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Chromebook

google.com

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Re: Chromebook

#261

Post by fbailey »

siglesias wrote: post #141
runjake wrote: post #123

- browses web? check. - runs the latest fad games, like Angry Birds (and more soon thanks to WebGL)? check. - can connect digital camera and upload photos? check. - can browse facebook, twitter, youtube, gmail, hotmail, etc? check - can play flash games & netflix, hulu, & other crap? check. This will satisfy the needs of all my immediate non-techy family members. And I won't get the monthly calls about malware anymor…

I personally find the Angry Birds-Facebook-Netflix picture of the future of computing extremely depressing. Where's Google's suite of content creation apps that "non-techy" people can explore to express their creativity?

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dafkakmjmhfnnfclmj...

There are some and there will be more soon enough

Re: Chromebook

#262

Post by lukeschlather »

bergie wrote: post #243
GHFigs wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- can it sync with an iPod or iPhone? Nope. (The Hacker News-y response is that the i-whatever is terrible and people shouldn't use them, but my point is that a lot of people own them. People who are thinking about recommending Chromebooks to family should keep that in mind.) Edit: Apparently, the Hacker News-y response is to downvote to oblivion for even mentioning the possibility that people you know might own an e…

All devices should sync via the net, not with cables. In a year, I've never felt the need to connect my iPad or N900 to a computer

The can't connect to iwhatever problem isn't a cables problem, it's an Apple problem. Apple needs to make a cloud version of iTunes that syncs directly with iOS for that to become viable.

Re: Chromebook

#263

Post by [deleted] »

GHFigs wrote: post #239
runjake wrote: post #123

- browses web? check. - runs the latest fad games, like Angry Birds (and more soon thanks to WebGL)? check. - can connect digital camera and upload photos? check. - can browse facebook, twitter, youtube, gmail, hotmail, etc? check - can play flash games & netflix, hulu, & other crap? check. This will satisfy the needs of all my immediate non-techy family members. And I won't get the monthly calls about malware anymor…

- can it sync with an iPod or iPhone? Nope. (The Hacker News-y response is that the i-whatever is terrible and people shouldn't use them, but my point is that a lot of people own them. People who are thinking about recommending Chromebooks to family should keep that in mind.) Edit: Apparently, the Hacker News-y response is to downvote to oblivion for even mentioning the possibility that people you know might own an e…

[deleted]

Re: Chromebook

#264

Post by svjunkie »

dkarl wrote: post #198
scott_s wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people don't create. You must be depressed by the wasted potential, because we're going from a world where most people don't create to a world where most people don't create.

I don't think you ever saw ordinary people let loose with the power of "Print Shop" in the 1980s or Microsoft Word in the 1990s. People made greeting cards, family newsletters, notices, party decorations.... In the visual arts, a lot of the people who do amusing Photoshop work are not professionals. Also consider MySpace in the 2000s. You might argue that MySpace isn't a good illustration of the value of giving peopl…

Non-professional content creation apps are already available in the Chrome web store. Aviary has a suite of audio-visual tools it offers, including vector image editing (I don't work for them or anything).

Re: Chromebook

#265

Post by asnyder »

mtw wrote: post #254
runjake wrote: post #123

- browses web? check. - runs the latest fad games, like Angry Birds (and more soon thanks to WebGL)? check. - can connect digital camera and upload photos? check. - can browse facebook, twitter, youtube, gmail, hotmail, etc? check - can play flash games & netflix, hulu, & other crap? check. This will satisfy the needs of all my immediate non-techy family members. And I won't get the monthly calls about malware anymor…

I remember when I was a student, I got a computer for studies but one of my main goals was to play games (warcraft3, battlefield etc.) and I also wanted to play with photoshop. I don't know if students are willing to give out cash if it's only for viewing facebook, youtube and getting them to write papers. I think anyone will get a laptop which gives them more freedom, for almost the same price

FWIW: pixlr is pretty fantastic.

Re: Chromebook

#266

Post by lachenmayer »

dkarl wrote: post #198
scott_s wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people don't create. You must be depressed by the wasted potential, because we're going from a world where most people don't create to a world where most people don't create.

