chill's Journal: Google Chromebook (CR-48) - Part 1

Back in early December last year Google announced a beta/developer program for their ChromeOS program. They were offering free notebook computers running ChromeOS to a limited number of people to test. Never to be one to pass up an opportunity for free toys, I signed up.

While I wasn't chosen in the original batch, it seems I wasn't totally forgotten about. Waiting for me on my desk when I came into work on Monday was a mysterious package without a return address label. Opening it up revealed it was from Google, and it contained a CR-48, a to test the Chrome OS operating system.

About 60,000 Cr-48s were manufactured to be distributed to testers and reviewers in early December 2010. On March 8, 2011, Google Product Management vice president Sundar Pichai stated that the last of the 60,000 Cr-48s had been shipped.

Acer and Samsung are both preparing to ship what are now referred to as "Chromebooks" on June 15th. The hardware specs are basically the same from the CR-48 prototype and the final development units, with a few tweaks. The CR-48 has a single-core Intel Atom, 1 USB and a VGA port, while the retail units have dual-core processors, multiple USB and mini-HDMI ports.

Since what I have is a reference hardware design, I'm not going to focus too specifically on that other than saying that I do like it. It has a very good feel to it, and using it as a reference I can guess that I'd like either the Samsung or Acer even better, with them being slightly thinner and lighter. But, I'm talking mostly about aesthetics, which is a matter of personal taste.

The real question is, is the hardware up the the job? The short answer for the CR-48 is "almost". I suspect the change to a dual-core processor on the retail units will change that to a "yes". The long answer is much more interesting, because it is challenges fundamental definitions of the current computing model. More on that in Part 2.

My tests consisted of doing what I normally do on the web. Web browsing, including some Javascript-heavy sites; watching video on YouTube, Hulu and Amazon; using interactive Flash-based interfaces such as Tenable's Security Center -- the Enterprise control center for Nessus; document editing and HTML/CSS/JS development.

My criteria were simple. Remember, I'm talking about hardware only here. Did the CR-48 have the tools needed for me to do my job? Did it perform without noticably straining, lag or delay? This is where we get the "almost" from.

First things first. I signed in and checked for updates. The version of ChromeOS on the unit was from December, and there have been several updates since then. The system took care of itself, updating in two steps quietly in the background to the latest release. On to the tests.

I had no problem smoothly streaming video from Hulu or YouTube at resolutions up to 720p. Watching both animation, such as an episode of the Simpsons or the trailer for Kung Fu Panda 2, and non-animated video like an episode of Seinfeld, both displayed fine.

BUT, going to the Kung Fu Panda 2 website, which is nothing but Flash and had the HD trailer embedded in the middle of the screen, cause the video to be choppy and sluggish. This is where I think the dual-core on the retail units will help. That being said, the Tenable Security Center interface is Flash-based and it responded without issue. Of course, it doesn't have everything moving and a video in the middle of it at the same time.

Google Mail, Maps, Calendar, Docs, Yahoo Mail, Zimbra and Turbo Tax Online are all javascript-heavy sites. I had no issues with any of them either rendering correctly or noticable delays in operation. Everything was snappy and crisp.

None of my other tasks did anything to stress the hardware. This machine isn't going to be playing the latest Call of Duty, but then again it isn't designed for it.

The bit I'm really interested in, from a work perspective, is the Citrix Connector which isn't available to the public, yet. This was highlighted at the recent Google I/O conference and is disabled in the current version of ChromeOS. I expect to see it made available on or before the date the official retail units ship.

In Part 2 I'll delve into the entire Cloud paradigm as Google is presenting it, and my experiences with it.

Sweet

[Shadow Wrought]

It actually sounds like a nice setup. I would primarily be using it for writing. Did you, perchance, try picasa on it? I'm curious how well that would do.

Re:

[chill]

There is a Picasa "webapp" for it, that I loaded but haven't had time to play with, yet. It is on my list for when I get home tonight.

Here is the Google Chrome Web Store [google.com] where various themes and apps reside. They also work on Chrome-the-browser.

Two questions :

[RockDoctor]

First one is a hardwarish one, which I'll do a bit of research on myself ; second one more softwareish. Second first, just to be confusing : since I frequently work in areas where WiFi is strictly banned (radio silence is required when explosives being handled ; feel free to approach the paperwork for getting an exemption, it'll take months of your several week assignment), mobile telephony is academic (radio silence, plus being hundreds of miles for the nearest cell tower, and Iridium doesn't work inside s

Re:

[chill]

mini-HDMI to VGA cables can be had for < $20, so you could use your existing monitors.

The system has the ability to totally disable the radios, so getting radio silence should be easy. The built-in bluetooth isn't fully exposed, yet, but I expect it to be made available shortly via a simple software update.

Yes, Google Docs supposedly has an "offline" mode that allows for certain operations when not connected. I haven't played with it extensively, but it is on my list of things to put thru their paces.

Re:

[RockDoctor]

Very interesting. sounds a worthwhile piece of kit to look at. It would certainly open up some major cans of worms for the developer market. A whole lorry load of industrial-scale catering cans of big juicy worms.

Pass the can opener.

Re:

[RockDoctor]

From a TechCrunch article [techcrunch.com], "Gmail, also known as Google Mail, is a free email service with innovative features like âoeconversation viewâ email threads, search-oriented interface and plenty of free storage (almost 7.7GB). Gmail openedâ¦"

Apart from people who've only used the demented compulsory-top-posting un-threaded mail reader from that little company in Seattle, who would consider email threading to be "innovative".

From a PCWorld article [pcworld.com], "a mini-VGA port, " not mini-HDMI ; I don

Re:

[chill]

I personally like HDMI. Mostly because it combines video and audio in one cable. Nothing touches my monitor that has DRM, so I don't care about that part.

The 3G is going to depend on the carrier. I have T-Mobile for a cell phone, so that means GSM and I can either tether the Chromebook or activate a hotspot. So, I don't really use the Verizon CDMA 3G, but it is nice to have the option.

Without cheating and looking it up, I can't remember is Tanzania is an old British colony or old French one. Either way

Re:

[RockDoctor]

Tanzania was a German colony that Britain took over after World War 1 (We actually had to shift a couple of gunboats into the African lakes as part of the war there. Overland. Using nothing but muscle power. There's stories to be told there.) ; most of the Francophone parts of Africa are on the other coast.

Yes, it'll be hot. Winter in Canada, summer in Tanzania ; I really need to get that work in Antarctica for my autumns!

HDMI puts sound and vision down the same cable ... but that's exactly how TVs have a

Re:

[chill]

Winter in Canada, summer in Tanzania? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you might want to try that the other way around. :-)

HDMI combines a 1080p video signal with up to a 7.1 audio signal, and can even squeeze in a fast-Ethernet signal all in one cable. (For TVs with the built-in Tivo, etc.)

I like 'em because from my little XBMC box mounted on the back of the TV needs just one short cable to send HD video and stereo audio over. I hate cable clutter. Now that I added a 5 GHz capable USB wifi ad

Re:

[RockDoctor]

Winter in Canada, summer in Tanzania? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you might want to try that the other way around. :-)

The client in Canada had a rig (actually belonging to TransOcean, of BP Maconado infamy, not that that matters) available in winter ; so they drilled in winter. Similarly, the Dafora (I think) rig for Tanzania didn't become available until around a month ago, and is in the process of being moved to the site, so they drill in summer. I don't get a say in these matters.

If I ha