DonB Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Like the title says. Heavily advertised in the weekend Paper. A double page spread in the Sunday Times. PC World stocking them I think. Do they loo good value for the cash? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 Just be beware that they don't run Windows and that the whole Operating System runs through an internet browser, so without an internet connection they are essentially an expensive paperweight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin1985 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I think Chrome OS is actually distinct from Android. You certainly wouldn't be able to run Android apps, only Chrome apps, the same as you can add to Chrome on other OSes to e.g. use Google Docs offline. I think the recent ones are better in terms of offline usefulness than an expensive paperweight. Printing seems to be an unanswered question though. Edit - good review at ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com/review-the-arm-powered-samsung-chromebook-7000006097/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonB Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Thanks for the link. Much better informed now than the fairly basic adverts that I have seen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Russ (mines a pint) Posted October 24, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 24, 2012 I was going to ask about these too, Chromebook? are we talking the same thing. I use a desk computer for all my serious computing, but was wondering about replacement for a bust laptop. My questions where , email will be compatible as use gmail anyway? - but what about documents etc? are they compatable with word/excel etc. if emailed from one computer to another? to be honest I quite like the idea of 'the cloud' thing it has been hard disk problems which have kaputted 2 of 3 family laptops (more if you include outside 'immediate' family. If someone has invented a portable computer without moving parts its something I'd be quite interested, I dont really put anything on the computer that I dont mind if anyone sees, I think thats the best way to approach any computer though I realise that might not be practical for business users. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Without an internet link, these Chromebooks are useless as the apps (programs) are all in the cloud. Even with an internet link, if your line speed is poor, then everything will run slowly or end up stalling. Google launched these about a year or so ago and they were a complete sales flop. This is a second attempt to get the idea floated at a time when all the interest is now in smartphones, tablets and mobile OS's, plus the Windows 8 launch will make quite a bit of "noise" for a while. The whole thing is doomed to be a very expensive failure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilC Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 This may answer some of the offline questions of what can and cant be done http://www.zdnet.com/yes-you-can-use-the-new-chromebook-offline-7000006103/ Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Does it comes with on-board spyware app that films every room in your house for future Google Map add-on called Google Homes? XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted October 25, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2012 Assuming we are talking about Google's Chromebooks then there is some misleading information on this thread. Chrome OS is not at all the same as Android. Chrome is designed to be essentially browser based with add ons. The idea is that the majority of the storage and processing is done in the cloud. However it is absolutely not true that you can't use things offline. Google Docs works offline in Chrome. Google docs will open MS Office (Word/Excel etc) though you really need to convert to the native Google Docs format for full functionality. If you want to share them the easiest way is to just provide an online share of the doc, though you can email me them in a choice of formats (eg PDF/Word etc). I actually like the online collaboration that is possible with Google Docs as it is one of the most useful tools. Someone asked about computers with no moving parts - that has been available for a long time! But has become popular over the last 3-4 years with the use of SSDs (sold state drives) instead of traditional hard drives - you get greater hardware stability and speed vs higher cost and unknown long term effects of multiple read/write cycles. Cheers, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Assuming we are talking about Google's Chromebooks then there is some misleading information on this thread. Chrome OS is not at all the same as Android. Chrome is designed to be essentially browser based with add ons. The idea is that the majority of the storage and processing is done in the cloud. However it is absolutely not true that you can't use things offline. Google Docs works offline in Chrome. Google docs will open MS Office (Word/Excel etc) though you really need to convert to the native Google Docs format for full functionality. If you want to share them the easiest way is to just provide an online share of the doc, though you can email me them in a choice of formats (eg PDF/Word etc). I actually like the online collaboration that is possible with Google Docs as it is one of the most useful tools. Someone asked about computers with no moving parts - that has been available for a long time! But has become popular over the last 3-4 years with the use of SSDs (sold state drives) instead of traditional hard drives - you get greater hardware stability and speed vs higher cost and unknown long term effects of multiple read/write cycles. Cheers, Mike Computers with bi moving parts have been around for a long time. I was the UK service Centre Manager for Psion 1996-1998 and Psion 3 and 5 series were all SSD driven. The Series 3 came with either 128K, 256K,512K,1M or 2M of on-board memory and could run MS compatible versions of Word and Excel! XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin1985 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 If someone has invented a portable computer without moving parts its something I'd be quite interested, I dont really put anything on the computer that I dont mind if anyone sees, I think thats the best way to approach any computer though I realise that might not be practical for business users. Macbook Air, Chromebook, several high end Intel "Ultrabooks". DVD drives are becoming rapidly obsolete for laptops, and SSDs are increasingly standard, or at least widely available as an option, at the "thin and light" end of the spectrum. As Mike says though, SSDs might not have moving parts, but their reliability isn't proven in the long term. Justin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Many high end laptop computers are coming with SSD's, or a combination of SSD's and a HDD. Apple are offering one of the new combined drives that has an SSD and HD in one unit. Others may be doing the same. The other thing that is on the way out is the optical drive (CD/DVD). Research shows that these get very little use these days and it's already becoming the case that more and more applications are being downloaded from the web. Newer high end Ultrabooks and new laptops are coming without them. Apple are gradually phasing them out on all their Mac's. The new iMac, just announced, has no optical drive, neither does the new range of MacBook Pro's and the MacBook Air has never had one. PC's with Windows 8 will be going the same way. Back to the OP.... The Chromebook is another matter though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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