
Chrome OS Release Coming Soon? Stable Channel Now Available - dcawrey
http://www.thechromesource.com/chrome-os-release-coming-soon-stable-channel-now-available/
======
dstein
After my attempt at compiling ChromeOS ended in failure I installed a Hexxeh
vanilla release on a 2yr old Intel Atom based PC. And I have to admit, I liked
it, a lot more than I thought I would. Here are some of my thoughts:

\- It irks me quite lot that I need to use a Google account to log into the
OS. If they remove that restriction it'll go a long way to alleviating the
Google-creepiness.

\- In the Hexxeh release I used Flash was not enabled by default, I had to
click a warning message to use Flash on every page, I assume this is fixed by
now

\- There is no user-exposed filesystem and no way to install apps (without
hacking in a console). There is no software, desktop, icons, home folders...
nothing. You totally get this feeling of using an Operating System-Free
computer.

\- The version of Chrome browser that gets installed maybe wasn't the latest
but it certainly does feel fast enough to use, especially on a slow system.
Chrome browser on ChromeOS is significantly faster than IE on Windows on the
same system.

\- HackerNews displays with a serif font presumably because PG doesn't have a
'sans-serif' alternative font in the HN codebase.

\- I have a very strong urge to minimize the browser and see the desktop.

\- The browser does not have a full-screen mode. If you want to watch a
youtube video, there is no way to maximize the video, the tabs and URL bar are
always visible. I found this to be extremely annoying and hopefully gets
added.

\- The browser needs to have a tab split-screen mode. I need to be able to
look at 2 or more windows simultaneously, and the modal restriction gets on my
nerves.

\- To my surprise both audio and my webcam worked, although I had some boot up
issues when the webcam was plugged into the USB port, but I could plug it in
once it was booted up

There are some major usability problems here, but if they get addressed it
could become quite cool. I would totally enjoy having this built into my next
television or monitor.

~~~
Raphael
Full-screen works. F11. You can also Alt+Tab to different windows (of Chrome).

~~~
dstein
Not on my system, I just updated to the latest Hexxeh release and F11 doesn't
go fullscreen and there is no menu option either. But I was mistaken, flash
can go fullscreen.

~~~
dstein
Oops I was mistaken, there is now a fullscreen menu item in the tools section.
Anyways they are certainly making some good improvements.

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kogir
On the ChromeOS notebook (and presumably devices that will launch), everything
works. Flash requires a click because I want it that way, and full screen
works fine (but the screen still dims on a timer, boo). It's actually perfect
for web browsing... but that's it. I still need a real computer for music,
Amazon VOD, video conferencing with family, and of course work.

Had I not been given one for free I wouldn't get one. It might work for
certain people in my family, but so would an iPad, with which it can't really
compete.

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rms
I was incredibly excited for Chrome OS and got one of the free CR-48s from
Google. I like the OS, but thought it was too slow to actually use. I web
browse a little harder than most people, and the CR-48 regularly bogged down
not only on flash, but on complex javascript like Google Docs. It was just too
slow for me to be comfortable on it -- and at the time, my other computer was
a laptop running Windows with a Pentium M 1.5 GHz.

~~~
Lewisham
My impression is that the CR-48 is a reference for the absolutely lowest
minimum spec. I can't imagine Google seriously believe that anyone will sell a
machine with Chrome OS on a machine that struggles on huge consumer sites like
YouTube.

