OK, What I Really Like About the Chrome Notebook

Open your Cr-48 Chrome Notebook and it is one, in just a few seconds. I love that. I can check my email in a matter of seconds.

What actually takes a few more seconds is for the computer to reconnect to my wireless connection. I wish this was even faster... and hopefully it will get faster.

This makes the computer perfect for checking email, calendar, loading up my Google Reader feeds.  

I give Google and A in this area of boot speed and waking up speed.

Update: Writing a Research Paper with the Google Chrome OS Notebook

I couldn't do it. I knew that Google Docs would not handle the formatting I needed for the paper (I use it everyday for most everything else, but need Word or OpenOffice for more power).
I also tried Zoho Writer because I know it is far more powerful than Google Docs, but again, it was too cumbersome.
Another reason I went local (usually I refer to this when speaking of food, but hey, it seems to fit here, too) was that an initial writing of my paper existed in an OpenOffice document. It was far easier to add to it there than mess around with some online document service.
Let me know, have you written any seriously formatted papers using only an online tool?

How Can I View Multiple Tabs or Pages at Once with Chrome OS

I ran across another crazy thing about the Cr-48: I cannot drag out, resize, or otherwise arrange browser tabs except within the same window. This realization killed me when I was going to write some pages of my research paper. I simply wanted to put my notes on one side of the page and my new page on the other and type away. But no, I couldn't do it.

After a few minutes of research I found  a way to do it. Thank you "Frame Two Pages"!

This simple app is available in the Chrome Web Store: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/eldgpcphflnopbjadiaonofideekgdgm

Edit: After further testing, Frame Two Pages only works with some pages. It did not work as well as I could have hoped.

Google, please allow us some easy way to view multiple tabs at once, resize tabs, and otherwise be allowed some flexibility in viewing space.

Writing a Research Paper on ChromeOS

After receiving a Cr-48 Chrome Notebook this week, I decided to write my research paper for graduate school solely on the web. It has been difficult to get started.

One of the main reasons is the inability to notate PDFs. I would really like to make notations! I've also encountered serious issues with highlighting text. It simply does not seem to work for PDFs. I can only grab one line at a time.

In working through this issue I've hit on a few solutions.

1. When viewing a PDF directly with Chrome's built-in PDF viewer, press CTRL+S and save the PDF. Once saved, upload it to Google Docs, making sure to select the option to "Convert text from PDF or images.
2. Alternatively, I also tried creating a Google Doc and simply highlighting one line at a time from the web and pasting it into the doc. Yeah, that is highly annoying and inefficient.

The bottom line is that the built in PDF viewer is very underpowered. It makes doing research very difficult. 

How Do I Take a Picture with My Cr-48 Google Chrome Notebook

Seriously, I just want to take a picture with my Chrome Notebook. I know it can do it because I have a fairly decent picture from when I initially set up the notebook. But when I use something like Picnik, the quality is so poor as to be laughable.

I've read that this is a problem with the way the linux kernel running the ChromeOS handles the picturing taking.

What is interesting is that the initial profile picture I took looks just fine. I'm hoping a future update will allow for better quality pictures.

What is with the Missing Keyboard keys on the Google Chrome Notebook

I am sorely missing some keys on the Cr-48 Google Chrome Notebook. I never realized that a delete key is imperative for my work flow. Slightly less important, but only slightly, are the home and end keys. I am lost without them!

There is plenty of beautiful space between the keys on the keyboard, but I think I would have preferred those staple keys: delete, home, end, and also page up and page down.

One trick I learned is to hold the ctrl key down and use the left or right arrow keys to skip whole words at a time, but not quite as good as home and end.

Oh well for now. I would love to figure out a way to customize the keys but haven't done that yet.

I explored one extension called Shortcut Manager. It does allow some customization, but does not give options to create a delete, home, or end key. I'll have to keep looking.

Figuring out the Touch Pad on the Chrome Notebook

I spend a second night using the Cr-48 Chrome Notebook and really pressed the touchpad to work hard for me(play-on-words intended). Sadly, it did not. I had a really hard time highlighting text with the touchpad. The hardest thing to do was play solitaire, which I was doing for test purposes only, of course.
I'm slowly adjusting and getting proficient with it.
There are a few things I really like.
One, you can scroll by using two fingers this. This is a really nice effect.
Two, the tap to click is very useful. Obviously, many touchpads offer this but it is nice. You can adjust the sensitivity of the touchpad from your settings, too, if you want to try a different feel.
I also find myself accidentally touching the pad when I am typing. I think this is because it sits right between your thumbs when you type and if you rest your hand down it hits the touchpad.
I'm wondering what a slightly smaller touchpad would do. It might actually work better.

Getting Logged on to Your Chrome Notebook

I had to wait in some serious suspense to log onto my Chrome notebook for the first time. You cannot log on for the first time unless you have an internet connection. My Cr-48 showed that I had a connection, but for some reason it would not work.
Eventually, I got smart and went and restarted my router.
That worked and I was rolling!

Hello Cr-48 - My Own Google Chrome Notebook

A few months ago I received an email telling me I could sign up to receive a Google Notebook.I probably shouldn't have found out when I did because it was at a red light while I was driving home from work. But I did, and as soon as I got home I politely asked my two sons if I could use the computer. Or, rather, I insisted that I "needed" to use the computer.

A few weeks later I saw a post come across on one of my Google Reader feeds that you could track the Chrome notebooks that were being delivered across the US. And I couldn't believe it but one was coming to my zip code! But alas, no Chrome notebook arrived for me:(

Fast forward a few months. I was sitting in a staff meeting at my work when I thought I saw my son prowling around through the doorway. It was he and the rest of my family. They had brought me a surprise in a box. It was a Google Chrome Notebook!

The people I work with typically are not quite as into the tech stuff that I am, but they sure were excited about the prospect of receiving a free computer. They wanted to know how I did it. Well, I can't exactly tell you how I was chosen to receive one, but they all signed up within the next few hours.

So, to make good on my 140 character statement in my Chrome notebook application, here it is:

I will put the pedal to the metal and take my new notebook to 160Mbps. I’ll tell my closest friends and the world about my shiny new Chrome.

--posted from my Cr-48