Hey, Chromies! Yup, I missed a week of sending out the newsletter. I never expected my job hunt to take up so much time; every resume and cover letter needs some tweaking for every different position! I’m back on the horse this week though and have plenty to share. First up is the new ChromeOS 117 software release, which should be on your device by now. I cover what the new features and changes are. And there’s plenty in there.
I hope that Google stays true to its previous goals, as far as I can tell, for ChromeOS: As simple, secure a system as possible for 90% of users. For PCs, whether desktop, laptop or convertible, ChromeOS is thus without competition. Further customization overwhelms many users, probably also complicates the synchronization of all settings between different Chromebooks with different monitor sizes and features. Keeping the system simple, not succumbing to the constant push to add new features, is what I think is Google's most important task. I've been following what's new for ChromeOS Flex for the past few months, but I don't really use any of it in my everyday life.
Since I have a few Chromebooks --some offer updates, others I have go to settings to check-- I checked, and the other got the whole package. I expected to be indifferent about the Material You (I have none of it on my Pixel for example) but find I like it, a lot!
I don't know if I'm stupid, your explanations for accessing new features is too slim, or if ChromeOS117 is not equal in all distributions. I have some features, but these 4 are AWOL:
* Material You Accent Colors
* A "Join" button for appointments (would be cool!)
* Hardware Usage Data in the Launcher. I searched both "CPU" and "Memory Usage" with no results like in your image. I didn't try "battery" as this is an HP Chromebase!
* My quick controls (forgot their name, when you click on the time bottom right) are not the Material You style in your image, though I do have in some areas rounded corners, but these have been here for awhile.
There are definitely times when some devices get features in a new ChromeOS version while others don't. Google often takes a "rolling release" approach, both for updates and new features. It's frustrating because the company announces the features, I report and/or test them, and then people don't have them. Regeardless, my advice is to be patient, unless you want to check for experimental flags on your device to enable a feature early.
Interestingly, the second verion of OS117 came to my Chromebase adding 2 more features others got in the first (maybe one Material You thing in 116?) but still missing a couple listed above. Something more bizarre happened though in this lastest verson of 117, that you might find particularly interesting:
With so few Chromebook units that rely on Bluetooth keyboard only (like my Chromebase) there have been issues all along only experienced by us, which being a small minority of users, makes them low priority in Googledom. With this latest OS release, once again the problem of the Virtual Keyboard always opening when clicking inside a text box anywhere (and not closing even while typing on the keyboard!) returned. I suspect that with this version the flag to deal with the problem (disable virtual keyboard) was eliminated and they forgot to fix it at the OS level?
After a day of suffering I decided to get rid of the Chromebase, having dealt with so many issues since the start (note that HP stopped producing it shorting after it came out!) and was just about to buy a (pricey) functionally similar monitor to add to my ASUS CX536 to replace the Chromebase, when I wrote a plea-feedback to Google from the unit itself, sending them the logs and all. The next day the problem mysteriously went away, no additional tampering with settings, no additional restarts, it just went away! As unlikely as it seems, it would appear that, whether in response to my feedback or whatever, they used their backdoor access to fix it. Maybe a secret patch was sent out universally???
Which Chromebook(s) would you recomend for someone who only uses a laptop for email, youtube and internet searches? No games, no apps, no camera, no movies. I currently have an HP with Win 10 and despise it, for a varitey of reason. I'll never buy another HP product, so those are off the list. Thank you. P.S. If you don't have time to reply, I understand.
Herr, I think Michael's recommendation is an excellent one as long it's Windows software and not the HP laptop hardware that you don't like. If you go that route and still want a Chromebook recommendation, just reply back and tell me your budget. I'll suggest some devices that meet the use cases you already mentioned.
Thanks Kevin, it's the HP hardware that I don't like. I have no problem with Windows.
I could go up to $300, although I'd prefer to spend less. I don't need speed or large amounts of storage, or multiple windows open at the same time. I'm a very basic user. A 14" screen is siufficent, I prefer using a mouse instead of a trackpad, and I don't need a touch screen or backlit keyboard, I listen to music with headphones, so great speakers aren't an issue. I'd like to take an axe to my hp.
Gotcha. Unfortunately, when looking at the $300 and under options the physical hardware (both internal and external) are generally lacking. However, there are some options that I've used and liked. I don't know if you're in the US (so let me know if not), but if you are, here are a few solid options at or near your budget due to current sales this week:
Lenovo - IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook (it's a tablet with detachable keyboard, so maybe not for youi)
Acer - Chromebook Spin 514 (Ryzen CPU model)
Acer - Vero 514 Chromebook Green PC Laptop
All of these should meet your needs and while I can find less expensive options, I'm leery because of the CPU and limited RAM on them. Out of the bunch, I'd recommend the Vero as it should perform best over time, meaning it should meet your needs for longer over time.
