Google’s Chromebooks Have Hit Their Stride
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
(Note, I'm not the GP.)
Word: Google Docs is more than enough for the type of documents they work on.
Photos: Photos are taken on the iPhone and shared directly via FB/etc. No need to touch a computer.
Some users don't need Office-type documents on the laptop -- they have a work-issued computer or it's not a requirement of their day-to-day needs. Similarly with photo management -- maybe they don't have a camera, or they just leave photos on their phone without a copy on the computer.
Other users believe in the Google vision, which is Google Docs and Google+ Photos. (Picasa's web interface is basically dead now.)
Long story short, I can alt+ctrl+shift+f2 and get to an Ubuntu install where I have XFCE installed and access to a real xterm + tmux + Skype. It has all of my dev tools (c compiler, python, jvm) and can even do Android development. I can alt+ctrl+shift+f2 and go back to normal Chromebook stuff. I use Chrome plus a special plugin in ChromeOS that lets ChromeOS and my Crouton/Ubuntu install share a clipboard. Combined with Chrome's normal syncing, I sometimes forget which environment I'm in when browsing the web.
If you can follow some instructions and want a cheap dev laptop that is no fuss for the basics, I'd recommend a similar setup. These days, I'd probably go for the 14" HP, although I haven't checked to make sure I could upgrade the HDD and RAM to acceptable specs.
For all my tech-illiterate family I bought an Ipad which pretty much worked in the same way (Not need to do tech support and satisfied their needs).
* All of the actionable UI items are too small
- Simple things like giving focus to the App store "search bar" are difficult for me, very difficult for her
- Clearing App store search bar by clicking the X is very difficult for me, impossible for her
- Install button takes 1-3 attempts for me, maybe 10 for her
* Use of icons instead of simple text
- I purchased the new iPad Air for her, hoping the larger size would make it easier to use. Embarrassingly, I could not even figure out how to install an app. I was searching for the "Install" button for ~30 seconds and even clicked the wrong icon once.
* E-Mail application randomly closes emails
- Once again I thought this was user error. She attempted to open several emails, and each time they would close immediately and return to the inbox. It turned out to be some bug in the mail application. Restarting the device didn't fix it.
On the other hand, she also has a Samsung Chromebook and has had absolutely zero issues with it. To be fair, it's a bit slow playing some facebook games and occasionally I wish I got her a normal windows laptop (for instance, the Optimum app is not supported, nor is the slingbox player).
Interestingly, I just gifted an iPad mini retina to my girlfriend earlier today and just went through the setup a few minutes ago. She attempted to install her first app which is marked "Free" and "iPhone only" (there is no iPad version). Upon clicking it, she had to log into her Apple ID (even though she just entered this information in the setup process). Next it said her ID was never used in the iTunes store (what's that?!?) and she had to register with her credit card (free app!?). After that dialog submit failed with two error messages (because I saw her click the Submit button twice), it returned back to the install screen. She clicked the Install button a second time, it forced her to enter her Apple ID and password AGAIN and then it started downloading. I thought iOS was supposed to be easy to use!? Even she kept commenting how difficult it is to use. She also has a Kindle Fire and never had any issues with it.
That's like wishing printer manufacturers would provide an easy way to refill their ink cartridges. It will never happen because no company will knowingly undermine its own business model.
Google's (and others') model is to access and mine as much of your own personal data as possible, so the idea that you're in sole control of it is anathema to their stated mission.
It used to be that one was generally pretty well aware of exactly what data was handed over when using their services, since the interaction with them was carried out in a limited, well understood manner (browser window, gmail/search site). Since they now control the entire stack from the hardware up to the services, and for the most part the workings of the entire system are opaque, it's very easy to leak data you never intended to, which compounds nicely for them (and unfortunately for you) with their goal.
So, in short, your data will never be safe if you hand it over to someone whose goal is to monetize it by being able to read it.
The thing I think you're missing is that many people are replacing usage of their main computer with tablets and similar devices. So yes ChromeOS/books can be seen as a competitor to an iPad, but the ENTIRE space (e.g. tablets, smartphones, Chromebooks) is competing against the PC as we know it.
