5 Reasons Chromebooks Win After Linux Netbooks Lost
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Chromebooks are generating more and more buzz. Acer, Lenovo and Samsung already offer the low-cost, cloud-centric notebooks. And Hewlett-Packard could join the Chromebook party soon. So why might Chrome OS devices succeed where Linux netbooks ultimately failed? Here’s The VAR Guy’s spin on the situation.
Google CEO Larry Page recently praised the Chromebook’s progress. Over the past two weeks, The VAR Guy has been testing Samsung’s Chromebook. Simple. Reliable. Intuitive. Our resident blogger will publish a full review soon.
But in the meantime, he sees some clear reasons why Chromebooks will find a niche even while a distant cousin — Linux Netbooks — ultimately failed in the U.S. retail market. The scorecard…
1. Standardized Operating System:
- Chromebooks: All Chromebooks run Google’s Chrome OS. It’s a standard, thin operating system that you don’t even really see. Google remotely maintains and manages the operating system. There’s no ugly patching, anti-virus, etc.
- Linux Netbooks: They ran a range of operating systems. Many vendors chose Ubuntu, but even there the core operating system version varied from PC maker to PC maker. So the user experience varied in a huge way when moving from one netbook to the next. Who could you trust for a great system? The Linux industry never really decided on a standard…
2. Standard Productivity Software:
- Chromebooks: If you run Google Apps, Google Drive or Google Docs, etc., you’re a natural for Chromebooks. Boot up a Chromebook for the first time (in 10 seconds), type in your Google gmail ID, and you’re up and running instantly — with immediate access to all your Docs.
- Linux Netbooks: OpenOffice was a common bundle. But which version? Oh and which email client should you select? How about scheduling and calendaring? Again, there wasn’t a single standard.
3. Security and Patch Management:
- Chromebooks: It’s all managed by Google. That might be a bad thing, especially if you worry about one vendor having too much control over your systems and information. But ultimately, The VAR Guy thinks Google’s approach is a positive. Consumers are tired of patch management, and they certainly don’t want bloated, confusing security software dominating their PCs.
- Linux Netbooks: You think Windows Patch Management is difficult? Show the average consumer the Linux desktop, and they will have no idea how to keep all the different software components updated.
4. Distribution:
- Chromebooks: All you need to do is visit Google.com/Chromebooks and you can begin to research potential purchases. They’re also available on Best Buy store shelves, at Amazon.com and more.
- Linux Netbooks: Online portals to buy Linux netbooks always seem to be coming and going. For instance, Dell.com/ubuntu, has been hit and miss for the past five years. If you can’t find Linux netbooks you can’t buy them.
5. Brands:
- Chromebooks: Acer, HP, Lenovo and Samsung are four of the biggest names in PCs, notebooks and mobile technologies.
- Linux Netbooks: Dell dabbled in them. HP briefly dabbled in them. Most of the major PC makers continue to offer Linux notebooks (running Red Hat, Suse, Ubuntu, etc.). But the consumer Linux push has largely stopped in the U.S. Oh, unless you count Chrome OS and Android devices…
Bottom Line
Add it all up and it seems like Chromebooks could gain a lasting niche within consumers’ homes. And some businesses are already embracing them while working with Google partners like Cloud Sherpas.
But be careful: The Chromebook hype is getting loud. Acer says its Chromebooks are outselling its Windows 8 devices. Some folks are somehow concluding that means Chromebooks and Chrome OS are more popular than Window 8.
The VAR Guy serious doubts such logic. But… our resident blogger things Chromebooks are here to stay.
I take it that you’ve never used Linux?
Patching linux components has been solved for over a decade. My 83 yr old Mother has been running and maintaining her Linux PC for 4 years.
Patching the OS, boot loader, applications all happen at the same time. It can be automatic too, if the user selects that. That is what my Mom did.
There is not a different installer for every program nor does a user have to wonder if every program that needed patching was. Under Linux a central package manager handles all this for 1 or 1,000 PCs. I don’t need to buy any addon tools to make this happen either.
There aren’t any license agreements to accept either during most installations or app installations.
I’ve never had to look for a license key when reinstalling either.
