"Why Chromebook Pundits Are Out of Touch"

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It has an SSD. Outside of the screen, the specs are pretty much the same.

Is the SSDs made by the same company? What about the other components? Who are the OEMs? These things can make a difference.

There is a reason why some laptop brands are more highly regarded than others.

--
Bill

[afv011]

Lenovo plans to expand its Chromebook line in the coming months, a company executive told CNET, giving a boost to the market for PCs running Google's operating system.
Jay Parker, president for Lenovo's North American operations, said the company will release "multiple Chromebook models" in the market by the summer. That will cover multiple price points and configurations, he said.

Source

It would seem there's no stopping the Chrome OS train... no matter how many pawn ads you throw at it

[ApK]

Originally Posted by afv011

Source

It would seem there's no stopping the Chrome OS train... no matter how many pawn ads you throw at it

I agree with those here who said those ads probably sold more Chromebooks than anything else by 1) making people aware that they existed, and 2) suggesting that Microsoft is afraid of them.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by ApK

I agree with those here who said those ads probably sold more Chromebooks than anything else by 1) making people aware that they existed, and 2) suggesting that Microsoft is afraid of them.

Indeed.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

It's interesting to see each desktop OS try for convergence and end up harvesting consumer annoyance -- Apple for concealing the file tree and cloning iOS limitations in Mountain Lion, Windows 8 for the reasons discussed above, and Linux Ubuntu for its Unity GUI. A friend who just installed Ubuntu 13.10 has been telling me that (a) installation was the smoothest he'd ever experienced on his tower -- every driver worked perfectly -- and (b) Unity is a horrorshow. He had the same reaction to the new Linux GUI that many Windows users have had to 8's (i.e., he found a way to delete it).

And Mountain Lion annoyed two developer friends so much that they've been talking -- ever since ML was first introduced -- about buying Windows desktops after decades of development solely for Apple devices. Another friend who's a soundtrack composer in LA hates Logic 9 and Pro Tools 11 (both eliminated third-party TDM plugins) so much that he's just returned to Leopard so that he can run Logic 8 and an earlier iteration of PT.

Perhaps Google has the right idea: Creating a laptop/desktop OS that's meant not to be convergent (Android isn't Chrome) but to extrapolate on the laptop-idiomatic ramifications of ideas typically confined to mobile devices without proper keyboards.

We started going down hill, when someone (MS probably) decided that "directories" were hard and "folders" would be easier. Since then we have gone to "My Files," "My Music," My Folders," in case someone shares the computer.

Many times I get on a machine because I have been asked to solve a problem and I need to know where a file is. Guess what. The user doesn't know. Only that there is a problem.

I know you can argue about ease of use, but then what about backups.

I store certain files no matter where they come from in certain directories. Then if I need a copy, I can go the that directory or just backup the entire directories.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Cinnamon, not so much...

I'll have to take a closer look at MATE. Looks pretty much like the gnome I'm running here on Ubuntu. I'll have to see what/if the differences.

It isn't good, or it's not what we're used to?

Personally, I like the idea of MATE more anyway.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by ApK

The $199 Acer is (or at least was when we bought ours) available for the same price with a 320GB HDD or a 16GB SSD. We have one of each.
(I have the HDD for the Linux system, my wife has the SSD.)

We note that while the boot speed of the SSD is impressive, The HDD boot is pretty darn fast, too. More importantly, we have almost never had to reboot these things. Unless the battery goes totally dead, there is almost no reason to.
They both wake from sleep very quickly.

I was lucky. When I bought my wife her "ACE" I found for $219 on Amazon, a Acer 710 - xxxx with 4GB RAM , and the 320GB HD. Those went up to $249 later and it is hard to find a 320GB anymore.
Of course Amazon Prime "free 2 day delivery."

She has her "ACE" in a pretty little cloth "tote bag" and she takes it with her for her charity and church type work, rather than taking her bigger heavier laptop. I got her a little Verbatim "travel" mouse.
The only drawback is the 4 1/2 hour battery, so she carries a spare charger with a cord.

It even has a regular Ethernet Port.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

It isn't good, or it's not what we're used to?

Too much Windows/Windows 8 like from what I see. You got to understand that I'm an *old* Unix user. I learned my stuff in the pre-GUI days and while I do use the GUI, I prefer a bit more control.

[Sregener]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The larger screen isn't worth $80.

This is what is known as a value judgement. You're no longer dealing with things that are absolute, but subjective. In other words, the features you consider to be most valuable are not necessarily those that another person would consider worth anything, and vice versa. Thus, while you may have concluded that a larger screen isn't worth $80 *to you*, this is not the same thing as saying that the larger screen isn't worth $80 *to anybody.*

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Sregener

This is what is known as a value judgement. You're no longer dealing with things that are absolute, but subjective. In other words, the features you consider to be most valuable are not necessarily those that another person would consider worth anything, and vice versa. Thus, while you may have concluded that a larger screen isn't worth $80 *to you*, this is not the same thing as saying that the larger screen isn't worth $80 *to anybody.*

But of course. Choosing is always subjective, because of the variables.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by frahse

I know the HP 11 has IPS. (178 degree viewing)
I am not sure about the HP 14.

