Got a Dell Mini 10v? We've got a Chrome OS Image for You!

Recently, some developers at Dell have prepared a Chrome OS specially for the Dell Mini 10v. The Mini 10v is one of Dell's netbooks and is very close to the type of hardware that Google wants to use when Chrome OS is released to consumers.

So do you have a Dell Mini 10v? I don't, but I am downloading the USB image to inspect the changes that the Dell developers have made. Apparently they have gotten the wireless network feature in Chrome OS to play nice with Broadcom hardware. It's pretty cool to see employees of such a heavyweight as Dell playing with Chrome OS.

However, if you don't have a Mini 10v, you have time to buy one. And by that I mean, time to work at McDonald's, save up enough money to buy the netbook, and then wait until Chrome OS' final version is released. Unfortunately, this is due to the dismal download rate of the image. I have been downloading it for 18 hours and it has three days left running at 20 kB/s (it is a 7.5 GB file).

So has anyone tried the image out? If so, do you mind torrenting it and sharing the love? I will be sure to bring you my findings on the custom Chrome OS build as soon as I can get my hands on it. And if you already have, let us know what you think in the comments!

You can check out the post from Dell here:
Chrome OS Wi-Fi Support Running on a Mini 10v... Source Code Available

Chromium OS Testing: Gateway Laptop via USB Install

As you know, I have installed Chrome OS (Chromium OS) to a USB drive. I am now testing it on an old laptop of mine. Here are the specs for the machine:

Gateway MT6729
2 GB RAM
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU (1.6 GHz)
160 GB HDD
Intel Graphics
15.4" screen
Atheros Wireless Internet

So after a few hours of playing around with Chromium OS, I have discovered the things that work and the things that do not work (for my machine).

Functioning Features
- Wired Internet connection
- Log in works as expected
- My Google credentials sign me into all Google web apps
- Flash video (with fullscreen mode)
- Audio works
- Most apps open as expected (malfunctions cited below)- The Books app takes you to a Google Books version of Alice In Wonderland :)
- Chromium OS did detect my USB mouse and it works properly, including the scroll wheel
-Surprisingly, the USB install of Chromium OS actually remembered by bookmarks after shutdown. I'm not sure if this is a "cloud"-based feature or if it is writing them to the drive somehow...
- The power button on the laptop causes a proper shutdown

Non-functioning Features
- The Contacts app oddly brings up Gmail Chat, I was expecting a shot to my contacts in Gmail instead
- The calculator would not load for me
- The "To-do list" brought up the old sign on for an @google.com account (which we do not have)
- Chess did bring up a Flash-powered web app for playing chess
- Wireless networking does not work in Chrome OS on my machine, as of now
-  There's an odd bug that will either sign me out or crash the browser every so often (does not seem to be on a set time interval).
- Other hardware buttons (i.e. volume, mute, media controls) do nothing

The State of Chromium OS: Week 1
All in all, Chromium OS is running much better than I would have predicted. I am using it on unsupported and untested hardware (not the recommended notebook) and it is a very early build. I am quite impressed with the speed of Chromium OS and how well it works even this early in the game. Have you booted your PC with Chromium OS? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments!

Edit: And as noted in the comments, a reader has booted Chrome OS on an even older (1.8 GHz single-core) rig. Read about his or her experience below.

Would You Take a Free Netbook From Google?

Linuxjournal.com is running a story putting forth the idea of a subsidized Chrome OS netbook from Google. The cool think about the idea is that they are pondering a fully-subsidized (a.k.a. free!) netbook. The piece predicts that, without the need for an expensive hard drive, and with the falling prices of netbooks, Google could potentially validate the giving of free netbooks that run Chrome OS.

At first glance, this seems to be a great idea. Well, at second and third glance it's great, if you ask me. Who wouldn't want a free netbook computer? As the article predicts, this would completely flip the market for computers. Instead of paying $300 for a new netbook, you could get one for nothing, if you are willing to use Chrome OS. And at this point, I could say that I am. However, there is potential for Google to ruin this "free Chrome OS netbook".

So how would Google make money on this, you ask? We all know Google is in business for something, and employees have to be paid. Well, I would predict that they would implement well-placed advertisements throughout the system. You may say that this would be annoying, but I would bet that it would be tolerable if they are not "mandatory" ads like Apple is patenting. Nothing that a user must click on or interact with continuously to use the Chrome OS netbook.

I say if they played this right, a free Chrome OS netbook from Google could put them at the forefront of next-generation mobile computing. But only if they do it right, which is a long shot in many cases. What do you think about this? Would you take a free netbook with Chrome OS on it? A ad-supported netbook? Let us know in the comments!

Is your computer acting odd? Check you startup items with AboutMyPC.net!

We all experience slowness with our PC from time to time. Is it a virus? Is it that new program we installed? It's hard to know sometimes. However, if you examine the each startup item that is present when your computer boots, you can figure out what is slowing it down.

But how do I know what this startup item is? you may ask. You just installed a a couple of new programs and your computer is slow all of a sudden. But when you check the names of startup items in your Windows system, you don't know what the names mean. Well AboutmyPC.net is here to help.

With AboutmyPC.net, you can check the names of each individual startup item and decide if it is something you want slowing down your computer during bootup. You can even research and find out if the startup item is malicious. Many viruses are detected by how they affect your computer at start up time. AboutMyPC.net can help you find out about and speed up your PC.

This information has been brought to you by your friends at AboutMyPC.net.

Install Chrome OS to USB

Thanks to our friend Jorge Sierra at Makeuseof.com, we can now install Chromium OS, the open source version of Chrome OS to a USB drive. This will allow us to boot the OS natively on our computer, not in virtualization software.