Regardless, I like the idea of a Chromebook, but not the idea of providing the largest advertising company in the world, google, with access to all my data. If I need to update my hardware, a Chromebook will definitely be on the list, provided I can wipe it and install a 100% F/LOSS OS.
Chromebooks are good for most of the people, like my grandma and aunt, but most of the people would buy Windows instead. Even though they don’t need anything else but the browser, they get scared of the idea of not being able to do anything else but browsing the Internet. Or at least they’d rather get an Android tablet than a browser laptop.
[email protected]: The VAR Guy has been running Ubuntu 7.4 on Dell since 2007. He’s avoided upgrade temptations. Family likes the overall reliability but user interface navigation not so simple..
[email protected]: Agreed: Chromebooks are not for everyone. But offline app capabilities are improving. And schools, in particular, seem like ideal user base as IT admins try to manage thousands of student systems…
-TVG
You kind of alluded to this… but you recognize that Chrome OS is a tweaked version of Gentoo Linux, right? And yes, both Chrome and Android are Linux, as they use the Linux Kernel and conform to the POSIX standards, and also the code is open and freely distributed.
All that being said, I love my Samsung Chromebook. It’s awesome! But I also love my linux laptop, and my linux PC, and I love the fact they are all totally different…THAT’S THE POINT! Linux does EXACTLY what you tell it to do, no more and no less.
P.S. You can do more than just browse with a chromebook, most of the apps will run offline. And fairly well, too.
Also, one can always boot another version of linux loaded on to an SD Card onto the chromebook with relative ease (if you want a more traditional laptop).
I don’t follow your logic on the availability of linux on netbooks. If you know how to browse the web, you are more than capable of downloading the iso image of any linux distro you wish, make a bootable usb in minutes, boot any netbook to usb and begin installing.
ChromeOS can be installed only on… oh right, ChromeOS device.
Failing to mention facts like this and shedding a bias towards ChromeOS is straight up retarded. Everyone who knows a little bit about computers will see this bias and disregard your words/articles/website.
You have skewed the facts with your opinions.
You should speak of offline app capabilities, where I believe the weak point in ChromeOS is. What apps are available beyond the google suite of products? How about common chilling on the sofa app comparison and a productivity app comparison. How about design and customizability comparison? Or that there is a native google document editor in linux? I don’t get the shallowness of your arguments with a bold title “5 reasons chromebooks win after linux netbooks lost”??
Your argument with single standard is flawed. Just like in windows, you aren’t forced to only use microsoft office. There are various email clients you may wish to use. Which version of MS Office should I use?? 97? 2003? 2007? 2010??? Oh noes! I guess by your logic Office sucks as well. You should instead write a counter argument to yourself and speak about freedom of choice and using whichever suits your needs.
I was expecting to be mindblown but this article failed to deliver.
“using ubuntu 7.4 and have resisted the temptation to upgrade.”
Latest version of ubuntu is the 12.10. I had in in a partition on my desktop, on another partition I am running Xubuntu 12.10. Like Xubuntu GUI better. Upgrade and Update is dead easy.
Netbooks running linux was an experiment done by manufacturers to force MS to lower prices… they succedded. Yet the initial linux distros installed in netbooks was not of great quality. The present iterations of linux for netbooks are much better. You would nedd to be a great Windows fan to keep using it on a netbook. Just upgrade to an appropriate linux distro and your netbook will work much, much better. To find an appropriate linux distro you may go to distrowatch and do a search there…
All that said Chromebooks are here to stay and will eventually become the most commonly used Personal computing device, replacing most desktops and laptops. They are optimized to do the things most users do most of the time. Nowadays users have more than one computer. SO it is not a matter of choosing between a Desktop or a Desktop, not even between one brand and another, but of choosing which one you will buy next and which one you will end up using most of the time.
The new generation of windows 8 based laptops are too expensive, complicated and overpowered to attract an user who already has a powerful desktop at home. But the Chromebook is a new thing, a new paradigm. It is inexpensive, uncomplicated and don’t waste a lot of power. But it does what people do most of the time, access the web and run online applications, like facebook, twitter, gmail, google docs, etc. etc. etc So the Cromebooks are interesting, inexpensive, new and different, yet using an interface, the Chrome Browser that it easy and well known for most users.