I don't think you ever saw ordinary people let loose with the power of "Print Shop" in the 1980s or Microsoft Word in the 1990s. People made greeting cards, family newsletters, notices, party decorations.... In the visual arts, a lot of the people who do amusing Photoshop work are not professionals. Also consider MySpace in the 2000s. You might argue that MySpace isn't a good illustration of the value of giving peopl…

However, for most kids in that category, piracy is a very viable alternative. And such access to tools which would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars can, and does, foster huge amounts of creativity in kids.

Re: Chromebook

#267

Post by kin »

cookiecaper wrote: post #139
runjake wrote: post #123

- browses web? check. - runs the latest fad games, like Angry Birds (and more soon thanks to WebGL)? check. - can connect digital camera and upload photos? check. - can browse facebook, twitter, youtube, gmail, hotmail, etc? check - can play flash games & netflix, hulu, & other crap? check. This will satisfy the needs of all my immediate non-techy family members. And I won't get the monthly calls about malware anymor…

Can this put music on an MP3 player? Just how is the real filesystem abstracted away in Chrome OS? If you buy music from Amazon MP3, can you run their downloader? (If you buy music from iTunes, I am pretty sure you are SOL already. ;) ) There's a lot of uses that still require a real, local desktop, and I think once you give this to all of your non-techy family members you'll start to run into them. I don't understan…

I'm actually surprised to see anyone even compare Ubuntu to Chrome OS in terms of maintenance. The idea is that you don't want to teach how to maintain anything. You don't want to describe anything. Do you realize how easy it is to break something in Ubuntu? You can't trust user to not do something bad, you assume it to happen. This is what Chrome OS is for. Secondly, ChromeOS isn't meant to be a laptop replacement in the sense that it's a laptop in of itself, it's suppose to change how we use things. In other words, Amazon MP3 downloads will go to the Amazon Cloud Drive and played off the Amazon Cloud player. Everything is on-line. You maybe be seeing things in transition, but the idea is that Google is diving head first into getting there.

Re: Chromebook

#268

Post by Tichy »

siglesias wrote: post #141
runjake wrote: post #123

- browses web? check. - runs the latest fad games, like Angry Birds (and more soon thanks to WebGL)? check. - can connect digital camera and upload photos? check. - can browse facebook, twitter, youtube, gmail, hotmail, etc? check - can play flash games & netflix, hulu, & other crap? check. This will satisfy the needs of all my immediate non-techy family members. And I won't get the monthly calls about malware anymor…

I personally find the Angry Birds-Facebook-Netflix picture of the future of computing extremely depressing. Where's Google's suite of content creation apps that "non-techy" people can explore to express their creativity?

"Where's Google's suite of content creation apps that "non-techy" people can explore to express their creativity?"

On the internet

Re: Chromebook

#269

Post by true_religion »

arihant wrote: post #199
scott_s wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused by what your point is because I'm not sure if you understand mine. My point was that most people don't use their existing computers for creative purposes, so introducing a computer with limited creative potential won't change much.

It will. Just because most people don't cook, we start selling houses without kitchen, don't you think its a slippery and wrong slope? Look at ipad running GarageBand, thats the stuff we want. People don't create only when when creating stuff sucks. Just like I only cook when all I have to do is "add hot water". There is a quote that comes to mind: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." -…

Your analogy is a bit off there. You're comparing no kitchen (in a world where most people don't cooking) to limited creative avenues (in a world where most people don't create).

A limitation is not the same thing as a complete absence of potential.

After correcting your analogy, I can think of situations where landlords do not provide full kitchens---for example apartments, or temporary vacation condos or business suites.

You can technically cook, but you can't cook very much.

Re: Chromebook

#270

Post by cheez »

scott_s wrote: post #150
siglesias wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally find the Angry Birds-Facebook-Netflix picture of the future of computing extremely depressing. Where's Google's suite of content creation apps that "non-techy" people can explore to express their creativity?

Most people don't create. You must be depressed by the wasted potential, because we're going from a world where most people don't create to a world where most people don't create.

That doesn't sound very different.
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