"Why Chromebook Pundits Are Out of Touch"

[wawasteele]

1Saleaday has a refurbished Samsung Series 5 12.1" Chromebook w/ Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, 16GB SSD, Wi-Fi + 3G, Webcam & SD Slot for $149.99 today.

I've purchased from them before. Takes awhile to get an item delivered and their customer service is horrible to deal with, but they will eventually take care of any issues, at least in my experience. I have no interest in any chromebook at this time, but would buy again from 1Saleaday, if it was something I was interested in. YMMV

[frahse]

Originally Posted by wawasteele

1Saleaday has a refurbished Samsung Series 5 12.1" Chromebook w/ Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, 16GB SSD, Wi-Fi + 3G, Webcam & SD Slot for $149.99 today.

I've purchased from them before. Takes awhile to get an item delivered and their customer service is horrible to deal with, but they will eventually take care of any issues, at least in my experience. I have no interest in any chromebook at this time, but would buy again from 1Saleaday, if it was something I was interested in. YMMV

That originally was a much more expensive machine than most current ones.

Question? Is the 12.1" keyboard any better than the 11.6" ones?

[jj2me]

This question has been difficult for me to answer in searches. (And this thread has the most knowledgeable Chromers I've encountered).

A relative has nothing on her home internet connection except her new Chromebook. Is there any reason to set up wireless security in her router? Is secure https enough?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by jj2me

This question has been difficult for me to answer in searches. (And this thread has the most knowledgeable Chromers I've encountered).

A relative has nothing on her home internet connection except her new Chromebook. Is there any reason to set up wireless security in her router? Is secure https enough?

Funny you mention relying on SSL (https) the very week a huge vulnerability was publicized regarding that...but aside from that:

SSL addresses a totally different concern than wifi security on your LAN. Here's a few reasons your relative might still want to use WPA2 (and I do mean 2. WPA2-AES, not plain WPA):

1. Keep away freeloaders. Even if there is nothing on the Chromebook to steal, who wants all your neighbor's guests sucking your bandwidth while you're trying to stream a high-def movie.

2. People using the net for cyber crime might much prefer the NSA track the activity to your relative's door than their own. There was a story not too long a ago where someone used a nearby open wifi net to get kiddie porn. The wifi owner then had to explain to authorities how he had no idea how those pictures got there.

3. As comparatively secure as Chromebooks currently are, as they get popular people will likely discover vulnerabilities. If a hacker is on your local LAN, and finds a way to subvert the device, then SSL doesn't help you. They could be reading your passwords and bank account info as you type it, before it hits your browser's SSL encryption.

So, yeah, there are reasons, even with just a Chromebook.
Plus WPA2-AES has very little impact on performance, and you can pick easy to remember pass-phrases, so why NOT use it?

ApK

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by ApK

Funny you mention relying on SSL (https) the very week a huge vulnerability was publicized regarding that...but aside from that:

SSL addresses a totally different concern than wifi security on your LAN. Here's a few reasons your relative might still want to use WPA2 (and I do mean 2. WPA2-AES, not plain WPA):

1. Keep away freeloaders. Even if there is nothing on the Chromebook to steal, who wants all your neighbor's guests sucking your bandwidth while you're trying to stream a high-def movie.

2. People using the net for cyber crime might much prefer the NSA track the activity to your relative's door than their own. There was a story not too long a ago where someone used a nearby open wifi net to get kiddie porn. The wifi owner then had to explain to authorities how he had no idea how those pictures got there.

3. As comparatively secure as Chromebooks currently are, as they get popular people will likely discover vulnerabilities. If a hacker is on your local LAN, and finds a way to subvert the device, then SSL doesn't help you. They could be reading your passwords and bank account info as you type it, before it hits your browser's SSL encryption.

So, yeah, there are reasons, even with just a Chromebook.
Plus WPA2-AES has very little impact on performance, and you can pick easy to remember pass-phrases, so why NOT use it?

ApK

ApK,

Thanks so much. I'm thousands of miles from her location, and her daughter, who is out there for this week only, bought the Chromebook and is doing the setup. She said the network is wide open now until she can get a cat5 cable and set up the router, and that made me ask the question, just in case the daughter didn't get to set up the router.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by jj2me

ApK,

Thanks so much. I'm thousands of miles from her location, and her daughter, who is out there for this week only, bought the Chromebook and is doing the setup. She said the network is wide open now until she can get a cat5 cable and set up the router, and that made me ask the question, just in case the daughter didn't get to set up the router.

There are countless stories about what bad people have done with wide open wireless routers.

Most of the time, the routers/modems can be set up with a USB port as well as an Ethernet port. My first system was that way, and ran for several years until I finally bought an Ethernet card.

[frahse]

The announced Samsung Chromebook 2 machines, a 11.6" and a 13.3", $319 and $399 are knockout machines.
Pre-order at Amazon.

[Prestidigitweeze]

I noticed that the Chromebook 2s have Exynos processors, which usually means they have Wolfson DACs (since Samsung is currently in partnership with Wolfson and the Exynos is Samsung's tech). The possible effect of this is that Chromebooks might sound really good when you're playing or streaming decently encoded (or lossless) music files. The "elegant stitched design" makes me think of an extremely large Galaxy Note 3 -- only the European version that uses the Exynos (and has much better sound than the American Snapdragon version -- we haven't had the Wolfson in the States since the original Galaxy S).

I'd love to see a teardown of those newer Chromebooks.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by frahse

The announced Samsung Chromebook 2 machines, a 11.6" and a 13.3", $319 and $399 are knockout machines.

My one concern for the 11.6" ones is the screen. It's reported that they've moved from the current matte one (which I really like) to a more glossy one.

Graham

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Graham

My one concern for the 11.6" ones is the screen. It's reported that they've moved from the current matte one (which I really like) to a more glossy one.

Graham

I too am waiting for the complete specs on the display. The 13.3 one will have more pixels.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Graham

My one concern for the 11.6" ones is the screen. It's reported that they've moved from the current matte one (which I really like) to a more glossy one.

Graham

I just read it was a matte screen still. Also brighter.

I stand corrected. From Liliputing

"The 1366 x 728 resolution is par for the course with this size display in this price range and the brightness is nothing to complain about. I would just personally like to see the fancier specs in the smaller size for those of us who prefer the nice balance 11.6-inch models offer between compactness and screen real estate.

Speaking of the screens, both are glossy. They have anti-glare coatings that work all right under fluorescent office/class lighting. The viewing angles are wide enough that you’re not confined to a narrow sweet spot while still not being quite as wide as I would like or as wide as you’d get with a matte display."

More from Liliputing

[tubemonkey]

Now that Amazon finally has the Chromebox in stock for $179, I'm not sure I want it now. I'm quite happy with my C720. It's a great computer to take from room to room and handles most of my needs. When I need to do book related stuff, I default to my Windows PC.

I'm still thinking about getting one.

[afv011]

Now that this seems to be more readily available, maybe Asus will see fit to send some this side of the border...

[frahse]

Originally Posted by afv011

Now that this seems to be more readily available, maybe Asus will see fit to send some this side of the border...

My kid just sends some of his stuff to a drop off near the border. Could that be one of those Amazon "lockers?"

[Kumabjorn]

I recently bought a USB 3 Docking station, like a big pack of smokes with some USB3 ports, Video (DVI), audio and Giga LAN. Would I be able to use something like that with a Chromebook? How does peripherals work in Chrome? Can you get drivers for them, or does everything USB work out of the box?