So Chromebooks will continue to sell well, to be used as a secondary computer, but as they do what people do most of the time, users will end up using them most of the time. As this trend continue, online apps becomes more powerful and and people gets more and more accustomed to the ease of use of the Chromebook, they, the end users, will find the other Operating System bothersome to use, so they will put them aside, until and unless they really need them for something specific.
Within a few years, Chromebook will become the Standard PC/laptop(or keyboard oriented device) to access the internet, surf the web and run online apps. Traditional Desktop PC will be relegated to those specific programs that because of their complexity or whatever cannot run efficiently as web apps, or for those occasions where, for security reasons you don’t want to be connected to the internet…
Chromebooks are the future, at least a large part of it. Get used to them.
All Chromebooks can easily be switched into Developer mode which allows the end user to do whatever they want. That means they can build amp; install ChromiumOS (thus “patch management” is now handled by the end user and not a requirement you stick to Google’s ChromeOS). Or you can install any other OS you want (like Ubuntu).
Ezequiel Gonzalez has a point about Chromebooks in regards to their strength in market positioning. Same could be said of netbooks. All those facts you mentioned about chromebooks is the exact same reason why I use my netbook today. My netbook was created in 2009 and it still plays a large part in my daily computer use. I have a powerful desktop in my office at work. An Asus g73jw laptop at home. Quite a few tablets from 7″ to 10″ to ipad 3. Even a kobo with a backlight to read. But I tend to use my netbook the most these days just because of mobility, 10 hours of actual usage time with my 9cell battery.
Still, I find that maybe chromebook can beat out netbooks running linux. However, the arguments posted here are bland, biased, and invalid.
1. Standardized OS
Your strength for ChromeOS was that there wasn’t a need to patch(upgrade) or play with nasty antivirus software. You say it is a thin operating system that you don’t really see.
Counter argument would be that linux is a as thin of an operating system as you want. I don’t really see my OS while I browse, read rss, listen to podcasts, etc.
An update on linux is deadly easy. On non-rolling release distros like ubuntu, there isn’t much to update anyways on a daily or weekly or monthly basis. Heck, ubuntu has an upgrade notifier where you just press ok and off it goes.
2. standard productivity software
You say you get the google suite of apps. Guess what? You login to google.com and you get the same suite. Also there are some natively run google apps for linux.
Why even talk about open office version numbers? Or even which email client to use?
3. Security and patch management
Like I said before, an update window pops up, you just press OK and your linux is updated (at least in ubuntu). Other distros, you don’t need to update if everything is working fine. If you need the latest version for some reason a 1 line in terminal updates your system. Again, this is not as hard as you make it to be.
4. Distribution
Buy any netbook or laptop or desktop or server and you can install linux. You can buy them at best buy, futureshop, walmart, craigslist, backpage, ncix, etc.
You can “choose” specific hardware you want. Longer battery life? Better screen? Better keyboard? Better graphics card? You name it, you want it, you get it.
5. Brands
I have an acer with linux, hp with linux, lenovo with linux oh gee, the list goes on. What difference does this make really?! BRANDS!?!?!?!? Are you kidding me? This doesn’t even make a valid point here……
[email protected] amp; @5: The VAR Guy was aware Chrome OS and Android are based on Linux, but he did not have the exact technology names/background you shared. Thanks for the details. And yes, offline capabilities seem to be coming along. Haven’t tested Slides (presentastions) yet offline but plan to do so.
Frank604 @6 and @9: Your constructive criticism is welcome here. You mention “you are more than capable of downloading the iso image of any linux distro you wish, make a bootable usb in minutes, boot any netbook to usb and begin installing.” The VAR Guy believes 99% of consumers and SMB owners would never know where to start with such a process…
Also, The VAR Guy still loves his hold netbook — ZaReason solid state drive running Ubuntu.
[email protected]: Thank you for your longer-term view. Are you a Chromebook user? Partner? Google employee? Thanks again.
All: Thanks for all the feedback. The VAR Guy is taking it all in to help shape his future coverage.
-TVG
99% do not know how to download an iso image? Run a program where you select the iso image on your hard drive. Then select the usb key drive and select “create” ??? Also, there are tons of documentation (simple ones) that take people step by step with screenshots and links. Do you really think 99% of people who run a computer can’t do this?!? My god….
