Top 10 Chrome OS extensions

Image by lewong2000 via Flickr

The great thing about the Chrome OS is the ability to load web apps and extensions that aid you in the way you use your computer.  I found a slideshow this morning that highlights some of the most popular/useful extensions that you can use with Chrome OS on your CR-48.  Check them out, and let me know which ones you like!

Top 10 Chrome OS extensions

Google ups speed of Chrome 10 - Computerworld

Users of the development channel on their CR-48s have been enjoying version 10 of Chrome for over a week now, and this article explains the speed gains that version brings to users.

Google ups speed of Chrome 10 - Computerworld

Related articles

• Google Chrome Beta Update Brings Speed, Security Improvements (ghacks.net)
• 'Year Of The Rabbit' Begins As Chrome 10 Hops Into Beta With 'Crankshaft' JavaScript (techcrunch.com)
• Chrome beta hits v.10, Chrome dev hits v.11 (news.cnet.com)
• Google Chrome 10 Beta Released; Faster than Rabbits (techie-buzz.com)

Google Accelerates Chrome OS Update Pace

A new development channel update to the CR-48 arrived yesterday. This is the second OS update in the last week, so I guess the pace has picked up a little. The blogger in this story seems to have not gotten any of the intermediate updates because he was still on a 0.9 version of the Chrome OS. I haven't been on that version for several weeks.

From the Google Groups forum for CR-48 users, it sounds like the only change to the OS is a fix for some sync problems that some users were experiencing.  I think the trackpad is better at scrolling up now than it was before, but I seem to see improvements to the trackpad with every update.  I think it's a placebo type of thing for me.
Check out the story here:

Google Accelerates Chrome OS Update Pace | ConceivablyTech

Related articles

• Switching to the Dev Channel in Chrome OS (thechromesource.com)

FYI: 2 Factor Authentication Doesn't Work with Chrome OS

Google announced their 2-step authentication for logging in a couple of days ago. However, if you're a CR-48 user, you probably want to forgo using it until the bugs are worked out in sync.

FYI: 2 factor authentication doesn't work with Chrome OS - Chromium OS discuss | Google Groups

Related articles

• Google brings 2-factor authentication to Gmail (go.theregister.com)
• Google launches two-factor authentication (mattcutts.com)
• Google Adds Two-Factor Authentication To Gmail (tech.slashdot.org)
• Google Enables Two-Factor Authentication For All (informationweek.com)

New Update in Developer Channel Cures Some Ills

Image via WikipediaLast night (2/10), a new developer channel update was pushed to my CR-48.  That would be the second update this week (gotta love the development channel) and it has fixed my major complaints with the last update that I wrote about on Monday (2/7).  But don't get me wrong, it wasn't real evident at first. Here's why:
The update downloaded and installed, at which point I restarted the CR-48.  First thing I did is check out Google Docs and a couple of other sites that were causing me problems since the last upgrade.  Everything seemed to be working flawlessly again.  So, I started Grooveshark, and lo and behold, still no music.  Very disappointing as this is one of the reasons I love the CR-48.  Having a machine that plays my music while I work is very important.  So, I thought I'd also checkout the webcam functionality which has been borked since the last update, and it also was still non-functioning.  Okay, I thought.  Wait for the next upgrade.
This morning I'm checking out a couple of Chrome OS forums, and I see that someone has started a thread about the update from last night.  And there in that posting is the answer I was looking for!  In the about:plugins page (which I only visited briefly when I first got the CR-48) you can look at the details of the plugins by clicking the Details link.  This shows that there are two versions of the Shockwave Flash plugin installed: 10.1 and 10.2. The poster in the forum said that to enable media and web cam and all sorts of other things that were broken in the last update that you only needed to enable the 10.2 plugin and disable the 10.1 plugin.  I did this and found that everything I was missing was now fixed.
Flash sites seem faster, music plays from sites like Grooveshark, Hulu works again, and the web cam and microphone are working again from Flash sites.
Gotta love the development channel!

