6 months with the chromebook.

Life with Chrome, the Half Year Review

Order and Shipping

I ordered my chromebook from Amazon.  The process was painless and quick.  I received mine the next day and to my surprise it was already half charged.  

The chromebook arrived without any defects or issues and worked right out of the box.  I was already part of the "Chromebooks" community on Google+ at the point and have heard of a few incidents where a return was needed due to some defects and was a bit worried.

Setup and First Impressions.

Getting things setup was as easy as the ads promise.  Log in and all my settings started filtering on down.  

The first thing I noticed was how amazing the keyboard was.  It is by far the best keyboard on a laptop I have ever had.  It's like typing on a cloud.

I have rarely ran the battery down to empty, but when I occasionally do I get 5-6 hours out of my favorite machine. Sense this is a travel laptop and for casual browsing use the battery life for me is very acceptable.

I have found that when I know i won't be using it I will turn off WiFi before I close the lid and let it sleep.  This little step really extends the charge when not in use. 

Shortcomings

This chromebook is not a heavy hitter when it comes to horsepower.  It is meant for browsing and does it really well.  When I was at the Best Buy store I compared the sARMsung to the Acer model side buy side and on bigger sites like TheVerge and Wired I noticed the Acer loading about 1/2 to 1 second quicker.  Now granted I was using the tried and true one mississippi, 2 mississippi highly accurate benchmark method.

The case is very plasticy and has some give, along with the speakers that I would not use the word quality to describe them.  I use bluetooth headsets or ear buds as of habit and rarely listen to media out loud so it was not a hindrance for me.

This was my first laptop with a matte screen and took a bit to get use to, and now I really enjoy the absence of glare.  The screen has proven plenty bright for me.  I often use the it on the deck with my morning coffee and have zero daytime issues.

Bragging Rights

The killer features for this laptop for me have been the weight (2.4 lbs) and no fan.

This laptop has replaced my win 7 dell machine when I'm on the go.  Before having my work and Dell laptop was noticeably heavier.  When I started taking the sARMsung I often double checked because I thought I forgot to pack it.

If you haven't enjoyed a no fan laptop experience, you are missing out.  It is the ninja of laptops and now when using one with a fan I notice it with the same irritation as the trains in town the blare their horns incessantly.

Another very useful feature is the Chrome Remote Desktop (CRD).  This allows you to control devices through the Chrome browser.  I don't use this too often but when I need to access some tool on a machine that is on a windows, linux or Mac it's a lifesaver.  Setting up CRD is dead simple and involves assigning  a pin to each device to gain access.  Then as long as the machine is on you can dive right in.  I will point out that you cannot at this time remote IN to your chromebook.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoy my Samsung Chromebook.  This is a perfect casual browsing machine for on the go.  I am a hobby coder and after using my chromebook for a while I was inspired to learn html/css/js and am currently working towards writing my own apps.  My next chromebook will need to be on the ARM architecture or if they can make a Haswell variety fanless I'll be doing a happy dance.  I would recommend this for casual browsing while on the go.  If you find yourself having many tabs open all the time you might want to look at an Intel chipped model.

Thanks for reading.

Phones : A Rant : Foamy The Squirrel

Man of Steel Rant

Just wanted to start out by saying I really did enjoy the film but here is a few points I need to talk about.

I've seen the movie twice now, once at midnight and again on Saturday.  I enjoyed the movie and hoping that the we will get a multi movie arc that will show the growth of Clark into the Superman we all have come to know and love.  

I believe the attempts to make this movie realistic are the source of much of the complaints of the film.  Clark doesn't have the fortress of solitude with all the tech making it possible to just zap away the bad guys, which if we are honest the not kill rule often has some handy technological way out.  Taking the tech out of the equation and having a relentless Zod who won't stop until all of humanity is ash is more then enough for me to see Clark have to make the ultimate choice.  Now Nolan has to give us some movies to give us the growth that Superman really needs to become our guiding light.  Without that and this will turn into a steaming pile of failure in a hurry.

I agree with some statements about the interview scene with Lois in the military bunker.  Clark does come off cocky and me being a data junkie and sometimes tin-foil hat wearer saying he's from Kansas and for how many years is more then enough IMO for the Gov to figure out who he is.  As many times as I turn that scene around in my head it just doesn't fit right or done as well as it could be.  showing that he was trying to make them feel better (cuffs) then breaking them in a show of strength seems almost tacked on.  I'm not saying I know a better way to shoot it, just that it needed polish.  Maybe if the gave it more time and more dialog..

I did read an article where Nolan talks about Zod and the ending.  Zod was originally meant to go back to the Phantom Zone with the rest but it seemed to easy, then they kicked around the idea's of a no other choice scenario.  Nolan and team went to the source and got there input from Superman Comic Writers and the studio pushed for the ending we saw, against Nolan's wishes. 

