

Google ChromeBook Review: ChromeBomb? - Stefandweitz
http://stefanweitz.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/chromebook-review-ready-for-primetime-if-primetime-is-saturday-at-3am/
Google ChromeBook not ready for primetime...
======
Pewpewarrows
I can't even begin to comprehend the stupidity that went into this blog post.

The entire point of the Chromebook is that your OS is constantly updated, and
you're complaining about it updating when you start it for the first time?
Also: rich coming from someone that works for Microsoft. A fresh install of
Windows has nearly a gig of updates to download.

It tells you what product you're using after booting for the first time? You
know, like basically every product in existence? Let me introduce you to the
dozens of Welcome to Windows screens you get after installing your company's
OS.

I honestly didn't think it was possible for someone to physically complain
about getting a free taste of 3G service, but there you go on your silly
little rant.

Yes, it's not without its flaws. But for what it's aiming to do: be an
extremely accessible internet-browsing laptop that has absolutely zero IT
overhead, it's a great first shot as a flagship product. Give it 6 months to a
year for a lot of the kinks to be worked out, some better file-system
interaction, third-part offline Chrome apps to come out, and for the prices to
drop a little. Or don't, because you clearly already made your mind up about
the product before even laying a finger on it.

~~~
recoiledsnake
>The entire point of the Chromebook is that your OS is constantly updated, and
you're complaining about it updating when you start it for the first time?
Also: rich coming from someone that works for Microsoft. A fresh install of
Windows has nearly a gig of updates to download.

Chromebook was touted as something that doesn't need updates(especially the
ones that need full reboots) in the media. The MS guy might have wondered how
that was possible, and boom, gets hit by a long update that needed a reboot.
How is that rich?

>I honestly didn't think it was possible for someone to physically complain
about getting a free taste of 3G service, but there you go on your silly
little rant.

He is right to complain about the really low limit of 100MB when it takes all
your personal info(and gets stuck in a loop!).

>Or don't, because you clearly already made your mind up about the product
before even laying a finger on it.

Huh, he did lay a finger on it, he used it. Did we read the same article? And
you were calling his blog post stupid. Now that's rich.

~~~
sorbus
> >Or don't, because you clearly already made your mind up about the product
> before even laying a finger on it.

> Huh, he did lay a finger on it, he used it. Did we read the same article?

What I believe the grandparent meant was that the author had already made his
decision before using it, and that having made his decision of how to view it
he then proceeded to view it in that way. This is as opposed to the ideal of
reviews, in which the reviewer forms opinions on the usability and quality of
a product solely through interaction with a product.

------
bphogan
I paid half that money for an ASUS eee-pc a couple of years ago that had all
of those problems. The only difference is I don't have 3G service or 100mb
free with it. But it runs Chrome slowly, loses WIFI a lot, has a terrible
trackpad, and hangs any time I look at any page with Flash on it.

There is honestly something to be said for an iPad without Flash. I keep
trying to convince myself that I want a lightweight laptop instead, but
everything I've tried is a letdown. I'm glad I saved my $500.

~~~
cbr
Wierd; flash does fine on my first gen eee (as long as I use flashblock and
only run it when I need to)

------
juiceandjuice
I got mine June 7th too from Gilt. I'm contemplating trying to return it, I'm
not sure how returns work out with Gilt though after you've opened a box. The
other option is to give it to my parents/little sister as a good machine they
can never screw up, but I'd kind of like that $500 back.

~~~
jeremymims
I'd be careful about giving this computer to your family. It sounds good, but
there are some issues:

\- Your family can't screw up the software, but they're not going to
understand that they can't run a bunch of programs they'd expect.

\- Woe to the guy/gal who lets his/her family's wi-fi connection go down.
(EDIT: Specifically your modem and router)

\- There are serious compatibility issues with Google apps. Just try sending
yourself a powerpoint or word document and see what I mean. It can be really
frustrating trying to collaborate with someone if they're not also working in
Google apps.

\- Printing is going to be an insane pain in the ass and for some reason
that's something that's really hard to troubleshoot far away.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Uh, have you read about Cloud print?

I hate printers, printers in Linux have actually been easier than printers in
Windows for me lately if you're willing to walk to the printer and determine
the IP Address or hostname.

