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Comment Re:Browser Apps are NOT desktop apps (Score 1) 195

Because of convenience. Updates and new features are added automatically, and the developers only have to deploy a single copy to know that everyone has the latest features and bugfixes, instead of having to rely on people updating their local copies. And as long as you have access to a computer with an Internet connection, you have access to the apps you're used to.

Of course there are downsides, but local software has downsides too. It all comes down to your user profile, and for most people, Google docs has all the features they need. For power users, you have locally-installed applications with larger feature sets and harder learning curves.

Comment Re:Language restriction (Score 1) 183

Right, it's definitely not a perfect solution. But then again, Chromebooks aren't really targeted at your type of use case. MS seems to want to resurrect the netbook, with a full Win8/10 installation to compete with Chromebooks. That's probably your best bet for cheap on-the-go development.

Comment Re:So now I've contributed to OSS! (Score 1) 183

True, it's probably niche in the basic number of users. But the people who actually use extFS on their Chromebooks tend to be power users and developers, a lot of the time they are the very people who develop Chrome apps and extensions. That's a niche you do not want to neglect, and I think the Chrome developers realized that.

Comment Re:Recurring fee; antitrust (Score 1) 183

Provided the applications you want to use are ported to Chrome OS as packaged apps. I don't think all apps that I use regularly are ported, but then I'm in a minority because I do software development on my laptop. Would I need to rewrite my apps in JavaScript to develop the overall logic on a Chromebook and then port them back to the target platform on a desktop computer? I was under the impression that developing in anything but JavaScript required SSH.

That's true, but the list of offline-capable Chrome apps is quite long: https://chrome.google.com/webs...

Strictly speaking, you could develop anything in a basic text editor, but I assume you actually want a semi-decent IDE? I don't know of any that aren't javascript-focused on ChromeOS, no.

Sorry, I'm in Denmark, and I know mobile subscriptions vary wildly on either side of the Atlantic. The price you quote is pretty bad, and I assume it limits tethering as well?

I thought the APIs used by most iOS apps were hardcoded to point at iCloud instead of Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive). But then I've never bought an iOS device. Likewise, does Chrome OS allow switching any arbitrary app to use Dropbox or OneDrive instead of Google Drive? Or should people be choosing apps on the basis of which storage provider they support?

I own an iPad, although not by choice. I've had no issues using Google Drive for all my personal stuff, but it's true that device backups etc. are locked to iCloud.

I don't know about ChromeOS, as I don't have a Chromebook yet. I assume the Google apps use Google Drive, and MS apps use OneDrive, but I don't know about other third-party apps.

Comment Re:Is the USA in the cellular first world? (Score 1) 183

Mobile data plans are cheap as chips in most first-world countries

By "most first-world countries", do you include the United States or somewhere else where most able-bodied people born in the United States can easily qualify for a work visa? If so, to which countries are you referring?

Basically all of Western Europe. For instance, here in Denmark my plan is 3GB/month for ~$17, which also includes 5 hours talk time and unlimited SMS and MMS (and we don't pay to receive calls or messages). And there are no limits on tethering. For reference, I work at an ISP/Telco and my subscription is from our basic self-service brand. We've just measured the average data rate of our 4G network to be over 50Mbit/s basically everywhere there's coverage, and peaking at over 100Mbit/s in some areas.

plus odds are you'll have wifi access available in a lot more places than you'd think.

My laptop sees the beacons, but the bus has pulled off before it can finish associating, let alone transferring packets to and from the Internet. And I've found plenty of stores whose public Wi-Fi is limited to 30 minutes, after which the AP's captive portal enforces an hours-long cooldown period before the same MAC can regain an Internet connection. This hurts when I'm waiting for the roommate to finish shopping, eating, or whatever, or if the roommate has run into an old friend from her previous job.

I may be spoiled rotten by our infrastructure, but we actually have APs on the busses and trains, free of charge.

As for the store-provided hotspots blocking access, that's easily circumvented by spoofing your MAC. Not that I would ever engage in such shenanigans ;-)

But really, your use case falls outside of what a Chromebook is meant for.

Which is ultimately my point. Too many laptop makers disappoint me by selling only Chromebooks in the form factor I want, not something that better fits my use case.

There are a handful of Chromebook-targeted Win8.1 laptops out there, and more cheaper versions are on the way: http://www.theverge.com/2014/8...

Personally, I think maybe people are going to be slightly disappointed at their performance, but for $200, you can't really complain, right? A lean Linux distro should perk up the performance nicely.

Comment Re:What browser apps need.. (Score 1) 195

It's the default action for the backspace key for basically every browser ever on Windows, as well as in Explorer windows. I used it that way for a long time, but since switching to Linux where using backspace to go back in history isn't the default, I was annoyed for a little while and then just stopped using it. I have no idea why it's the default on Windows, though.

I did lose a lot of forums posts back in the Windows days due to backspacing while not having the text box focused.

Comment Re:Cellular data charges; SaaSS data mining (Score 1) 183

Mobile data plans are cheap as chips in most first-world countries, plus odds are you'll have wifi access available in a lot more places than you'd think.

But really, your use case falls outside of what a Chromebook is meant for. It's meant for browsing, email, videos, chatting and that sort of thing. You can develop software on in, but it's not ideal, as it was meant for other purposes.

Comment Re:Recurring fee; antitrust (Score 1) 183

it's only in the last couple of years that we have actually gotten there, through wider 3G/4G coverage

Which carries a substantial recurring fee. I already pay for Internet at home. Why should I have to pay again to be able to use my own computer while riding the city bus?

If course, you're not paying to use your own computer, you're paying for Internet access while you're on the go. You can use a Chromebook while offline now, you know.

I may be a bit privileged in this area, as we have free wifi on the busses and trains around here. And my mobile subscription is $17/month, which includes 3GB data. That's actually quite a lot of data, even with heavy use of my phone for tethering and watching Youtube etc., the highest I've ever used in a month is 1.5GB.

Why do you think centralizing computing power is such a bad thing?

Because as implemented, it restricts me from choosing with whom to centralize computing power.

No, it's actually pretty easy to choose where to centralize computing power. Just off the top of my head, you can choose between Google (ChromeOS, Google Drive, Google Docs etc.), Microsoft (Skydrive, Office365, Outlook.com etc.) and Apple (iCloud, iTunes etc.).

Can you install an alternative browser on ChromeOS? No, because the browser is actually the shell. But you can easily use competing web-based services, no problem. So it's pretty much the same situation as with iOS, where you can only install different UIs for the default Safari browser, but nothing's stopping you from installing Google Drive or Dropbox etc. and using them instead of iCloud storage.

And why would Google want to offer alternative data vendors on their platform?

Because a country's competition regulator may decide that Google has market power over operating systems that ship on laptop computers with 10" displays and thus require them to do so.

They already offer access to alternative data vendors, nothing's preventing you from using Outlook.com instead of Gmail and Skydrive instead of Google Drive.

As long as Apple aren't forced to open up the iPhone/iPad platforms, I don't think Google will be forced to open up the ChromeOS platform.

Comment Re:Ditch ChromeOS, focus on Android (Score 1) 183

I think the Lenovo Yoga Chromebook with the screen that folds 360 degrees around to make a superfat tablet is probably the only reasonable touch Chromebook right now. Load up web pages in fullscreen portrait mode and you can browse away kinda like on a tablet. That's probably the only use I can think of, though.

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