The ending had zero attention to, and I  don't think i'm wrong here, the BIGGEST DISASTER OUTSIDE OF WW2, the city was smashed to hell!!  You know our country. Clark would be sued and every ambulance chaser wouldn't stop until his real identity was found .. TV would be nonstop .. Fox news would just bury the world in verbal nonsense and endless illogical crap.  The ending bugged me and I know why.  George Bush Jr would talk about the war with a sh*t eating grin on his face constantly, when talking about really bad things you put on frowny face and in the movie the next scene is Clark smiling with ma at pa's grave.. then smiling faces at the daily planet.  Something as simple as a cut to a news feed showing Clark hauling ass at mach two to help in the cleaning and rebuilding efforts with scrolling text listing the super deeds and other good being done to try an offset a horrible situation would have been all I needed.  The time tables on the post-shit-your-pants-the-world-almost-ended and its back to normal life seemed just not right.. How long was the country in shock after 911.. If your shooting for realistic then Nolan missed this one.

A whole lot of learning going on...

This week in monkey..

This has been a rather long week.  I have been re-completing the Web Fundamentals track at Codecademy.com.  Recently they had  a database migration issue and some of my previous accomplishments had been lost.  I looked at it as a good refresher and sailed through it again, this time much more confident in my answer's and understanding of the technology.  Needless to say I am on my way to developing webpages.   This part is easy, making it look good will be the real challenge.  

This is also my 2nd week with my Samsung Arm Chromebook and I have to say I am impressed.  Everything from how light weight it is,  lugging my personal laptop with my work one made the backpack noticeably heavier.  I cannot even tell I'm bringing a long a 2nd piece of tech.  The battery life is amazing, I charge it when i get home and do not worry about leaving without the power cord.  Chrome OS is fast, responsive and what is really astonishing is how versatile it is.  What it cannot do, isn't due to a limitation of the OS itself but a lack of developed apps.  For example, I would really like a Audible app or extension so I can listen to audio books while I work.  I'm sure as demand grows, if you agree about he Audible example hit them up and request it, needs will be filled.  Another example is that my uncle emailed me an e-book he thought I might enjoy.  At first I could not open it, but a few searches later, and questions posted to a favorite chrome community forum and I was directed to a web solution that works amazingly well.

Not much else worth noting..  Now off to prepare for another week into the unknown...

The Chromebook Pixel.. Wow.

Today we learned that what we thought to be a fake, was actually real.  Google announced the Chromebook Pixel.  A ultra high end Chromebook.  A very impressive machine, with a matching price tag.  I learned of this suddenly at work and immediately kicked on my TWIT live audio feed via my phone for their reaction.  As expected they were not impressed, confused at the reason for a high end browser and, like the rest of us, trying to get more information.

I then proceeded to get all that I could.  Hitting up a variety of useful digital haunts like WSJ, Wired, Gigom and Google News.  I was impressed with what I found.

Stats.

• 12.85" 3:2 aspect display rocking a 2560 x 1700 resolution display @ 239 PPI and weighing in a 400 NIT brightness with a 178 degree veiwing angle.
• 4GB of DDR3 Ram.
• 32GB Storage on the WiFi model, and 64GB for the LTE version.
• An all aluminum body with active cooling.  (According to reports, no fans visible.  Not sure if its the first but damn if I didn't perk up after reading that).
• Dual band WiFi (a/b/g/n 2x2) or LTE depending on Model,  and Bluetooth 3.0 for connectivity.
• A standard headphone/mic jack, Integrated DSP and stereo speakers round out the audio specs.  (Again according to reports no speaker grill's to be seen)
• Gorilla glass with multi-touch display, a back-lit keyboard and a HD 720p Webcam.
• There is a Intel Core i5 processor and Integrated HD 4000 Graphics as its beating heart.
• 2 USB 2.0, mini-display ports and a SD/MMC Card reader.

You can get all that for only $1299 for the WiFi and $1450 for the LTE on the Verizon network!  Now here is a video review from Engaget

Now that we got that out of the way, time for random thoughts, speculation and wild accusations.  I would like to be straight and say that the only way I would get my paws on this is either by theft, blackmail, or act-of-lotto.  To be honest I am happy with my Samsung Arm.  If fills the needs for all things online, and if it doesn't I have been truly impressed how quickly i can find out how.   

First Impressions

After spending a quite a bit of time in several Google+ communities gathering info and responding to opinions, reactions, expectations and speculations I have come to a few opinions.  This is for the high-end user.  Those of us that love tech and have the money to burn.  More so this will provide a platform to show what a cloud-OS can really do given enough horsepower.  Having this kind of kick just begs for it to be used to its fullest potential.  Every platform has to have a break out smash hit and these machines will help bring it along.  There is also an expectation set when it is done right.  Look at the Nexus 7.  Granted it wasn't built in house like the Pixel but it is arguably the best 7" android tablet out there.  When you set the high water mark you give the other manufacturers something to beat.  Whether its in price, performance or quality.  

Why? Why Not?