But Cloud Print makes it stupid simple. Install it on your desktop connected
to the printer via basic USB, then login to your Google Account. You can now
print to that printer anywhere in world from Chrome. Seems pretty easy to me.

~~~
jeremymims
The assumption is that you've set up a desktop Windows machine. Printers are
fickle things at best, made cheaply, and have mechanical in addition to
software problems.

He's either got to buy a compatible printer (extra cost) or set up a windows
machine too. It probably has to be on. Not the end of the world (and might be
just right considering the family computer situation), but I stand by the
notion that there are more potential points of failure.

~~~
drivebyacct2
I don't see how it's any more difficult to set-up a printer with a Chrome
device than it is with a regular desktop, especially for a random noob user.
It's just not that hard, even if you opt against Cloud Print.

~~~
drivebyacct2
Oh come on, at least tell me what's wrong with the post if you're going to
downvote it? Even if we leave of Cloud print entirely, how is it harder for a
user to configure a printer with this than it is with any conventional laptop?
Surely you don't think the Windows process of downloading a 200MB driver
hidden in a manufacturer's website is easier than the Chrome utility?

------
shotgun
I received mine on the 8th and I love it. While it is true that the file
manager is missing a lot of functionality I think the real problem that Chrome
OS brings to the fore is the severe lack of good Chrome apps.

Also, I had no problem getting past the fourth step in the trackpad training
tab, unlike the OP who was probably experiencing a PEBKAC exception.

~~~
stanleydrew
Severe lack of good "Chrome apps"? Every web app that has ever existed is a
"Chrome app."

~~~
benologist
Chrome Web Store - installable, available offline apps/games:

<https://chrome.google.com/webstore>

~~~
stanleydrew
As far as I am aware all "Chrome apps" are available via good old URLs. Yes
"installing" a "Chrome app" may give the client code access to more
caching/offline functionality. But these apps should work just fine without
that as well. It just seems odd to lament the dearth of chrome apps as a
problem when the whole point of ChromeOS is to give you a web browser without
anything extra. You just keep using all the same web apps you always have.

~~~
benologist
They come in two kinds - hosted which is what you're referring to, and
packaged which is actually downloaded / (primarily) self-contained.

------
tzs
OT, but is anyone else tired of that Onswipe theme that so many sites seem to
force on you if you visit them on an iPad? It wouldn't be so bad ifbthe link
at the bottom to go to the normal site worked.

~~~
jasonlbaptiste
hey, two things and we're working on them:

a) Scrolling sucks since it has to use momentum scrolling. None of the current
WP implementation uses Swipecore, our framework for touch publishing. This
will fix a lot and is actually quite pleasant

b) Opt-out link should work. Going to submit a fix for this soon.

Feel free to talk more indepth: j@onswpe.com

------
zitterbewegung
Weird, I have a cr-48 and I encountered the same problems with Verizon
activation. You think they would have figured this out.

------
danbmil99
Hmm, I was in the beta and I thought this would be a good buy at say $150.
$500? they must be mad.

------
jrockway
You have to take this in stride. As an example, have you ever bought a laptop
with a built-in WWAN card? Lots of hassle and custom software to "activate"
your device. Activating my Thinkpad X220 took nearly two hours on the phone
with Sprint, because they were convinced that there was no way a Thinkpad
could use Sprint. Only Dell. And of course there was no interface like "log
into your Sprint online account to activate this thing". Nope, "call some
random people that know nothing about computers and maybe you'll get it to
work." Wonderful user experience, and that's with Windows 7 from Microsoft
right there. (I erased Windows after this step, of course.)

And of course, many manufacturers don't even allow dongle-free 3G at all --
good luck getting a MBP with Sprint service.

The same goes for most of the points. Yeah, it has a shitty wifi card. Of
course it does, so does nearly every laptop ever made. Yeah, it needs updates.
Do you think for $500 they personally hand-inspect each device before shipping
it to you, making sure it's up to date? Nope, they burn the OS image to a
million hard drives 3 months before the release date.

When you spend $500 on a computer, it's not going to be very good. Chrome,
Windows, or otherwise.

~~~
a3_nm
> When you spend $500 on a computer, it's not going to be very good.

Uh? The two last machines I bought were under $500 and they're working pretty
well. Price and quality aren't always correlated.