Despite the terrible reputation it has, Vista is where Microsoft really started turning it around in a big way when it comes to stability, security, etc. (XP/Windows 2000 was obviously good too for moving the consumer OS to the protected NT kernel, but things really picked up in the subsequent releases).
My current Windows desktop system is running Windows 8.1 after in-place upgrades from Win7->Win8->Win8.1 (in place Windows upgrades being another previous no-no that now pretty much Just Works) and it still feels as zippy as the day I first started using it, despite having a hard-drive full of large RAW photos, videos, music, etc, and many dozens of apps installed, uninstalled, reinstalled, etc over the years.
All that being said, I own two different Chromebooks and I use them as mobile development systems running crouton and I really like them a lot and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone who isn't pinned to Windows due to other app constraints like needing Photoshop, Lightroom, games, etc.
The problem with Windows is usually third party crapware that people always install. Or comes preinstalled by the vendor. If you keep that in check you could last a long time before doing a re install. But most non tech savy users ... have trouble with that. Malware is getting more and more sophisticated in its ability to trick person to install it.
But like Netbooks I think it'll have a short run. In the same way it is hard for WinPhone to compete against Android in the long tail of apps, I think the long tail of Win apps is tough to compete with when you can get a Windows PC at almost the same price.
Tablets are a great secondary device. I think Chromebooks are too bulky and not feature rich enough as a secondary device. And simply can't replace a laptop as a primary.
And with virtually no price delta, I just don't see the story.
I now know two people with Chromebooks. Both also have an (older) desktop. By any reasonable measure, it's the Chromebooks which are the primary. It's almost as if the desktop provides an it's-there-if-I-really-need-it fallback in case any of the long-tail apps are needed, but both are finding them not needed. (Note that neither are office workers.)
Both knew going in that the device would not run their PC software, so I think perhaps the correct messaging is out there.
Still, two is a very small number, even in the personal anecdote space. So, we'll see.
What do you mean? I just bought a $199 Chromebook (Acer C720) with 9+ hours of battery life and weighing under 3lbs. It performs well for all day-to-day tasks (email, news/HN/reddit, Facebook, etc). I don't know of any well-performing Windows laptops at that price point, and Windows laptops come with the added complexity of using Windows: I like the minimal simplicity of ChromeOS (no pre-installed bloatware, no useless extra features complicating the UI, everything safely backed up in the cloud, and automatic updates).
And my Chromebook is absolutely my primary device: I rarely touch my Windows 7 / Ubuntu (dual-booted) laptop.
There's a huge market for people who don't want all the complication of windows. Don't think of it as having less features and less software, think of it as having different features and different software.
On top of that, almost all of it is open source.
[1] https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton [2] https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/2205401/ (for example)
It's not really like Windows though is it? I could argue ChromeOS has far less privacy and is less capable. Sure, ChromeOS presents a simplified and streamlined experience that fits with what many people want in a computer: surf the web, check email, write simple documents. But there is nothing in ChromeOS that you can't do in Windows or Ubuntu or MacOSX. Importantly, in those OSes, I can run desktop apps without worrying about usage data being recorded and tracked (if usage data is recorded, it's opt-in and usually described as "anonymous" data collection).
I wonder how many people here would be happy if every action they performed or every app they launched on their computer was recorded by Apple or Microsoft? Yet, this is exactly what ChromeOS potentially does. In ChromeOS, running Google apps is only possible by signing into your Google account. So very quickly, Google builds an incredibly detailed picture of your computer usage: from the sites you browse, to the apps you use, to even the docs you print. They are not capturing this data anonymously either. Knowing clearly what Google tracks and records is a perfectly reasonable expectation. I'm amazed how easily Google have escaped any scrutiny on this matter.
There's barely any mention in this thread (and none in the TechCrunch article) of the privacy implications of using ChromeOS. I guess for many in the tech press and the tech community it's a complete non-issue. As someone who cares about privacy, I find that pretty depressing.
