Google Chromebook

[Aliblahba]

I had an Asus eeepc 901 (LINUX) that a powerhose. Turned it into a desktop replacement and it held up. Check out all the major sites like cnet.com and cross reference all the reviews.

I think netbooks have taken backseat to tablets.

 

[iop890]

Damn, just spent 250 on a new travel netbook. I would have waited for this if I'd known.

Actually, I take that back. Now that I've actually checked it out, this would be a terrible travel laptop.

 

[presidentcarter]

I was using my friend's lenovo netbook and fell in love with the device.

Just saw the drawbacks, too.

So I'm probably gonna get one of these:

http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/ideapad/s-series/s206/

I have the lenovo s12 netbook that came out a few years ago with the nvidia ion chip. I really like it aside from the weak cpu processor. Not sure if they've fixed the cpu bottleneck in the newer ones.

 

[Aliblahba]

If I had to pull the trigger and buy one right now it would be this:

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...-and-netbooks/asus-eee-pc-1018p-939410/review

Imho, Asus always led the market, with Dell and HP on their heels in the market. For short 2-3 day trips I am fine with just a tablet. Buying tickets, checking emails, games, books and better battery life.

 

[Parlay44]

I like the concept of cloud based computing but the connectivity and coverage just ain't there yet. I'm good with my iPhone and my i7 work laptop. If they get to making a 5-6" iPhone it'll be the perfect portable computing device. The Samsung Galaxy Note is pretty sweet too. I may end up buying a 7" android tablet in the $100 dollar range just for ebooks and light web browsing. Tethered to my iPhone of course.

 

[BudgetGlobetrotting]

Great concept and I'm glad some first-movers are buying it, but I wouldn't recommend it. From a value standpoint, it's hard to beat netbooks. Outside of a faster Chromebook boot-time, netbooks are better in every regard. I've had a cheap $250 Asus netbook running XP since 2009. Beat it to shit in my travels but with a reformat every 12 months, it just won't stop working for me to get a replacement.

 

[saturn]

If you wanna drive a rolls but pay a bit more, get a mac book air. Best devise I ever used by far

 

[ea303]

Im thinking of getting one, and there is some offline usage.

http://www.zdnet.com/yes-you-can-use-the-new-chromebook-offline-7000006103/

 

[AlbertoDelMuerto]

My eeePC won't turn on, but I got a proper desktop so I don't really need netbooks anymore. This one looks really good for the price, but at the end of the day if there's no DVD drive, Nexus 7 16GB is a better option, or even the Kindle Fire HD.

 

[Drazen]

my bro checked it out today at best buy. said there's no netflix on it.

 

[Hencredible Casanova]

This guy replaced his Macbook with a Chromebook.

http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/why-i-left-my-macbook-chromebook-205705?page=0,0

 

[BIGINJAPAN]

Has anyone been using any of the new chromebooks that have come out recently ? Seems like they have really improved since the original launch ?

 

[heavy]

How to get Chromebook with Skype
First, understand I am not a computer programmer. I’ve installed linux on a machine before, but I really didn’t have any idea what I was doing. That said, I love my Chromebook. Everything about it...except...no skype on it. I don’t know if it’s Google or Microsoft being a bitch, or they simply can’t agree on it, but there’s no Skype on the Chromebook, and there may never be. Unless…

You can install and run Ubuntu (a linux OS) on it (alongside of ChromeOS). I have an HP14 Chromebook and found the process extremely simple. I followed the steps in the link below, but if you simply google “Chromebook Ubuntu” you’ll find lotsa resources including step-by-step and youtube videos.
http://www.webupd8.org/2013/12/install-ubuntu-on-your-chromebook-using.html

A couple notes:
(1) I installed the Unity version via the command line below (there are different versions of Ubuntu you can install).
“sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -r precise -t unity -e”

(2) Once I had Ubuntu installed, I had to figure out the trick for switching between ChromeOS and Ubuntu when they’re both running. I believe this may vary depending on your machine. On my HP14, if I’m in Ubuntu, I press CTRL+ALT+F1 (left arrow). If I’m back in ChromeOS, I press CTRL+ALT+F2 (right arrow) which brings you to some weird nerd screen, then CTRL+ALT+F3.

(3) To get skype go to skype downloads for linux and get the “Ubuntu 12.04 (multiarch)” version. Because the standard web browser for Ubuntu sucks, I downloaded the file in ChromeOS then switched back into Ubuntu and installed Skype.

(4) I have tweaked devices before (rooted Android, installed Linux on CPUs)...this process seemed far simpler and less threatening than any of those. At any point I think I could have simply restarted the Chromebook and it woulda been fine.

(5) No Skype had made me consider replacing my Chromebook with a cheap old laptop. This fix saved me and now I have Skype on my super lightweight perfect-size Chromebook.