Cr-48 Hardware

This is the third post in a series about Google's Chromebook and the Chrome OS, in this case the hardware and externals. I talk about the box, the appearance and the difference between the Cr-48 and other laptops, including Apple's original black MacBook which appears to have given many different design cues to the Google designers

Box

This device was produced by Google themselves for release in late 2010, and it has no branding on it at all, from Google or anyone else. About 60,000 were made and were sent to users around the world who signed up to Google’s Chrome OS pilot programme. They arrived in boxes with clever blueprint-like artwork on them with a mouse test pilot. Sadly I got second hand in a plain cardboard box.

Externals

There are no fancy colours anywhere on the device either, it is simply a matte black colour on all sides, which I like. It feels very much like a smaller, slimmer Black MacBook from the now-discontinued 2006 range with a slightly smaller screen, footprint, and thinner body.

Specs

It has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor and 2GB of RAM giving it netbook specs that would wow nobody. It also has a 16GB ssd for storage, which again, is far less than anyone would normally expect to see in a machine this size. This computer relies on Chrome OS to be thin and light and to require as few resources as possible from the machine to run well. The lack of storage is a clear indicator that Google expected users to be running as much as possible over an internet connection, and storing as little as possible in the machine itself. It has a single USB 2.0 port, a full-size SD Card slot, a headphone jack and a VGA port by way of connectivity and doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive. It does not even have an ethernet port, suggesting that internet connections should be made over the air. However it does come with a sim card slot for 3G access, something few laptops come equipped with, even today. As a pilot device, the Cr-48 gives very bold indication of the direction Google expected the Chromebooks to take.

Usage

When you open the laptop it automatically boots. This is a nice touch that I didn’t expect when I opened it for the first time. I had always wondered why laptops often turn back on when asleep or in hibernate mode when the lid is opened, but not from an off state. I like Google’s attempt here to save the user a bit more time before they have a computer ready to go.

The keyboard layout is almost exactly the same as the black MacBook with several exceptions. The directional arrow keys are different sizes, as are the shift, ctrl and alt keys, finally the function keys are completely different. Rather than having the F1-F12 keys, Google has different functions on those keys alone, including forward, back, refresh, brightness and volume up and down. I prefer this, as I found that having to hold the Fn button down to access brightness or volume was overly complicated, especially after having Macintosh computers which had those functions on the keys without having to use modifier keys like Fn.

The trackpad is a button-less yet clickable pad like those on Apple’s MacBook range. It allows the user to use a single finger click for the traditional left-click and a two finger click for the right-click. It also allows for two-finger scrolling like many laptops today. I find I prefer to use it with tapping rather than clicking, something that has hung around from my white MacBook days, and it works just fine for that, However I do find there are problems when scrolling with the page scrolling right down to the bottom of the page or back to the top with very little motion on my part. However, I do find that on the whole the trackpad is a decent approximation of a MacBook’s trackpad, but is unlikely to ever eclipse it as what I think of as the best trackpad on a laptop today.

I think it is one of the most beautifully understated laptops ever, and would definitely put it on par with the MacBook Air in my top two most beautiful laptop designs ever and it is something to behold with its blank, matte black sides. The Alienware M11X I have also has a similar colouring, but is much thicker, heavier, and has a completely different keyboard layout. So far I am a big fan of this machine.

First two images from: http://www.mydigitallife.info/google-cr-48-notebook-with-chrome-operating-system/
Third:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20025349-260.html

The OS and the Desktop

Here is my second post in a series about using ChromeOS and the Cr-48 Chromebook and to see whether they can replace a Windows or OS X laptop.

Chrome OS

Chrome OS is Google's attempt at a fast, lightweight, desktop operating system based around their own Chrome browser. It was started by an engineer in Google who wanted to created an OS that was run entirely from the computer’s RAM. It is meant to boot fast, turn off quickly, and require less processing and battery power than a traditional desktop operating system. It allows for "apps" and "extensions" to be installed into the browser and to be used just like an app on any other operating system. However these applications are "web apps" which often appear to the user to be links to a website which provides the app's content or service.

