Here's an off topic WooHoo Moment

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

Mini review for those who asked -
It weighs about 3.6 pounds, about the same as the full size edge and you can hold it in one hand easily.
I love the matte, rubbery finish - no fingerprints and not slippery.
The screen is matte too, I opened it outdoors briefly and could see it fine, although it was a cloudy day. I'm going to test it in the sun tomorrow.
Lots of Keyboard shortcuts and a menu you can pull up - with a keyboard shortcut. The Fn keys at the top were replaced with a row of symbols, which is great.
It Boots instantly - 15 seconds from turned off and comes out of sleep in a second, before you even have the lid open all the way it's awake.
You sign in with your Google account and can add other Google logins on the login screen, there is also a guest account and all the info from that sign in disappears at log off.
I do a lot of cloud storage; so using Google everything is intuitive for me and the new Chrome web apps are great. Cloud printing is working - BTW it can be accessed from the edge as well if you set it up on your PC from chrome (it is limited to Gmail and Google Docs from mobiles for now though)
Battery life is terrific, I went from 8AM till 5PM with heavy use and still had 34% left. Plus, it does not get hot the way a laptop does.
Rumor has it that there is a GPS unit built in; although as yet it is not enabled.
Google threw in 2 years of Verizon 3G as well, so if I'm not near WiFi I have 100MB a month for whatever I may need. I wonder how much data using Google Maps and GPS would use if you needed it on the road? It would be way cool to have a 12 inch screen for directions.
It is definitely a work in progress, not much support for music sync yet and no Netflix. Hulu works, but flash streaming is a bit jerky; Adobe is supposed to be working on a version for Chrome OS.
I can see the potential;many people, like my husband, have no use for a traditional Windows machine. He just web browses and does the occasional chat, email, looks at my Picasa galleries etc.
Students can benefit, cloud apps mean no lost data if your system crashes.
In all, I love it and am using it more than my Windows machine.

That sounds pretty fantastic. The only thing I would miss about giving up my windows machine is my full-sized tablet (I have a Lenovo x200 tablet).

Originally Posted by StevenP

Ultimately, Google wants us using the cloud and through that all their web apps. They need this for their business model (mining as much data and personal information as possible.)

I know a lot of people see Google data mining as intrusive, but, I think it's a small price to pay for all the options I get with Google. It connects all my appointments, phone calls, SMS, mails and schoolwork into one easily accessed place. My daughter's computer hard drive failed once - with all her homework and a final on it. She did not have a backup (luckily I was able to save it with a Linux boot disk); if she had been using Google docs there would have been no worries. It's OK with me if Google knows where I shop and what I buy.

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

I know a lot of people see Google data mining as intrusive, but, I think it's a small price to pay for all the options I get with Google. It connects all my appointments, phone calls, SMS, mails and schoolwork into one easily accessed place. My daughter's computer hard drive failed once - with all her homework and a final on it. She did not have a backup (luckily I was able to save it with a Linux boot disk); if she had been using Google docs there would have been no worries. It's OK with me if Google knows where I shop and what I buy.

But what about your grand conspiracy for world domination? Surely you don't want those plans exposed.

Originally Posted by StevenP

But what about your grand conspiracy for world domination?

Those are my plans!

So Cheyenne, what functions are you know using this for instead of the eDGe?

I'm kind of using them in tandem. Those pdfs that need landscape are easier to read on the CR-48. Creating a document is easier, web browsing is much faster, Google chat video works. I still prefer reading on eink though and I enjoy Handwriting my journal notes and annotations, if the two could meld it would be perfect.

Originally Posted by cheyennedonna

...if the two could meld it would be perfect.

You might suggest this very thing to Google.

Originally Posted by borisb

Interesting. It sounds like it muddies the Android tablet waters...