Related articles

• Switching to the Dev Channel in Chrome OS (thechromesource.com)

Beta vs. Development Channel

I've seen some posts since the last update about users of the new Google Chrome CR-48 notebook computer wanting to return to the Beta channel because the latest update broke a number of things that people like to use a lot.
So, let's recap what the Beta and Development channels are and some facts about them. When you select the wrench icon in the tool bar you are presented with a menu of choices.  One of those choices is "About Google Chrome."  Selecting this will bring up the settings window with an open dialog with some information about the installed versions of Chrome OS and Chrome browser.  There is a link to "More info..." which will change the view to a presentation where there is more information about a number of things, such as WebKit version and javascript engine version.  There is also a dropdown here where you can select the Beta channel or the Development channel.
If you select the Development channel, you will be given a warning about the development channel being where things are newest and therefore more susceptible to breakage. If you then press the "Check for update" button, your CR-48 will find the newer version in the development channel and begin the download/update process.  When this is completed (which can take a while since some updates are large) you will be notified that the CR-48 is restarting, and when it does, you now have the latest development build installed.
Now here is where you might decide that you are not real happy with the development build because something no longer works.  Well, there is some good news!  Almost...
You can switch back to the Beta channel by going through the same steps listed above. The almost is mentioned because you won't actually revert to an older version of the OS. You will only get a new version of  the OS when the version in the Beta channel is newer than what is currently installed on your CR-48.  So, you will be stuck with what you have until the bugs are ironed out and a new build is completed and tested and moved into the beta channel.
So, is there no hope if you are completely disgusted with the current build?  No, not really, but you have to be prepared to do more work.  Look in the Google Chrome forums for instructions on how to revert the CR-48 to the factory build.  It will involve downloading an image onto a USB drive and burning that image into the CR-48's memory.  I haven't tried that, and while the instructions are step-by-step, I don't know if it's something a non-techie individual might be tempted to do.

So, if you like cutting edge builds and want to be the first to try out new features, go ahead and grab the update from the development channel. Just be aware that there may be some bumps along this road and be prepared to accept them.

Let me know if you have questions!

Related articles

• Switching to the Dev Channel in Chrome OS (thechromesource.com)
• Where Can I Download The Different Google Chrome Builds? (ghacks.net)
• "Stable, Beta Channel Updates" and related posts (googlechromereleases.blogspot.com)

New Development Channel Update Brings Some Misery

I mentioned in a previous post that there was a new update available on the developer channel. Problem is, there's problems there.
This version of the OS brings problems with media content.  MP3's no longer play.  Grooveshark music displays a "Cannot play" message for all music.  Some video content will not play.  (I found I can still view hulu content.)
All of the flags in the about:flags page have been reset to the defaults, so you have to go in and change things back to whatever you had them set to previously.  So, for instance, if you had enabled advanced file system support so that you can read your usb and sd drives, you will need to reenable it.
You can now drag and drop the app icons around in the new window views to customize that view.  And the sync settings now come up in their own dialog from the settings window.
I've also noticed that I'm getting crashes more frequently.  The good news is that whereas these crashes used to take down all of my tabs, it is now confined to the tab that causes the exception.
So, while there are a couple of pluses in this last update, the loss of the ability to play different media files is a big buzz-kill.  Hopefully, Google follows this release up pretty quickly with something that works a little better!

Google fixes 9 bugs in Chrome, including sandbox-escape flaw - Computerworld

Google has fixed a number of bugs in the Chrome operating system. And as a result there is an update in the development channel of the CR-48 notebook.

Here is a screenshot of my CR-48 after the update:

Read about the bug fixes here:

Google fixes 9 bugs in Chrome, including sandbox-escape flaw - Computerworld

GSM on Cr-48 - Hexxeh's Blog

Image by Yaisog Bonegnasher via Flickr

It's possible to use GSM on the Google Chrome CR-48. The instructions make it look very simple. If you have a SIM card from a GSM based phone, you can insert it into the CR-48's SIM card slot, switch into developer mode, issue a couple of command-line commands and you're done. The instructions come with the usual disclaimers and warnings. If you're the adventurous type, try it out.