Very large numbers of people already use Google find stuff they want to know and to manage their intimate e-mail communications. People have had a decade's experience gauging how Google acts when it has this information. They continue to use these services. Today, 81% of people who are buying smartphones in the world are choosing Android.
The most straightforward explanation of these facts would seem to be your concerns about Google knowing things are simply not shared. Not by the tech community, not by the tech press, and not by the overwhelming majority of people.
It doesn't seem likely that Google potentially knowing that one is using a Chromebook to play Angry Birds or watch Netflix will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
My primary reasons for reaching for it rather than a "real" laptop (got a couple of Thinkpads around as well) is that it's got great battery life and that it's so cheap that I don't care if it gets wrecked. It's been beaten, stepped on, splashed on.
It sits somewhere between a tablet and a normal laptop. It doesn't replace any of them, but it's a great complement.
I, for one, was one of the original pundits that lambasted the Chromebook movement in the beginning, but I am starting to warm up to the idea of owning one in the coming year. It surely will not replace my MBA, but there is room for it to serve as a secondary machine to people like myself.
Lastly, Microsoft should feel threatened by the recent uptick in adoption, because this kind of exodus towards ChromeOS will only eat more into their once massive share of the OS market. If Google continues to make progress in this space, $MSFT will most definitely have start paying attention and counter their growth. The new CEO in Redmond has a lot cut out for him upon taking the reins from Ballmer.
You mean Microsoft's gonna start doing things like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRKJJLbNUy4 ?
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/06/microsoft-really-doesnt-wan...
The one thing I think is missing is more drool-worthy mid-priced machines. There are some very nice Windows 8 devices in the sub-$1000, and it seems Chromebooks jump from $400 right to the Pixel $1200+, which is a large gap in the market.
As I understand it, I could copy the files to the sandboxed filesystem API, but there are a few issues with working in an IDE environment which would break that usability, for example, grunt creating new files, etc. etc.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Happy to take this question to SA if that is a better venue where people would more likely look for the answer as well, if you've got a better solution.
As I said, I'm keen to do this as a Chrome Packaged App, though there are a few things like Grunt that I'll want to be running within the app, so node-webkit isn't a bad solution for the prototype.
it runs Firefox, vim, BitTorrent Sync
A key chord and I'm back on ChromeOS
Updates on ChromeOS are clean and easy
Instant on just as fast as iPad ChromeOS: Flip the lid open and there you are Linux: + sudo startxfce4
Your data is yours.
The Win7 updates to my old netbook which i don't even use anymore take like an hour.
Windows can run TurboxTax; I'll give it that.
So can pretty much every mobile/desktop OS, including ChromeOS, now that Turbo Tax has web-based "Turbo Tax Online" editions.
The "I need Windows to run X" factor is getting weaker over time.
Like most other Web versions of existing desktop apps, TurboTax Online is not a complete replacement for the desktop version.
A hassle-free OS that works like an appliance that's easy enough for everyone to use (since everyone already knows how to use a browser).
Turn it on and become instantly productive, automatically save to the cloud so users no longer have to worry about Files/Directories/Backups/etc. Computer dies? no problem, sign-in into a new ChromeOS and regain access to your entire environment.
Whilst it's still not useful for power users/developers, I'm predicting it will be the preferred managed OS for many corporate office users.
The shift towards a more affordable machine that can meet the most basic productivity needs will attract businesses, especially since we now live in world with more mobile workforces.Bloated OS's are a thing of the past and no longer needed as much now as they were 10, 15 years ago.
Wow, really thought that would be the last safe haven, due to MS Office entrenchment.
I guess it's not clear what businesses, or how they use the machines, but... if enterprises get comfy with Google Docs, we could be on the edge of a huge destructive shift.
Having seen inside a company that hands out Chromebooks to everyone, even if they already have a "real" computer, I think Microsoft is going to lose a lot of ground to them. They are cheap enough to just throw them away when broken. If a user is having problems, they can just drop their Chromebook in a drop box and walk out with another one in 10 seconds flat. And again, they are cheap enough to just have them on a shelf outside your IT office or tech support desk.
