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Chromebook Gets "OK Google" and Intel's Easy Migration App

Posted by samzenpus on from the try-it-out dept.

An anonymous reader points out that Chromebook users just got a couple of early gifts. "Chromebooks have had a good run thus far in their history, and most recently they've had a stellar year of sales – famously beating out Apple's iPad. However, Google is not stopping there, as the company has decided to include and integrate 'OK Google' into their Chromebook tablets. As it turns out, the feature was possible all along with the code that had been included in the operating system, but was hidden well from users' direct line of sight. Intel has also shown a lot of support for Chromebooks, and the company has now released the Easy Migration app that will fittingly migrate data between Windows devices, iOS devices, and Android devices. The only catch is that users will have to be running a Chromebook that hosts an Intel processor. Intel has provided a website to check if your device is compatible, but it will surely be a significant hit for the Chromebook."

35 comments

  1. Famously something something something Burton Ward by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So did Intel write this press release or was it Google?

  2. Chromebook tablets? by Enry · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What are those? I know about chromebooks and I know about Android tablets.

    1. Re:Chromebook tablets? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's kinda telling to me that Chromebook's leading metric is against a totally different form factor with what I would imagine as a different purpose. And I'm not saying that in a good way.
       
      I guess I was right to shrug off Chromebook. They may get market share but it sounds like they're getting it for being a tablet with a keyboard more than for being a laptop.

    2. Re:Chromebook tablets? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      pretty much I'd say. My c720/i3 is handily replacing the next to useless tablets. Well tablets are nifty until it comes time to input something, and something with a keyboard as an afterthought or even half-assedly designed(Surface) don't work as well as something designed from the get go to primarily have a keyboard/mouse input.

      I've also dev-moded/croutonized mine so I've also got linux running, hence my choice of an i3 to potentially make it useful as a linux notebook as well, and swapped the SSD to a more useful size(128GB). I use it as a chromebook in many instances where I MIGHT have used a tablet in the past. I've got to say that I just find that chromebook FAR more generally useful than any of my tablets* which will now be backup ereaders/PDF specific readers.

      the 11.3" chromebook is pretty small and light and used as a chromebook it gets incredible battery life, ~8.5h. Using linux and doing heavier work does cut down on this quite a bit but it still lasts quite a bit longer than my "heavier" haswell notebooks, which is what I was looking for: tablet form factor, long batt runtime, light, and small.

      Now my only missing wish is slotted RAM, i5/i7 options, and even smaller than 11" form factor. I don't care about cramped kb as long as it has one and one that was designed to be there in the first place.

      OH yeah, those ARM chromebooks: perf isn't al that wonderful and gets worse when you go to higher res screens, plus linux it limits you possibly more than you might think if you use anything non-OSS, i.e. not able to compile yourself. In my case I'm mostly thinking steam as the HD 4400 can do some light gaming, but there do exist some other proprietary packages that other might use that are only x86.

      The bay trail celeries aren't much better than arm either other than being able to run x86 binaries.

      So for best perf, cheap: haswell celeries, some perf/not so cheap: i3 (Dell/Acer ATM), insanely expensive: Google Pixel(Ivy i5) but still not slotted ram and damned harder to open to swap SSD plus not so great batt runtime.

      As a note if perf doesn't matter much the older Acer C710(some models) and C7(IIRC) with celerons have slotted RAM AND SATA hdd option. I almost looked for a used one to buy, but decided that I needed/wanted more than a celery. (i3 is more or less double the perf of the celery with little impact on batt runtime, nor has the 128GB SSD shown any measureable decrease in batt runtime, just running linux does though but I suspect that I could get ~5h running that.)

      * I've got the gamut of originally cheap china tabs to more recently samsung then 2013 nexus 7 so it's not like shit tablets completely, but they've ALL had the same problem, which is shared by "smart"phones: want to enter something semi-complex? have fun. Adding to the misery swiping as entry seems to have been ebonified over the years, as in the past when I swiped in fairly complex words I would get that word, nowadays I get some shit, and god forbid IF you forget to turn off autocorrect.

