An overview of the Google Chromebook

I had to dig into this one a little to see exactly where Google was going. They are really playing in the “white space” (buzzword bingo) of the emerging collaboration and device platform space. The device is not a traditional machine in the sense that you have everything local to you and synch to your resources, or in the sense that you can install things locally. The premise is that everything is stored “in the cloud”.

Same experience everywhere

Your apps, documents, and settings are stored safely in the cloud. So even if you lose your computer, you can just log in to another Chromebook and get right back to work.

 

The idea is that you connect with a quick boot (8 seconds) and instant resume once booted, then connect to the network to get all your content and apps. In practice, this may be workable in highly connected areas, but certainly limits mobility outside of metro connectivity and as one who spends a good deal of time traveling for a living I can attest to the fact that finding hot spots is non trivial at best once you are off a campus.

This, combined with the fact that the hotspot market is still fragmented and there is not yet a single contract that lets you jump on ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Airport, Starbucks, etc. means that while there is a theoretical coverage map for Wi-Fi, there is a barrier to implementation that has to be managed as well. This becomes a real issue if that is the only way to get my apps and data that I need.

Security and OS Management

Security built in

Chromebooks run the first consumer operating system designed from the ground up to defend against the ongoing threat of malware and viruses. They employ the principle of "defense in depth" to provide multiple layers of protection, including sandboxing, data encryption, and verified boot. Learn more about security.

As you can read in the preceding linked article, security is a big focus and it appears to be well addressed. The network layer aside, onboard the process is redundant and well though through, with flexibility and scaling considered. I am interested to learn what the extent of the on board storage really is as there has to be a cache for settings and such as well as the core OS and restore. A limited flash storage is the obvious answer, but how is it implemented? The site does not go into detail yet on this topic but I look forward to learning more.

3 G connectivity

The Google site points out a 3G model as well, that comes with a free 100MB  / month connectivity from Verizon. Free is pretty relative as we all know, and it will be baked into the rental somewhere. The Verizon costs are shown here, and in line with the iPad plan that I currently use to supplement my Wi-Fi.

100MB of data per month  - Free

Limitless day pass  - $9.99 per day

Additional 1 GB of data -  $20 per month

Additional 3 GB of data -  $35 per month

Additional 5 GB of data - $50 per month

The pricing model for the device discussed so far seems to be an inclusive rental model of some type that provides the machine and storage for a flat rate, and then the provider contracts would sit on top of that.

Running Applications

As for applications, the plan is to use the Google Chrome Store and everything is HTML 5 / web based. The store is growing quickly and certainly has a broad selection of apps, but it will be a compromise for the foreseeable future. As a Chromebook user, you will have to use apps that are not the equivalent of the full on desktop experience until these environments achieve parity, and I would propose this is still out 3-4 years for most apps, and will not happen at all for others.

As to whether this matters to you or not, it all depends on your usage profile. As a student doing basic papers and presentation, playing some games and consuming media, this is not a problem. As a business professional needing Photoshop / GIMP, CAD, advanced document publishing, complex spreadsheets or data analysis, well, you will need to still have a content creation machine even if you are able to share or consume on the lightweight device. This points back to the cloud approach and what the consumer needs in respect to global platform coverage that “just works”.

The disclaimer

At the bottom of the site, in grey print is the following disclaimer which I just noticed.

* Obviously, you're going to need a wireless network, be willing to use it subject to the provider's terms and conditions, and be ready to put up with its real life limitations including, for example, its speed and availability. When you do not have network access, functionality that depends on it will not be available.

So – are we ready for Chromebooks? I believe the answer is No, in a broad sense we are not ready. Is the idea very interesting and does it have limited applicability? Yes, it is and it does and I look forward to where Google goes with this, but I’m glad it’s not on my dime.

Links:

• Samsung version of Chromebook
• Acer version of Chromebook
• Chromebook site

Editing and selecting text on the iPad 2

When I started really using my iPad to edit text, the single biggest frustration I had was in editing text that I had typed incorrectly and could not get to easily without arrow keys I was used to. I ended up deleting a lot of double words to replace the n character I had hit instead of a space.

It sounds a little lame for a complaint I suppose, but if you are there dealing with it – I am sure your frustration level rose just like mine. Luckily I figured out pretty quick that there is a simple way to manage this – actually 2 methods that generally work well.

1. pinch and zoom – that was what I found when I searched on the topic. It works IF the app you are in supports it and the context is right. This is not the best way to do it though IMO
2. Point to the insertion point you need and hold your finger down. If you long press, you will see a magnifying glass come up with a selector where your “cursor” is. This method allows you to get very precise insertion of your cursor and edit any text very easily.

Once you have selected the text, you are presented with a blue bar that lets you expand either direction or simply start typing.

If you choose to expand the selection, you can then click on the expanded selection to copy, paste, etc…

Simple, easy and effective. No arrow key needed. I wish I knew that when I first got the thing!

Take a screen shot with the iPad 2

As I am preparing a series of posts on the iPad I figured a quick one on how to do a screen shot would be a help for some.