An example of content would be the Google Drive, similar to the Dropbox and Skydrive services, it allows access to the user’s files and folders from Google’s own cloud storage from anywhere with internet access. To the Chrome OS user, it looks just like logging onto the website and going through its online file hierarchy just as it would a user logging in on their own browser, however it also allows for both ‘local’ access - where the files are downloaded to the device and ‘offline’ access, where files are saved locally and can be edited without an internet connection. Changes can then be synced back to the cloud the next time the Chromebook is connected to the internet. As someone who has used Dropbox for years, and use it as “My Documents” folder, this is something I have been doing for a long time, but it will be interesting to try to integrate this new OS into my computing work flow, after using Windows 7 and the different betas of Windows 8 on a laptop for the past year or so.

Desktop

From first impressions the OS is very pretty. Google has included a good number of beautiful wallpapers and of course you can use your own. I've stuck with one of the picturesque landscape ones, but your mileage may vary! For the version I am using, the desktop appears to be a pared down version of the Windows desktop, with the dock/ tool bar at the bottom and a small list of settings in the bottom corner including a clock, WIFI connection indicator and battery capacity indicator.

Also, just like Windows, you can get rid of the dock if you don’t want it to display unless you need it or to gain extra screen real estate for everything else. You just move your cursor down to the bottom of the screen and it will pop up.

Just like other OS with a window interface Chrome OS has the icons, this time with the icons on the right-hand side like Windows. It has the typical close window cross as well as a square icon which when you hover over it gives you several different options, to maximise, minimise and pin to the left and right. These icons can be clicked or the cursor dragged and clicked to them. I like these options being available, and it does give a good differentiation between Chrome OS, Windows and OS X.

Apps are accessible from a small icon that when pressed reveals a popup that shows a list of apps that are installed on the Chromebook. Each can then be right-clicked to give options as to how it opens and dragged to the dock just like on a Mac or PC.

Sadly these app icons appear in the order they have been installed on the device. There is no way to drag them to the pages you want like the functionality of OS X’s Launchpad app or the folders on iOS and Android. This disappoints me slightly, but I have just put my most-used apps in the dock and access them from there. I can also use the keyboard and press the “Search” button which has replaced the Caps lock key and type in the name of the app I want to open. The desktop works well enough for me, and other than that minor problem with the apps drawer, I like it.

Google’s Chromebook: A perfect secondary computer?

Cr-48 image from Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/07/google-unveils-cr-48-the-first-chrome-os-laptop/)

I bought a Cr-48 on eBay a couple weeks ago. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, and I imagine that is most of you, it is a particular model of laptop running Google's Chrome OS, something Google calls a "Chromebook". There has been an increase in the number of these devices in the past few months with the third generation machines hitting shops this side of Christmas and adverts everywhere for them. I believe they can actually serve some people as decent primary computers and most people as a very good secondary computer. However they definitely can't be expected to perform all of the functions of a fully-fledged operating system like OS X, Windows or a decent distribution of Linux. They are especially attractive in the US with their $199 price tag. They start a bit more expensive over here at £199. I was lucky enough to pick up this Cr-48 for £120 posted in good condition. It isn't as powerful as these new Chromebooks, by Samsung or Acer, but it is already turning into a great little computer for the money.

This will be a series of short posts on the device, its OS and seeing how it fairs as a secondary device to my main iMac computer. I’ll give a small background on each area of the laptop: its OS, specs and how it handles the different things I expect my laptop to be able to perform like word processing, video watching, and general usage over the days and weeks. I'll be able to compare it to the different computers I've used including my MacBook, M11X and iMac, although they are obviously vastly different machines.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Windows 8. Bored already.

I find myself typing this post in Notepad++. Great app by the way. I use it for a great deal of my drafting and correspondence, and even a bit of HTML code. I highly recommend it! However, I also find myself writing this on my laptop in Windows 7, rather than the much-publicised Windows 8 and I don't feel bad using it either, which is weird.

Let me explain.