They should also fix the VPN and support and, yes, add support for PPTP connections.
I really wanted to go all in on Google Apps and have been using them exclusively for the last year, but at the start of december I started negotiating a large contract and I had a solicitor drawing up some documents for me.
Both the solicitor and the large company I was negotiating with were sending me .docx files and Google docs was failing to number the paragraph correctly.
This let to quite a bit of embarrassment and was forced to go out and buy Office for mac. If I was using a Cromebook I would have to buy a whole other laptop.
On the other hand it's such a shitty format that getting it right is a gargantuan task. LibreOffice doesn't get much credit here either and I'm not aware of any other 3rd party clients that do much better (correct me if I'm wrong).
I got the hexxeh build running fine on VMWare (Workstation, but it should work fine in Player) a couple of days ago.
All I had to do was change ethernet config in the .vmx file as it wasn't picking up the virtual adapter.
If you're in America, I'd recommend trying a Chromebook out at a local Best Buy. Failing that, throwing an old Hexxeh USB build on a USB key and booting it will give you a first approximation, but you'll miss out on things like the proprietary EME extensions that enable Netflix and other little details that make Chromebooks usable.
Likely way more work than you're interested in but on Linux:
Follow most of the steps on this page: https://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxBuildInstructio... then:
export GYP_DEFINES=chromeos=1
gclient runhooks
ninja -C out/Release chrome # May take a while!
./out/Release/chrome
Not trying to contradict you -- just trying to understand your position.
Tablets like iPad and Android tablets rely on UI stacks that are designed for finger-touch UIs, with big targets, gestures, sensors, etc.
After a few minutes of negotiation they were both connected to the free wi-fi and proceeded with a meeting where they collaboratively edited a set of Google Docs and Spreadsheets, whilst sat on opposite sides of same the table (the docs were the focus of their meeting).
There are many use-cases for Chromebooks (I also have the same Samsung which I use for testing), but one is certainly employers managing large portfolios of standardised desktops used by 'information workers', and which are primarily used for editing spreadsheets and text documents, and surfing the web & using web apps (one might argue that these are largely indistinguishable from students, which is a another sector that Google has targeted).
It may have been that they would have been using Google Drive on their old (presumably) Windows machines, but I suspect that what was likely an economic decision for their employer (the Samsungs are £200 in the UK when bought through Amazon, likely much cheaper when bought in bulk), is also driving uptake of Drive (and web apps in general).
What was interesting from my point of view - as a developer - was that here were two reasonably tech-savvy 'civilians' using what is a relatively limited (by design) technology, and doing so in a very natural and fluid way. There was no mention of either the hardware or the OS and its limitations, they just went about their business without any hiccups or stumbles over the tools they were using.
People who question the Chromebook programme - they're just a browser, you can already do the same on any desktop, etc - are all making very valid points. But in many situations the question isn't what magical things can we make this device do, but rather what is the least (both in terms of cost, but also the scope of things that can go wrong) we can provide and still have our people function effectively. Google appear to be taking a bottom up approach to answering this question: slowly adding functionality to ChromeOS until it meets the majority of use cases the majority of the time. The grey area between Chrome the OS and Chrome the Browser is by design: If you find that you are increasingly living in Chrome on the desktop, maybe your next machine will be a Chromebook.
For example, the ARM-based Samsung Chromebook used a Mali graphics chip that only had a binary blob graphics driver (maybe an Android one?) that had a ugly nonfree license on it.
IIRC, custom code for each device can be found in the main chromium tree somewhere; extracting those bits and using them with a standard Linux distro is painful at best; e.g. locking you to specific kernel revisions for binary driver compatibility. It reminds me of the win/softmodem shenigans we saw in the late 90s.
Virtually every Chromebook has a hardware or software developer mode that lets you boot an unsigned operating system. Developer mode is rather intrusive (sad face; full screen message; beeps if you don't dismiss it early enough so that you can't do it to install malware on a lay user's laptop without them noticing) but usually can be quickly dismissed with Ctrl-D on each boot-up.
