Google Releases $1299 Chromebook

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by Matteob

I am sorry but I would not pay this for a chromebook. It is the most restrictive machine out there in what you can run on it due to its walled garden.I hope it does fail as it seems exactly what Jonathan Zittrain is talking about in his "Future of the Internet and how to Stop it". I am much more in favour of windows or apple which lets you run third party applications (even at the risk of malware on a pc) than the restrictive environment of a chromebook. I like android phones and tablets but the laptop is a crazy idea. I would not even buy their base £199 version as all it is is a net browsing tool.

Feel free not to buy one, but using web-based apps doesn't make it a walled garden. The Chromebook (the $199 and the $249 version, that is) is selling pretty well, it's hard to keep it in stock.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Feel free not to buy one, but using web-based apps doesn't make it a walled garden. The Chromebook (the $199 and the $249 version, that is) is selling pretty well, it's hard to keep it in stock.

If I buy a computer that expensive, it's to run power hungry apps like eclipse, or games. No point in something that powerful for just webapps.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

If I buy a computer that expensive, it's to run power hungry apps like eclipse, or games. No point in something that powerful for just webapps.

Games?
http://nativeclientgames.com/

If you are talking about Eclipse the multilanguage development environment, then no, Chrome isn't there yet. (and may not ever be there!) But remember, this is designed to be an enduser computing environment, not a comprehensive digital toolset.

I think I'm done defending the Chrome environment for a while, BTW. Like anything else in this world, it will rise or fall because of, or in spite of, people's good opinion.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

As I understand it, the Pixel will come ready made with a Linux/Ubuntu capability from the manufacturer ready to go. No problem

Do you have a reference for that?

[Graham]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Do you have a reference for that?

http://blogs.computerworld.com/lapto...ok-pixel-linux

From the Chrome OS developer's Google+ page linked from the above:

With the Pixel, we’d added an extra (unverified) BIOS slot. It only works in developer mode, and you have to explicitly enable it, but we’ve put a copy of Seabios in the Pixel firmware. Here’s how I booted Linux Mint on it:

Graham

[Matteob]

One thing i forgot i would not buy one with only 32g storage as could not store many movies on it! It is not versatile enough for price.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Matteob

One thing i forgot i would not buy one with only 32g storage as could not store many movies on it! It is not versatile enough for price.

Why do people keep forgetting that it has a card slot? There are so many tablets out there that have _less_ than 32GB storage and _no_ card slot. Some also can not connect to USB storage.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

As I understand it, the Pixel will come ready made with a Linux/Ubuntu capability from the manufacturer ready to go. No problem

Originally Posted by Graham

http://blogs.computerworld.com/lapto...ok-pixel-linux
Graham

Graham did not use the phrase: "No problem", but I don't consider having to switch to developer mode "no problem", especially for every boot. I thought there might be some new information that revealed a true "no problem" linux solution for the pixel.

I write this as someone who has used linux exclusively at work and home for over 16 years and who boots to text mode, logs in, then starts X. It is not so much that I am lazy, but I detest gratuitous awkwardness and having to learn and remember obscure boot details for every device that I use.

[Graham]

Well, this gambit of releasing a tasty high-end device to promote interest in Chromebooks generally has worked on me.

I can't justify Ultrabook prices at the moment, but I was looking for a slightly larger replacement for my (much-loved) netbook as a device specifically for writing projects, so I bought the Samsung WiFi Chromebook, for £224 from Amazon.

I can see why people give these things rave reviews soon after opening them! The real test will come a few months down the road when I find out all the things that I can't do - I'm keeping a list - but the first impressions are wonderful.

The adverts do not lie.

I was doing useful work on this less than 3 minutes after turning it on for the first time, and that included taking time to say 'ooh shiny' quite a lot.

You plug it in and turn it on, then log into your wifi connection. Chrome starts and asks you for your Google password. It gives you a dialog with terms and conditions that you have to accept. Then it loads. It's really that simple. If I hadn't read the terms it would probably have been even quicker.

I'd been testing out a Chrome web app called Scriptito earlier in the day, which is an HTML5 writer's tool a bit like Scrivener - as I knew that the latter wouldn't run - and I'd been plotting out a short story. Once the Chromebook had logged in it offered me a Getting Started tutorial, but I ignored this at the time and went straight to the browser, found Scriptito and there was my project. I continued where I left off.

Obviously for £224 (with free delivery) the build quality isn't in the same league as the Pixel device, but this little Samsung is a lovely sleek thing, and it's actually noticeably lighter than my 10.1" Samsung netbook. It's got a very pleasant chiclet keyboard and it was a joy writing in a comfortable chair by the window.

I then amazed myself even more by using the TeamViewer web version to take control of my Windows desktop. Worked like a dream, as did printing, and watching some on demand TV during lunch with the chromebook driving my TV via HDMI.

