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Chrome OS Receives Extreme Makeover With Material Design and Google Now
MojoKid writes Late last week, Google quietly began inviting people to opt into the beta channel for ChromeOS to help the company "shape the future" of the OS. Some betas can be riskier than others, but Google says that opting into this one is just a "little risk", one that will pay off handsomely for those who crave new features. New in this version is Chrome Launcher 2.0, which gives you quick access to a number of common features, including the apps you use most often (examples are Hangouts, Calculator, and Files). Some apps have also received a fresh coat of paint, such as the file manager. Google notes that this is just the start, so there will be more updates rolling out to the beta OS as time goes on. Other key features available in this beta include the ability to extract pass protected Zip archives, as well as a perk for travelers. ChromeOS will now automatically detect your new timezone, and then update the time and date accordingly.
Honestly, the most noticeable change was that the font changed on the tabs and URL bar.
No? Watching http://trailers.divx.com/divx_... just fine on my Acer C720; CPU hasn't bumped over over 40%.
you're only giving google a head start on tracking your kids' every move online. not the greatest move a parent can make.
In actual reality, I went to amazon.com, typed "Chromebook", selected OS: "Chrome OS", then sorted by price resulting in 14 models below the $200 mark
The supposed source Ivan Gotyaovich does not appear to be exist, and the "Gotya" is a bit of a hint.
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laptops already have a fairly well defined meaning in people's minds from the fact that laptops have been around for 20+ years.
Yup. A clamshell design with a screen on the top and a keyboard on the bottom. For most of those 20 years though a laptop also meant it costs half the price of a reasonable car, weighs 10 pounds, has 45 minutes of battery life and zero capability until you bought software separately from a store. Trust me, consumers HATED those things. These new devices have more Gees so are like 5 times more capable!
There are plenty of good options for a small laptop there. Personally I have a desktop computer that can do all the great things I want it to. For a laptop I wanted something small and light that I wouldn't have to worry about. A 13in Chromebook worked perfectly for that. I never use it for gaming or image development, usually just web browsing and email. Occasionally I'll do some development by SSHing into a Linux box, and if I really want to do something more intensive, I can remote desktop to my machine at home. It takes 6 seconds to boot, updates also take 6 seconds (and my windows are opened after), and it doesn't get loaded down with crapware. Worst case I can do a factory reset.
Now I realize some people want a mobile primary computer and this isn't the machine for them. Judging by the tablet market, people are quite happy to get machines that do one thing, so maybe it would be better if you saw this as a cheap tablet with a keyboard and USB ports.