From what I've herd Google never wanted Android to go beyond Cell phones. They wanted Chrome for all netbooks/tablets. It took a lot of pressure from users and companies to even get google to come out with a tablet version of the OS (honeycomb). That is another reason why tablets have never been granted access to the Market. So it would only make sense that they try to make Chrome better than Android.

I am so jealous...........

I don't understand this reliance on keeping your data in the 'cloud'. What happens when the servers go down or an admin deletes your 6 years of photographs by mistake?

My start in computers was with so called analog computers - you set up problems with switches and dials and got your results from meters. I then progressed to punched cards and tapes for input which you kept so you could reproduce the results when needed.

The servers we have now I built and made sure we can backup everything that goes through them, not only on site but at a remote site as well. I also spend a lot of time trying to recover photos and documents people have 'lost' and that recovery has now extended to e-mail in the 'cloud' and we had our first client that couldn't find some important documents they had put on some storage site today.

I suppose what I am saying is, as long as you understand that storing your life in the 'cloud' could mean you could loose large chunks of it and it doesn't worry you then by all means do so but if your life means more to you make sure you have a local backup.

Hmmm...It may be presumptuous to assume that users rely on the cloud for storage. I rely on it, yes, but not for storage without other backups. I rely on it for convenience (when I'm in the grocery store and I need that list I left on my desktop or I'm on vacation half way around the world and I need to log into my bank account) and as a valuable backup of files that live on hard drives or disks in our house.

That said, I'd love to have a web that recognzies me whenever and wherever I log in and regardless of the device or browser I use to do that. Cloud computing can bring us that. Yes, it's dangerous and has real security drawbacks. But I think that world is coming whether we like it or not.

Originally Posted by NiaTrue

Hmmm...It may be presumptuous to assume that users rely on the cloud for storage. ......

I use the "cloud" exclusively for storage. In a given day, I use 5 or 6 different computers and having access from the cloud is just great. All of my computers have only apps on them and virtually no data files. If any of the computers crash, or are lost etc, I have lost nothing. Yes, I depend on the cloud. Since I am not in the CIA, I dont worry about security. If someone wants to see my latest manuscript or look at a picture of my house, thats fine by me. I have some level of blind trust that my data will be available and backed up. I guess I am a trusting idiot, but ignorance is bliss.

Wow, topic shift...
Never thought about it, but I guess I do use the cloud for more storage than expected. Never anything of importance...and never my photographs.

I use a service called backupify http://www.backupify.com/ to backup Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs. I use Picasa for photographs, but I have a copy on a portable drive, as well as my main Windows PC. Plus I use Norton online backup for my PC files. I think hard drive failure is more likely than server failure, but I think I'm covered. Sensitive data, Drivers license, Social Security, etc stays on my computer and backup drive.

I tried it out in the sun today; as long as the sun is not shining directly on the screen it is usable - a little dim but still readable. Also, the drivers for my Android - MyTouch 4G are built in. If I hook it up with a USB it is recognized as an Ethernet connection and instantly goes on line.

Originally Posted by alefor

I use the "cloud" exclusively for storage. In a given day, I use 5 or 6 different computers and having access from the cloud is just great. All of my computers have only apps on them and virtually no data files. If any of the computers crash, or are lost etc, I have lost nothing. Yes, I depend on the cloud. Since I am not in the CIA, I dont worry about security. If someone wants to see my latest manuscript or look at a picture of my house, thats fine by me. I have some level of blind trust that my data will be available and backed up. I guess I am a trusting idiot, but ignorance is bliss.

I also use several computers/devices every day and the need to keep all of them synched would be impossible without the cloud. The cloud also serves as a backup of all the files on those computers. I figure if my apartment building and/or my office burn down, having burnt up backup disks and crispy external drives won't help me. So, the cloud it is.

Wish I could keep safe deposit box keys in the cloud.

I just went through the process of signing up for the beta testing of the Chrome laptops only to find that the review/testing program is available in the US only.

Booooo!!!

But thanks for the note - it's a great deal... just sad us Canucks miss out AGAIN.