chrome os

When it comes to consumer technology, I expect failure. At some point, your tech will break and let you down. But it was my own human error that led me to use one of the new Samsung Chromebooks for the week following Sandy, and it held its own in a couple of specific but widely used situations.

I was in New York for the Windows 8 launch on October 26, and had decided to spend an extra week there for work, but also to see friends. I made a tactical error in leaving my workhorse Windows 7 laptop in the CNET office over the weekend, figuring I wouldn't need it until Monday. I didn't think Sandy's storm surge would wreak havoc on lower Manhattan. … Read more

The Chromebook family of devices welcomed its cheapest member yet into the fold today when Google announced an 11.6-inch netbook from Acer for $199.

The Acer C7 Chromebook joins the Samsung Chromebook and Samsung Chromebook 550 in the current lineup of computers running Google's cloud-based Chrome operating system.

The latest model boasts an Intel processor, full-size keyboard, and clickable trackpad. It has a 320GB hard drive and 100GB of additional storage, free for two years, on Google drive. The C7 boots in 18 seconds and gets 3.5 hours of battery life, Google says.

There are trade-offs involved … Read more

Welcome to the Chrome channel. Google's operating system started off in December 2010 as being little more than all Chrome, all the time. Updates made since then have given Chrome OS users better file format support, faster navigation, revised menus, dramatically improved offline abilities, and a traditional-looking desktop.

But if you loathe the Chrome browser, it's still highly unlikely that you'll enjoy this operating system. On the other hand, if you love Chrome, then Chrome OS is a big heaping helping of Chrome with some extra Chrome on the side and more Chrome for dessert.

Like Chrome … Read more

The latest Samsung Chromebook does, in fact, come with a 3G version. And it's more expensive than the Wi-Fi-only model.

Samsung today posted the Chromebook 3G on its Web site for $329.99. For that price, customers get all of the features available in the Wi-Fi-only model, including an 11.6-inch screen, 2GB of memory, and 16GB of storage, but will have the ability to get on the Interwebs when away from a Wi-Fi signal.

That said, there is a caveat: Samsung is offering only 100MB per month of free 3G data. And that's only for a period … Read more

After using the new Samsung Chromebook for the better part of a workday, I have to say I'm impressed -- as long as you consider the constraints of its $249 price tag.

Google announced the Samsung Chromebook today along with new ambitions to spread its browser-based, cloud-focused Chrome OS laptop much more widely. Google envisions it as good for an extra machine that lies around the house or as a laptop for students.

I find it a reasonable device for those categories, especially for people like myself who already have their head in the Google cloud with Google Docs, … Read more

Google introduced a new 11.6-inch $249 Chromebook today that lowers the entry price and raises the expectations for its Chrome OS products.

Chromebooks are cloud-computing laptops use Google's Chrome OS, which is built on Linux under the covers but which actually runs applications in the Chrome browser. When Google released two second-generation Chrome OS products, the $550 Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook and the $330 Series 3 Chromebox in May, it aimed for increased processing horsepower.

If the Chromebook Series 5 550 drew inspiration from a MacBook Pro, the new Chromebook did so from a MacBook Air. It'… Read more

The Samsung Chromebox Series 3 is the first desktop computer designed specifically for Google's Chrome operating system. And despite its resemblance to Apple's Mac Mini, the Series 3 isn't your average desktop. On this week's episode of Cracking Open, I take you inside the first Chromebox and show you how it's different from a conventional desktop computer.… Read more

Google has taken a new step to significantly expand what Web apps can do -- and thus also lend new muscle to its Chrome browser, Chrome OS browser-based operating system, and Chrome Web Store for finding and buying Web apps.

This week, Google released a new developer version of Chrome 22 that by default enables a technology called Chrome packaged apps.

This foundation is designed to expand what Web apps can do by giving them the standalone look of a native personal-computer app and some native-app privileges that Web apps ordinarily wouldn't have. They load from a computer's … Read more

OK, I'll admit it. I was a little harsh when I reviewed the newest Google Chromebook from Samsung. Why? Because no matter how snappy or quick-booting the Chromebook feels, it's a computer that needs an online connection for most apps. Or, it was.

Now that version 20 of the Chrome browser has been released and Chrome OS 20 is also available, a key app update to Google Drive enables offline Google Docs editing and writing, a feature I sorely missed when I reviewed the system. Now it's here, bearing promises of finally taking Chromebooks where they've never easily gone before: offline.… Read more