

Apply for a Google Cr-48 - bound008
http://www.google.com/chromeos/pilot-program.html

======
snarfman
I absolutely love the fact that a laptop fully based around the web is being
denied a caps lock key. Good riddance. I think 99% of its usage (constants
aside) is for trolling/yelling.

~~~
hvs
I like to use it as my Control key, though. I'd be concerned that they would
replace it with something else and I'd have to learn to twist my pinky
unnaturally again.

~~~
commandar
This is exactly what I was about to say. It looks like they've used the caps
lock position for the Fn key on the cr-48, so it looks like this may not be
possible on this unit.

Then again, I guess it's not _that_ big a deal since the ctrl key doesn't
really get used on the web.

~~~
eelco
It looks like a 'search' key actually. Look closely at the fourth screenshot.
Not sure if I'm right, though.

~~~
wahnfrieden
Photos of this laptop leaked several days ago, with greater detail on the
keyboard. It is indeed a search key. The shift key also has a light on it,
suggesting that it can be double-tapped to activate caps lock.

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runinit
They shouldn't put a "country" field on their form if its only open to the
USA. Highly disappointing.

~~~
joshz
Seriously, I got all excited too, however
[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-on-chrome-
web-...](http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-on-chrome-web-store-
and-chrome.html)

"We're starting with the U.S. and will expand to other countries once we get
the necessary certifications. To participate in the pilot program, visit the
Chrome notebook website."

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frisco
Any Googlers here (Matt_Cutts?) in a position to comment on how long we'll be
waiting to hear about this? Because being accepted as a tester would
absolutely make my December.

~~~
jlees
I'm not Matt, but I work on Chrome OS, so that probably counts for something.

However: I don't know the answer to this question. Sorry. We do want to get
pilots their devices as soon as possible though.

~~~
krainboltgreene
I get this tingle in my mind when I think about Chrome OS and it's netbook.
Happened when I first saw the Nexus too.

A chance to present the world with a unified device that access the internet,
doesn't cost much, and is very portable.

~~~
jlees
Thank you.

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51Cards
Why put a country drop down when it's only available in the US? From Canada
here... bah humbug.

~~~
wahnfrieden
Because they're allowing other countries soon (pending some required
certification), so I can forgive them having the country selection
prematurely.

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dvdt
Anyone know the reasoning behind the Cr-48 name? Maybe because that isotope of
chromium is one of the longer lived non-stable isotopes of chromium?

~~~
rudyfink
For a second I thought it was a play on create (Cr348 = Cr-48), but your
explanation sounds better.

~~~
wyclif
For a second I thought it was a play on the name of a protocol droid...

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Andrenid
Very disappointed it's US only (but used to it lately, being Australian).

I'm a heavy Google services user for work & personal (as i'm sure most people
here are), and I start commuting 2hrs each way to work in a month, so
something like this would've been perfect for the commute. I'd happily spend
that time testing the laptop and taking part in feedback. Ah well.

~~~
calloc
I'm a developer and am always looking for the next big platform to develop
for. This sounds absolutely perfect. I definitely agree though that if there
is no text editor local to the machine I wonder how well it could be used for
development, but overall I think it would be interesting to test the device.

------
makmanalp
Cute quiz to measure how addicted you are to the internet?

<http://www.google.com/chromeos/pilot-program-quiz.html>

~~~
draebek
I'm a little irritated by the end of this quiz telling me I'm "addicted to my
desktop" and "why not switch to online alternatives?"

Hey Google, why don't you make it so I can indent lines with tab in Gmail, or
give me some confidence that my e-mails will be properly formatted (i.e. as
required on some mailing lists)? Why don't you make it so I can watch Netflix
in one Chrome window without stuttering when I do some other browsing
simultaneously in a separate window, or make it so I can use global hot keys
to control music playback from random music players in a browser window? Why
don't you make Google Docs work offline? (Announcement of "early 2011" posted
today, at least.) Why don't you make it so I have confidence that I'll be able
to get online and get at my data wherever I am, whenever I need it, without
paying a fortune?

 _That's_ why I'm not switching to more online alternatives: the desktop
applications I still use provide a better user experience and are more
reliable. Google, your question reads like _I'm_ the one with the problem.

~~~
krainboltgreene

        Hey Google, why don't you make it so I can indent lines with tab in Gmail
    

Isn't that your OS/Browsers fault?

    
    
        Why don't you make Google Docs work offline? (Announcement of "early 2011" posted today, at least.)
    

I thought they did this with LocalStorage/Google Gears?

~~~
draebek
> Isn't that your OS/Browsers fault?

I'm using Google Chrome, but that aside, they asked why I don't switch to more
online applications. This is one reason.

> I thought they did this with LocalStorage/Google Gears?

They were doing it with Gears, but they ceased support for Gears--and thus
offline Google Docs--as of like May this year, I believe.

~~~
krainboltgreene
> Gears Yeah, this is because Gears was basically HTML5/localstorage

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zmanian
I can see how I can use this for document/email type work. My version control
system has a web interface so I can review code.

But developers are going to want text editors/a terminal/vcs. I do everything
else on my machine.

I've been thinking of some sort of server in the cloud for this kind of
functionality from tablets....

~~~
kluikens
In no way am I suggesting that it's an equivalent editor, but you may want to
take a look at Mozilla Skywriter (formerly Bespin).

<https://mozillalabs.com/skywriter/>

If I get the chance to be a Chrome OS tester, I'll be giving this a thorough
try.

------
rolotomassi
Did anyone else not receive a confirmation page of any sort? I submitted the
application and was routed directly back.

~~~
cypherpunks01
They botched error handling I think. That happened to me once - turns out my
text field was too long. Cut yours down to 140 characters and re-submit it,
does that give you the confirmation page?

~~~
rolotomassi
Thanks for the suggestion! It worked the second time and did provide a
confirmation page.

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GeneralMaximus
This is different from the bare-bones quiz linked from Chrome's "New Tab"
page. In any case, I filled this new one out too since it lets me actually
tell them I'm a developer.

Yes, I'm desperate ;)

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JulianMorrison
As per usual, all the world's American. This Brit says boo and hiss.

~~~
sudont
There's probably going to be an international trial soon. However, I can
assume the OS will be released in free beta for you to test on your own
hardware.

Since Google's requesting fairly intensive feedback, I can assume it's easier
for their team to track usage in a domestic market.

------
Mithrandir
I guess this is better than hearing about Wikileaks 24/7.

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another_ali
"So if you live in the United States" ... yet the address country box had
Egypt.

désolé

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flexd
getting increasingly annoying that most things like these require that
participants are US residents. Don't you guys care what us Europeans have to
say? I'd would have liked to apply too.

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arihant
They have a country field but no way to change the state. Fail.

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z1pher
Too bad they don't ship to Canada :(