That is a big buying point for me.

This morning, I had time and I did a little research on the HP 14. This is what I found.

HP Chromebook 14 (with 4G) review: Solid performance in a plus-sized package
The HP Chromebook 14 combines great performance with a spacious display. So is it the right Chromebook for you?
By JR Raphael
October 23, 2013 06:00 AM ET

"As for the quality of the display, it's a mixed bag: The Chromebook 14's glossy 1366 x 768 TN screen is a big leap forward from the matte TN panel on Acer's C720 Chromebook, especially in terms of clarity. As you'd expect, though, it's no match for the IPS LCD display on the Chromebook 11. The Chromebook 14's contrast, color brilliance, color accuracy and sharpness are all a significant step down from what the Chromebook 11 delivers; the disparity is striking when you view the laptops side by side.

(Note: This review originally stated that the Chromebook 14's display was an IPS panel based on information provided by HP press representatives. HP has since informed me that the information it initially provided was inaccurate and the display is, in fact, TN-based -- which is far more consistent with the level of quality I observed. The review has been updated accordingly.)
Body and design

The differences between the Chromebook 14 and Chromebook 11 don't end with the display; in fact, despite the fact that both laptops are made by HP, they have little in common when it comes to physical form. The reason is that the Chromebook 11 was designed with close involvement by Google -- the same team responsible for the high-end Chromebook Pixel -- while the Chromebook 14 is an HP product through and through.

Generally speaking, the comparison doesn't reflect favorably on the Chromebook 14. From the visible vents between the top and bottom halves to the prominent screws on its casing, the Chromebook 14 is considerably less elegant and thoughtfully designed than its Google-influenced cousin."

See:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic..._sized_package

So I will have to pass on the HP 14 as well.
The HP 11 seems better, but it has no Haswell chip set so a shorter battery life.

My best bet is the next Samsung or a Lenovo. (I am tired of waiting.)

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Too much Windows/Windows 8 like from what I see. You got to understand that I'm an *old* Unix user. I learned my stuff in the pre-GUI days and while I do use the GUI, I prefer a bit more control.

Very fair. I believe it is touted as a Windows-feel GUI, and I believe would be mainly good for people who are transitioning from Windows. I believe MATE should give the same experience as the traditional gnome2, last offered in Ubuntu Maverick. That gnome look & feel was the height of usability for me, and I miss it.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Sregener

This is what is known as a value judgement. You're no longer dealing with things that are absolute, but subjective. In other words, the features you consider to be most valuable are not necessarily those that another person would consider worth anything, and vice versa. Thus, while you may have concluded that a larger screen isn't worth $80 *to you*, this is not the same thing as saying that the larger screen isn't worth $80 *to anybody.*

True, but we tend to set value by comparing costs to other similar things.
Even the Apple Macbook Air 13" is only $100 more than the 11", and that's in Apple dollars, which is currently less than $25 in normal money.*

ApK

*Exchange rate based on the price difference of a 32GB and 64GB iPod Touch compared to the price for a 32GB micro sd card.... ;-)

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by ApK

I see it the other way, not that ChromeOS is extrapolating from the mobile world, but that it's been pared down from a laptop/desktop OS to only the essentials that the consumers on the left half of the bell curve care about most of the time. . . . Android, (and iOS) on the other hand, extrapolated from the single-purpose devices people had in their pocket -- phone, media player, camera -- and grew to a full general purpose computing system.

You might be right about the point of extrapolation -- i.e., that Chrome is the reduction of the desktop as opposed to a mobile-informed desktop OS with mobile-specific compromises razed.

Either way, Google knew it was best to differentiate between their mobile and desktop OS in terms of the user's experience. They knew it was better not to simplify, prettify or obscure aspects of a non-mobile UI where the result would be that commonplace tasks became more difficult to unpack.

Of course, I'm saying that as a person [who] has yet to use a Chromebook beyond trying one out in a store. In the words of Montaigne, what do I know?

[taosaur]

Seeing this thread in News always gives me a little chuckle at the notion that "Chromebook Pundits" are a thing that exists, and as such have the opportunity to be "Out of Touch." To me, the title of this thread has always sounded akin to "Unicorns Condemn Iranian Nuclear Program." I've refrained from posting as much for months, expecting this thread to vanish from sight, yet it persists.

So, my contribution: this thread's very existence is rather silly. Yes. Rather silly.

Now please carry on with your punditry, or counter-punditry, regarding Chromebooks, subject of hope and contention that they are.