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My wife got to test-drive Chromebooks for work. She's not exactly a power user, but found the limited functionality and restrictive environment incredibly frust

My wife got to test-drive Chromebooks for work. She's not exactly a power user, but found the limited functionality and restrictive environment incredibly frustrating. Her conclusion was that computers should do exactly what the user wants to, either because they are incredibly well designed withing specific constraints (iPad), or because they simply do as they're told (PC's, Macs). The Chromebook is neither, it basically does what Google thinks people should do, without any of the depth and sophistication of Apple's opinionated user experience. They may hit the sweet spot for some, but it seems to me to be a very small niche. The end result was that my wife was ready to throw the thing out the window, and handed it over to me with the words "see how long you last before you want to smash it".

acgourley 13y ago
Just to add a competing anecdote - my mother absolutely loves hers. She spends 6+ hours a day on it. She runs an etsy shop, keeps up with email, keeps up with social networks. She hasn't had to worry about anti-virus software, printer drivers, OS updates or backups. It's a huge win for her, and for me.
- csmuk 13y ago
  Conversely and factually rather than merely anecdotal, my Brother laser printer, Canon dye sub and big HP laser printers don't work if you plug them into a chromebook. Nor will it print to my print server. Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and OSX work instantly. As it's a sealed featureless box, how would one proceed here?
  - acgourley 13y ago
    Definitely annoying. I'd tell her to buy another printer before buying another computer though.
    - csmuk 13y ago
      I wouldn't. I'd expect it to work. This is 2013, not the pre-GDI printer fragmentation nightmare of the 80's.
  - VikingCoder 13y ago
    Chrome Cloud Printing. You have a Desktop plugged in to the printer. You set up Cloud Printing, and now every time you're logged in to a Chrome Browser (or Chromebook), from anywhere on the planet, you can print to that printer. Chromebooks don't replace desktops, not for most people. They enhance the crap out of them, in my opinion. Chrome Remote Desktop is awesome.
    - csmuk 13y ago
      It doesn't work with my dye sub printer or HP network laser. I tried. Documents never arrive at the printer. Windows has had remote desktop since 1997. It's had remote assistance since 2002. I've spent 7 hours a day, 5 days a week for 5 years working over remote desktop sessions with shared sound, disks, printers and even recently USB devices. That's awesome.
      - VikingCoder 13y ago
        Google has two-factor authentication and does the tunneling for Chrome Remote Desktop for you, so you don't have to set it up. From my Chromebook, I can remote control a Mac or a Linux box, too. You've tried setting up Cloud printing on your desktop, printing to your HP network laser, and then using it remotely from another Chrome, and it never worked? Your experience is the opposite of mine - it works great.
        csmuk 13y ago
        Remote assistance requires no configuration. It doesn't do two factor authentication though. I have PuTTY which is pretty good at remotely controlling my OpenBSD machines. I don't use OSX. That is correct. Nothing at all happened.
        VikingCoder 13y ago
        I can remote into my home desktop right now. I believe with Remote Assistance, someone has to set it up on both ends, correct? I wouldn't be surprised if your workplace is blocking Cloud Printing. That's a bummer.
- what_ever 13y ago
  Why wouldn't a tablet be suitable for this usecase?
  - acgourley 13y ago
    Perhaps now. Prices are getting cheaper and tablet multitasking is getting better. Keep in mind my mom is a "non-technical producer" which means a large amount of typing and multitasking. A built in touchpad/keyboard and a tabbed OS is a bit more optimal than a touch interface with optional external keyboard.
freyrs3 13y ago
Seems to be a big leap in this argument between the "Chromebook doesn't fulfill my needs" to "it only does what Google thinks people should do". Someone who is frustrated with the Kindle Fire or iPad could make the same argument. Throwing around flowery buzz words like "opinionated user experience" doesn't really make this argument hold more weight.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  I purchased a chromebook with no intention of using ChromeOS on it, but tested ChromeOS on it for a weekend to get a feel for it and see if it were the sort of thing that I could recommend to family members. (Traditionally my go-to advice has been "Get a Mac", even though I do not use a Mac, but they never listen to me...) Anyway, I knew going into this weekend experiment that it would not satisfy my needs, but I was surprised at just how shit it was. Typical tasks that my mother performs could mostly be done, but none of them could be done well. I could browse images from a camera flash card, but the image browser was absolute rubbish that anyone would hate. I could similarly view video files... most of the time, depending on the format and encoding. My mother uses VLC right now on windows, she doesn't know the difference between an encoding and a container (indeed probably doesn't even know that there is a difference), nor should she. Google has built software that can play local videos, has build hardware that can play arbitrary videos (Using Debian, mplayer or VLC run just fine), but have put together a product that has arbitrary technical limitations that my mother would not understand. And no, the standard ChromeOS apologist shit of "You just don't understand the use case" does not apply here. Google has built a product that does provide the functionality I tested, it just does it poorly. If you are going to do it, do it well. If the OS had just flat out refused to provide me with ways to do those things, that would have been one thing, but that isn't the situation with ChromeOS. Many of the problems with ChromeOS are not a result of limitations with the concept of ChromeOS, they are the result of a shoddy implementation of the concept of ChromeOS. (Specifically, I purchased a Chromebook Pixel, and used the most recent ChromeOS sometime early in June of this year.)
VikingCoder 13y ago
My wife got to test-ride these new Ford Auto-Mobiles for work. She's not exactly a power equestrian, but found the limited off-road capabilities incredibly frustrating. Her conclusion was that horses should do exactly what the rider wants to, either because they have been trained, or because the rider knows how to ride them well. The auto-mobile is neither, it basically does what Mr. Ford thinks it should do, without any of the depth and sophistication of a purebred. They may hit the sweet spot for some, but it seems to me to be a very small niche. The end result was that my wife was ready to drive the thing off a cliff, and handed the keys over to me with the words "see how long you last before you want to smash it." </snark> The problem I think your wife had was that her work environment isn't designed for Chromebooks (like having the infrastructure like gas stations for cars). If someone uses Google Docs and GMail for all of their business communications, and Hangouts for chatting, and Chrome Remote Desktop to access remote machines, and Chrome Web Printing to print, etc... then the Chromebook is awesome. And to be honest, many (if not most) workplaces will never make the switch.
- angersock 13y ago
  This is true, but at least when I buy into the M$ ecosystem I can still use my machine for whatever silly other things I'd like--Windows (for now, anyways) is still not solely devoted to content consumption and walled gardens.
  - VikingCoder 13y ago
    You think "the web" is a walled garden? Or is solely devoted to content consumption? I can create YouTube videos from my Chromebook, for instance. I'm never getting rid of my Windows desktop machine. Like, never. But I'm never getting rid of my Kindles, either. They're totally, completely different from each other. My Chromebook fills its own niche, too.
    - DanBC 13y ago
      I wouldn't use the term "walled garden", but Chromebooks are almost perfect for me. The only thing stopping me getting one is my terrible Internet. (Which will go in 2 or so months). Once I have no Internet I'm not sure I can do much with a Chromebook. Unless I've put some other Linux on it. But at that point I may as well screw an RPi to the back of my monitor.
davexunit 13y ago
>Her conclusion was that computers should do exactly what the user wants to, either because they are incredibly well designed withing specific constraints (iPad), or because they simply do as they're told (PC's, Macs). The iPad and other Apple products are designed specifically to do what Apple wants, not the user.
mackey 13y ago
I agree with your conclusion. I gave my wife my chrome book pixel that I got at Google I/O and she did not like it. Her needs were pretty basic most of the time (Spotify,gmail,Facebook) but the few times she needed to venture out of that it was a pain. And the Spotify "app" sucked and so did the battery life. Switched her to 13inch Air after about 2 months of using the pixel, and she loves it.