  3. OK Google? by Roodvlees · · Score: 1

    What is that?
    Internet says it's voice commands, I don't have a smartphone.

    --
    Thank you, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and so many others, for courageously defending humanity, my freedom and more!
    1. Re:OK Google? by quenda · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It means Google has given up, and admitted that they are listening to everything you say.
      I'm opening up my chromebook to install a hardware switch on the microphone wire.
      (Goes without saying that there is already duct tape over the webcam. )

    2. Re:OK Google? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Basically the idea is you walk up to your Chromebook, and without touching anything you say "OK Google what are my appointments today?"

      The Chromebook will then say "About 15,700,000 results (0.39 seconds) "Ok Google" and voice search - Search Help - Google Help support.google.com â ... â How to use the app Google For example, say "Ok Google" do I need an umbrella tomorrow" to see if ... Note: You need to have Google Now turned on for some of these examples to ... Create a Google Calendar event: "Create a calendar event for dinner in San Francisco, Saturday at 7 PM." See your upcoming bills: "My bills" or "My Comcast bills 2013. Google now https://www.google.com/landing... Google Google Now brings you the information you want, when you need it. Ok Google now, what's my next appointment no longer working ... forums.androidcentral.com â Motorola Android Phones â Moto X (2013) Aug 26, 2014 - 9 posts - âZ3 authors Anyone else having trouble with "Okay Google Now, what's my next appointment?" It stopped working for me about a week ago. It was one of ... Google Now - Show me appointments for this week and ... 25 posts Oct 13, 2013 Assist - Meetings not working? - Android Forums at ... 21 posts Aug 21, 2013 More results from forums.androidcentral.com How to get the best out of Google Now - Digital Trends www.digitaltrends.com â Mobile Jul 28, 2014 - If you'd like to know how to properly set up Google Now and learn about ... If you have a Nexus 5 or you install the Google Now Launcher then you can simply say âoeOk Googleâ on your home ... When is my next appointment? [Q] Why is Google Now not telling me "w⦠| Samsung Galaxy S III ... forum.xda-developers.com/.../google-telling-whats-appointment-t18880... Sep 15, 2012 - 10 posts - âZ7 authors I have been trying to get Google Now to tell me what my next appointment is but all it ever seems to do is web search and not actually look at ... 6 Tips For Getting Started With Google Now - Gizmodo gizmodo.com/6-tips-for-getting-started-with-google-now-1634... Gizmodo Sep 20, 2014 - Here are seven simple steps you can take to turn Google Now into your personal ... to remind you that you're about to be late for an appointment. ... Voice allows you to turn your tablet into a hands-free device: with OK Google Detection, you ... Commands like "Show me all of my photos from Kalamazoo" or ... The Ultimate Guide to Using Google Now as Your Personal ... nexus5.wonderhowto.com/.../ultimate-guide-using-google-now-as-your-... Dec 6, 2013 - Google Now is more expansive and feature rich than ever before, and it's built ... Next Appointment - Info for nearing Google Calender Events. ..... off my HTC One, the first thing I do is unlock my device and say, "OK Google". Google Now tip: say "Show me my calendar" : Android - Reddit www.reddit.com/r/.../google_now_tip_say_show_me_my_calendar... reddit Nov 25, 2013 - I got a card displaying a lot of my upcoming events and it read off the date, time, ... "ok google, show me a list of everything i can tell you to do.". Google Now nearly on your computer with Google's voice ... https://gigaom.com/.../google-...... Nov 27, 2013 - In Android 4.4, you can speak the âoeOK Googleâ hotword and perform a ... I was also able to get Google to recite my next scheduled appointment, ... Why it's time for Google to fix Google Now â" Tech News ... https://gigaom.com/2014/03/......

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    3. Re:OK Google? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 4, Informative

      samzenpus was too lazy to include a link on "OK Google" and now we'll get dozens of pointless "just fucking search it yourself" replies from people who cannot understand that it would have taken samzenpus about 10 seconds to add a link but instead we'll have dozens and dozens of people wasting minutes searching for something.