Comments like this just make me laugh and these generalizations are what makes me laugh at this website. Please don’t do that it is ridiculous. It is harder to make a facebook account than to create a usb installer where there are MANY CHOICES AVAILABLE for macos, linux, amp;windows where it does it for you.
I have used several netbooks and Chromebooks. I mostly agree with what you are saying.
For examples of #1:
Ubuntu had a special 8.04 edition for Atom to squeeze out an extra 10% battery. They discontinued support for this in 9.10 forcing users to reinstall with fresh i386 system to move to 10.04 or stay in 8.04 w/o security updates.
Poulsbo and the Z-series Atom linux netbooks.
Honestly, when I try to use my own fanless netbook now and it seems clumsy compared to the Samsung ARM Chromebook. I would like to say nice things about the old netbooks, but they were never that great.
“More popular” can be seen both ways. While Windows systems are currently more popular in terms of more people ending up buying them, many people who haven’t bought anything yet may still consider Chromebook to be a desirable option. It appears there are many enthusiastic purchasers especially at the $199 and $249 price points.
I know 5 is a nice number, but I would add:
6. Backup and Restore. 100GB Google Drive and profile sync vs restore 1–10GB non-standard manufacturer backup service and reinstall from second partition on 4200 RPM hard drive.
@Frank604, I’ve been working with and managing PCs since 1981 and if you expand the definition a little, the VAR Guy is absolutely correct. 99% of PC users either would not know how to perform the process or just wouldn’t want to. Most people want to have a ready-made solution delivered to them. You and I and probably everyone reading this column is part of the remaining 1%, which in absolute terms is a lot of people, but people who want to hack to any degree whatsoever are in the small minority.
What about the fact that netbooks are really really small with small keyboards. Chromebooks aren’t. Now, if you put chrome os on a netbook and compared that to windows and linux based netbooks, that would offer a reasonable comparison.
tl;dr – after two reasons your obvious anti-linux and anti-choice bias is showing.
The original Linux netbooks were using Intel processors, and they were released by Asus, Acer and other companies who had a large business selling Windows machines.
Therefore, Asus and co. were bullied by Intel and Microsoft to artificially inflate the netbook prices and drop Linux to make sure they don’t cannibalize the more lucrative notebook market.
Now with Chromebooks running Android on ARM processors, Intel and Microsoft cannot bully Google and the ARM manufacturers (Samsung, Qualcomm, Nvidia) the same way as they did for netbook manufacturers.
1. The effort put into polishing an OEM install by most of the Linux netbook sellers was rather weak. Really, though, they were versions of the same operating system rather than different operating systems. The same software ran on all of them.
A fairly legitimate point, but almost as true vs. Windows as vs. Linux.
2. There is all sorts of office software available for Windows as well as Linux. It’s rather disingenuous to point to Microsoft Office as a standard for Windows on netbooks because of the cost of the license considering it’s low budget hardware. Also, it’s worth noting that Google Docs is available to you regardless of which system you’re running.
Really, to the extent this is legitimate, it’s just as legitimate vs. Windows as vs. Linux.
3. Linux patch management in one of the main user friendly aimed distributions is generally much, much easier than Windows patch management. They’re not even in the same league. Linux patch management is much closer to Chrome OS in level of difficulty than it is to Windows. You have one patch managemand program that takes care of your operating system and all of your apps. Linux patch management is the precursor to Apple’s App Store, Google’s Play Store, etc.
This advantage is much more true vs. Windows than vs. Linux. Your statements to the contrary in the article are mystifying.
4/5. These points are similar. Most of the difference here is the result of Microsoft using strongarm efforts to push the netbook out of existence altogether (not just the Linux netbook) because it didn’t really fit in with their sales model. They brought back XP to control the market, and then were able to gradually push prices back up in line with the low end of their market model.
The advent of the so-called “post PC” era has greatly reduced Microsoft’s strength to exert as much control on the market. That, along with Google’s muscle, gives Chromebooks a much better foothold with various manufacturers. In a way, the biggest competition for Chromebooks here may turn out to be Android powered smartbooks. Either way, Google doesn’t hurt much.
its clear somebody paid u to write this kak or u have smoked something
Reason? Here’s your reason, and I quote from the article:
“(GOOG)”
You don’t expect some business world midget like Canonical to be able to pull this kind of thing off. That’s all.
