"Why Chromebook Pundits Are Out of Touch"

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

For "digital natives" the cloud is something new, revolutionary, and not to be feared. For some of us "digital immigrants" we know the cloud is nothing more than a throwback to IT data centers of two generations ago, and that devices like the Chromebook are little more than 21st century versions of an IBM 3277 terminal.

I remember those days. I remember having to go through computer operation's procedures to get access to my data, access to my printouts, and access to the CPU to perform certain functions. The introduction of the first mass produced personal computers were truly revolutionary. Having experienced computing before personal computers and the freedom it provided, there is no way that I'm going back to those times.

hey you kids, get off my lawn!

Yep, followed by Sun's - The Network IS the Computer campaign...

[pl001]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

I remember those days. I remember having to go through computer operation's procedures to get access to my data, access to my printouts, and access to the CPU to perform certain functions. The introduction of the first mass produced personal computers were truly revolutionary. Having experienced computing before personal computers and the freedom it provided, there is no way that I'm going back to those times.

What do you mean, "remember"? With today's corporate security policies it is harder than ever for me to access the data and systems I need to. I have upwards of a hundred firewall rule exceptions just to do my job. And every new system means weeks of paperwork to obtain appropriate access and permissions to get everything communicating correctly while maintaining security. Ever hear of a STIG? Fun stuff.

The thing is, most of this overblown security is due to the inherent insecure nature of personal computing.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by pl001

User accounts in Windows 8.1 are pretty simple. Yet they are powerful enough to monitor and control anything and everything my kids do if I want. How does Chrome compare?

Another update with 8.1 is that your configuration and app settings are saved on SkyDrive, making restores or transferring to a new device easy.

Comparisons to Windows 7 aren't really valid anymore, especially when it comes to cloud computing. Not that 8 is perfect, but it is lightyears ahead of 7.

Admittedly, I've not tried setting up a guest account on Windows 8.

Like everything in ChromeOS, the emphasis is on simplicity, so if you're looking for fine control Windows is probably the better option.

ChromeOS machines have a Guest account available on login; you don't need to set up anything. This provides a sandboxed environment for browsing the web, with no access to anything else on the machine - though you do get a file manager with temporary storage space if you need to download things, or use the USB or SD card ports.

While you can control your own content, or install a filter extension such as WebFilter Pro, these won't prevent a savvy user from changing the settings or removing the extension.

Google does provide the ability to have administrators manage devices, but you'll need to subscribe to a Google Apps for Business (or Education) account for this, which is likely overkill for family use.

I'd expect this to be an area which will get attention with future releases of ChromeOS, but for now it's a shortcoming.

Graham

[kennyc]

To everything
turn, turn, turn,
there is a season
turn, turn, turn,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6jxxagVEO4

[derangedhermit]

Originally Posted by pl001

What do you mean, "remember"? With today's corporate security policies it is harder than ever for me to access the data and systems I need to. I have upwards of a hundred firewall rule exceptions just to do my job. And every new system means weeks of paperwork to obtain appropriate access and permissions to get everything communicating correctly while maintaining security. Ever hear of a STIG? Fun stuff.

The thing is, most of this overblown security is due to the inherent insecure nature of personal computing.

Nah, it's due to the inherently insecure nature of people.

Sounds like you may have a security clearance, and it also sounds like it's time to find a new job - unless you're bragging by way of complaining. Life turns out to be short, and the longer you live, the shorter it gets.

On topic: Too short to mess around with Chromebooks.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by derangedhermit

On topic: Too short to mess around with Chromebooks.

That's pretty much the opposite of the way I view Chromebooks!

It's their hassle-free nature that I find so attractive. Lift lid; start work (or play).

Graham

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Graham

That's pretty much the opposite of the way I view Chromebooks!

It's their hassle-free nature that I find so attractive. Lift lid; start work (or play).

Graham

Personal style can be simple or intricate. Which style is perceived to be more modern than the other depends on the era that happens to be receding into twilight.

I favor intricacy in artistic style and software interfaces, but not panoplies of locks in the way of spontaneous ideas. I do like the idea of opening the lid and playing (which conjures memories of decades in front of a baby grand piano).

§§§

The person who mentioned the likelihood of Chrome's offline dormancy -- lurking and mutating like a critter in Lovecraft's "From Beyond" until wifi's enabled and one is seen -- expressed my crypto-arthro-pomorphic consternation. It's not as if I can stay offline forever and, once I connect, I expect the info harvesting to begin.

Not to be at all paranoid schizophrenic about privacy and eerily friendly environments!

[QuantumIguana]

There is one eternal battle that has raged for untold ages, and will rage through untold ages to come: computer vs. computer. It probably began with stick vs. branch, although it may have gone as far back as pseudopod vs. flagellum.

A day may come when mankind no longer has religious strife, the day may come when political differences no longer divide us, but the day shall not come when users of different computer platforms sit down together in peace and harmony.