I am a keen new tech adopter. I got an iPhone 3G as soon as it was released, and iPad as soon as I could snap up a good second-hand deal. The same with an Alienware M11X R3 and Windows Phone device. I like the new and the different, and am very happy with all of these devices. The same is also usually true with app and operating system updates. As soon as an update is available I will jump to it. I did it with OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion and Mountain Lion, with the longest time I have waited being 3 weeks, so I could complete my final dissertation for my degree. So I did exactly the same with Windows 8.

I had a spare 2.5" drive, so I took out the M11X's standard Western Digital Black and installed each of the different preview versions of the OS. The Developer, Consumer and Release Previews, and finally the Enterprise RTM, their final version they were shipping to their OEMs. I was excited for each version and their new features and bug fixes, and the new apps for the "Metro" or "Modern" *sigh* interface. It has so much potential, but hasn't reached it for me, yet, which became jarringly obvious when I put my Windows 7 drive back in the M11X for a bit of housekeeping, (OS updates, security updates, etc). There

Windows 8 - things that don't work for me

Poor "Modern" apps. Don't get me wrong, the "Modern" interface and the Live Tiles are beautiful. I have them on my phone as well and I could write a short essay on how they make my life so useful. However those on Windows 8 just feel a little weak and half-baked to me and made me feel like the Microsoft developers were downright lazy. No integrated inbox for email and poor messaging integration with Facebook chat were ones that got me immediately. However, to have no native "Modern" notepad app and no calculator? This meant I couldn't perform the most obvious task a student would want to do on their computer - read a pdf in their app and take notes on in in another app. That was massively disappointing for me. Sure, you could use the desktop ones, but that gives you the jarring experience of leaving the new and shiny "Modern" world, and drops you back in the desktop environment with a bump, and I'm trying my hardest to learn to love Microsoft's new way of doing things! The same appears true for users of the Surface RT tablets, who are finding the same thing especially true since they would be expecting a far better touch experience than that provided by these apps on the desktop.

While the "slack" created by poor native apps has already begun to be taken up by third-party developers, it smacks of laziness on the part of Microsoft or perhaps an unwillingness to part with the past. Some have questioned why Microsoft has even included the desktop environment as part of the Windows RT OS, and I agree with them. The new Office apps are really the only point to having it, and prove that had Microsoft just made true "Modern" interface apps, they wouldn't need it at all. Or perhaps Microsoft are trying to provide another differentiator between themselves and Apple's definite OS X vs iOS platforms.

Windows 8 - benefit

Speed - Microsoft has done a really impressive job at reducing the boot-up and shut-down times and operating system actions. As a real-life example, Windows 8 on my slower 5400 rpm drive boots over twice as fast as the Windows 7 partition on my better, faster 7,200 rpm WD drive. It also uses far fewer system resources and allows my laptop to stay cooler and quieter throughout normal usage along with a longer battery life.

Finally, let me say that I don't find myself using the "Modern" apps much at all. So far everything on the desktop does everything quicker than I would otherwise be able to from the Start Screen. On top of that, a bug that prevents me from docking two apps side by side is preventing me from actually multitasking and using two at once. It started as soon as I plugged the laptop into an external display and then unplugged it. It has been "tainted" ever since and removes much of the actual use from the new apps. This should have been fixed by the RTM build that is being shipped to OEMs and now users. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

I am not saying Windows 8 doesn't have potential, but it doesn't seem to realise much of that potential to me on release, but perhaps it is better to pay the £25 or $40 and hope it realises that potential sooner rather than later. I hope I change my mind, but using Windows 7 on my non-touch device, I really am in no particular rush. But I'll see how it goes after a week!

Lubuntu 12.04 on the M11X R3

Since I had a bit of time after my final degree hand-in, I am finally able to get a few different hobbies back on the go. Since I was able to uninstall all the software I needed for my project, I had a clean slate to test the Operating Systems on my laptop that I have had on the back burner for a while. The first is Lubuntu 12.04.

Introduction

Since I used Lubuntu to bring my 12 year old Vaio Z600 back to life last year, that laptop has only seriously been used once. That was the week I locked myself out of my flat. Using that machine really tested the lower bounds of the OS's compatibility. With so little processing power and an anaemic amount of RAM, the laptop performed surprisingly well. I wanted to see what Lubuntu could do on my M11X R3, a completely different beast. So over the period of a week I wanted to see whether it could be used as direct replacement for the Windows 8 Release Preview install I had just deleted.

