After the successes with smartphones and tablets Google wants with a new version of ChromeOS now synonymous in the notebook market to make points. With the first version of the cloud operating system, which was started two years ago, this did not work, too limited the possibilities and also the hardware could not convince. At the second start it should now work. We are looking at the two counterparties and answer the most important questions.
What is the main difference between ChromeOS and Windows 8?
ChromeOS is unlike Windows a cloud operating system. Instead of locally installed programs, almost all web applications are executed here. The basis is a Linux version with the Chrome browser as a central component. Google has developed for ChromeOS its own hardware-accelerated graphics engine called Aura and its own window manager. Therefore, common Linux programs do not run on Chromebooks. Users also do not have direct access to the Linux file system. Android apps also do not work with ChromeOS.
Which devices are running ChromeOS and what do they cost?
The operating system includes only a few small preinstalled tools such as a memo program, a mediaplayer, and a file manager with an integrated image viewer. Otherwise, on Chromebooks, only Web applications written in Flash or HTML5 can be run, which also run on any Windows notebook. There is usually not even Google's Chrome browser necessary, a current Internet Explorer or Firefox is enough.
Does ChromeOS need an online connection and the cloud?
Google supports both Intel and ARM architecture with ChromeOS. On the American market, Chromebooks currently cost 280 euros an 11.6 inch device from Acer with Intel Celeron 847 and a 320 GB hard drive, which is also used as an application cache and for the local storage of data. The GPU uses the Intel HD graphics integrated in the processor. The 300 euro expensive Chromebook is based on an ARM processor of its own production, the Exynos 5250. It is a SoC with two cores and integrated Mali graphics. The data store is a small SSD with 16 GB. The display with 1366er resolution is likewise 11.6 inches largely, in contrast to that of the Acer however matte. Both devices are equipped with WLAN-N controllers and Bluetooth, the Acer also has a LAN port. For 50 euros more you get the Samsung also with 3G support. Chromebooks with larger displays are available from Google and HP, but not for the American market.
Is Chrome OS running as fast as Windows?
Data and settings are stored primarily on Google servers via the Internet - a permanent online connection is therefore sensible. The new Chromebooks bring a limited offline mode for the first time, but you have to install special offline-capable apps, which cache data locally and synchronize with the cloud memory, as soon as an Internet connection again. For Google Drive, however, the offline mode must first be activated in the settings. On Google, these offline apps are listed: there are more than 600 apps. The primary data store is Google Drive, a Chromebook owner has a storage capacity of two years, and you get 15 GB free of charge.
In addition, you can of course use other cloud storage like Dropbox or Skydrive. In contrast to Google Drive, there is no integration in the file manager of ChromeOS, but you have to store or download data about the provider's web apps. Data and documents can also be copied to the local or external data carrier. ChromeOS can now access external hard disks with NTFS partition in the current version.
Chromebooks are a real fast-start: it takes no ten seconds until the Samsung Chromebook is ready for use. The start of the web apps can take a slow Internet connection. As in Windows, several different users can be created, who then have access to their individual data. A dedicated Google account for each user is mandatory. The ChromeOS desktop is similar to the Windows desktop. You have a modifiable background image and a button at the bottom.
However, no shortcuts can be placed on the desktop. Instead of the Windows Start button, the Chrome logo is used to start the browser. Another button calls up a kind of start menu for the installed web applications. In contrast to the first version of ChromeOS, the Chrome browser no longer occupies the entire desktop, but can be used as a sliding window on the desktop, similar to the Windows desktop. Several windows can now be displayed simultaneously. In addition, a tab can be changed to a new window.
Download: All Chromebooks at a glance
If you want to perform typical office tasks with a Chromebook, you need to rely on Office programs in the form of web applications. The standard software for Chromebooks comes here naturally from Google, consisting of the word processing Docs, a spreadsheets spreadsheets spreadsheets and a presentation software. Microsoft Office files make Google Apps passable, Google Docs is over-archived for complex documents with embedded images and footnotes. Google's spreadsheet app also provides only some of the features Microsoft's Excel is capable of. As Google uses its own script language for macros, Word or Excel macros do not work.
The Zoho Office is also available with simpler VBA Macros. Microsoft itself has Web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, which are accessible through the Skydrive page. However, the functionality of this free online office is very limited compared to the PC version. In addition, there are a number of specialized web apps for the office, such as note tools, task schedulers, calendars, or PDF converters. Bad cards are needed for Web applications that require Java. Java and Silverlight are not supported in ChromeOS. Connecting a printer directly to a Chromebook does not work. Printing is only possible if you take the detour via the cloud. However, Google's Cloud Print requires either a PC with a connected printer or a printer model that supports Cloud Print.
Access to external media is now quite good in the current version of ChromeOS. Connecting to resources on a local network is currently not working: Chromebooks can not access Windows or Linux servers. Data on NAS drives is also accessible only if the NAS allows Web access. It looks bad when accessing many file types. Thus the operating system knows neither TIF files, nor videos in the WMA or MKV format. In this case, only the conversion via a web service such as Fileminx will help. But especially with videos, the upload and download of course takes its time and also devours a lot of data volume. Users of Apple's iTunes will not be happy with Chromebooks because there is no ChromeOS iTunes client.
At the hardware level it does not look so bad: Chromebooks do not use a conventional BIOS, but the GPL license coreboot firmware. In the basic setting of the devices, it only executes Google-signed code, similar to the UEFI-Secure boot on some Windows 8 computers. However, the devices can also be placed in a developer mode, which allows root access. The individual web apps run in separate storage areas. This does provide security, but makes the data exchange with copy and paste more difficult. As data is primarily stored on cloud servers and the apps are on the web, hardware defects and thefts also lose their own horror. At least the data are still available. However, one must give his data out of hand and do not know who is reading everything, about US secret services. Data on Google Drive is owned by the user, but Google may terminate the account in the event of violations of US copyright law.
How does it look at ChromeOS with Office applications from
Windows can not install on Chromebooks, which is because of the Coreboot firmware is not. A full Ubuntu Linux can be installed, however, if you put the devices into the developer mode. Then even a dual boot between ChromeOS and Ubuntu is possible. At the Samsung, the mass storage for Linux is very limited, the Acer device with its 320 GB HDD is more suitable.
How good is GooglesChromeOS on data exchange?
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Do Chromebooks support other operating systems?
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