      The Web is supposed to be links. I know this is Slashdot and we're supposed to be nerds, but not everyone uses the same hardware, the same software or work in the same fields. Some readers are not even in IT. I do no expect authors to put links on really basic terms like "RAM" or "Hard drive" but there's still a minimum of effort that authors need to do.

      --
      Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    4. Re:OK Google? by leonbev · · Score: 2

      It's a voice search tool that seems to work a hell of a lot better than Siri.

      Seriously, find a buddy with an iPhone or newer iPad and try it yourself. Do a search on Siri, and then install the Google app and try the same searches. I consistently get better results with Google.

      Siri ends up doing a web search on anything but the most basic of questions, so you might as well just cut out the middle man and ask Google directly.

    5. Re:OK Google? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find myself using it a good deal now to set alarms, especially when I'm cooking(on my phone). it even does offset alarms pretty good, i.e. set alarm X minutes from now versus set alarm for X:YZ a/pm on PQR.

      In the past when I'd get a new phone or OS update I'd just poke it once or twice then never use it again. Hell I look at Google Now more than OK Google until recently for alarms.

      The problem that I really find is that what documentation exists for Android/Chrome(MUCH less at least for consumer) is always outdated, so to find the latest features you really need to track the blogs to find that one diamond in billions of words of mostly useless cruft.

    6. Re:OK Google? by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      Why are you cooking on your phone? Does it run really hot so you use it like a griddle?

    7. Re: OK Google? by Russ1642 · · Score: 1

      I looked it up. There's no program or app called Ok Google. It's called Google Now. No wonder everyone's confused.

    8. Re:OK Google? by Teckla · · Score: 2

      It means Google has given up, and admitted that they are listening to everything you say.

      Obviously, it needs to listen so it knows when you say, "OK Google." Also, it's trivially easy to turn off. Lastly, you can clearly see there's no Internet traffic (uploading of audio) unless and until you say, "OK Google."

      I'm opening up my chromebook to install a hardware switch on the microphone wire.

      Are you doing the same on all your smartphones, tablets, and laptops, too? Or are you just paid to write anti-Google posts? Does it pay well?

      (Goes without saying that there is already duct tape over the webcam. )

      It goes without saying you're wearing a tinfoil hat to stop government mind control rays from getting into your brain, too.

      How you got modded +5 is beyond me. Damn mods on crack again.

    9. Re:OK Google? by quenda · · Score: 1

      OK grumpy, I'll speak more literally. Google has all my emails, much of my we browsing, my searches. My photos are backed up to google drive.
      Their computers know my appointments. I've opted in to Google Now, so my phone tracks my movements and tells me its a 20 minute drive to that place I looked up on google maps on the PC.
      Like a human PA, Google knows more about me than my wife does. It's convenient, but a little scary sometimes.

          The always-on microphone is a metaphor for that.

  4. OK WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok Google - time to Google Ok Google.

  5. false summary is false by Noah+Haders · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ""Chromebook's have had a good run thus far in the history, and most-recently they've had a stellar year of sales – famously beating out Apple's iPad."

    That's great except that the claim that Google Chromebooks "overtook" Apple in U.S. education is false.

    Based on IDC's reported numbers, Apple's U.S. education sales of Mac and iPads were not only larger than the corresponding, combined shipments of Android and Chrome OS products, but the "slight lead" Apple had over Google was a margin 172.6 percent greater than the unit differential that Garrahan and Bradshaw directed attention to in their article.

    Additionally, Chromebooks are not even Apple's most significant competitor in eduction, nor are Chromebooks a fledgling new initiative; Google's Chromebook initiative originated before the iPad, it just has never gained any real traction as a product.

    1. Re:false summary is false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Replying before you get modded into oblivion for bringing facts to the discussion that don't go with the bought-and-paid-for narrative that Google is winning everywhere.

      Just saying, someone is going to ding you for posting a story that is pro-Apple from AppleInsider. Never mind that he uses the market research from companies that are constantly fudging the numbers in favor of Apple's competitors to make his point...

    2. Re:false summary is false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not just that it's pro-Apple and from AppleInsider, it's that it's written by Daniel Eran Dilger, who is a man not well-acquainted with good journalistic practice, writing fanboy hagiography more generally.