The only redeeming value of Chromebooks, is their ability to run a Linux distribution in lieu of ChromeOS.
It is very (pleasantly) surprising that the Google Chromebooks, either from Samsung or Acer have been selling well and garnered tremendous interest in this world of everything Microsoft.
I had talked at length with a marketing representative for the Chromebooks, operating at two BestBuys in NJ who indicated that a broad range of potential customers – in age, technology experience and use were expressing a strong preference for the ChromeBook “over that” of Windows 8 laptops, primarily due to the very poor security and reliability that Windows presents, and the pricing – particularly with 100GB of storage for 2 years – included.
Maybe finally the concrete and superior benefits of a “Linux based” computer are being realized, as they were in Android devices.
If you think Linux is hard to patch/install updates you simply haven’t used Linux in about ten years.
Some of the other reasons you give are valid, but stuff like different versions of OO are nonsense.
The main reason Linux net books sold less though was Microsoft’s typical bully boy tactics.
It’s good if Chromebooks start to become more popular, it’s just another way of making people realise there is choice beyond Microsoft’s Virusware.
Your habit of talking about yourself in third person is pathetic and make you sound like a rank amateur. Get over yourself.
@Ellett
So you are telling me that majority of the populace are doing online banking. Using social media. Playing games through social media platforms. Shop from clothes to gadgets to cars online. Yet they cannot create a usb installer?
More than 1%, I’m sure, knows how to reinstall windows. Knows how to use an SLR camera. More than 1% knows how to create and edit videos on their computer. Guess what? All of these are more complex than making a usb installer. I’d recommend you take a look at a few tools like Lili, penguin usb, etc. It is a 3 step process. Select iso file. Select usb drive. Press create. You can’t be serious and say you’ve been in this industry since 1981 and that creating a usb installer is beyond modern day people’s grasp to learn. Seriously? In big cities where everyone is tech savvy, this is easy.
I don’t need to say how long I’ve worked in this industry or what I do. That is not the point. It doesn’t add weight to what I say. The fact is in the words I say. Think about it. By saying 99% do not know how to install an OS is just simply crap.
The real growth for Linux personal computing is on tablets and phones.
The world’s most used operating system- Android.
Linux netbooks never stood a chance on Microsoft turf. Game changers-no.
Chromebooks- with the public’s decreasing dependence on the PC desktop – should see growth along with tablets.
My origional ASUS Transformer does Google Docs, (presentations), Radio, Youtube, Email etc. ARM devices are super.
Also another point to add is that during the netbook boom, I’ve seen many students and professionals lugging around a netbook either in a classroom, coffeeshop, library, etc.
I have yet to see a chromebook in real life. Sure it has some offline app capabilities (recently). But there isn’t much flexibility with the offline apps that exist. This may change later.
The price point is nice, but I’d still prefer a netbook or the new thing, transformer-book. Or even an ultra book.
Chromebooks only have a market for kids and seniors. Should google “should I buy a chromebook” and set search tools to show posts within the last month. Read how professional bloggers don’t use bias and generalization but write for the reader to decide. They list out pros and cons of each feature.
If you come with a bold title, such as the one you have, readers expect some concrete stats, trends, pros and cons.
The way you have listed is like this.
1. Speed of car
Car A has an excellent engine, nice wheels, and lot of horsepower.
Car B has a chunky front that looks bad.
Therefore Car A is a better car.
This type of posting is elementary at best. More like a highschooler’s blog assignment. Get real.
There’s not a single point in your article that’s correct.
First of all, since when is ChromeOS a “standard”? What “standard” are you referring to? As another poster already pointed out, ChromeOS is just a modified version of Gentoo.
Secondly, “Linux” netbooks did not run a “range of operating systems”, they ran precisely one operating system, GNU/Linux. Those other things you mentioned, such as Ubuntu, are called distributions of GNU/Linux, all of which use the same kernel called Linux, the same GNU userland tools (e.g. coreutils) and mostly the same applications (e.g. Firefox). That isn’t a “range of operating systems”, it’s the same operating system distributed under different names, with different default wallpaper and icons. In some cases the package manager is different, but no new user would even care about that, because they all provide the same function and work in the same way.