Things that didn't work so far:

• I had to switch my password store from KeePass to LastPass, but I'd been looking into that anyway.
• There's no Skype web app, but I added 'imo Messenger' to Chrome and this connected me to my Skype contacts immediately, with chat, audio and video options.
• There's no Silverlight, so Lovefilm Instant streaming doesn't work, but all the flash-based sites I tried worked fine, as did BBC iPlayer.
• There's no support for WMA files, but mp3s are fine, and I was listening to a podcast that I had in Dropbox which the Chromebook streamed perfectly happily.
• The streams I'd picked in TuneIn radio weren't supported, but there are many internet radio options in the Chrome store, so I should find a workaround for this.

These are definitely outweighed so far by the things that did work, which pleased me. Team Viewer, as mentioned, but also Napster's web player, Comixology, and the on-demand TV sites.

Given that the device ships with 100GB cloud storage for two years - which I was also thinking of getting - this is a great purchase.

So, the basic concept of the Chromebook feels sound. The online storage offering should also be removed from the price to get a true feel for the amount you are paying for the machine. Seeing what I can already do with this cheap machine I'm prepared to say that the Pixel is not dramatically overpriced for its build quality and included cloud storage.

But as a marketing ploy to get people to buy the cheaper Chromebooks? Brilliant.

Graham

[holymadness]

The one thing that everything can agree on, whether impressed or not by the Pixel, is that it is dramatically overpriced for its capabilities.

But as you say, it has done its job as a marketing ploy by getting people talking and thinking about Chromebooks for the first time in a long while.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by holymadness

The one thing that everything can agree on, whether impressed or not by the Pixel, is that it is dramatically overpriced for its capabilities.

Not everyone. I'm saying that I disagree with that.

Its capabilities include a large amount of what I and many people actually need to do. I won't come to a final conclusion for several months, but I'm pretty sure there's a target market out there who will find this covers all that they absolutely need.

If you can do 95% of what you want to do, and 100% of what you need to do, then the machine is as capable to you as a Windows machine or a Mac. We're then just comparing prices based on build quality. Given the 1 TB of cloud storage for 3 years, and the quality of the touch screen, the price compares favourably with ultrabooks and MacBook Airs.

Overpriced, possibly; dramatically overpriced, no.

Graham

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by Graham

The streams I'd picked in TuneIn radio weren't supported, but there are many internet radio options in the Chrome store, so I should find a workaround for this.

TuneIn Radio has a web version. Since you can do Flash, I can't see why you wouldn't be able to use it...

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by Graham

Not everyone. I'm saying that I disagree with that.

Its capabilities include a large amount of what I and many people actually need to do. I won't come to a final conclusion for several months, but I'm pretty sure there's a target market out there who will find this covers all that they absolutely need.

If you can do 95% of what you want to do, and 100% of what you need to do, then the machine is as capable to you as a Windows machine or a Mac. We're then just comparing prices based on build quality. Given the 1 TB of cloud storage for 3 years, and the quality of the touch screen, the price compares favourably with ultrabooks and MacBook Airs.

Overpriced, possibly; dramatically overpriced, no.

Graham

If you had bought the $1,300 model rather than the $340 model, then your disagreement would have more weight. The proof is in the pudding.

Besides that, I spy a cognitive dissonance in your justification of the Pixel's virtues. On the one hand, you advocate a philosophy of 'Good Enough.' If it can do 95% of what you want it to do, it's good enough. If you can't use Word but you can use Google Docs, it's good enough. If you can't handle certain types of files, but there are substitutes available, then it's good enough. Ad infinitum.

On the other hand, the hardware is top-notch. That excellence, which speaks to a rejection of compromise, commands a premium price. It is the best of all possible Chromebooks and superior to an entire swath of consumer laptops.

Given those two facts, it is implausible to believe that most customers who embark on a purchase with the 'Good Enough' mentality would be willing to pay a $1,000 premium for top-flight hardware. No individual willing to compromise on software and functionality is going to be a stickler for perfect hardware. He is, rather, going to buy the hardware that's 'good enough,' and save a bundle. Likewise, few customers unwilling to compromise on hardware are going to accept a crippled OS with half the functionality of an OS X or Windows system.

The smartest thing that has been written about the Pixel so far is this (c/o David Pierce at The Verge): "Everyone should want a Chromebook Pixel — I certainly do. But almost no one should buy one."

[tubemonkey]

Still waiting for Netflix support before I decide.


Netflix support coming to ARM-based Chromebooks

One corner of the computing world can't use the streaming-video service: the $249 Samsung Chromebook. Netflix and Google are working to change that, though.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by holymadness

The one thing that everything can agree on, whether impressed or not by the Pixel, is that it is dramatically overpriced for its capabilities.

But as you say, it has done its job as a marketing ploy by getting people talking and thinking about Chromebooks for the first time in a long while.

It got people talking about this high-end Chromebook, but people have been talking about the previous Chromebooks for some time now.