Video adapters and USBs

On the left side of the CR-48 is a port to plug in another monitor. On the right side is a USB port.

How does Chrome OS respond to USB devices when it doesn't have the drivers? My USB mouse works perfectly fine in the CR-48. But my wacom tablet and my Palm Treo cell phone won't.

Not to mention the monitor port. Will it automatically detect another monitor? I haven't test this feature out.

Gaming, Hulu, and typing

This morning, I spent some time playing some flash games at Jayisgames.com. Best hour and a half I ever spent in bed.

I did some hulu watching and listened to a few podcasts. My usual habit is to download podcast mp3s, and playing them on Winamp. This time, I listened as it streams directly from the origin website. It made me a little nervous that sooner or later, it'll get choppy or my internet would stop working, and then I'll lose what I was listening to.

Doing some light Googling, I learned that some programmers managed to fiddle around and put a linux distro onto the CR-48. There's something morally wrong about getting a laptop from Google to test, and then installing another OS system on it.

I think it might be necessary. I guess I'm still connected to the hard-drive experience. My mp3s, my videos, my work files -- they are sitting in the cloud but have no way of being used. That is, until apps have a way of communicating to my own personal file system on the cloud.

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I probably won't do it though. Maybe in a few months.

3 am research and battery power

So my roommates and I are having a conversation that somehow led to Matthew Broderick, and how he was in Inspector Gadget. I didn't believe that a live-action Inspector Gadget existed, and tried to look it up on the phone. Then I remembered that the CR-48 had such an immense battery life that it'll last during this current 3-am research.

Indeed, it did. The only reason I'm still with my old Palm Treo 700p is the fact the battery life on that ancient tech is AMAZING. The iPhone, it's battery life lasts about 3 hours. Forget that. I need to be able to use a portable computer at a moment's notice. Battery life is pretty important to me. Especially since most portable technology forces you to carry your charger with you.

The CR-48 succeeds in battery life. 66% and 6 hours and counting.

Day 2

The first few hours of using the CR-48, I synced up my Chrome browser with the Chrome OS.

(From this post on, I will refer to the CR-48 by name, or the Chrome OS.)

First thing I did was turning off syncing themes, extensions, and apps. There are some unique extensions I had to install that I didn't want synced up with my Chrome Browser on my other computers. Mostly the theme and the apps. I am sold on the idea of having unique settings for the Chrome OS to be stored on the cloud, but I don't want them to interfere with my Chrome Browser.

Some issues I am struggling with moving from Desktop to Cloud is my KeePass software. I wish I went with a online password storing source.

One really big issue I have is that I have a Intuos2 Wacom tablet. I can plug it in, but I can't really use it like a tablet. My plans to use Aviary to compensate for the lack of photoshop is thrown out of the window. I can't use a mouse to draw.

I went to work and didn't have a internet connection. I was hoping to do some writing. But none of the apps were working, and that hampered my workflow. I read that GoogleDocs is working on a way to go offline again, and I'm really excited by that.

I am also hoping that the Remote Connection will work. I enabled it in the Labs, but it refuses to accept my gmail name and password. Guess I'm not ready to use it. But, I'm really excited by that feature.

I'm currently installing various extensions to help me with tasks. I'm a little confused about extensions and apps. (Should I go for one or the other?) I installed a twitter extension and I'm looking for a blogger extension. Maybe I should aim for the app versions instead.

Some interface stuff - I also can't get used to the touchpad, so I attached a mouse. I am also having some trouble scrolling, so I'm using alt+arrow keys. It's the fastest way I can think of.

In short :

• Turning off syncing so not to interfere with Chrome browsers and Chrome OS
• I'm excited about Remote Connections
• I'm using a mouse
• Apps or extensions?
• Offline mode for apps

Thank you Google

First off, I want to thank Google for sending me the CR-48 and allowing me to be part of the pilot program. The first thing I want to do is be a very active participant by documenting my various uses of the CR-48.

Before, some background information. I applied as an individual who wanted to test the CR-48 as a artist/animator.

I made a video reply to their post to their Chromercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT4uiaoHwuc

Before I got a chance to upload it, the CR-48 already arrived at my doorstep. But I wanted to show the video off anyways. :)

I plan to make more animations (hopefully on the CR-48) soon.