IO on CR-48

SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

What to give your two cents about SOPA/PIPA to congressperson, use this. Also if you want to read up on SOPA check out this post from somostejanos.org.

Stop Online Piracy Act: Stopping Online Piracy By Doing Nothing

Google Music

2011-11-18T12:56:00.001-08:00

Now that Google Music has been released unto the world it is time for me to write about its performance on the CR-48. Overall its performance is really good with only some small issues. First, you cannot upload your music from a CR48. I know that may seem a bit silly but does it really matter when the CR-48's hard drive is about 16gigs in size? Not really, either way chances are that your music was somewhere else before you had a Chromebook. The Google Music uploader is a simple tool that helps put your music in the cloud. Once your music is the cloud you can access it from any web browser. Since you can access your music from any browser Chromebooks are a perfect solution. As I said before Google Music runs great on the CR-48, assuming that you have a decent internet connection. Now some people have complained about bit rate and so on but you have to keep in mind that your streaming your music. There is going to be some issues every now and then with the quality but I've been using it since its beta release and I've never run into any serious problems. To sum up Google Music works great and it is a ingenious solution for those who wanted to access their music collection on Chromebooks. Again Google Music is now open to everyone. It's free and you can upload up to 20,000 of your songs and you can access the Google Music Store to buy new music.

Google+

2011-09-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Google launched(in limited beta) its own spin on social networking. It was called the Google+(Google Plus) project. Now this project has opened up to the world and many people have been talking about it since its inception. Now what does this have to do with the CR-48? Well simple when I got an invite to Google+ before it when public, I was curious to see how the new features performed on the CR-48. Features such as "Hangouts", was my main attraction and seeing who else was on the social network in its early stages. It was fun to be part of its early stages and fun to contribute feedback to the Google+ team about improving this great service. Now Google+ itself works great and offers seamless integration into the whole Googlesphere. The one feature as I mention before that really had me interested was "hangouts". This is kind of an instant video chatting service built-in. Once I had the chance I tried it out and it was good, the CR-48's camera is good but not the greatest. The microphone was decent and did do a decent job. Overall The CR-48 handled pretty well in hangouts and I only had one crash in hangout during my 4 months of trying out the service. Of course this is not a definitive review but its more of introduction into how the service works on this device. I have enjoyed this feature and fills a void of not having native apps such as "Skype" to video chat with friends and family. Now that Google+ is seeing more activity I'm sure there will be more people sending feedback to improve this feature and Google may implement some of the best ones. Features that have already made there ways into early trials is the ability to share Google Docs, screen sharing, or even your hangout to the world(for people not on Google+ can see your hangout over the internet). I see great things happening with Google+ and I hope as a CR-48 user it can fulfill many of the things that I miss from having a traditional PC.

News, news, and news!!

2011-06-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

So Google IO came around and brought much anticipated news to many Google services. The most interesting things I came across while following the live keynote was the expansion of the Chrome Web Store and Chromebooks are hitting the shelves. I found it exciting to able to play Angry Birds now in Google Chrome(and it has offline support) browser. Among other exciting features like availability of the Chrome Web Store in several other languages and countries. The later bit of news that came out of Google IO was the news that ChromeOS "Chromebooks", will be available for sale in mid summer. The pricing was not so enticing in my opinion but it shows the progress and end result of the CR-48 pilot program. The Chromebooks which two different manufactures will be shipping(Samsung and Acer) look very much like the CR-48 in design and form factor. This is all exciting news and shows the progress of Google in the custom OS space. Be sure to keep your eyes out for those Chromebooks and other news from Google.

So when will it come?

2011-06-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

This seems to be the question I have been asking myself lately. Though I understand that things wont happen overnight I do want to know when they will come to be. A timeline I suppose would be great, or maybe some kind of assurance that it will be out in the "next" release. Maybe I'm asking for too much or just to needy. You see my latest issue is the fact that there is no WPA-enterprise support for ChromeOS, and that bugs me because as a college student my school uses this type of security to log into the campus wifi. Though there have been some workarounds, do I have to deal or even have to touch the workarounds? Maybe it's a redefinition of the idea of a pilot tester? Maybe a pilot tester should have enough knowledge in computer languages that they can fix any issue for themselves. But that is not the case with me or many other pilot testers, so how do we the non technically inclined do to help with issues such as these? I started to follow one of the dev boards and whenever someone seemed to ask a when this issue would be resolved a sharp response of "be patient", would be given. But then the question arises for how long do I have to patient for? And in the meantime what can I do to see some progress(for the non-techie).

