Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Day 3
Not much was done today. I was out and did not get to use it much, but I used it for listening to music while designing this blog. I also used a USB mouse with my CR-48, and it worked perfectly. The only complaint I have is that I need a mouse-pad. Just realised how big the battery is.
No wonder it lasts 8 hours. Internet is blazing fast, and leaves competing computers in it's dust. If you get (or, got) a CR-48, I suggest either getting a USB mouse or using one you might happen to have laying around. I was disappointed there was no suitable online replacement for GIMP, when I was making the header.
One thing Google should include with the CR-48 is a Chrome logo sticker. I almost put a Mac sticker on it just because it so closely resembled a Black Mac. They were giving out stickers on the Facebook page, but I was a bit too late... by about 2 weeks. And they had 2,000 of them.
They need to add in a keyboard back-light feature. It's hard to see the keys. Thankfully, I have them mostly memorized. Today has been a interesting day of new discoveries. Check back tomorrow for a new overview!
No wonder it lasts 8 hours. Internet is blazing fast, and leaves competing computers in it's dust. If you get (or, got) a CR-48, I suggest either getting a USB mouse or using one you might happen to have laying around. I was disappointed there was no suitable online replacement for GIMP, when I was making the header.
One thing Google should include with the CR-48 is a Chrome logo sticker. I almost put a Mac sticker on it just because it so closely resembled a Black Mac. They were giving out stickers on the Facebook page, but I was a bit too late... by about 2 weeks. And they had 2,000 of them.
They need to add in a keyboard back-light feature. It's hard to see the keys. Thankfully, I have them mostly memorized. Today has been a interesting day of new discoveries. Check back tomorrow for a new overview!
What *IS* a CR-48?
At a December 7, 2010 press briefing, Google announced the Cr-48 netbook, a piece of reference hardware created to test the Chrome OS operating system. Google will give away a limited number of the netbooks as a part of its pilot testing program. The Cr-48 is intended for testing only, and will not be sold to the general public. Google also addressed complaints that the operating system offers little functionality when the host device is not connected to the Internet. The company demonstrated an offline version of Google Docs running on Chrome OS and announced a 3G plan that would give Chrome OS users 100MB of free data each month, with additional paid plans available from Verizon.
About 60,000 Cr-48s were distributed to testers and reviewers in early December 2010. I got mine on the 14'th of December.
The Cr-48 is a 12-inch notebook that has a footprint of 9.8" by 6.1" and is 0.9" thick. It's fairly portable in its weight too at 3.8 lbs.
Even before powering up the notebook, we knew that there was an Intel processor inside the Cr-48, which was made clear thanks to the "If you cracked this open, you'd find Intel" card inside the box. We appreciate that it was a card, rather than a sticker on the palm rest.
The Intel CPU inside is the Atom N455, which is a single core solution, on Intel's CG82NM10 PCH. It's believed that the market versions from Acer and Samsung will use dual-core Atom N550. For memory and storage there's a 2GB stick of Hynix RAM inside, plus a 16GB SanDisk SSD. Its Verizon 3G chip is the Novatel Gobi2000 PCI Express Mini Card, the Wi-Fi is handled by the AzureWave Atheros 9280 802.11 a/b/g/n part, and there's also Bluetooth thanks to the Atheros AR5BBU12 with V2.1 EDR.
Stay tuned for more about the software and in-depth experiences with Chrome OS Notebook.
I do admit information has been cited from Tom's hardware, as well as Wikipedia. This blog is intended as a informative, compiled blog that takes information from websites, as well as my own experiences and presents them all dressed up and neat.
Day 2
First of all, Day 1 was set in a different format, so I decided to not show that. The rest will be of the following type.
No support for other bookmark files, like the ones from FireFox (I think.). The laptop (or, netbook) seems to be intended for travellers, but, interestingly enough, not carrying case is included.
Thankfully, it is the size of a medium laptop and fits quite snugly into most cases. It should, in my opinion, come with a little chrome sticker so you can put it on the front of your laptop to make it easier to identify, something like the one in the ‘New tab page’ in the lower right corner.