GSM on Cr-48 - Hexxeh's Blog

Working With Documents in the Cloud

Image via Wikipedia


A couple of tweets today highlighted how moving to the cloud might be a little confusing at first.  I saw someone comment that the CR-48 wasn't useful because they couldn't open all types of files.  Questioning this, I found out that the problem was with a Microsoft .doc file.  The poster needed to work on this file and clicking on it in the content browser after downloading it off the web resulted in an "Unknown file type" error.
The fix?  Upload it to Google Docs, and be sure to select the "Convert to Google Docs format" option when specifying the upload file.  After the upload is complete, you can open the file within Google Docs and edit to your hearts content.  And then when you get to work, you open Google Docs, and download the file in .doc format, and all of your changes are there.  It's like magic.  No matter what computer you go to, the latest changes are there.  And, if you've set up Google Cloud Print, you can print the document from your CR-48, or your Android phone (anyone know off-hand if google docs works on iPhones?).

Living and working in the Cloud.  It doesn't get any easier (or more convenient).

Related articles

• Step By Step, Google Docs Becoming the Mythical "GDrive" (readwriteweb.com)
• New Google Docs Tools to Try (freetech4teachers.com)
• Wireless Printing From Gmail Coming Soon to Android and iOS (mashable.com)
• Integrate Google Docs into Your Existing Document Folders with URL Shortcuts [Google Docs] (lifehacker.com)

Google updates chrome with 3d hardware acceleration support- The Inquirer

The Chrome Browser continues to grow. One of the things moving to the browser is the Chrome Instant, which the CR-48 already has, which loads the url as you type it in the omnibar, as opposed to just presenting search results. This is fantastic for commonly visited web sites.  And of course, the Web Store, which has been available to CR-48 users from the beginning is now available in the Chrome Browser.  Check out the stories below.

Google updates chrome with 3d hardware acceleration support- The Inquirer

Related articles

• Google Chrome gets WebGL, Chrome Instant and Web Store in latest stable build (downloadsquad.switched.com)
• Chrome 9 now final with Web Store, Instant and WebGL (electronista.com)
• Google Launches the Chrome Web Store and Updates Chrome [Google Chrome] (lifehacker.com)

Features - Chrome OS

Image via Wikipedia

Here are some of the features of the Chrome operating system that make the CR-48 experience so enjoyable. And finding the apps that you like and that add the functionality that you need day-to-day just enhances that experience.

Check it out:

Features - Chrome OS

Related articles

• thechromesource Daily: Links for 2/2/11 (thechromesource.com)

Pwn2Own 2011: Google offering $20,000 for Chrome sandbox exploit | ZDNet

Image via Wikipedia

Google is very confident that their Chrome OS is very secure. It'll be interesting to see if anyone is able to hack it. If not, it will go a long way towards making its adoption an easier decision for many business people.

Pwn2Own 2011: Google offering $20,000 for Chrome sandbox exploit | ZDNet

Related articles

• Google offers $20,000 for successful Cr-48 Chrome OS hack at Pwn2Own 2011 (downloadsquad.switched.com)
• Google Gambles $20k that Chrome Can't be Cracked (pcworld.com)
• Google bets $20K that Chrome can't be hacked (infoworld.com)
• Google Offering $20,000 for Successful Cr-48 Hack (thechromesource.com)
• Announcing Pwn2Own 2011 (dvlabs.tippingpoint.com)

Installed App Review - Grooveshark

Sorry I've been absent for a while. These snowstorms that keep rolling through are keeping me busy.

So today I want to start talking about some of the apps that I've installed.  While my reviews won't be great in-depth analyses, you will be able to determine if an app is something in which you might be interested.

This is a screenshot of Grooveshark running on my CR-48.  It's currently playing a radio station of Classic Rock music.  The sound on the CR-48 is pretty good, and through earplugs it sounds really good.  Grooveshark allows you to search for music, see what others are listening to, create playlists and mark songs as favorites.  To enable all of these features requires you to create an account, but for a free music service you can't go wrong.  Grooveshark has all of the usual music player controls plus more.  And with the easy carry size of the the CR-48, there's no reason that this can't be your all-in-one device.

Music, phone calls over Google Voice, Google Talk for video chats, etc., etc.  What a great machine!!!

Related articles

• A look at Grooveshark's massive HTML5 makeover (downloadsquad.switched.com)
• Remote Control for Grooveshark from Mobile phone with Groovebud (madrasgeek.com)
• Geek Review: Grooveshark streaming music for BlackBerry (bbgeeks.com)