I will walk you through how to install Chrome OS on your USB drive and boot your computer with it.

Things you will need:
1. 4 GB or larger USB drive
2. Image Writer program
3. USB image of Chrome OS
4. A Windows (or Linux :). I added alternate directions at the bottom) computer that can boot from a USB drive

1. Download the USB image and Image writer program. 

You can use Mr. Sierra's torrent file to download the Chrome OS USB image: Chrome OS to USB torrent file (just right click it and select "Save Link as...). You will need a BitTorrent client to download the image via the torrent (I recommend utorrent). Or you can simply download the file here: Chrome OS USB image.  For Windows, a program called Image Writer for Windows will be included in the torrent or file download. I will show you how to install Chrome OS on a USB drive in Windows.

2. Write Chrome OS Image to USB drive

To write the Chrome OS image to your USB drive, you will need to run the Image Writer for Windows by clicking on "Win32DiskImager" file that you downloaded with the Chrome OS image. After you install it, run the program and browser for the Chrome OS image clicking on the folder icon beside the text field in Image Writer. Select the image, then select your USB drive under the device section. If you don't know the letter of your drive, go to My Computer and see what label it has (should be (G:) or (H:) depending on how many drives you computer has). The writing process takes a few minutes, so don't be alarmed at its slowness.

Now select "write" to write the Chrome OS image to your USB drive.

3. Booting the Chrome OS USB image

Next, you will boot into Chrome OS using the USB image. First you will make sure your computer is set to be able to boot from a USB drive. To do this, simply change the boot setting in BIOS to look for a USB boot image (move USB drive above Hard Disk in you boot sequence). Now restart your computer with the Chrome OS USB plugged in and it should boot it before looking at your hard drive for an operating system. If you have any questions, just ask me in the comments!

For Installing Chrome OS on a USB drive in Linux:

Follow Step 1 and 2 above until the point where you write the image to USB drive. In a Linux environment, there is a Python script that you can use to write an image to a USB (I obtained it from Moblin.org) Here is a link to download the script: Image Writer. It is recommended that you have Python 2.4 or greater installed.

Write the image to the USB drive:
In a terminal type these commands-

# cd [directory with downloaded image-writer file]
# chmod a+x ./image-writer
# ./image-writer [Chrome OS USB image file name]

Make sure you replace "directory with downloaded image-writer file" and "Chrome OS USB image file name" with the actual directory and file names on your computer. The script will ask you which drive to write to. Simply enter the USB's designation and let it rip!
Thanks goes to the Moblin team for Image Writer.

Once again, credit goes to Jorge Sierra at Makeuseof.com for the Windows directions.

The Future Will Unfold as It Does: Chrome OS and Android to Merge

Since Chrome OS was announced, many have questioned how it will relate to Google's mobile operating system, Android. Some commentators say it will harm the company's goals, a so-called splintering of strategies, too many closely-related products. Others say the two systems will compliment one another and produce a thriving ecosystem.

Recently, the question was put to Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt. His response? "The future will unfold as it does."A good and mystical answer from the top of the search giant.

Google's official response to this question is:

"[W]e're reaching a perfect storm of converging trends where computers are behaving more like mobile devices, and phones are behaving more like small computers. Having two open source operating systems from Google provides both users and device manufacturers with more choice and helps contribute a wealth of new code to the open source community."

The official response seems to hold more water, albeit not as yoda-worthy. Google seems to be counting on the fact that mobile phones and laptops are going to migrate towards one another in terms of form and functionality. This reveals the near-perfect placement of Chrome OS' abilities. Google has produced an operating system that some call "too simple" or "not powerful enough" However, I would argue that it is just simple enough and not over-powered.

As mobile devices become more powerful, many users will find that they can do much of their daily computing on them. And with the maturation of web applications, many will find that they do not necessarily need a strong desktop computer to complete tasks. This is where Chrome OS comes in. With it, users will find that their needs are met almost perfectly, without the need to buy expensive hardware.

I do realize that there is and will continue to be a market segment that needs powerful workstations. There are multimedia editors and scientists that need high-end to supercomputer systems and Chrome OS will not suffice. However, this is a small niche in the computer industry and Google is not targeting it. 

Many people are also worried about how the two systems, Chrome OS and Android, will actually merge. Will it be messy and confusing for customers? Will it turn out to be a Frankenstein of an operating system, not fit for mobile devices or laptops? I don't think so. I think the merge will have plenty of time to happen naturally. As mobile devices become more powerful, they will be able to handle a system much like what Chromium OS (the open-source version of Chrome OS) is today. And that's what will be sold with them. It seems as though it will be more of a merge involving mobile devices and Chrome OS, with Android bridging the time between.

What do you think? Will the Android/ Chrome OS merge be a mess? Or will it produce a beautifully simple yet functional system to rule computing for the next decade? Let us know in the comments!

Desktop is now accessible in Chromium OS

It looks like Google's developer's are hot on the job of making Chromium OS into a consumer-ready Chrome OS. Perviously, if you were to select the Chrome OS desktop tab (the one the far left corner of the browser) it would take you to a login page for an @google.com account. Now it takes you to a page so you can login with your own credentials.

The desktop for Chromium OS is quite interesting, with multiple web-app icons. The icons include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Google Calendar, Google Reader and more. This shows that Google isn't attempting to shoehorn users into signing up for their services. They politely provide shortcuts to two more major email providers right on the default desktop.

The Chromium OS desktop also has the disclaimer "UI under development. Designs are subject to change." at the top. It also links users to chromium.org/user-experience, which explains what the Chrome OS developers are doing and how they want the UI for the system to be developed. So what do you think of Chromium/Chrome OS' user interface? Let me know in the comments!