Marie asked an interesting question about browsers on Twitter this morning
I recently came across Chrome Frame for IE a simple install that works in IE6 (no seriously please tell me you are not running IE6), IE7, and IE8 on Windows 7 and XP (well Vista too, see IE6 comment). Here is a quick video explaining Chrome Frame.
Why use Chrome Frame? If you are on a PC that you can not install Chrome or another browser on, it is a nice way to take advantage of some of the browsers features while still working in IE, specifically HTML5 canvas tags, and Javascript performance improvements.
Recent versions of Chrome Frame are also supposed to work on locked down machines though results seems to be mixed on if it actually installs or not without Admin rights.
You might recall back in December I was the lucky recipient of a Google Chrome CR-48 Notebook. I have been using it quite a bit and it has some really good points among them:
Instant on
Great battery life (8-10 hours of use per charge easy)
Full Keyboard ( not the biggest deal in the world, but nice)
Built in WiFi, and 3G (100 MB free and pay as you go plans)
Light
Based on all this at one point I thought it was almost the perfect Lotusphere machine. Where it is lacking is in two areas.
1. The CR-48 has very limited USB device support, it can not read my camera, or any of the card readers that I own, so there is no way to upload photos.
2. No local storage – again this is really about photos, I take a bunch of them at Lotusphere and I really don’t like to trust them for an entire week on an SD Card. With the CR-48 there is no way to back them up locally or mass upload them to Dropbox or something similar.
So while I have other devices coming with me, my Lenovo S10 Netbook will be making the trip again this year, it is about the same weight as the CR-48, a drop heavier, and decent battery life, but adds a lot in functionality that I need.
All that said, I am sure the USB device support situation will improve over time and as Chrome netbooks hit the market, not sure what if anything they would do about small amounts of local storage. I also believe that unless they bring them to market cheap (I mean less than $100.00 cheap) they won’t even make a dent in the surging tablet market.
I also think a year from now this would not even be a discussion, and tablets will have (even) more apps, and I would not even be looking for a full laptop of any sort for additional functionality.
Yesterday I showed you the unboxing of my new toy courtesy of google, now that I have had a chance to play with it a little, I though I would share some impressions.
The Hardware
To some extent digging too far in to the pros and cons of the CR-48 hardware is a pointless exercise, the CR-48 is a prototype, is is not available for sale, the only way to get it is to apply and be accepted by Google as a tester. When Google does generally release Chrome OS it is expected that partners like Lenovo, Acer and others would develop hardware for it. All that said a little about the hardware, Google describes it like this:
“It’s ready when you are, booting in about 10 seconds and resuming from sleep instantly. There’s built-in Wi-Fi and 3G, so you can stay connected everywhere, and a webcam for video chat. The vibrant 12-inch LCD display, full-size keyboard and oversized touchpad let you enjoy the web comfortably. And at just 3.8 pounds with over eight hours of active usage and a week of standby time, it’s easy to take along for the ride.
What did we leave out? Spinning disks, caps-lock key, function keys, and lap burns.â€
I am seeing boot up times of about 15 seconds, the lack of a caps lock key is really of no concern to me (it just means I won’t enable it accidentally as I tend to do on my PC) and the search button that replaces it is actually pretty useful.
The trackpad is well interesting, last year around this time when I got a Lenovo Netbook, the biggest challenge for me was that it’s only (built in) mouse option was a trackpad. The CR-48 is the same with a trackpad only (it does have a USB port if I get desperate and need a mouse though that is not a practical option on the go). The trackpad on the CR-48 has some quirks. First to click (there are no mouse buttons), you actually have to push the trackpad down, not tap it (the best comparison is it is the difference between using a touch screen device like and iPhone, and the Blackberry Storm where you actually have to push the screen to click). The other quirk is to scroll with in a page you need to use 2 fingers, overall I find that easier then the Lenovo where you drag a specific spot on the trackpad, but I have to train myself to do the 2 finger drag which is taking some time. I had to search the help to find out that to right click, you click the mouse with two fingers instead of one. Overall not the most intuitive mouse gestures in the world for me.
The battery life seems to be as advertised or better, while I have not had the chance to really abuse it yet, it showed 13 hours of life when fully charged, and after a few hours of use still shows 8 hours remaining, I am sure under heavier usage it will be a little less.
There is not much else to the hardware as you can see it is a pretty bare bones machine, with a built in webcam and microphone, the only two connectors available are a single USB port, and a VGA port.
Chrome OS
If you have used the Chrome Browser, for the most part you are familiar with Chrome OS. When you first turn on the machine, after accepting the license agreement you are simply prompted to log in with a google account, both gmail, and Google Apps for Domains accounts are supported. Since I am already using Chrome on my PC, and I Sync my settings, bookmarks, extensions, apps, etc. When I logged in to Chrome OS with that account, the browser had all of my settings. This meant I was really able to pick up and do anything I could do in the browser on my PC in seconds. There is also a guest account options (Chrome incognito mode) which allows you to let someone else you your machine, without gaining access to any of your data.
The trick is, you have to get over the inexplicable urge to minimize the browser, since it can’t be done (remember the Browser is the OS), so anything you want to do must be done in the browser. This sent me off to the Chrome Web Store to see what was available.
Tweetdeck for Chrome gives me for the most part the twitter experience I am used to on my desktop, I found a decent VNC Client. I use LogMeIn for remote access to a couple of machines, which works fine in Chrome, and since I moved my blog to WordPress I can blog through the web interface, or use a plugin like ScribeFire. I am still testing IM solutions mainly looking for a good Skype client, I found one that worked fine for chat, but not for audio or video calls. I am sure as I continue to use the machine I will get a better handle for what other apps, and plugins are available for things I normally do with an installed app on my PC.
I have only used the wifi so far, I have to test the Verizon 3G service and see how it works out, I also am interested to see if they give you a decent way to track your usage to your 100MB monthly free allotment, and the options to pay as you go.
I am not a Chrome OS fan yet, I have not written it off yet either, I am not sure I have concrete thoughts yet on if it is a better tablet, a complement to a tablet, simply another option, or a passing fad. I don’t really know if I can reach that conclusion as the Android tablet market is first really starting to take shape, and will not really take off until Honeycomb is available. The iPad which is dominating the tablet space will get a new version next year as well, surely to include cameras, and who knows what else. We are also yet to see what hardware and price point Chrome OS will enter the market at. In the mean time here are a some other perspectives on Chrome OS.
A couple of weeks ago I applied to be one of the testers for the Chrome Notebook, yesterday when I arrived home I found a box waiting for me, which turned out to be my CR-48.
While it is nice of Google to send me one to test drive, it is an interesting process they are using to distribute them. You fill out the form (currently available to US residents only), and once the form is submitted you get zero feedback, I never received an e-mail confirmation of my acceptance, or any notice of shipment, I just found a box on my doorstep that looked like this:
Even the return address gives no indication as to who sent you the package, since I had no idea I had even been chosen to get one, and it had been well over a week since I filled out the form, I had no idea what was even in the box until I opened it.
Here are some photos of the rest of the unboxing:
The CR-48 has WIFI built in, Google also made a deal with Verizon and is providing 100MB of 3G access free per month, with additional bandwidth available for purchase by the day, or pay as you go with no contract.
I am just starting to play with it now, will post more on it later