      However, I'm not going to disagree that the article is wrong at least in so far as it doesn't qualify 'famously beating out Apple's iPad' in any way at all; we are only being generous in suggesting it refers to the education sales story.

      It's a rubbish article we have here, so I suppose it's fair to rebut it with an article from AppleInsider, which is well known for reality-distortion-field nonsense even when it's not being written by DED or by DED under an undisclosed pseudonym.

    3. Re:false summary is false by ECXStar · · Score: 2

      Google is paying IDC a LOT of money to juggle the numbers to show one tiny slice of the market where Google succeeded. Google is not beating Apple with tablets anymore than Apple is beating Google with online services. If they were, you would see Google chrome books and tablets everywhere and the rare spotting of an iPad. Also, every fanboy (Google or Apple) deserves to post whatever they want. Simply put, the narrator of this post didn't do his research, Google is not beating Apple on the notebook or tablet front. Google does own anything search, online apps, maps, etc.. And thats saying a lot.

    4. Re:false summary is false by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      I've read your reponse three times and it looks like you're responding to an entirely different claim:

      Their claim: Chromebooks out-sold iPads.

      Your apparent rebuttle: Apple's combined laptops and tablets outsold laptops and tablets running Google platforms in one sector, education, according to an Apple advocacy site.

      Their claim may be easy to knock down, I don't know: it's unsourced, and it certainly sounds a little odd (the iPad is a remarkably popular platform, for it to be beaten by something most people seem to have never heard of seems strange and is either wrong, or we've severely underestimated the Chromebook's widespread appeal), but you don't appear to address it in any way whatsoever, and the argument you do make lacks a credible source.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    5. Re:false summary is false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I took a couple of freshman college classes recently(changing major) and I see 3x types of devices in the classroom: 50% Windows Laptops 25% Mac Books 25% Chromebooks

      For clarification: that's 0% Apple iPad and 0% Android Tablets.

      Cell phones are 50/50 mix of iPhones and Android(usually Samsung).

      The only time I ever see iPads in public are people taking awkward photos at tourist hotspots and middle aged business people watching movies on flights. The only time I ever see Android tablets in public are guys with pocket protectors, and poor foreigners(non-english speaking) on flights. At-least as common are kindles and nooks, which I don't count as tablets or Android devices but "eReaders"(regardless of OS foundation).

      People get tablets as presents and then quickly realize they want an eReader or Chromebook for the supposed use case they fill. Their battery lives are shit. That's it actually, but that's enough.... Nobody is going to remember to charge a 4000mAh tablet battery off a 1000mA wall charger just so they can get 2 hours of use from it on the airplane. Tablets also have shitty keyboarding experience which for power users is immediately obnoxious, and for everyone else comes as an epiphany when they are lying in bed with their tablet and want to write an email. They frown, think about it, and walk in to the other room to get their laptop out of their bag. From that point forward, their tablet stays in/on their nightstand(sometimes even plugged in to it's charger!) to be ignored until it's so out of date to be embarrassing.

      Average hours of use before a tablet becomes a forgotten toy? Answer: ~10

      I've owned 3x tablets, 3x netbooks, and a chromebook. The tablets were universally unsatisfying. While the netbooks had their "time in the sun", the idea of "mobile" Windows 7 is sort of laughable to me at this point because the only "mobile" application I use is a web browser.

      That is why Chromebooks were invented! I "powerwash" the damn thing everytime I'm about to go through airport security, connect to the shadiest Free WiFi hotspots, and am totally unconcerned with drive by downloads, MITM attacks, malware, trojans, updating Java, installing browser updates, or having my online banking credentials stolen. Chromebooks are the recognition that 98% of all mobile computing is a web browser, so why waste battery life on an x86/x64 processor, or time/energy worrying about or cleaning up malware infections?