To make a screen shot, you need to use the sleep / wake button at the top right corner of the iPad and the home button at the bottom center as shown below.

You will press the sleep / wake button and then home button at the bottom center.

When you do this key combo, you will hear an audible click and the screen shot will be captured to your camera role. Once it is there, you can do whatever you want with it, including copy it over to your desktop as needed by plugging in the iPad and mounting it as a drive.

A first screen shot I recommend is one that uses your notepad, or similar app to create a “return if found” screen shot that you then set as your lock screen wall paper. Put your name, phone number and email on the screen and ensure that it shows up clearly in the screen shot.

That gives anyone who may pick up your device the opportunity to identify the owner and get it back to you quickly. (assuming of course, good intent!). This leads to an additional comment to consider, which is the “find my iPad” option you should enable to allow remote location and wipe if needed, but more on that later.

Getting started with the iPad(2)

The minimalist Apple approach to packaging reveals an iPad, Cable and plug along with a little piece of paper and little else when you open the box.  For context, I have the 64g Verizon 3g model.

Where to get started? Of course, the device is pretty intuitive and that’s behind a lot of it’s appeal. That being said, there are a lot of little basic tips that are not obvious when you pick it up that make it so much nicer to use. I will post these lessons I have learned as separate tips and maybe come back here to link them, or you can just filter on the iPad tag to get a good overview.

As a first step – you have to plug it in to iTunes to get anywhere, and set up your account and synch preferences. I found great success using my Google account as a hub account for all my contacts across my devices and computers since I can synch the Google contacts with my windows, apple, linux and android systems with no problems. This may sound minor, but having one global address / contact set across all is a real boon and I can manage the contacts using the Google engine which is actually pretty effective.

In iTunes, you will also have the option of setting up picture, music, video etc synching. I suggest you make a playlist for your iPad that can pull in the playlists you want but reflects a subset of your entire collection. In my case this is especially important as my music collection is larger than the entire iPad storage system. Since you have the ability to stream tunes, you may not need much music, but it is nice to have it available for those times you may find yourself off line and not in possession of another music device or not want to hassle with another one. Another point in this is if you intend to do any of the fun stuff you can do with music like make sound tracks to movies and such, though that is another post.

For the pictures, again I advocate creating a dedicated folder in your pictures library on your main machine that is for the iPad. Of course, your particular usage pattern will drive how fast you run out of space, but planning ahead with structure that makes it easy to manage makes it better. When you connect your iPad and synch, it will pull these photos over and changes will reflect both ways though a real annoyance is that the iPad only recognizes one folder level with the native photos application. Do not expect to have nested folders and see them separate on the iPad. Break everything into one level down and you will be golden.

An interesting behavior on the photo bit is that the iPad drops all the photos you take into the camera role, which is NOT synched with this album. You can manually pull them over through explorer view and this includes many apps that edit photos, then drop them into the camera folder regardless of where they came from.

Check out all the free podcasts and content for some nice HD content to enjoy on the go and set up the synch to keep at least a few active episodes on the device.

Regarding iBooks – this is a treasure trove of available content. There is a huge selection of free books that you can search for to get started and I found the interface to be great and the layout nice. I will post a dedicated note on the organization here, but don’t miss the ability to create separate collections inside the iBook app.

There is much more on the setup, but I will post some follow ups to break up the content into digestible bits and link them. I am very much enjoying the device and at the same time, a little shocked at some of the simple things missing. All told, it is a great tool and a very fun toy.

Update on Skype - positive traction

Reading the article here, it looks like my previous post is indeed the intended direction. Could it really be so?

Microsoft pledged to keep Skype in all the places it is currently available, including mobile devices that run of the software of two major rivals, Apple and Google. Skype users don't have to pay to install the software on Apple's iPhone, iPad computer tablet or devices running on Google's Android system.
...
The partnership would also bring Skype to the Xbox video game console and has sold 50 million copies, making it the world's No. 2 video game system behind the Nintendo Wii.

Of course, it's all pending regulatory approval and such. One line at the end of the article really tells an interesting story. Regarding the approval, here is the quote. MF Global analyst Paul Gallant said regulators might even view the deal as good for consumers by helping Microsoft compete with Google. Now tell me something, does it strike you as a sign of the times that Microsoft growing is considered a boon for consumers as it helps balance (wait for it) GOOGLE? The empires are shifting. Good times.

Microsoft buys Skype for 8.5 billion

I'm trying to figure out if this is a good or bad thing. Right now, I use skype on my apple, linux, android and windows platforms. Will this go away or is this a part of Microsoft embracing the multi platform world of social media and collaboration?

I want to believe that Microsoft has embraced the new world of multiple platforms and technologies coming together to create seamless collaborative experiences for the world. Am I dreaming of a utopia that cannot exist? So - my thought is that "They" are getting it, and this will be part of the foray into connective technologies across MS boundaries. (Picture background music playing - when you wish, upon a star...)