Google CR-48 Goodness - Google+ Invites

Image via WikipediaI've been away from this blog for so long now, I'm probably hopelessly behind in what I should have been sharing all along.  The CR-48 is still incredible.  I'm on the dev channel still, and in the dev channel we're working on Chrome 14 goodness.  The number of apps and extensions for this machine are becoming larger all the time, and the types of apps and extensions covers just about anything you can imagine.

I was lucky enough to score a Google Music invite, so I've been slowly uploading my 3000+ songs (my bandwidth isn't the greatest, so everyone in the family yells when I'm uploading) and it's great to listen to the music on my CR-48 (with the Google Music extension) or my android phone anywhere I go.

Another things that's been keeping me pretty busy, is finding a job.  Finally found one, but it took 4+ months, and 4 months is way too long to be out of work.  My creditors are not as patient as I'd like.  ;-)

Another great thing is Google+.  It's a great substitute for facebook, I really like it a lot more.  Since most of the people I'm following right now are other Chromebook pilots or tech-minded people, there is a lot of great information posted to read through.  And I also use it to bookmark a lot of information that I want to go through later.  If you'd like to try out Google+, here's an invite for you:  http://goo.gl/wrzFt.

Well, gotta go.  Hopefully I can spend a little more time here in the near future.  Leave me comments, or look me up on Google+.

Related articles

• Google Music Manager Now Available for Linux [Downloads] (lifehacker.com)
• Google Music beta (riddek.wordpress.com)
• Chrome OS evolved: from CR-48 to Samsung Series 5 (geek.com)
• More Chrome Addons That Make Google + Better (thechromesource.com)

Google building Skype-alike software into Chrome | Deep Tech - CNET News

Image via CrunchBase

Google is putting a voice/video solution into Chrome that is open source. Users of GMails video and voice chat up to this point had to rely on a proprietary plugin, but that will all change when Google is finished integrating it WebRTC acquisition into Chrome. Read about the details here:

Google building Skype-alike software into Chrome | Deep Tech - CNET News

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• Google Chrome To Have Real-Time Communications Capabilities (digitizor.com)

Chrome OS Help

In anticipation of everyone getting new Chromebooks over the next couple of weeks, Google has made their Chrome OS page public.  Previously, this page was reached by those of us with CzR-48's by pressing the Help item in the wrench menu.  The page has changed a little bit to reflect the new name Chromebook instead of CR-48 and a few additions.

Check it out here:
Chrome OS Help

Samsung Chromebook: Hands-On Visual Tour -- InformationWeek

The first look at the new Samsung Chromebook.  Pretty sweet looking piece of tech.  I still think they're a little overpriced though.  I though Chrome OS based netbooks would come in at about the $200 price mark.  While the Samsung entry is pretty sleek (can you say Mac-book like?), I don't think the higher price($500) is justified.

We'll see what the market will support.  In the mean time, head over here to take a look at the pretty pictures:

Samsung Chromebook: Hands-On Visual Tour -- InformationWeek

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Another step in the browser-based desktop revolution

Citrix announced that their Citrix Receiver will be available in the Chrome Web Store soon.  The Citrix Receiver will work with Citrix servers to allow your Chromebook (CR-48) to run enterprise applications natively.  This fits in very nicely with the Corporate lease option of $28/mo. for chromebooks.  Now you can outfit an entire sales fleet with Chromebooks, and the users can run your company's software right on the Chromebook via the Citrix Receiver application.  And if your company avails itself of Google Apps, you will find that collaboration on work documents and applications will lead to greater productivity.

Read the story here on the Official Google Enterprise Blog:

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Another step in the browser-based desktop revolution

Company Backing the Chrome OS Model

A story from a company which has embraced the Chromebook to get work done.  Hear how they have determined that Google Apps give them everything they need to run their business:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt579RU7Ot0&feature=player_embedded

Chrome OS 12 — AKA: The Shipping Version — Hits Beta

Chrome OS version 0.12.433.38, which is essentially the version that is expected to become the stable channel version, recently was promoted to the Beta channel.  Read this article at TechCrunch to see their opinion:


Chrome OS 12 — AKA: The Shipping Version — Hits Beta

Next-gen Chrome OS build hits Google's Cr-48 notebooks - Computerworld Blogs

As I've mentioned before, I'm on the development channel which has had the changes mentioned in this Computerworld Blog, but this article is a nice synopsis of what was rolled onto the Beta channel over the weekend.  Getting very close to a stable channel release, I would think.