Caveats

Windows Phone

There are several things I knew would not work before I had even started. The first is the syncing software for my Windows Phone, based are Microsoft's Zune music player. Unless I was to set up a virtual machine running Windows simply to run Zune, I have been unable to find any software that would be able to replace it. While there is software that I could use with my iMac instead, it is not as full-featured.

For this week I have simply deleted the software and will use the phone as-is, hardly a hardship. However I would not be able to receive any OS-updates without connecting to the software, so using Linux would not be a viable option with my choice of phone.

iMac

As mentioned above, I have an iMac which I use as my desktop computer, TV and general syncing machine for most of my tech things. This means that the number of things I need my laptop to do is a lot smaller than if it were my only machine. This means that the pressures put on Lubuntu are going to be lower than many others may need. It is my portable work machine and goes with me when I need to work anywhere away from the flat. But it doesn't need to sync my iPad/iPod, backup any of my files or hold all of my music etc.

Installation and first boot

As with the vast majority of Linux installations with a computer able to boot from a USB flashdrive, this took 10 minutes. Using a 4GB drive and the software that is easily available from the Ubuntu website, I was able to create a bootable install drive of the Lubuntu .iso.  I then restarted the computer with the flashdrive in and pressing F12 at the right time, which allowed me to choose to boot from the Lubuntu install. It asked me to plug in an ethernet cable and it started the installation. I decided to do a simple wipe and install, but you can partition the hard drive if you want. The installation then required a few entries such language and name, and then took about 15 minutes more to complete the process. Very straightforward.

Wifi worked right out of the box, so I just typed in my network password and was able to unplug the ethernet cable and start installing the apps I need.

Lubuntu 12.04 Desktop

My Required Apps

This is my list of things that I always install when I use Linux:

Dropbox
This is possibly my favourite app/ service ever. It meant that after a quick install all of my important files and folders over. Macintosh, Windows, Linux, all works great. Very happy with it.

Text Editors

gedit 3.4.1

My choices are gedit and PyRoom. I love "gedit" for being able to have two .txt files open at once. This means I can read a message in one column and reply to it in the other. This is something that the bare-bones "Leafpad" isn't able to do. I know I don't use it to anywhere near its full extent, but it works for me and opens instantaneously, something a full-blown word processor is unlikely to do.

PyRoom 0.4.1

PyRoom is based on WriteRoom for the Mac. It is one of those "distraction-free" text editors which goes full-screen and gets rid of everything on-screen apart from your text. I use it every so often for when I'm typing something that doesn't need to refer to other sources all the time- it isn't as useful if have to jump in and out of the program. I love using it in a busy place at university to reduce the distraction on the screen, even if the world around is pretty busy!

Browser

Chromium, the open-source browser which Chrome is built upon is the browser Lubuntu is bundled with. It was too resource intensive for my Z600, but on this machine that is no problem at all. However, I found it had a problem displaying hyperlinks inline with text. I downloaded Chrome instead, and the problem isn't there, so it will do nicely for me. On top of that both of them allow for the Chrome sync, which allows for my bookmarks to sync over from Chrome on my other machines, which is very useful!

Email client

Mozilla Thunderbird 15.0

Thunderbird. I have used this app instead of Outlook on Windows for many years. It is still just as good for Linux, and allows me to check my different email addresses all at once, and while I don't like it quite as much as Apple's Mail, nothing on Windows is better than that for me either. Even with the development slowdown at Mozilla, and the apparent exodus from client to web-based email, I still think it is a great app!

Word Processor

Here I would generally use Pages on the Mac or Word on Windows, although lately I have been using LibreOffice's Writer with them both as a basic level of compatibility between the two. While it will never be quite as good as Microsoft Office, it definitely does enough for me, and probably the vast majority of people.

Picture Editing

GIMP 2.6.12

The GIMP - Great app, and while it isn't Photoshop, it does everything I have so far needed to whilst playing with the bare minimum of graphics and photo editing. I continue to be very happy with this app.