I remember Amiga vs. Atari ST and Commodore 64 vs Atari 400/800, and these weren't the first. My Chromebook does what I need it to do; for me it is a good choice. It might not be a good choice for someone else, if it's not good for you, feel free not to buy it. But it's just another computer holy war. Some day, it will be hyper-quantum dimensional computronics vs. quasi-matricine ultra-calculonics.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

There is one eternal battle that has raged for untold ages, and will rage through untold ages to come: computer vs. computer. It probably began with stick vs. branch, although it may have gone as far back as pseudopod vs. flagellum.

A day may come when mankind no longer has religious strife, the day may come when political differences no longer divide us, but the day shall not come when users of different computer platforms sit down together in peace and harmony.

I remember Amiga vs. Atari ST and Commodore 64 vs Atari 400/800, and these weren't the first. My Chromebook does what I need it to do; for me it is a good choice. It might not be a good choice for someone else, if it's not good for you, feel free not to buy it. But it's just another computer holy war. Some day, it will be hyper-quantum dimensional computronics vs. quasi-matricine ultra-calculonics.

Troublemaker!

[Jessica Lares]

I'm pretty sick of everyone trying to be a salesmen these days. Just honestly, every damn person on the internet who's into tech has to have a word in about how great the device their using is and why everything else is subpar. On some message boards it's just unbelievable at how ignorant some people can be. Especially when people go on Apple related sections of sites and make these types of posts.

That article was a waste of time, it just told us that the guy thought the other guys were "wrong" about their opinion and showed Chrome being used in some ridiculous instances. The same BS that people argue of why Android is better than iOS.

I can hook up a controller to my MacBook Pro and do the same thing. And I'm not limited to just the games that can run in a browser.

But then again, aren't we supposed to advocate REAL work being done on these machines and not just screwing around and being distracted like that guy apparently is?

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Especially when people go on Apple related sections of sites and make these types of posts.

That article was a waste of time, it just told us that the guy thought the other guys were "wrong" about their opinion and showed Chrome being used in some ridiculous instances.

Jessica, this isn't the Apple section, and these haven't been the types of posts that I imagine you're referring to. We've had a reasonable discussion of both the advantages and shortcomings of ChromeOS devices, perfectly on topic for the thread.

The article was a reasonable rebuttal to the contention that Chromebooks are useless, without in any way being defamatory to users of other systems. The author goes out of his way to make that point in his final paragraph:

And that’s why in the nearly two years of covering Chromebooks and creating dozens of Chrome Show podcast episodes, I’ve never said Chromebooks are the best product for all. Because I know they’re not. They’re fantastic for a specific type of user and use cases. For others, a PC or Mac is the better choice and I certainly wouldn’t be short-sighted so as to summarily dismiss those options as a joke.

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I can hook up a controller to my MacBook Pro and do the same thing. And I'm not limited to just the games that can run in a browser.

But then again, aren't we supposed to advocate REAL work being done on these machines and not just screwing around and being distracted like that guy apparently is?

Did you read the article? He specifically made the point that his controller was working with a packaged app in its own window, not 'just the games that can run in a browser'. That's a reasonable inclusion in an article written to point out that there's more to Chromebooks than web browsing.

(I went on to discuss other packaged and offline apps, and yes, I'm doing real paid work in Gantter.)

This article, in fact, supports the points that you seem to be condemning it for.

Graham

[pl001]

Originally Posted by derangedhermit

Nah, it's due to the inherently insecure nature of people.

Sounds like you may have a security clearance, and it also sounds like it's time to find a new job - unless you're bragging by way of complaining. Life turns out to be short, and the longer you live, the shorter it gets.

Heh, good points, didn't mean to rant there. The ever changing landscape of technology can be frustrating but the challenge can be rewarding. I'm just trying to show that Personal Computing hasn't made things all roses and lollypops.

[Jessica Lares]

Graham, I wasn't referring to MobileRead. We actually have some very good threads here, and it's very civilized. I was mostly referring to places like The Verge and MacRumors.

What windowed apps are there besides editors?

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

What windowed apps are there besides editors?

Gantter Desktop, which I referred to above, is an MS Project clone. I also use Workflowy's offline windowed app for outlining, which syncs perfectly with the online web app when connectivity is resumed. I've found Google Keep to be a very handy note-taker, which then syncs seamlessly across Chrome and Android.

I also use Gliffy - which is a pretty good Visio substitute, VNC Viewer, and Google's own Remote Desktop.

This collection on the web store has more apps that run outside of the browser:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/c...r_your_desktop

More are appearing all the time, and Google announced the arrival of Portable Native Client today, which will make it even easier to write cross-platform powerful apps.

Graham

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I can hook up a controller to my MacBook Pro and do the same thing. And I'm not limited to just the games that can run in a browser.

How do you download WMA audiobooks on a Mac?