Third, the “standard productivity software” you refer to is just Google Docs, which runs in any browser on any OS, so the fact that you can also run it in ChromeOS is not any sort of unique selling point. In essence, if you have any browser then you already have “ChromeOS”.
You make a big deal about OpenOffice versions, but please explain why that’s relevant. Unless you’re using an early version from years ago, all versions of OpenOffice and LibreOffice are format compatible, so whatever point you were trying to make is moot. This isn’t MS Office, where every version is radically different and incompatible with each other.
You also complain there isn’t a single standard email client for GNU/Linux, but then there isn’t one for Windows either, so again your point is moot.
Your claim about GNU/Linux “patch management” is completely bogus. First of all, a “patch” is something that’s typically applied to the source (which your average user will never see) by the package maintainer, and has nothing to do with software updates, which are complete binary files. GNU/Linux users never see “patches”, unless they’re also developers. Binary “patches” are only necessary with proprietary software like Windows. Second, unless you think hitting a single “OK” button to do updates is “difficult”, I fail to see what’s so hard about updating GNU/Linux software.
The 90s called and wants its FUD back.
Meanwhile, the REAL reason GNU/Linux netbooks failed is already well known, and it has nothing to do with “standards”, it’s because they were, in the words of Groklaw’s Pamela Jones, “monopoly crushed” by Microsoft.
http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20090619161307529
“You think Windows Patch Management is difficult? Show the average consumer the Linux desktop, and they will have no idea how to keep all the different software components updated.”
Easy. All the popular Linux distros have graphical updaters which update everything in one fell swoop. Or, there’s always the relatively simple ‘sudo apt-get update amp;amp; sudo apt-get upgrade’. And bam. Done.
In fact, the only real difference between this and the Chromebook approach is that (if I understand correctly) Google will initiate that process automatically (which has its pros and cons; it’s less to think about, but it introduces complexities for businesses who would like changes to be tested before entering production environments).
I’d nag about the other bogus points, but the other commenters here have already called out the article’s endless barrage of FUD.
Why is this FUD? I think the var guy was talking specifically about circa-2008 linux netbooks. How many of you bought one of those and kept using the stock Linux that shipped with it?
I personally used a couple of different models (Asus Eeepc, Dell Mini, MSI Wind) stock to help troubleshoot in forums for new people. Inevitably, people would ask questions where the best answer was blow the whole drive away and install Ubuntu/Mint/Fedora. That has nothing to do with Linux and everything to do with the way manufacturers tried to implement their own gimmicks on top of regular Linux.
As I mentioned above, some of the non-standard manufacturer distros simply quit updating after 18–24 months. Some shipped with Poulsbo like the MSI U115 and Dell Mini 10/12. Others were simply pokey and underpowered with 2 hour battery life.
What is written here is counter to the real FUD conversation where tech authors are speculating that Chromebook will fail to take off because 2008 Linux netbooks failed to take off. This article enumerates some reasons why the two situations are different which is a glaring omission from the standard Chromebook=netbook failure articles.
While I personally enjoy Linux and have turned some very smart people onto it, the Chromebook is in my opinion more useful for both business and casual use than the typical Linux netbook. Before Chromebooks/boxes, I always deployed Linux desktops/laptops wherever a simple business task needed to be done such as an interface for printing barcodes or a laboratory data access terminal. ChromeOS is superior for these strictly business-oriented tasks as it updates and takes care of itself so that I do not have to go physically diagnose issues. If a ChromeOS device breaks, it is just replaced, no setup required as the setup is done in the Google account.
I know many disagree, but Linux netbooks did fail. I still have two of them and they only come out when I need to burn a CD. That is not to say that other people don’t enjoy them, just that many people would rather not go there if there is a more attractive option.
@Ian Ray
I do not believe he has worded the title nor the content to only convey the stock linux distro installed.
