12-16-10 Cr-48 After roughly a week of using the Cr-48 Google Chrome notebook I'm intrigued by it and it's potential but I'm not sure that it will have mass appeal. The experience itself is welcoming enough but would a normal user find it to be everything they need? Would a normal everyday user be able to navigate and operate it without the staples of traditional operating systems; the desktop the multiple windows; the ability to switch between multiple applications at a whim, I’m not sure that chrome will do everything (at least at this stage) that an everyday user needs. Running apps (not full applications or programs mind you) in multiple tabs is intuitive enough for any user who has used a modern day web browser but it seems that when you’re not on a tab the app (depending on the app and how it is developed) doesn’t continue to operate. The operating system itself appears to slow down the more tabs you have open. The main issue I have had with chrome so far is media. Simply put it is not intuitive, there isn’t a itunes, or zune software that you can use. You can’t simply “play your music” and you can’t simply “look at your photos.” This is something that has to be fixed if chrome is going to be accepted by normal users, I can’t imagine a normal everyday person turning on a chrome laptop and finding it as easy to use as Windows or OSX. The other concern that I encountered is simple, where do you store your files? If you’re not linked completely to the “cloud” storing all of your photos, documents, and media online then this is not an OS for you. I have yet to find a simple way to store photos or music on the hard drive and access them, but I could easily access my documents, and photos via online methods (google docs, picasa etc.). This is a large hurdle for Google because most users although they have no problem sharing items via facebook or blogs, still want the ability to pick and choose what they share. By believing users will simply “live in the cloud” Google is successfully alienating a lot of users who want some semblance of control of their information. You can’t have items that you’re working on locally without having them accessible remotely which can scare away a lot of potential users. The foreignness of this might pass with time but where we as a culture are right now I don’t see it catching on without serious concerns from the populous. 12-15-10 Facebook for Android Updated to 1.5
Initial enhancements.. Facebook Chat now in the Android App! |
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