Power button is close to backspace, and so is prone to accidental pressing. I almost turned mine off by accident when trying to delete a sentence. My Dell Soundbar speaker did not seem to work with the USB port on the computer, though the built-in speakers were of excellent quality.
No program, or app was available for using the built in webcam. The only time I used it was when I set it up.
Multiple tab loading (I.E, on www.lifehacker.com, 3 finger click on a post.) difficulties, tends to slow down a lot.
Problems on google docs with other types of files besides the known (.odt, .docx, etc.)
Noticed that there is no switch users (as in Windows 7). Internet speed is a lot faster than competing computers running Windows 7, as well as 2 others each running OSX and Linux, respectively.
Problems on google docs with other types of files besides the known (.odt, .docx, etc.)
Noticed that there is no switch users (as in Windows 7). Internet speed is a lot faster than competing computers running Windows 7, as well as 2 others each running OSX and Linux, respectively.
No support for other bookmark files, like the ones from FireFox (I think.). The laptop (or, netbook) seems to be intended for travellers, but, interestingly enough, not carrying case is included.
Thankfully, it is the size of a medium laptop and fits quite snugly into most cases. It should, in my opinion, come with a little chrome sticker so you can put it on the front of your laptop to make it easier to identify, something like the one in the ‘New tab page’ in the lower right corner.
Power button is close to backspace, and so is prone to accidental pressing. I almost turned mine off by accident when trying to delete a sentence. My Dell Soundbar speaker did not seem to work with the USB port on the computer, though the built-in speakers were of excellent quality.
No program, or app was available for using the built in webcam. The only time I used it was when I set it up.
First Impressions
First Impressions.
Packaging__
Likes:
Fast shipping, recyclable box.
Dislikes:
Sent from a ‘Name Disclosed’, not ‘Google Inc.’ or something like that.
Packaging__
Likes:
Fast shipping, recyclable box.
Dislikes:
Sent from a ‘
No contact by email. Only by phone, and they don't leave messagesComputer Hardware__
Likes:
Looks like a mac. Actually useful keyboard buttons. No battery bulk. Good webcam. Useful speakers. Monitor adaptor. Easy to adapt to for those who use Macs.
Dislikes:
No mic plug. Trackpad needs buttons. Needs another USB drive.
Software__
Likes:
Very user friendly. Acts just like a regular Chrome Browser. Compatible with almost all websites, and is fast with videos.
Dislikes:
No file browser (As in built in programs to, say, show a video or view a image). No Netflix instant support (but it’s Netflix’s problem.)
__Overall__
The CR-48 would be best for people who are on the move a lot, such as business-men and women, because it doesn’t depend on it’s SSD to keep information. If they drop it, they don’t have to worry, because all their data is safe online. It looks like a macbook replica, down from the button-less trackpad, to the webcam. Small enough to be called a netbook, but with enough performance to match a media laptop. Packs a lot of battery too, so it doesn’t need to be recharged often.
Likes:
Looks like a mac. Actually useful keyboard buttons. No battery bulk. Good webcam. Useful speakers. Monitor adaptor. Easy to adapt to for those who use Macs.
Dislikes:
No mic plug. Trackpad needs buttons. Needs another USB drive.
Software__
Likes:
Very user friendly. Acts just like a regular Chrome Browser. Compatible with almost all websites, and is fast with videos.
Dislikes:
No file browser (As in built in programs to, say, show a video or view a image). No Netflix instant support (but it’s Netflix’s problem.)
__Overall__
The CR-48 would be best for people who are on the move a lot, such as business-men and women, because it doesn’t depend on it’s SSD to keep information. If they drop it, they don’t have to worry, because all their data is safe online. It looks like a macbook replica, down from the button-less trackpad, to the webcam. Small enough to be called a netbook, but with enough performance to match a media laptop. Packs a lot of battery too, so it doesn’t need to be recharged often.
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