acgourley 13y ago

Just to add a competing anecdote - my mother absolutely loves hers. She spends 6+ hours a day on it. She runs an etsy shop, keeps up with email, keeps up with social networks. She hasn't had to worry about anti-virus software, printer drivers, OS updates or backups. It's a huge win for her, and for me.

csmuk 13y ago
Conversely and factually rather than merely anecdotal, my Brother laser printer, Canon dye sub and big HP laser printers don't work if you plug them into a chromebook. Nor will it print to my print server. Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and OSX work instantly. As it's a sealed featureless box, how would one proceed here?
- acgourley 13y ago
  Definitely annoying. I'd tell her to buy another printer before buying another computer though.
  - csmuk 13y ago
    I wouldn't. I'd expect it to work. This is 2013, not the pre-GDI printer fragmentation nightmare of the 80's.
- VikingCoder 13y ago
  Chrome Cloud Printing. You have a Desktop plugged in to the printer. You set up Cloud Printing, and now every time you're logged in to a Chrome Browser (or Chromebook), from anywhere on the planet, you can print to that printer. Chromebooks don't replace desktops, not for most people. They enhance the crap out of them, in my opinion. Chrome Remote Desktop is awesome.
  - csmuk 13y ago
    It doesn't work with my dye sub printer or HP network laser. I tried. Documents never arrive at the printer. Windows has had remote desktop since 1997. It's had remote assistance since 2002. I've spent 7 hours a day, 5 days a week for 5 years working over remote desktop sessions with shared sound, disks, printers and even recently USB devices. That's awesome.
    - VikingCoder 13y ago
      Google has two-factor authentication and does the tunneling for Chrome Remote Desktop for you, so you don't have to set it up. From my Chromebook, I can remote control a Mac or a Linux box, too. You've tried setting up Cloud printing on your desktop, printing to your HP network laser, and then using it remotely from another Chrome, and it never worked? Your experience is the opposite of mine - it works great.
      - csmuk 13y ago
        Remote assistance requires no configuration. It doesn't do two factor authentication though. I have PuTTY which is pretty good at remotely controlling my OpenBSD machines. I don't use OSX. That is correct. Nothing at all happened.
        VikingCoder 13y ago
        I can remote into my home desktop right now. I believe with Remote Assistance, someone has to set it up on both ends, correct? I wouldn't be surprised if your workplace is blocking Cloud Printing. That's a bummer.
what_ever 13y ago
Why wouldn't a tablet be suitable for this usecase?
- acgourley 13y ago
  Perhaps now. Prices are getting cheaper and tablet multitasking is getting better. Keep in mind my mom is a "non-technical producer" which means a large amount of typing and multitasking. A built in touchpad/keyboard and a tabbed OS is a bit more optimal than a touch interface with optional external keyboard.