I hope that Google stays true to its previous goals, as far as I can tell, for ChromeOS: As simple, secure a system as possible for 90% of users. For PCs, whether desktop, laptop or convertible, ChromeOS is thus without competition. Further customization overwhelms many users, probably also complicates the synchronization of all settings between different Chromebooks with different monitor sizes and features. Keeping the system simple, not succumbing to the constant push to add new features, is what I think is Google's most important task. I've been following what's new for ChromeOS Flex for the past few months, but I don't really use any of it in my everyday life.
Who wants more, should just take a Linux ;-)
Since I have a few Chromebooks --some offer updates, others I have go to settings to check-- I checked, and the other got the whole package. I expected to be indifferent about the Material You (I have none of it on my Pixel for example) but find I like it, a lot!
I don't know if I'm stupid, your explanations for accessing new features is too slim, or if ChromeOS117 is not equal in all distributions. I have some features, but these 4 are AWOL:
* Material You Accent Colors
* A "Join" button for appointments (would be cool!)
* Hardware Usage Data in the Launcher. I searched both "CPU" and "Memory Usage" with no results like in your image. I didn't try "battery" as this is an HP Chromebase!
* My quick controls (forgot their name, when you click on the time bottom right) are not the Material You style in your image, though I do have in some areas rounded corners, but these have been here for awhile.
There are definitely times when some devices get features in a new ChromeOS version while others don't. Google often takes a "rolling release" approach, both for updates and new features. It's frustrating because the company announces the features, I report and/or test them, and then people don't have them. Regeardless, my advice is to be patient, unless you want to check for experimental flags on your device to enable a feature early.
Interestingly, the second verion of OS117 came to my Chromebase adding 2 more features others got in the first (maybe one Material You thing in 116?) but still missing a couple listed above. Something more bizarre happened though in this lastest verson of 117, that you might find particularly interesting:
With so few Chromebook units that rely on Bluetooth keyboard only (like my Chromebase) there have been issues all along only experienced by us, which being a small minority of users, makes them low priority in Googledom. With this latest OS release, once again the problem of the Virtual Keyboard always opening when clicking inside a text box anywhere (and not closing even while typing on the keyboard!) returned. I suspect that with this version the flag to deal with the problem (disable virtual keyboard) was eliminated and they forgot to fix it at the OS level?
After a day of suffering I decided to get rid of the Chromebase, having dealt with so many issues since the start (note that HP stopped producing it shorting after it came out!) and was just about to buy a (pricey) functionally similar monitor to add to my ASUS CX536 to replace the Chromebase, when I wrote a plea-feedback to Google from the unit itself, sending them the logs and all. The next day the problem mysteriously went away, no additional tampering with settings, no additional restarts, it just went away! As unlikely as it seems, it would appear that, whether in response to my feedback or whatever, they used their backdoor access to fix it. Maybe a secret patch was sent out universally???
Which Chromebook(s) would you recomend for someone who only uses a laptop for email, youtube and internet searches? No games, no apps, no camera, no movies. I currently have an HP with Win 10 and despise it, for a varitey of reason. I'll never buy another HP product, so those are off the list. Thank you. P.S. If you don't have time to reply, I understand.
Put ChromeOS Flex on your old laptop. Before this, install Google Drive for Windows on the laptop und save your data online.
Thank you.
Herr, I think Michael's recommendation is an excellent one as long it's Windows software and not the HP laptop hardware that you don't like. If you go that route and still want a Chromebook recommendation, just reply back and tell me your budget. I'll suggest some devices that meet the use cases you already mentioned.
Thanks Kevin, it's the HP hardware that I don't like. I have no problem with Windows.
I could go up to $300, although I'd prefer to spend less. I don't need speed or large amounts of storage, or multiple windows open at the same time. I'm a very basic user. A 14" screen is siufficent, I prefer using a mouse instead of a trackpad, and I don't need a touch screen or backlit keyboard, I listen to music with headphones, so great speakers aren't an issue. I'd like to take an axe to my hp.
Gotcha. Unfortunately, when looking at the $300 and under options the physical hardware (both internal and external) are generally lacking. However, there are some options that I've used and liked. I don't know if you're in the US (so let me know if not), but if you are, here are a few solid options at or near your budget due to current sales this week:
Lenovo - IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook (it's a tablet with detachable keyboard, so maybe not for youi)
Acer - Chromebook Spin 514 (Ryzen CPU model)
Acer - Vero 514 Chromebook Green PC Laptop
All of these should meet your needs and while I can find less expensive options, I'm leery because of the CPU and limited RAM on them. Out of the bunch, I'd recommend the Vero as it should perform best over time, meaning it should meet your needs for longer over time.
Hope this helps a little!
I'm living inThailand, and I'll see what I can find online. Thank you, I appreciate you spending the time to help me.