The Good

It's all free!

This is something that Linus has that other desktop operating systems cannot compete on. I can download, install and use the operating system and all the apps and not worry about paying a thing.

Boots fast!

Compared to Windows 7, this machine boots fast. Even with my Windows 7 installation on a 7,200 rpm drive compared to Lubuntu being on a 5,400 one, it takes a little over half the time to boot into Lubuntu, about 30 seconds. However with the approach of Windows 8 and its rapid boot time, this may be less of a draw for people.

Massively compatible!

This OS works on my 2011 M11X, my 1999 VAIO and everything in between, including Intel and PowerPC Macs. This means I can install it on every machine I own and keep them up to date far beyond the original manufacturers leave them behind.

Installation and usage is a breeze!

With the Software Centers available on all distributions of Ubuntu, finding, installing and updating apps and the OS itself is easy. Perhaps even easier than OS X and Windows, as they stand at the moment.

Very customisable!

Everything that can be changed in terms of layout, colours, toolbars, docks etc can be. This makes it very easy to make the desktop look and behave as you want it to. This is something that neither of the two main Operating Systems will allow to the same extent.

The Bad

The laptop runs hot!

Even running Chrome, Thunderbird, Audacious and gedit, this machine is incredibly hot and the fan is going. This is something that would not happen under Windows 7 or 8 and definitely restricts its use as a true "lap"-top! Not impressed so far.

Software Centre delays

The apps available in the software centre is a little out of date. For example, the LibreOffice version available at time of writing is 3.6.1, whereas on the software centre it is 3.5.4.2. This is a full 0.1 behind, which leaves it behind the version that can be downloaded from the web. This isn't a major problem, but it does mean the software centre is a number of weeks behind.

Random assumptions

I initially assumed that closing my laptop's lid would put the computer to sleep. I then found myself surprised to find the battery very low the next time I opened it. It also turns out that single clicking the power button of my laptop now turns it off, rather than hibernates the laptop. Again, it isn't a big problem now I know, but it was an inconvenience finding it out.

Conclusion

After a week of using Lubuntu with my M11X, I can say it is a great operating system that allows me to do almost everything I need to do with my laptop away from my desktop computer. It doesn't do anything better than my Windows 7 or 8 installs, however, it definitely gives a good option for when you don't want to pay for a Windows OS install or your computer is to old to run the more modern OS updates. For me, even the ability to those that require Windows are not such a big problem. But the way in which the computer continues to run hot under very little load, really stops me continuing to use Lubuntu on this machine as its daily driver, especially on the sofa or in bed!

On the Use of Old Technology

This is my fourth day without access to my flat, and therefore the fourth day without access to my work on my machines. This has led me to several different realisations about the technology I use:

Dropbox is awesome

While I always knew Dropbox was good, it has really come into its own since I've been here! I was able to dig up my 1999 Vaio laptop from my dad's loft and get it to sync all my files and folders to its home directory as if they were its own. This means that I have all the work I had done before I left, exactly where I expect it to be. Plus, as I edit them and save them, I know they will continue to be updated in the "Cloud" ie Dropbox's servers, and on my machines back at home. A wonderful piece of technology!

No hardware is too old to be useful

The '99 vintage Vaio Z600 I'm typing this on has an old Pentium III processor running at a rather sedentary 650Mhz and 256MB of RAM. Its trackpad and mouse buttons don't work, and its battery lasts a matter of minutes. However, with a few trips up to the loft for more accessories, a bit of Google-Fu, as well as several hours of updating the Lubuntu OS, the apps and my own Dropbox stuff, it is now up and running fine! I'll have to write something on that, maybe others with 'ancient' machines could find something interesting in it, or could suggest something better!

I miss my iMac and its screen

Working with the Vaio and its 12" 1280 x 768 screen really shows the increased productivity that you can have with a larger monitor and the iMac I have at home has a 21.5" screen which gives me plenty of room to work with! The iMac is also much more powerful and I can have many different applications running at once, whereas I am currently running a text editor and a web browser, with any extra programs really slowing the machine down! Everything takes just a little bit longer, which throughout the day takes up a surprising amount of time!

