How good is this OS and how do you get it?

[rootle]

I've not seen it being advertised or anything. I knew it existed though. How does it compare to an OS like Windows, would it be a good replacement? And how can I get it if I decide I want it?

 

[vinaya]

The only experience I have with Chrome is the browser. I don't have good experience with Chrome browser. It is damn slow, compared to my favorite browser firefox. But then chrome browser and chrome OS are entirely two different products. I have not tried Chrome OS. However, I hear chromebook which usxes Chrome OS is pretty good.

 

[vinaya]

The only experience I have with Chrome is the browser. I don't have good experience with Chrome browser. It is damn slow, compared to my favorite browser firefox. But then chrome browser and chrome OS are entirely two different products. I have not tried Chrome OS. However, I hear chromebook which uses Chrome OS is pretty good.

 

[fcuco]

• You get it by buying a Chromebook device, I think that it is offered as a separate download but this is not official as far as I know, if you want to experience it you have to buy a Chromebook.
• It will replace Windows only if you use you windows machine for browsing the internet and are comfortable using web based application like the Google Docs office suite instead of Microsoft Office. Some applications continue to work if you are not connected to the internet and can be used offline even though they are web applications, all changes are synchronized later when you connect.
• You can't install any programs on it and they usually have a limited hard drive space as everything is uploaded to the cloud anyway, you can connect your camera and transfer pictures to the internal hard drive. You can connect any storage device really.
• You can install linux on a Chromebook and it can live alongside Chrome OS
• You can't do gaming since you can't install games, you can play any type of online game as long as it is not a Java Applet.

 

[rootle]

• You get it by buying a Chromebook device, I think that it is offered as a separate download but this is not official as far as I know, if you want to experience it you have to buy a Chromebook.
• It will replace Windows only if you use you windows machine for browsing the internet and are comfortable using web based application like the Google Docs office suite instead of Microsoft Office. Some applications continue to work if you are not connected to the internet and can be used offline even though they are web applications, all changes are synchronized later when you connect.
• You can't install any programs on it and they usually have a limited hard drive space as everything is uploaded to the cloud anyway, you can connect your camera and transfer pictures to the internal hard drive. You can connect any storage device really.
• You can install linux on a Chromebook and it can live alongside Chrome OS
• You can't do gaming since you can't install games, you can play any type of online game as long as it is not a Java Applet.

So from what you said it isn't really a conventional OS because it is only available for a few laptops and doesn't let you install games. Why exactly was it designed like this? What is the point of it not being available for use on more devices?

 

[rootle]

The only experience I have with Chrome is the browser. I don't have good experience with Chrome browser. It is damn slow, compared to my favorite browser firefox. But then chrome browser and chrome OS are entirely two different products. I have not tried Chrome OS. However, I hear chromebook which uses Chrome OS is pretty good.

Yeah the browser and the OS are two separate things. It seems like a bad idea to have named them the same thing. But I can't imagine why you would hate Chrome. It's one of the most common browsers used. I've used Firefox and there isn't really that noticeable a difference in performance. Internet Explorer is the browser that's usually criticized for being incredibly slow.

 

[rz3300]

Well personally I am a big fan of Chrome, the browser and the OS. The truth is is that the OS is not what you typically would think of if you are coming from a PC or a Mac, and in that sense it is limited. From what I have experienced, though, with effort and knowledge you can do anything that you can on other operating systems, you just might have to do a little more research.

 

[Fuzyon]

As far as I'm afraid you can only get Chrome OS on a Chromebook, the best of them are made by Samsung and Acer. The OS pretty much allows you to use Chrome for a lot of things, but you can still install other applications and even dual-boot Linux. Chromebooks are also really cheap.

 

[fcuco]

So from what you said it isn't really a conventional OS because it is only available for a few laptops and doesn't let you install games. Why exactly was it designed like this? What is the point of it not being available for use on more devices?

The idea of it is to be more of a proof of concept for cloud computing, basically this means that the OS will become nothing more than a thin client for applications where all the computing power is restricted and used in "the cloud", whatever that means. This is nothing new, not too long ago we had mainframes and dumb terminals that were used to connect to those, this is the same principle. Eventually web technologies like HTML5 will be mature enough to offer applications (even games) that are equivalent to the current ones. They started with the most common applications: Office Suites so you could use a Chromebook to do "work" and not having to install anything since you basically only use web based applications and save your documents to the cloud.

Right now ChromeOS is a little ahead of its time since I believe that we are not ready yet for a full blown cloud based computing environment, for instance there is no serious substitute for something like Photoshop that's web based, but for a lot of people Google Docs could substitute Microsoft Office.

 

[abonnen]

You get it by having a chrombook or chrome device (at least this is the only way I know), I absolutely love chrome os. Now there are some draw backs to having it some things do not yet work with chrome os becasue on a chromebook you can't download programs on it. It is basically ran using the internet and apps. It is good for me becasue I load a lot of pictures for my business and it is FAST for me. Plus I like my computer being pretty simple and this fits the bill. I have two chromebooks and have loved them, I use to be a MAC girl but when my Mac laptop went out I decided to try the chromebook and save money, glad I did!

 

[cluckeyo]

There are tons of free apps available for the Chromebook (Chromebox). I just got mine and I have tried a few apps. Very anxious to try more of them. The concept is fabulous. I love the fact that everything goes across devices with Chrome browser. The Chrome OS is just all that you need to do Chrome in a neat little package which is far less expensive than a laptop. I will be putting mine to work very soon.

 

[abonnen]

There are tons of free apps available for the Chromebook (Chromebox). I just got mine and I have tried a few apps. Very anxious to try more of them. The concept is fabulous. I love the fact that everything goes across devices with Chrome browser. The Chrome OS is just all that you need to do Chrome in a neat little package which is far less expensive than a laptop. I will be putting mine to work very soon.

I love mine to, however I do see that it does have a few shortcomings, however I think programs and apps will chance up with chrome to make them available. The concept is awesome though, the main selling point for me is though the price.