"Why Chromebook Pundits Are Out of Touch"

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

How do you download WMA audiobooks on a Mac?

You bootcamp Windows.

I haven't seen a WMA file since 2005!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

You bootcamp Windows.

I haven't seen a WMA file since 2005!

Thanks

I use WMA files on an almost daily basis.

[Anthem]

I love my Chromebook. I use it for 98% of all of the laptop related tasks that I need to do. For the other 2% I grab my Ubuntu laptop.

I pretty much use nothing but my Nexus 7 during the daytime. And then the Chromebook for things the Nexus ain't great at (like typing). And THEN go for my laptop.

All of these devices would literally be useless to me without internet access of the nearly always on variety.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Anthem

All of these devices would literally be useless to me without internet access of the nearly always on variety.

That's pretty much me. Computers are totally useless without the internet.

[tubemonkey]

I'd love to get a Chromebook to replace my Windows machine, but lack of OverDrive and WMA support is a deal breaker for me.

[frahse]

Chromebook has shortcomings like with offline printing, and some programs that don't have offline capability, but security is no more a problem than with any other computer.

This worry about Google peeking at your files as has been discussed in this thread is way overblown.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by frahse

Chromebook has shortcomings like with offline printing

In practice I've never been inconvenienced by this. It would affect people who regularly have to print at a location that has no or intermittent internet access, so Chromebook buyers should definitely be made aware of the problem.

However, if you only tend to print from your laptop when you're at home or work, and those printers are connected to a reasonably solid internet connection then you'll rarely, if ever, be in a situation where you have to print a document and can't.

The issue with printing that will affect most Chromebook owners is having to either purchase a printer with Cloud Print functionality, or to have to boot up a Windows, Mac or Linux machine temporarily to make the existing printers available to the ChromeOS devices.

(For hobbyists, a Raspberry Pi makes a handy cheap print server that you can leave always on.)

Graham

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by frahse

This worry about Google peeking at your files as has been discussed in this thread is way overblown.

Something slippery, large and porous tells me that many of the posts discussing that aspect of Chrome were not entirely serious. At least one poster mentioned being mentally unbalanced and in the throes of a pathological fear of open internet spaces.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'd love to get a Chromebook to replace my Windows machine, but lack of OverDrive and WMA support is a deal breaker for me.

And you can't run Calibre on it, right? We have a Chromebook that's great for internet. But not for the programs I use on a daily basis, Kindle4PC, Calibre, Sigil, Q-Dir file manager, Adobe Digital Editions.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

And you can't run Calibre on it, right? We have a Chromebook that's great for internet. But not for the programs I use on a daily basis, Kindle4PC, Calibre, Sigil, Q-Dir file manager, Adobe Digital Editions.

It's not a very book friendly platform. I sure wish otherwise.

For ebooks, I can completely bypass a computer. Unfortunately, I can't do the same for audioibooks. For that, I need a Windows PC with OverDrive to get them to my Sansa Clip and iPod touch.

[derangedhermit]

Originally Posted by frahse

This worry about Google peeking at your files as has been discussed in this thread is way overblown.

This part from the Google Privacy Policy in particular is way overblown, or something else? It's all about the same...

• Local storage
  We may collect and store information (including personal information) locally on your device, using mechanisms such as browser web storage (including HTML 5) and application data caches.

I'm not worried about Google in particular, except that they are the best corporation in the world at collecting, mining, and processing personal information to use and sell. My mobile carrier, national government, grocery store, etc etc are all in the queue of collecting, using, and selling information about me.

I see no technical reason why individuals cannot have technology available that protects their privacy and security, except there is not currently sufficient incentive for companies to offer it.

That information has obvious value to many. I think if individuals don't mind making parts of it available, they are the ones who should get paid for it first. In other words, individuals control it, not other entities.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

It's not a very book friendly platform. I sure wish otherwise.

For ebooks, I can completely bypass a computer. Unfortunately, I can't do the same for audioibooks. For that, I need a Windows PC with OverDrive to get them to my Sansa Clip and iPod touch.

To be precise, it's not a very eReader friendly platform. As noted above, I can buy Kindle and AdobeDRM books on the Chromebook and read them there. What we can't do is use the Chromebook to register those DRM-protected files and sideload them to an eReader.

(If your preferred reading device is a wireless-enabled Kindle, Android phone or tablet, though, you could buy your books via the Chromebook and they'd be delivered automatically to the reading device.)

We also don't have a great way to manage non-DRM protected ebooks, as we can't run Calibre on a Chromebook without dual-booting to a Linux environment, but we can use Google Drive or the local file manager to organise the files and sideload using USB to the eReader.

As you say, though, we're currently stuffed for audiobooks via Overdrive. That's at least partly due to the proprietary nature of WMA. By the same token, Microsoft seem to be in no hurry to release a version of Skype that will run on ChromeOS.

Graham

[kennyc]

Therefore Aliens!

Oh wait, wrong discussion.....therefore we must get rid of DRM!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Therefore Aliens!

Oh wait, wrong discussion.....therefore we must get rid of DRM!

Klaatu barada wmadrm

[Laridae]

Of course the pundits are slamming the ChromeBook; the status quo is being threatened. With the ability to get online now for under $300, of course some big companies are getting antsy!

My local library has a stack ouf ChromeBooks they lend out for 2 hours at a time for accessing their catalogues, checking email and web browsing. They like the fact they are easy to maintain, worry free, portable, reliable and inexpensive.

I recently bought my mom a ChromeBook for her 87th birthday. She uses it to check her email, video conference with family, and surf the web for fun. She knows that she can't hurt it and that if she gets stuck on something she can just re-boot it and start over.

As I see it, the ChromeBook is not intended to be a computer or compete with computers. It's in an entirely new category. It provides valuable functionality at a low price and it's finding a growing market among people who are looking for exactly this.