sense.

11/5/2012 1:22:01 PM

What does he need to do with the device? Would getting him an iPad or Windows RT device be enough?

11/5/2012 2:01:53 PM

basically the device would be for him to access email, internet, check financials (stock market, etc), maybe some limited document editing, printing pictures. nothing too intense at all. i wanted to keep the price low so an ipad i wasn't considering just on the price-point alone.

11/6/2012 7:42:18 AM

I can't think of anything my parents do with their laptop they couldn't do with a chromebook.

My mom does like Spider Solitaire but there are a bunch of web versions. My dad already pretty much only does text editing in notepad or directly in gmail (where if he wants to make any changes he has to forward the entire thing to himself again).

11/6/2012 8:40:50 AM

Well, OK then.

11/6/2012 10:02:35 AM

Got myself one today. The $250 Samsung.

Really liking it so far. There are a few annoyances of things I can't do on it, but those are generally things I can do on my desktop and/or ipad anyway so not totally necessary.

Basically got it to replace my slow as balls 6+ yo windows laptop as a web and email device, and this looks like it will work perfectly.

5/6/2013 8:41:42 PM

install an rdp client or ssh and then use it as a thin client for AWS. then your computer gets faster over time, not slower.

5/6/2013 10:24:21 PM

I have the C7 and have simply stopped using my desktop since then. I can even dl torrents (program is clunky but effective). For my limited computer usage this is close to ideal.

7/12/2013 9:15:59 PM

i don't understand why chrome OS still exists...what advantages does it offer over android?

or, rather, why haven't they been merged (in terms of functionality) into one product?

7/13/2013 9:07:49 AM

that's how windows 8 happens

7/13/2013 4:11:00 PM

this didn't work out the first time around, but i discovered a tool called crouton that works on chrome os a lot like wubi does on windows. so i'm now running a full ubuntu/xfce install on my chromebook. amazing it's working perfectly so far. i'm scared that the machine is going to autoupdate and remove everything or something, but until that happens it's beautiful.

8 hours of battery life, 2 cores, 2gb memory, ~20gb storage (this is #1 downside, there's about two dozen partitions, but / and /home both have 10gb allocated to them) in a super light package w/ a chiclet keyboard for $250 and two years of waiting. totally worth it.

i should see if the hdmi out works (no way). either way this thing is going to get a ton of use going forward (it better not do anything stupid like wipe the virtual drive) and i'm stoked as hell about it.

8/14/2014 1:38:12 AM

Seeing as how Chromebooks are taking off in the EDU space, I picked up an Acer C720 from Amazon the other day to see how it works. So far, it's working out pretty nicely. I also have access to a VMware View Windows 7 desktop via HTML though which helps.

8/14/2014 2:21:39 PM

you should throw linux on that thing

8/14/2014 3:14:46 PM

I have a Samsung Chromebook but about to throw it on ebay due to it lagging when multiple tabs open. Other than that its great, lightweight, good battery life, etc, but its annoying dealing with the lag.

8/15/2014 6:59:11 PM

crouton is absolutely killing it for me right now. i'm running the latest ubuntu release (14.04) just perfectly. i had amazon overnight (for $3 lol) a 64gb microsd, which of course works in crouton w/o any issues at all. the brightness buttons officially work, which is as simple as binding them to "brightness up/down", thanks to crouton. the volume buttons are also fully functioning; a simple bind to the amixer commands. flash, of course, works w/o any issue.

i couldn't be more pleased w/ this thing. this is the best case scenario i envisioned for this machine. going to buy an acer intel chromebook like tomorrow... b/c they're only $200. amazing.

8/15/2014 9:31:16 PM

^ ended up buying a 13" chromebook 2 the next day. it's turned into my primary (at home) machine. i really can't imagine getting a better experience for what i want for less than $400. other than a microsd card dying it's been smooth sailing the whole way. it didn't even care when i spilled water on the keyboard the other day.

not to mention a higher resolution screen than a macbook air.

9/8/2014 7:27:15 PM

they gave me an ARM samsung at work which I put crouton on. I just hate the touchpad so much and the lack of a physical left/right mouse button. It's a dealbreaker for me on the go but when I can use an external mouse it works well and I managed to get Citrix receiver installed to be able to remote in to work

9/8/2014 9:10:15 PM

interesting, i find the touchpad to be great. it clicks too much while i'm typing, but other than that it's nice and big and responsive. i'm coming from a laptop from 2010 though so who knows.

9/8/2014 10:06:43 PM

yours is probably not two years old so hopefully they learned something from mine (released late 2012)

9/8/2014 10:26:31 PM

I really need a new laptop and have mulled over getting this versus a more functional Win 7 machine that costs more. Most of my work is email and Google Drive so that would be fine (and I have a desktop if I need higher computing power). But my laptop is old and has issues. It has a 17" screen though and I dunno how I'd adjust to my primary system being a good 4-6" smaller. But I use a 10" tablet plenty for other browsing and stuff and it doesn't bother me.

9/8/2014 10:30:32 PM

I use a 13" and have for the last 6 years although I'm about to go at least 15" for my next one. I can't even imagine the real estate of 17" but also it has to be 2x the weight, right?

9/8/2014 11:22:45 PM

My 17" Toshiba laptop weighs a good bit more than a small laptop, but it's never been an issue since it's still relatively light compared to...I dunno, dumbbells and stuff? Weight isn't an issue for me, though I'm sure something lighter could be nice. The screen size is definitely nice, but at the same time since it's old, the graphics card isn't anything special.

9/9/2014 12:32:00 AM

i will never go larger than 13.3" for a laptop...i've had one (and only one) 15.6" and two 14.1" machines...13.3" is the sweet spot for me

9/9/2014 9:02:42 AM

I keep buying Chromebooks.


I keep playing with them for a while and throwing them back on ebay.


The biggest failure of the whole thing is that you can not run Android Apps on one. Operating Systems are worthless without enough software to create a versatile user experience. The "app ecosystem" or whatever.

There are not enough Chromebooks around to make it worthwhile for software developers to write software, there wont be until there is more software to run on them...

9/9/2014 10:31:38 AM