There was plenty of chatter as to why has Google done this.   One of the most obvious was to have some higher end products for the upcoming Google stores.  This makes sense to me and really are you going to have your top end product be anything less then the bleeding edge?  If you can't brag and boast, your not doing it right. Google has deep enough pockets to pull this 30 lbs rabbit out of a very small hat.

They also learned a thing or two after the whole Q product from last year's I/O.  Other chatter was for developers quality device that could bring android development in a Chromebook to the table, which I too would like to see.  Also if they have something big in the development schedule down the road that would really show the WOW factor but needs a good machine to get it this would give them a foundation to pimp it on.  I think its to slowly start building what they want, how they want and to cut out all the crap everyone has gotten so tried of seeing (cough) bloatware, (cough) Verizon, (cough) restrictive contracts, but more on speculation next.

Speculation and Rumor

Personally I think this is one piece in a much larger puzzle and when it all falls into place its going to be something worthwhile.  You take products like Google Glass, the Nexus Line, Chromebooks, the whole wireless network their testing, self driving cars, street view, and Google Now its easy to see how at least a few of these ingredients could come together to bake a tasty cake. 

Don't forget the large amounts of fiber the own and their repeated attempts at getting into the ISP game.  When the store about the team up with dish that aired awhile back, many commented on how Google would probably sell the connection at or slightly above cost, because they make money on services, not product's.  I heard analysts state anywhere from 30 to 50 dollars for unlimited data on a 4G network.  Have that offer bundled with a new Chromebook or Nexus Phone and it would be devastating to companies like Verizon where my plan is over $100 a month, and if I so much as  sneeze the wrong way my unlimited data will be taken, beaten then set on fire while I watch in horror.  The abject terror to a 2 GB cap on my mobile internet usage just makes me want to go on an epic rant.  I know I am probably the minority, but I do not have free WiFi everywhere.  I rely on my mobile data for a majority of the day.  Also I don't stick to just textual information, I listen to a lot of podcast's and once you leave pretty websites you can burn though that cap with a swiftness.  I could easily, along with many others, go on about the utter crap you have to deal with any carrier but I'll force myself to save it for another post.

Conclusion

I know this post was a little light on the Pixel itself, and more on how I think it could play out but hey it's my blog. I'm new at this and I will expect brutally honest feed back, deserving or not.  I am very excited to someday have a Google store somewhere within driving distance to give this a few moments play time until i'm forced to let the next in line get a go.  I am also expecting the next shoe to drop because I find it believe the Google Pixel is more then just high end product filler.  Even if it is it will spur on innovation and competition and push those that have the mettle to build something better, or take full advantage of. 

A Thought.. a possible return.. and just a little bit of honesty..

The blog lives..

I have returned.  I did a review, of sorts, and put this blog on the back burner for awhile.  Actually I just plain forgot about it.  I plan on becoming not only more active, but also a habit of posting reviews, thoughts and events that happen in my life.  

I have toyed with this idea for several weeks now.  I finally admitted to myself that the main reason was straight up being lazy.  Other reasons range from my lack in my skills as a writer to fear of failure and ridicule.

After much thought and being honest with myself I have come to the conclusion that instead of the aimless way I have drifted from day to day, I plan on having this as a purpose in my personal life.

Enough of this sappy self discovery crap.  Now on to what this blog might entail.  Currently I have become the proud owner of a Samsung Chromebook   With this I have been experiencing what it is like to live in the cloud.  I am surprised how much I can get done, what little I found I was missing and how quickly I was able to find a solution.  A review is in works, promise.  

One of my hobbies is coding.  I have a technical degree in computer programming, which basically taught report generation, basic programming theory and rudimentary office software utilities.  After college I starting learning c# which is part of Microsoft's .NET platform.  Of all the languages, this one I have spent the most time learning and using.  Realizing that somehow stuffing Microsoft's Visual Studio onto my Chromebook was beyond impossible I have decided to to learn some new tricks.  I am going through some tracks on codecademy.com and taking several tracks to get up to speed on html, java, js, python, and perl to name a few.  I could see myself writing up how-to's and tutorials on the subject.

Last thing I considered including in this blog of mine would be a documentation of myself losing some much needed weight.  I am a rather shy person to be honest and find this possibility terrifying, which probably means a good thing.

In summary I have grown tired of the same routine and feel like I'm lacking something and this blog might just be the outlet I need to bring some sort of focus into my life.  At the least I get distracted and forget what I desired to try and accomplish here, at the most I learn to communicate better, share my experiences and trials as I learn new things, find my path to a healthier me.

p.s. in real life I'm actually quite an opinionated, loud, semi ignorant, coarse asshole.  At some point I'll end up going on a long winded rant that at should be almost entertaining.  Hopefully I do a little research before hand.

Robotic sushi chef can whip out 400 rolls per hour

Robotic sushi chef can whip out 400 rolls per hour:
One of the most cherished culinary disciplines in Japan is the art and process of making sushi. But now even that exalted tradition may succumb to the march of technology thanks to the SushiBot.