      2x types of people who need more than a cell phone when they're on the go: iCloud sheep(get an iPad), or people who would benefit from a Chromebook. I'm technically ignoring people who could benefit from a Microsoft Surface, but as a Windows phone owner(I like it better than any of my Android devices except when I'm traveling abroad) I can honestly say that Microsoft Surface shouldn't even exist. Windows will NEVER be energy efficient enough to power a mobile device. They would be better off releasing an "Explorerbook" that was nothing but Internet explorer and a remote desktop'ing app for dialing in to a Microsoft Azure ("RemoteApp"?) or Amazon Workspaces account.

      CLOUD!

    6. Re:false summary is false by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Chromebook old sold the iPad in schools for 1 simple reason. Economics. The Chromebook costs $200 while the iPad costs $500. The Chromebook also has a lot of other nice thing going for it in the school environment, such as being able to actually type up a document on it without spending even more money to purchase a keyboard. That, and students can log into any Chromebook and instantly bring up their own account with their own files. In my kids' school, they no longer have a computer lab. When they need to use a computer to type up a document, they get one of the Chromebooks, log in, and start typing. It's very easy for the school because they don't need a Chromebook for every single student because they are so easily shared, and they don't have to worry about managing a bunch of Windows boxes with file servers and all the pain that goes along with that.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    7. Re:false summary is false by jedidiah · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No. The real kicker is the Apple fanboys calling Education an "obscure niche" as soon as someone else gives them a bit of competition.

      Even if you take the revised numbers provided by Apple partisans at face value, it still doesn't bode well for Apple. They are seeing stiff competition from a surprise "Dark Horse" product that no one would have ever expected capable of this.

      They can try and spin things as much as they like but it won't really change the reality of the situation.

      Education has long been thought of as an Apple stronghold which is why anyone cares about this.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    8. Re:false summary is false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ""Chromebook's have had a good run thus far in the history, and most-recently they've had a stellar year of sales – famously beating out Apple's iPad."

      That's great except that the claim that Google Chromebooks "overtook" Apple in U.S. education is false.

      You lost all credibility when you quoted a link to that rag called apple insider. That site is a cesspool of apple fanboi's stroking each other.

    9. Re:false summary is false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Care to cite the "fanboys" who are calling education an obscure niche?

  6. This wasn't already on? by edremy · · Score: 2

    My nine year old figured out how to get the "Ok Google" voice recognition working on our Chromebook months ago. He barely bothers typing searches anymore- instead I get to hear his entire search history. I don't think he got far enough into the settings to hit the combo mentioned in the page

    --
    "Seven Deadly Sins? I thought it was a to-do list!"
    1. Re:This wasn't already on? by Pope+Hagbard · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'd bet you a goodly sum that it's been available in chrome://flags for quite a while now, which is analogous to Firefox's about:config, and is where Google tends to stick features that aren't ready for the general public yet (and sometimes never).

  7. excellent slashvertisement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The way you say it almost makes me believe these devices don't suck and can actually do stuff. Well done good sir!

  8. Beating out iPad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does that mean? I would appreciate some data supporting that, perhaps it means education market sales, and not total units?

    1. Re: Beating out iPad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, now you're thinking.

  9. paperweight eol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just be careful when your shiny chromebook officially becomes a paperweight.

    https://www.google.co.uk/chrome/devices/eol.html

    pretty damn poor google, pretty damn poor....

  10. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  11. "Google Now" and "OK Google" are different by Sits · · Score: 1

    If you have an appropriate Android device Google Now will (apparently) display information based on your current context (e.g. if your phone learns where work and home are it might display information about traffic jams on the route home around the time it believes you will be traveling). You need a logged in Google account to use this feature.

    OK Google is a way of using your voice to interact with your device (or Chrome web browser). So if I have the appropriate phone and it's been set to listen I can say "OK Google" and it will activate an app/mode where it will accept further voice input. On the Android phone I saw (and in my Chrome web browser on OS X) I can then ask it "What's the weather like?" and it pops up some weather related information and speaks back "It's ten degrees in ". Sometimes when you ask it questions just does a web search other times (on the device) it would start applications (e.g. mail) and so on. You do not need to be logged into Google to use this feature.

  12. No way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly what I want, an always on listening device from the biggest personal data collection and ad company in the world. (ignoring governments)