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IIRC, Google themselves said that at some point they'll be merging Android & Chrome OS into one O.S. Perhaps this is a start?

Either way, seeing as how great Windows 7 is (it's a joy to use, IMO), and what a complete catastrophe Windows 8 will be, perhaps it's time to look at the alternatives.

I've only ever seen 1 person using a Chromebook.

I think the main problem is price. Where I live, for maybe a bit more money (+/- US $25) I could get a decent netbook with extended 6cell battery + a previous gen 40GB Intel x25V SSD.

That's what I'm running right now, as a matter of fact. Boots in similar short times (ArchLinux + lightweight WM), has better battery life than any available Chromebook (albeit with Linux-PHC undervolting configured), plus I can use it for offline stuff.

I figure most people could get Win7 netbooks with extended batteries for similar or lower prices.

Edited 2012-04-10 22:25 UTC

I believe were Chrome OS strengt is, is in lease plans.

You don't buy such a thing, you pay a small amount of money and Google handles the hardware, software and data side of things.

In a larger organisation, you have X amount of users with such a device and X+a few of these devices, when one breaks, the user logs in on other device and keeps on working just as before.

No interruption.

Because all the data, settings, everything is saved 'in the cloud'. Google sends you a replacement device and will also send you new devices every few years.

The same when a device is stolen, if the username/password of the user is unknown the data on the device is encrypted. Any data on the device is just a cache anyway.

Obviously many companies have already setup everything in similair fashion, but in comparison there is a lot more (upfront ?) money involved.

If your business is already handled online (think: salesforce, services from 37signals.com and so on) then a transition should be easy or small parts can be run on a 'terminal services'.

Edited 2012-04-10 22:30 UTC

The weak Intel Atom CPUs are a major drawback of current generation Chromebooks. It is a shame that Google did not launch with AMD Brazos which was better in almost every regard.

Next generation Chromebooks will become more interesting, thanks to Coreboot and new Atom platform with more CPU/GPU power.

Is this new WM built on Wayland?

Edited 2012-04-10 22:53 UTC

Yes, I do use Chrome OS. I was one of the people lucky enough to get a CR-48 (which means I won't get this update, unfortunately) and I use it on a regular basis.

I'm quite happy with it, actually. Provided I've got either wifi access or a cell signal I've found that I can do about 80% of the things I need to do on a computer with it. I use Google Docs, and when I want to write something out and I'm on the road I find it's easier (and faster) to deal with that editing on the touchscreen.

Would I buy one to use? Probably not. Frankly, ChromeOS' greatest strength is the "instant on" aspect. A Windows/Linux/mac laptop in standby mode isn't much slower, and modern battery life means that they can stay in that mode for a while. I LIKE Chrome OS, but right now it seems to be answering a need that few people have. If you need a lightweight, inexpensive laptop that is instant on with great battery life and you don't care about limited utility then ChromeOS is for you. Otherwise you can spend less money and get a cheap (nearly disposable in some cases) netbook and be better off.

If google makes a desktop OS that runs android Apps, that sounds like a huge improvement to me..

I find these changes bringing it closer to a desktop interface interesting, considering where Motorola seems to be taking their webtop solution. If you haven't seen the videos, when docked into a lapdock, the phone running ICS goes into something more like tablet mode. Since Chrome beta runs on ICS, that would already be far better than Chrome OS for my purposes. Now I just need Motorola to hurry up with their updates to find out if I'm right.

I'm actually posting this from my Motorola phone running webtop. The current version isn't exactly ideal, to be honest. It's really just Firefox and a file manager with a windowed view of my phone.

But the potential I see in those webtop 3 beta videos... I can't wait.

I don't think anyone has a problem with using a browser as an operating system. I think the real issue is it was designed to solve Google's problems and not consumers problems. This is at the heart of their sad positioning as a enterprise product.

The whole Cloud OS push is to get you to trust them with your data. The requirement that you log into Google before you can use regular browser features (bookmarks, history, password manager etc.) is just part of their Facebook strategy.

Considering that they're targeting enterprise and government rather than consumers it's obvious why they aren't very popular with the general population. This is likely a last minute reaction to the iPad cannibalising the Netbook market (which they didn't find out about until after it's announcement).

It's benefits to consumers are only coincidental and not explicitly there on purpose. That's too bad because when I first heard about it I thought it had great potential in consumer devices because of it's really simple interface and the ability to run on the low end hardware. Now it looks like that's what Android is destined for.

This isn't intended to be a full review, since I only got the update last night. But yes, I have a Samsung "Series 5" Chromebook and I updated to the dev channel last night to see what all the fuss is about.

This update is really great. Chrome OS is dispensing with browser-as-OS because it just didn't work very well. Now, with window management and a task bar, it actually FEELS like there is more desktop breathing room to do all my work in. It's a psychological change but a welcome and very striking one.

They've done some very nice things with window management, pulling tricks and inspiration from both Windows and Mac OS. It feels like neither, but will be familiar to users of both.

It's also now much easier to launch web apps in dedicated windows that FINALLY feel like "real" applications. It's amazing how far that goes to making it seem like a cohesive experience.

The visual refresh, fancy animations, and excellent smooth-scrolling support on the trackpad (also, FINALLY) make it feel like I just got a brand new machine.

BUT.... I must agree with the assessment that this makes Chrome OS less like an OS inside a browser. The real benefit is in the no-local-storage, dead-simple-updates business proposition. I don't think these devices are ever going to catch on for casual users looking for a second machine.

This update is actually quite a nice piece of work. Looking forward to faster, lighter hardware in the future. Because without that, it will never go anywhere.