freyrs3 13y ago

Seems to be a big leap in this argument between the "Chromebook doesn't fulfill my needs" to "it only does what Google thinks people should do". Someone who is frustrated with the Kindle Fire or iPad could make the same argument. Throwing around flowery buzz words like "opinionated user experience" doesn't really make this argument hold more weight.

jlgreco 13y ago
I purchased a chromebook with no intention of using ChromeOS on it, but tested ChromeOS on it for a weekend to get a feel for it and see if it were the sort of thing that I could recommend to family members. (Traditionally my go-to advice has been "Get a Mac", even though I do not use a Mac, but they never listen to me...) Anyway, I knew going into this weekend experiment that it would not satisfy my needs, but I was surprised at just how shit it was. Typical tasks that my mother performs could mostly be done, but none of them could be done well. I could browse images from a camera flash card, but the image browser was absolute rubbish that anyone would hate. I could similarly view video files... most of the time, depending on the format and encoding. My mother uses VLC right now on windows, she doesn't know the difference between an encoding and a container (indeed probably doesn't even know that there is a difference), nor should she. Google has built software that can play local videos, has build hardware that can play arbitrary videos (Using Debian, mplayer or VLC run just fine), but have put together a product that has arbitrary technical limitations that my mother would not understand. And no, the standard ChromeOS apologist shit of "You just don't understand the use case" does not apply here. Google has built a product that does provide the functionality I tested, it just does it poorly. If you are going to do it, do it well. If the OS had just flat out refused to provide me with ways to do those things, that would have been one thing, but that isn't the situation with ChromeOS. Many of the problems with ChromeOS are not a result of limitations with the concept of ChromeOS, they are the result of a shoddy implementation of the concept of ChromeOS. (Specifically, I purchased a Chromebook Pixel, and used the most recent ChromeOS sometime early in June of this year.)

VikingCoder 13y ago

My wife got to test-ride these new Ford Auto-Mobiles for work. She's not exactly a power equestrian, but found the limited off-road capabilities incredibly frustrating. Her conclusion was that horses should do exactly what the rider wants to, either because they have been trained, or because the rider knows how to ride them well. The auto-mobile is neither, it basically does what Mr. Ford thinks it should do, without any of the depth and sophistication of a purebred. They may hit the sweet spot for some, but it seems to me to be a very small niche. The end result was that my wife was ready to drive the thing off a cliff, and handed the keys over to me with the words "see how long you last before you want to smash it." </snark> The problem I think your wife had was that her work environment isn't designed for Chromebooks (like having the infrastructure like gas stations for cars). If someone uses Google Docs and GMail for all of their business communications, and Hangouts for chatting, and Chrome Remote Desktop to access remote machines, and Chrome Web Printing to print, etc... then the Chromebook is awesome. And to be honest, many (if not most) workplaces will never make the switch.

angersock 13y ago
This is true, but at least when I buy into the M$ ecosystem I can still use my machine for whatever silly other things I'd like--Windows (for now, anyways) is still not solely devoted to content consumption and walled gardens.
- VikingCoder 13y ago
  You think "the web" is a walled garden? Or is solely devoted to content consumption? I can create YouTube videos from my Chromebook, for instance. I'm never getting rid of my Windows desktop machine. Like, never. But I'm never getting rid of my Kindles, either. They're totally, completely different from each other. My Chromebook fills its own niche, too.
  - DanBC 13y ago
    I wouldn't use the term "walled garden", but Chromebooks are almost perfect for me. The only thing stopping me getting one is my terrible Internet. (Which will go in 2 or so months). Once I have no Internet I'm not sure I can do much with a Chromebook. Unless I've put some other Linux on it. But at that point I may as well screw an RPi to the back of my monitor.

davexunit 13y ago

>Her conclusion was that computers should do exactly what the user wants to, either because they are incredibly well designed withing specific constraints (iPad), or because they simply do as they're told (PC's, Macs). The iPad and other Apple products are designed specifically to do what Apple wants, not the user.

mackey 13y ago

I agree with your conclusion. I gave my wife my chrome book pixel that I got at Google I/O and she did not like it. Her needs were pretty basic most of the time (Spotify,gmail,Facebook) but the few times she needed to venture out of that it was a pain. And the Spotify "app" sucked and so did the battery life. Switched her to 13inch Air after about 2 months of using the pixel, and she loves it.