“Linux Netbooks: They ran a range of operating systems. Many vendors chose Ubuntu, but even there the core operating system version varied from PC maker to PC maker. So the user experience varied in a huge way when moving from one netbook to the next. Who could you trust for a great system? The Linux industry never really decided on a standard…”
Also,
” OpenOffice was a common bundle. But which version? Oh and which email client should you select? How about scheduling and calendaring? Again, there wasn’t a single standard.”
This also deals with linux distros as a whole but the message was lost to me with crap about versions and email client standards.
And again,
“You think Windows Patch Management is difficult? Show the average consumer the Linux desktop, and they will have no idea how to keep all the different software components updated.”
Talking about linux as a whole again….
If the VAR guy wanted to make comparison with a stock linux install and the era of usage as you say, he should have made it clear. Regardless of what you want to make it to be, the words are very clearly talking about linux as a whole and if you read closer, it makes no sense.
We can abstract our own conclusions and candy coat them however we wish but that is just stupidity upon stupidity.
He keeps inferring to the linux industry.
To answer your question, I didn’t buy a netbook that had linux already installed. Why? It just didn’t have my favored distro available. Do I need to buy it with a linux distro installed? I don’t think so. I bought one and still use one from 2009. We can ask the same question about chromebooks. How many have we all seen in real life not at the stores?
Netbooks did succeed for a few years in their massive boom to market. Chromeos failed a few times and I think they are on the right path. Today’s chromebooks are much better than yesteryear’s chromebooks. Do I think they have a solid chunk of the market? No. This is why Google is developing new models because chromebooks aint doing too hot.
http://www.dailytech.com/CES+2012+Samsung+Google+Wont+Let+go+of+Failed+Chrome+OS+Plan+New+Models/article23755.htm
http://mashable.com/2012/11/26/touch-chromebook/
And a great article: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/can-google-rescue-the-chromebook/
Quote: “The VAR Guy has been running Ubuntu 7.4 on Dell since 2007.”
You do realise that you have been running an unsupported version of Ubuntu for over four years. End of life for 7.04 was Oct. 2008. You haven’t had a security update in years and you’re putting your family’s computer at risk. Maybe you shouldn’t be writing articles about something you obviously dont have a clue about….
The great choice made by Google with Android and Chrome OS was leaving the “Linux” name-even if the products are based on the Linux Kernel.
If they named their products e.g. “Android Linux” and “Chrome Linux” people could think – yet another Linux distribution. Why bother?
Leaving Linux name was very wise.
All good stuff but Chrome OS is not meant for most of you. You know too much.
It’s for those like my wife or daughter who just need to do something easily and get the same experience each time. No complexity, no choice of options, they haven’t the time or patience to learn. I have a multitude of OSs, PCs and tablets but they will always go to what they are most familiar with.
The only two issues I personally have is that there is no real competitor to Google Apps and network access is not as universally available as people make out. Nothing worse than losing your work going through a tunnel.
The market now is a complete nightmare. Go into any large store and there are so many variations in hardware, OS and applications people just turn off.
There has to be a shake up and someone has to lose. Are people still willing to pay the Apple premium, buy Microsoft because that is what they have at work or is it that the OS is now totally irrelevant, it is what can the device do for the money.
That is where the Chrome OS comes in. It ticks all the user boxes so its a compelling offering.
Dave M, I agree ChromeOS is a compelling offering for the reasons you outline.
However,
“network access is not as universally available as people make out. Nothing worse than losing your work going through a tunnel.”
Docs and Slides works fine if the network goes out, it is only Sheets and Drawings that cannot connect. Even when the network does go out using Sheets, I’ve never once “lost work” like this as it saves new data every couple of seconds. How much work could you possibly lose in a few seconds?
No offense, but it almost sounds like you are reviewing a product which you don’t actually use.
The VAR Guy appreciates all the comments. Sorry he hasn’t had time to reply in depth. But here’s a shout-out to [email protected]: The VAR Guy’s habit of speaking in the third person is now in its 5th year and going strong. So why mess with success?
-TVG
Frank 064
You are completely wrong about kids and seniors being the only people who’d want chromebooks. You rage about how ridiculous you think this blog is, then go on to make some equally asinine and uniformed comment youself.
I’m a grad school mathematician who loves linux and hacking and modeling with computers. But I love my Samsung Chromebook. It’s the coolest little toy I have in my house. I enjoy the Chrome OS, I enjoy the developer mode, and booting other distros.