A commodity personal computer. I'd recommend it to family members. Replace the overpriced Intel CPU (poor Price/Watt performance) with an ARM flavour, add regular printing support that doesn't require uploading print jobs to Google servers and this one is a long stretch: external desktop HDs that serve as local/personal Cloud but with proper integration. Something a little more functional than DLNA.

Personaly, I wish the ChromeOS team would stop with the wedging in the WIMP metaphor. It's so last century. But then Google always had the worst UI designers out there (leave YouTube alone). There's so much stuff missing from ChromeOS.

How dare Google not release this update for the Cr-48! Don't you dare tell me that hardware can't handle window management when it runs Ubuntu just fine! In fact, on my Cr-48 I use Ubuntu almost exclusively because it is actually faster that Chrome OS in every way.

I ordered a Chromebook - largely to watch Netflix on it and dual boot to Ubuntu Linux. But then I found out that if you unlock the bootloader for dual-booting, Netflix stops functioning under Chrome OS. I quickly canceled my order.

This has shown me the future. If you turn off the new generation of signed bootloaders to dual-boot to an alternative OS, I expect your Windows installation will be crippled and all DRM will cease to function.

-braddock

Desktop and laptop computers are a dying breed outside of professional users and a few dedicated home users. In all likelihood, the market is going to look a lot like it did in the mid-1990s and what we ask of our desktop operating systems is going to resemble what we asked of our desktop operating systems in the mid-1990s. At least in terms of the user interface. (The technical underpinnings will continue to advance.)

The reason for this is simple: very few people bought into the computer craze. What they actually bought into was the Internet craze. Now that devices are coming along that simplifies the interface and makes viewing media more convenient, the general purpose computer is going to drop off their radar.

When Google started Chrome OS, it was at a time where html applications were very hype and it looked like people would stop using native applications and do all their work with html applications. But somehow, the iphone (and android) killed that idea, now people want small native apps that connect to remote services. Mainly because those apps usually offer a better user experience than what you can get in a browser (it will be interesting to see if HTML5 can reverse the trend). If HTML application had succeed, then it would have been a totally different story, and Chrome OS would have been what people needed.

What I really don't understand is why Google did not stop the Chrome OS project to focus all the effort on making android great for tablets and notebooks.

Could it become the desktop linux standard that we've been waiting for so long?

"pretty much turn it into a traditional desktop operating system."

[citation needed] If it doesn't have local storage and a media player, it's not a traditional desktop system. Hey Google, my harddrive has much faster transfer times that my internet connection. While everyone at Mountain View has a FiOS link, what they don't get is that most of us outside the USA and Japan are on ADSL, which means slow upload speeds. And mobile internet here has 500MB data caps (best case). I don't want to wait for hours for my camera videos to upload to youtube, when I can just transfer them to my HDD, or blow my whole data plan just to empty my camera.

Edited 2012-04-11 09:39 UTC

Personally I think there are real benefits in separating data from hardware. Even with the explosion in mobiles and tablets, we still store most of our data on the device and assume we'll only use our own devices to access our data (even when our data's stored elsewhere). This is backwards and constraining. I should be able to go up to any device in the world, log in and be presented with my desktop or mobile configuration.

Computing has been heading in this direction for a long time, but none of the main operating systems allow for this. I've not used Chrome OS, but as far as I can tell none of the latest changes seem to suggest it's moving away from this. If Google gets it right, it might still have the potential to really change the way we use computers, and demonstrate how useful the cloud really can be.

I picked up a chromebook last month as a novelty. I got a cheaper model and have yet to figure out a use for it other than lending it to guests for trivial browsing. Currently it's sitting on my dining table with the battery depleted--exactly where it's been for the last week.

I found it to be sluggish and choppy, even with the pre-installed games, certainly bad if I open more than 3 tabs. If all you want is facebook and maybe email you might be okay with it, but surprisingly few people do that little with their computers.

I never believed in ChromeOS and I think it will most likely be eventually discontinued.

This only goes to show that Google is no longer secure what they want to do with it.

I think Google is cleverly providing a nice hedge to allow people to keep what looks and acts (mostly) like a traditional desktop. Especially now that Apple, Microsoft, and Ubuntu are hell bent on shoving a walled-garden tablet metaphor down everybody's throats whether they want it or not.

Who knows? Maybe Google will become "the desktop for the rest of us" once all the former OS/Software makers start manufacturing nothing but media consumption appliances.

Too bad we really can't trust Google any more than we can trust the rest of these guys.

I have a Chromebook, and use it every day. I used to have an Eee Pad Transformer, but use the Chromebook far more. The reason is basically that it's a fast booting, quick little laptop for web browsing. I have a Windows laptop too, but it runs hot and can take a while to wake up.

I ditched the Eee Pad because web browsing was simply not very good, text entry into forums was very slow and the UI was sub-par. Now that Chrome is on Android, that has maybe changed.

Sometimes the Chromebook frustrates me, and I have to use my Mac or PC, but 95% of the time it's OK. I find it more usable as "sofa computer" than a tablet. If I were to replace it, it would not be for a tablet.

If we think about what we do with computers, outside of work and games, then a web browser can do most of it, and Chromebook excels at that where tablets do not. Tablets excel at simple apps and games, and I need nor want those.

Comment removed by me.

Edited 2012-04-13 11:40 UTC

Well I guess I'm the only one who actually owns a Chromebook on this forum and actually likes it. This new version is quite impressive, I now get 9 hours of battery from my Samsung Chromebook 3G. There isn't a program that I haven't been able to replace with a online version. I'm able to program my PHP, Python, heck even my C++ stuff.

Everyone is worried about privacy, them stop with the pornographic sites, stop with sites like Facebook and Twitter where you open your selves up. Keep your emails clean and simple. There is no longer any privacy on the web, you are kidding yourself if you think you are surfing in private. It doesn't matter what OS you are using.