There exists some very nice hardware that is built from standard components and/or will run well on standard drivers. As a starting point, prefer x86_64-based Chromebooks over ARM based ones if you're going to run a Linux distro on them.
Main advantage is it never goes wrong or needs maintenance, no apps to update, even automatically. Don't need to learn about AV, etc.
You're telling me that, to attach a file to an email, I attach a thumb drive to the computer? That's kinda awesome.
Anyone with experience traveling with these devices care to share some input? Specifically, would a Chromebook still be useful (and worth the weight) if I might only have WiFi a couple times per week?
But...
My Samsung charger is a brick. Not sure about Asus. Battery life on ARM is 4-5 hrs, Intel better at 5-7hrs, but still no match against the tablets.
For portability, you may be better off with a smaller tablet: Nexus 7 or iPad mini plus keyboard.
I would give the edge to Android for easy access to the filesystem unless you jailbreak iOS.
My Nexus 7 also runs vim with plugins: https://github.com/momodalo/vimtouch_fullruntime, Firefox and BitTorrent Sync same as the chromebook.
Running vim on a Nexus 7 is a dream; the only hassle is pairing the bluetooth keyboard (another thing to carry with AAA batteries) and a OTG cable dongle if you transfer files to usb flash.
It sends/receives files with NFC, bluetooth, BTSync and USB flash drives via Nexus Media Importer http://nexususb.blogspot.com/2012/08/welcome.html
My iPad can't do that.
It all depends what you want to do with the device.
One thing i like about tablets though is they are quick data capture devices: secondary camera, Swype like virtual keyboard faster that typing and paint/sketching.
Imagine trying to swivel a Chromebook's stanky front facing VGA cam to take a picture if your camera lost power.
If you're travelling that may be a consideration.
Also, another important thing to note that many Chromebook apps now work just fine off-line, so Chromebooks are increasingly less dependent on an Internet connection.
The same way Apple has come out with its 'C' line of iPhones which I assume are cheaper, I see an enormous opportunity to do the same with their Macs.
Imagine a $250 Macbook.
(that being said I use all three major PC operating systems)
The only good part about Macs is the hardware. I would much rather run a normal linux distro instead.
Putting OS X on $200 Chromebook is like buying a barn and thinking you will get 1000-acre piece of land with it.
Apple's supply chain isn't as bad now, but if all you want is a browser there's no reason to get it from them.
My "problem" is that I'm in Canada. I could buy one in the US but then what?
I suppose I could tether to my phone
>according to the latest numbers from NPD, Chromebooks accounted for 21 percent of all laptop sales and almost 10 percent of all computer sales to businesses in 2013.
It's only "preconfigured" laptops, which probably excludes many sales because a lot of people go to the OEM sites, say Lenovo and configure a laptop there. Also, it's US only and probably counts the Chromebooks that Google is discounting a lot, for example $99 for some schools.
Also, other big news is that Mac sales(not sure if absolute or as a percentage) seem to be dropping.
Also note that this NPD report is for the commercial channel only. If a school bought Chromebooks for every student, then that gets counted. If a business decided to use Google Apps for corporate groupware, and bought Chromebooks as a bundle, that's also counted.
But all the discussion above about how great Chromebooks are for girlfriends and grandmas? That's not what this NPD report is about.
NPD tabulates retail sales separately from commercial sales. The latest public figures from NPD give a 3.3% share for Chromebooks in the retail channel during back-to-school season (July, August, and the first week of September).
> Also, other big news is that Mac sales(not sure if absolute or as a percentage) seem to be dropping.
I would say that the 8.5% increase in Windows desktop sales is bigger news. Especially since it contradicts the dominant narrative of the impending death of Windows.
As for declines in Mac sales, Macs are practically nonexistent in the business world, except for its majority share in the media industry. Remember the backlash over Final Cut Pro and the delays to the Mac Pro? That would not have been good for Mac sales to the media industry. But now the Mac Pro is out, so Mac numbers should go back up next year.