These new chromebooks are as cutting edge as people want them to be. And I think mine kicks ass.
One more thing…with that Java fiasco lately… not a problem on my Chromebook!
Ian Ray. Yes well aware of Google Apps its just I don’t use them personally hence the loss. I like Chrome OS not Google.
It is unfortunate that Dave M and several other commenters hve little
“factual” knowledge about the technical specifications of (some) Chromebooks, and little or no knowledge or understanding what-so-ever about “usage” factors on these portable devices.
For example, the Acer Chromebook has a Notebook-type configuration whereby one can also use the internal hard drive to process data/applications “without” an Internet connection. Lenovo and HP may offer their upcoming Chromebooks with similar configurations.
Amazon is selling more Chromebooks than all the Windows Notebooks, Ultra Notebooks and larger laptops sales “combined”, and several of the largest financial services and research/engineering firms are deploying Chromebooks to thousands of analysts, consultants and other employees. Therefore the negative and incorrect aspersion that Chromebooks are only for grandmother or a school student to check e-mail and online news, and other nonsense anecdotal descriptions of Chromebooks uses are the delusion of Windows supporters.
Chromebooks are synergistic to the concept of Internet access and use as compared to “stand-alone” PC desktop.
W. Anderson, I can’t really blame people as there is erroneous commentary all over the place about these devices. It seems that people either make presumptions about their capabilities without using them or test them out but try to use them in a way that they were never intended.
I try to test all potentially useful technologies I can even if I know I am probably not going to use them. For instance, I’ve trialed Office 365 three times. I think there are a lot of people who deemed Office 365 Web Apps “better” than the competition before they ever existed. I think pundits come to this conclusion about Office Web Apps with not only having never used the competition, but not ever having really used Microsoft’s Web Apps themselves. I have read in several places of supposed Office 365 features that only exist in the desktop versions and are just supposed by blog authors to exist in the web versions without doing any actual tests.
There is a definite disconnect between the “soldiers” using the products in production environments and people who just write about them. I would include in the disconnect people who work for software companies as they seem to never use production environments but rather spend time implementing on a clean slate which nobody ever comes into contact with in the real world. This is a big difference between a software company person and a VAR as well as the VAR either has experience with what can go wrong in a real production environment or can point a customer toward someone who has experience with potential issues.
A bit off subject here, but in short I too see more value in the experience of people actually doing things versus the opinions of people who think they can construct informed opinion without experience.
I loved my netbooks and only stopped using the last (a lovely Lenovo s205 running the very stable Fedora16 w/XFCE) when my wife iPad mini’d me.
NETBOOKS failed because they were underpowered for XP, and buyers at walmart (and elsewhere) returned them in droves when they had gOS and the like on ’em.
I’ve NOT played with a chromebook but not for lack of trying: there are none in my area. I’m intrigued by DevMode, however, because many reviewers (pro and amateur) have lamented the Samsung’s underpowered performance (stuttering vid playback, too many tabs slowdown, etc). How well can the Samsung (most appealing CB IMO) run a distro like Fedora? Or would it be better to toss a super light OS like Bodhi, Puppy, or even Tiny Core at it?
Thanks.
Gyffes,
As I’ve only been using linux for a year now, and haven’t the time to venture out from ubuntu yet (Im in grad school, only so much time in the day), but my Samsung Chromebook is amazing. I haven’t had any issues with underpowered performance. My vid playback, tabs, all of it, run quickly and efficiently and the battery lasts forever.
As to running other linux distros on it…I’ve only run ubuntu on it. I imagine you could put any distro (fedora) you want on it…just keep in mind chromebooks are supposedly based on a modified gentoo linux system.
Gyffes,
As I’ve only been using linux for a year now, and haven’t the time to venture out from ubuntu yet (Im in grad school, only so much time in the day), but my Samsung Chromebook has no issues with underpowered performance. My vid playback, tabs, all of it, run quickly and efficiently and the battery lasts forever.
As to running other linux distros on it…I’ve only run ubuntu on it. I imagine you could put any distro (fedora) you want on it…just keep in mind chromebooks are supposedly based on a modified gentoo linux system.