Ah well, fingers crossed I can get back into my flat on Tuesday, and leave this hardware in my dad's loft for another occassion where I am without my keys or any computers!

David x

On the Necessity of Keys

Preamble

Yesterday I left the flat without the usual smartphone and Bluetooth headphones, hoping to charge them both before going out for a run with Zombies, Run! later, and instead I had my old iPod - I could at least listen to something while I headed to the supermarket! However on returning to the building I found that I had also left the flat without its keys.

It turns out I had picked up the large jingling mass of keys that consisted of my dad’s house keys, my car key, Tesco’s clubcard fob and the fob to access the university computer lab out of hours, but failed to remember I had taken the flat keys off earlier that day so I could run without the extra hindrance. Oh dear. Luckily I had my dad’s keys and my car keys. So at least I could drive over and stay with him.

And so...

Sadly I can’t get into the flat until Tuesday as the letting agent isn’t open until that morning and my girlfriend isn’t back from home until that evening. So this got me thinking, what changes could I reasonably make to either prevent this from happening again, or minimize the impact of leaving my keys in the flat? They may even help me out in other bad situations!

1. I intend to put a spare phone (and charger) in the car.

I have several spare mobile phones from the past 10 years and most of them are perfectly viable devices. I bought a GiffGaff sim to chuck into one and will charge it overnight before putting it in the car. This means that I’ll hopefully have a working phone in case of emergency, but also a charger for longer-term use. I know I could have done with that today, trying to call the letting agents, my father etc. Also need to add all necessary numbers to it!

2. Keep the keys altogether

This may seem obvious, and used to be the usual way of things. However, running with all those keys in a pocket takes up a lot of space and in a bag produces an absurd amount of jangling. However perhaps to avoid risk I should just suck it up and carry the lot, at least then I’ll know whether I have all the keys or not! And perhaps I could wrap the keys in something to make them quiet!

Previously successful!

Some things I have done to prepare for this sort of thing have actually helped me!

1. Cloud storage

I already keep all my documents in a Dropbox folder, so everything work-wise is available online. This has saved me before and has allowed me to access my work on any networked computer. Very useful!

2. Spare clothes

I have a bag with a spare set of clothes at my dad’s just in case. Luckily I have never had any cause to use it before. Thankfully I also have loads of spare clothes in the loft from “mostly” moving out of my room. So I have loads of clothes, but sadly no flat keys!

All this is really a bit of a #FirstWorldProblem, however, hopefully this will give me more time to get work done and maybe a few more blog posts! Next time, perhaps I should just remember my keys?

David x

Indestructible, Untameable

Adamant is the strongest material of myth and legend. It is stronger than steel and the only substance to damage Gods as well as mortals. Adamantine chains bound Prometheus to the mountain-side and an adamantine blade castrated Ouranos or Uranus, the primordial Greek Sky God and beheaded the Gorgon Medusa.

Today Adamant is easily seen in fiction everywhere. Wolverine, although already popular, was made a household name by Hugh Jackman and his appearance in five movies already. He has his adamantium-laced skeleton with his trademark claws. That skeleton even survived when the rest of him was destroyed in one series of the comics.

The super-human Space Marines from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe, again, with increasing popularity as they move from the tabletop to PC games and console games and even a movie, wear powered adamantium armour allowing them to shrug off attacks from all but the most powerful weapons in the bleak future of the 41st millennium.

As a child I read the myths, the stories and the game backgrounds, each with their adamantine weapons and armour: defending heroes, safeguarding the rest of civilisation, providing the only defence against powerful enemies. So perhaps the best form of idea is an invincible, indestructible, adamantine one? A theme popularised in fiction, most recently Inception and V for Vendetta, but extolled throughout history as the driving force behind revolution and the battle for freedom everywhere.

Finally, a bit of etymology, the English word "Adamant" comes from the Latin adamas meaning "invincible" as shown in its use above. But it originally comes from the Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + δαμάζω (damazo, “I tame”). Not only can adamantine dreams be indestructible, they can be untameable too. Something that may be apt for dreams and ideas that are recorded and given voice, rather than vanishing fleetingly into nothingness.