Linux turns 20!

2011-04-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

Seems like a important piece of information to share that Linux is celebrating its 20th anniversary! So congrats to Linus Torvalds and all who make Linux possible. I remember my first experience with Linux was back in high school computer maintenance class with Red Hat Enterprise 4! Now I use and see Linux from the computers at work, my cell phone, and my computers so again many thanks to all who work hard on keeping Linux alive and working.

Becoming an Internet Citizen?

2011-03-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am an advocate for the internet and the use of the internet by everyone. I came across an interesting question when I was updating my Google Profile and that was, "How do I fit into this space called the internet?" Many people out there argue the idea of an "Internet Citizenship", many of us "live", in the this world and space. We share countless amounts of information about ourselves. So much that some people know other better online that in the real world. People have testified to having stronger and better friendships with online strangers than with people in the real world. Though still leave my question unanswered, "how do I fit in this space?" What do I feel comfortable sharing with people and how do I present myself online. The internet in my opinion has radically redefined how we human interact and the definition of human interaction keeps being redefined online. I simply came to the conclusion that to be a full "Internet Citizen", I have to present myself the same way I present myself in the real world. Somethings are simply obvious such as not divulging my back account but stating that I just had an awesome steak at Applebees is acceptable. So in my opinion being an "Internet Citizen", is much like being a citizen of any space in the real world. The only differences are minor and have to do with the capabilities of our interaction between us and machines. So am I embracing this citizenship? Yes, but slowly I still think that it will take time for me to be a full citizen.

Following with anticipation...

2011-03-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

It seems that I've had the CR-48 for a long time now, and I've had a lot of fun with it. One of the features that I felt was seriously lacking was support for wireless networking options.(peap, eap-ttls) Though I see progress on the issue and seems like they will release support for that soon and if you want to follow the progress here is the link for all the geek goodness.

Oh Google is listening!!

2011-01-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

Well this kinda obvious but I am honestly surprised by how efficient and well managed the new "help" extension has been implemented. Sitting next to the "report a bug" extension its opens up a tab with some very helpful link to resources for CR-48 owners and Chrome users. Overall I am very excited to see this and very satisfied with the compilation of information. Google keep up the good work!

Google Year?

2011-01-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

So 2011 is here and many things have already happened and many things are yet to come. I started off my new year with news that some nifty hackers have installed Windows 7 and Mac OSX on the CR-48! Now that is pretty impressive and I am excited to see this but yet I feel somewhat upset about it. I cannot help but feel that doing this types of hacks are counter-productive or even foolish. This feelings are based on the fact that the CR-48 are machines made to run ChromeOS. Now its perfectly fine to tinker and have fun, I am not anti-hacking or modding. Why apply for this program and not fully "participate" in the experience of ChromeOS? It is a strange feeling really because though I am really excited to see the CR-48 run multiple OS'es, I feel that people are not taking the "Pilot Program" and ChromeOS all that serious. So what's the big deal with all these hacks? Are they in the end helping the ChromeOS or just leaving it dead on arrival?

Cool Findings

2010-12-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

A fellow blogger found a cool trick/hack to enable some features that were lost to some of us. Some of the features include media playback! Check it out here and a big thanks to Jonas.

http://blog.jonasbull.com/2010/12/cr48-latest-fun-stuff.html

Findings

2010-12-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

In search of cool and interesting stuff revolving this device I found some cool sites that offer some insight CR-48 use and customization. I thought it would be cool to share, so here you go internetz...

http://www.chromium.org/poking-around-your-chrome-os-device

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome?hl=en

http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/

http://blog.jonasbull.com/

Of course there are a couple more but compiling a whole list takes time and I'm working on it. Keep tuned to see if I find some more cool stuff out there.

How do I Google for a community?

2010-12-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

Interestingly finding a community to follow/participate is something that is essential to understanding a new device. It's not different for the CR-48 so I have found that finding a community is a bit difficult though its not a surprise being that its a new device. Still interestingly there are a couple spots sprouting up that hopefully bring all of us testers together. I am going to wait a bit to see which ones are worth following and are providers of good and useful information. On the other hand finding good help was also a bit rough in the beginning but I found nice Ninjas along the way to help. Not only did they help me with good information but they responded to my emails quickly and effectively. So it seems that it is a waiting game for now to see how a community will arise. Will it be around ChromeOS or the future devices that will ship with ChromeOS?