~~~
jrockway
Did you get an SSD for that price? Probably not.

That's the compromise that the reviews were complaining about. It's instant-
on, but there is only 16G of space. Well, if you paid $100 more, then you'd
have 80G of space and it'd be instant-on. Or, you could have 500GB of space,
but it wouldn't be instant-on anymore.

The less something costs, the more compromises there are. That's all I'm
saying.

~~~
a3_nm
Actually, to be precise, one of the machines was an early Eee PC, costing 300
EUR, with a 4 GB SSD. :-P

~~~
jrockway
Yeah, the 901 was a nice machine. Great screen, working wifi, and very light.
I "replaced it" with a newer Eee PC last year, but the newer model was more
expensive, had the same CPU, was heavier, and had a much shittier screen.
Worst laptop ever.

I replaced _that_ with a Thinkpad X220, and it blows both of them away. (But
it cost twice as much.)

------
mrbill
The big thing for the ChromeBook for me is the price. It shouldn't cost more
than a more fully-featured notebook. $250 - I'd be all over one. $500? No
thanks.

------
Luyt
The author starts with a disclaimer _"I do work for Microsoft so you can
expect bias"_ and ends with a conclusion like _"we can absolutely dismiss this
thing because of its shitty OS."_

Maybe because it's not running Windows?

~~~
recoiledsnake
Maybe. But why not address his points before knocking someone that did full
disclosure?

------
aelaguiz
This review is absolutely asinine, which is clear regardless of your leanings
towards the concept of a browser-as-an-os device. It'sa thinly veiled one-
sided lash-out against a new technology which is apparently disruptive to MS's
(or at least this blogger's) world view.

~~~
Maro
I thought it was informational, he gave his first impressions.

I don't think just because you're a Microsoft employee your opinions should
automatically be discarded regarding competitor's products because they may be
tainted. Also, since MS competes with virtually everyone, by your standards,
this guy could pretty much close down his blog for good.

------
niels_olson
Anyone tried switching one of these machines to Ubuntu? I'm in the process of
moving my Cr-48 over.

[http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2011/04/ubuntu-1104-for-
cr...](http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2011/04/ubuntu-1104-for-cr-48-is-
ready.html)

------
magicalist
meh. I would argue that the title is editorializing ("bomb" appears nowhere in
the blog post), but I suppose it's the original author submitting. Maybe add a
"BREAKING!!" next time to really get the votes?

I've only gotten to use a CR48, but I thought it was fine, if a little
underpowered. Engadget liked the new samsung pretty well[1], just thought it
was somewhat underpowered, and Gizmodo liked it alright but also thought it
was underpowered[2]. Both talked about missing the features that weren't there
yet (like offline support), but that are coming.

To the author: if you have to include phrases like "What amazes me most is the
number of reviews I’ve seen today that overlook the fatal flaws", yes, it
could be that they're all suffering from groupthink, or they're too forgiving,
or they're bad at their jobs.

On the other hand, this machine could just not be for you. Honestly, why did
you even think it was? You're bitching about having to wait on the network to
load a document...I think you could have figured out you were going to have to
do that without even getting a chromebook. People are pointing out your
statement about working at Microsoft (and google has done a little baiting
there, so I understand), but I think the real crux is right here: "I’m also a
computer scientist from the days of old with a fetish for hardware".
Yeah...there a lot better ways to spend your money.

[1] [http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/10/samsung-chromebook-
series...](http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/10/samsung-chromebook-
series-5-review/) [2] [http://gizmodo.com/5810831/samsung-series-5-chromebook-
built...](http://gizmodo.com/5810831/samsung-series-5-chromebook-built-for-
the-future-searching-for-purpose-in-the-present)

------
spot
better title: "microsoft employee doesn't like chromebook"

------
drivebyacct2
>Oh right – the one where Google announces the desktop OS dead in favor of a
networked computer that uses the browser as the OS. It is precisely because
they’ve made this an OS play that we can absolutely dismiss this thing because
of its shitty OS.

Oh sure, I remember that being precisely how Google phrased all of this.