Next-gen Chrome OS build hits Google's Cr-48 notebooks - Computerworld Blogs

Five Reasons why Google's Linux Chromebook is a Windows killer | ZDNet

Another very good article on why the Chromebook is a great platform, and how it fits into the enterprise:

Five Reasons why Google's Linux Chromebook is a Windows killer | ZDNet

Why Chromebooks do have a role in your enterprise - JavaWorld

Now that the Chrome OS pilot program has been in existence for about 6 months, news of Chromebook releases from Samsung and Acer were announced at Google I/O 2011, and the technical press has been filled with reviews and opinions about the necessity of such machines.  As readers of my blog know, I'm a big fan of Chrome OS and my CR-48.  I have 2 laptops, a netbook, a MacBook and my CR-48 in the house, in addition to 2 desktop machines, and I use my CR-48 almost exclusively.  I think that the ability to use this machine as much as I do is a testament to the fact that most people use the internet primarily, and other, non-internet functions are secondary.  There are those who claim that the Chromebook becomes a paper weight as soon as you loose internet connectivity, but by the time these machines hit the market, I believe that Google will have the off-line capabilities ready to go, or very nearly so.  And what this means is that you can continue to work on your documents and email until you reconnect to the net, at which time the work you have done syncs to the cloud.  Read the following article from JavaWorld to get their take on the Chromebooks fit in the enterprise.

Why Chromebooks do have a role in your enterprise - JavaWorld

New Development Channel Update Fixes Some Problems

Image by lewong2000 via FlickrThere was a new Development Channel release at the end of last week (3/17) which for me has fixed a couple of glaring problems.  The previous release had the annoying habit of continually restarting every time I would bring it out of sleep mode.  It had something to do with reconnecting to the wireless network in my house, which is a problem that has persisted since I got my cr-48.  I would need to disconnect and reconnect my wireless in order to get any data.  And then the release came that would make my cr-48 crash completely while trying to reconnect to the wireless.  So, I'm happy to report that this release doesn't crash my cr-48 on wake-from-sleep, and even successfully reconnects to the wireless occasionally.  This is something that still needs some work, but it appears to be getting close to completion.

Another problem is that the location aware features of the cr-48 crash the cr-48.  If you try to use any extensions or apps that are location aware, the crash occurs.  Some examples are the full-page web app from the weather underground, and Twitter if you try to use location stamping on your tweets.  This problem has been around for the last two releases on the dev channel, so hopefully a fix is forth-coming.

Overall, the CR-48 experience is getting better and better.  I have noticed an increase in the speed and responsiveness of the system, with quick redraws on loading of web pages.  Flash-heavy pages still seem a little choppy, and scrolling with the track pad while loading one of these pages is jerky at best.  Scrolling with the down arrow key is much better.  Speaking of flash, the newer dev channel releases include to different flash engines: one called pepper and the "regular one."  In order for most flash pages to work, the pepper flash needs to be disabled.

Cloud printing still works well for me, but the about:flags print preview page is still broken.  Luckily for me, most of what I print is pdf, so I can already see what the printed output will look like.

The last couple of dev channel releases have also seen the addition of a widget in the status bar that looks like a little square.  Much has been asked and answered on many blogs as to the purpose of this widget.  It is, in fact, a window changer that becomes active when you have multiple windows open.  It somewhat mimics the task of the "next-window" button in the top row of the keyboard, but unlike that button, it will not display crosh shell windows when used.  So if you have a crosh window open, you still need to use the "next-window" button to see it.

Oh, one more thing:  the slideshow url still doesn't work, so you need to use the trusty file:/// url to see any screenshots or image files that you may have.  It will be nice when this is fixed; a lot of users are complaining that screenshots don't work, when in fact it is the slideshow functionality that is broken.

As alway, anxiously awaiting the next update to see what goodies it brings!

Related articles

• New Chrome OS update finally fixes the Cr-48's touchpad issues (engadget.com)
• Location-aware technology will be big trend for mobile advertising (creativedepartment.com)
• Google Chrome Dev channel update brings new logo to Linux (omgubuntu.co.uk)

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 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)

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)

Cloud Printing from the Google CR-48

Image via Wikipedia

Printing has come a long way!

One of the developments in the Chrome OS operating system is the use of something called "cloud printing."  What this is, basically, is registering your printers with Google's print servers.  It's a great concept; you can register your printer at home, the printers at work, anywhere you can run a chrome browser you can register those printers for cloud printing.
On the CR-48 anything you want to print can then be directed to any of the printers that you have registered with the cloud. So, you're on the road working on a spreadsheet and when you're done you want to print it at work so it's ready for that early meeting, no problem.  When you select a printer from your list of registered printers, you'll also be able to set any of the options on that printer that you would normally be able to set.  Multiple copies, 2-sided, collated, color/b&w, no problem.  You can manage the print jobs by using the option menu and looking "Under the Hood" for the button to "Manage printers...".
At present, only printers connected to Windows machines are configurable from the Chrome options menu, but if you have Linux or MacOS you will have to do a little command line work to make the magic happen.  Here is a link to a blog with information on setting up cloud printing in Linux and MacOSX.   But it's worth the extra effort in the flexibility it provides.  On Linux systems there is also a PDF printer driver, so you could conceivably select that as the print device and actually create a PDF file on your linux machine's local file system.  Very sweet.
Have any questions about printing in the cloud?  Let me know.  It's worth you time to get it configured and working for you.

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