What the____!!

2010-12-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

Using this device is a whole different experience on so many different levels. It is funny to find all the different levels of user experiences with this device. My point with this is to say that this is not a normal computer to say the least. So in my opinion all the reviews out there seems to revolve around the idea that this device is a normal computer that does normal computer functions. Though I have found that is not the case with this device, for example the obvious design changes in the hardware of the device. It's has the look of a normal laptop some have even said it resembles a Macbook, but closer inspection reveals that this not the case. When you use any other laptop you know it's a laptop based on the hardware. Though using the CR-48 all the hardware and software just stands out. It different to say the least and to try to review or use this device like it is a normal laptop falls short of really understanding what Google is trying to accomplish with this device. It funny to this in action really though I have to problem with it, this leaves me I guess in a funny place also. How do I go about using this device that looks like a traditional laptop but yet is not. If redefining computing was simple then I would be having a much easier time at comprehending the features this devices has and the ideal it represents. Though the road might be a tough one to follow it is not a deal breaker.

Oh boy...

2010-12-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

I have seen some light down the tunnel and it's pretty good. I have found the chromium blog and it is good. In the blog site it has a lot of cool tidbits and how to get to the real guts of the OS and mess around with some more "dev" kinda stuff. This is a nice relief being that I was beginning to become frustrated about not being able to gain access to this stuff. Now this brings me to a another issue and that is that finding good information or answers about this system is hard. I really, really wish there was one centralized place where I could get all the help or answers I am looking for. For example, the first day with the device my USB drive worked fine and I was able to play around with the file in it, even play an .mp3 file in it. Now, the device don't pop-up at all! It's working because I see the device light on but I don't get the same access to the device anywhere. Also the media player option has disappeared from the setting menu. It seems like it stuff just disappeared into thin air. Its been a weird couple of days with the device itself.

Second running

2010-12-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I am truly stretching out and running full speeds with my CR-48. First, I have to say that my sync feature is not working. Which is a bummer cause I have no bookmarks, and it seems like a huge cloud fail! Now I'm sure it will kick in anytime soon, hopefully soon. Secondly, activating my Verizon data service is taking more than a few minutes. As I type it has taken over an hour and still stuck on the same little spinning thingy. I have to say that WiFi should not the exclusive way this device connects to the internet. If the idea is to have the user on the internet as much as possible then the user should be able to connect to the internet in as many ways as possible. Google make this easier not harder! Now I now that the idea is live your life around the browser and the internet with hugs and kisses, puppies and rainbows all the time but having some access to the traditional ways of computing should still be an option. I am a Linux geek and like the fact that Linux is free and open, much like Chromium but yet it feels like ChromeOS is not a player in this game. A simple annoyance like not being able to access a file browser has become a huge headache for me personally. Annoyance can be a problem and they can frustrate a user of an OS that is supposed to reach a large market. Making it to simple can lead to major issues on a large scale. Now I am not going to be a massive poopy head for this new device I got some good feedback, after all it is a prototype device. Now I have to say that the coolest thing and most helpful thing I have found so far are the keyboard shortcuts. The keyboard is drastically different from a usual keyboard so learning shortcuts seems almost vital. If the idea of mastering navigation and life on the web is core to this OS then mastering those shortcuts key!

The Start

2010-12-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

I have received this cool device from Google. It was a rough start to say the least, this device only connects to WiFi! Nowadays WiFi is not hard to come about, but it was for me initially. So thus there lies my first stumble with the CR-48. Now the second issue was the fact I did not receive the nice Google ChromeOS sticker in the box! I saw plenty of unboxing vids on Youtube and they all had a nice ChromeOS sticker. Of course it not that big of a deal but customer satisfaction should be #1 for Google! Ok now for the next big issue or workaround that I am dealing with now is the "Giant Touchpad". It is what it is a giant Touchpad that gets in my way a lot. I type at suddenly the cursor shoots to another because of a light touch of the Touchpad. Some simple adjustments should cure my problem. Though I have to say that the keyboard is excellent! I am very happy with the keyboard and the look of the notebook overall, its sexy! Now as my journey continues I shall post more tidbits of using the ChromeOS notebook. So check back often to follow along.