[Official] Google Cr-48 Hardware Discussion

[(Spork)]

Right now it's my "laying down and browsing the web before going to bed" computer. Better than sitting up at my desktop while trying to get tired.

yea pretty much what i use it for check my email twitter facebook

[lothodon]

has anyone, or has anyone found a site that's cracked it open yet? i'm hoping to get one, eager to use it as i don't game on my pc anymore and am interested in longer term use. just wondering if the hard drive/memory are standard issue components or not. would be very interested in hackintoshing it some day far down the line if it becomes feasible.

[Hedon]

If anyone is having issues connecting via wifi at home, there is some troubleshooting that the support team has emailed me back and forth with. The disabling of the cellular network fixed my problem.

Hi Brian,

Thanks for contacting the ChromeOS Notebook Ninja team.

Lets try a couple of things:

Select the wrench in the upper right corner of the browser window,

Select Settings, Select Internet. Select the "Disable Cellular" button

which will disable the cellular modem..

See if performance improves..

Can you tell me what make and model your wireless router is please?

It is also possible that the router is sending out DNS redirects which are

causing the notebook to perform poorly. On the same page as above, but under

the wireless networks section, select the wireless network to which you are

connected, hit the options button, the select the networks tab, verify that

the subnet mask, gateway and DNS servers are correct (per your router settings)

Please get back to me and let me know the results of the above suggestions..

Regards,

JamesK

The Chrome Notebook Ninja Team

[Veedems Veteran]

I disabled the cellular radio from the get go figuring turning off unnecessary (for my use) radios would only help battery performance. Could be completely baseless, but it seems to be a good idea for the sake of the WiFi anyway lol

[Southern Patriot]

has anyone, or has anyone found a site that's cracked it open yet? i'm hoping to get one, eager to use it as i don't game on my pc anymore and am interested in longer term use. just wondering if the hard drive/memory are standard issue components or not. would be very interested in hackintoshing it some day far down the line if it becomes feasible.

Here's one of several: http://www.zdnet.com/photos/google-cr-48-chrome-notebook-teardown/491340

[Hedon]

I disabled the cellular radio from the get go figuring turning off unnecessary (for my use) radios would only help battery performance. Could be completely baseless, but it seems to be a good idea for the sake of the WiFi anyway lol

Smart thinking. I wish I would have thought of that from the get go.

[Veedems Veteran]

Smart thinking. I wish I would have thought of that from the get go.

It may do nothing to enhance battery life. I just carried that mentality over from the mobile phone world lol

[Southern Patriot]

It may do nothing to enhance battery life. I just carried that mentality over from the mobile phone world lol

It probably won't, since most 3G radios don't draw much power in the first place, and if they aren't in active use, they likely draw none at all.

[Hedon]

I received a email from support today, looks like they are looking at WEP issues affecting performance:

Hi Brian:

I am tracking a potential bug with the ChromeOS notebooks..

It seems that maybe performance is being impacted by using WEP security..

(WEP encryption is calculated in software)

Is it possible for you to try using WPA2-AES security on your router?

And of course configure the ChromeOS notebook accordingly..

Regards

James

[Veedems Veteran]

Unless you have an old DS, I don't see why people would choose WEP over WPA2.

[Hedon]

Unless you have an old DS, I don't see why people would choose WEP over WPA2.

It's just what I have always used. I wouldn't know the difference between the two.

[cybertimber2008]

WEP is a old wireless encryption/authentication method. It can be broken easily because it's key (technically "Initialization Vector") repeats every so often (on a full bore transfer, ~every 40 minutes).

WPA is a stronger encryption, and WPA2 is the strongest and recommended if all devices support it in your house.

[Hedon]

WEP is a old wireless encryption/authentication method. It can be broken easily because it's key (technically "Initialization Vector") repeats every so often (on a full bore transfer, ~every 40 minutes).

WPA is a stronger encryption, and WPA2 is the strongest and recommended if all devices support it in your house.

Thanks guys. After getting that email from google support and reading your comments, I did some research. Looks like I am going to convert to WPA2 AES this weekend. I just hope my Macbook Pro, Xbox 360 S, PS3, iPod Touch, iPhone, iMac and Windows XP SP3 PC all support WPA2 AES.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Thanks guys. After getting that email from google support and reading your comments, I did some research. Looks like I am going to convert to WPA2 AES this weekend. I just hope my Macbook Pro, Xbox 360 S, PS3, iPod Touch, iPhone, iMac and Windows XP SP3 PC all support WPA2 AES.

if some of those don't you can always set up your guest network with WEP encryption (if your wireless router supports a guest network that is)

[Hedon]

if some of those don't you can always set up your guest network with WEP encryption (if your wireless router supports a guest network that is)

I will check that out. BTW, I forgot, one of my Xbox 360s is hardwired, as is my PS3 and iMac. So I don't have to do as many as I thought. ;)

[Brandon H Supervisor]

yeah, i have our gust network set up with a WEP connection since my DS isn't compatible with WPA then after i got them linked i hid the guest network :)

[Paul Paliath]

I love the overall appearance and feel of the hardware. The keyboard also types very nicely; it's borderline Apple keyboard but closer to the feel of the Arc keyboard by Microsoft. Biggest quirk so far has to be the trackpad, however. It's quite glitchy.

Very happy to receive this, however. Thanks, Google :)

[Hedon]

My entire network is now WPA2 AES. Bam!

Notebook works awesome now, though the trackpad needs help.

[Veedems Veteran]

My entire network is now WPA2 AES. Bam!

Notebook works awesome now, though the trackpad needs help.

Yeah, it's a bit weird, though I can't figure out if maybe it's a user problem. The pad is larger than others and I sometimes catch the very edge of my left hand (I keep it on the keys, sometimes, while using the pad) touching the pad which sends it into a tizzy.

[Hedon]

It seems comparable to my Macbook Pro trackpad size. Though this Chrome book seems to be sensitive to my unintentional (and intentional) touches and it highlights entire webpages at times :(

[gigapixels Veteran]

So I got one today :D

I've been having internet issues though; it was connecting but loading slower than a 56K modem most of the time. After reading the above posts, I switched the encryption from WPA2-TKIP (I think TKIP was the default when I chose WPA2 in dd-wrt), to WPA2-AES. Everything seems to be working wonderfully now.

[SMELTN]

grrr. I want one

[Veedems Veteran]

So I got one today :D

I've been having internet issues though; it was connecting but loading slower than a 56K modem most of the time. After reading the above posts, I switched the encryption from WPA2-TKIP (I think TKIP was the default when I chose WPA2 in dd-wrt), to WPA2-AES. Everything seems to be working wonderfully now.

The unit is Wireless-N and my Netgear router warns that using TKIP on N could cause some problems.

[Old Man Pickle]

Not sure if this has been posted before ... use 'about:flags' (without quotes) to access the experimental options page. The options include Media Player, Advanced File System, Side Tabs, Remoting, Disable outdated plug-ins, XSS Auditor, Background WebApps & Click-to-Play (improves YouTube & Hulu playback). You'll need to restart to activate any changes.

[Selden]

Not sure if this has been posted before ... use 'about:flags' (without quotes) to access the experimental options page. The options include Media Player, Advanced File System, Side Tabs, Remoting, Disable outdated plug-ins, XSS Auditor, Background WebApps & Click-to-Play (improves YouTube & Hulu playback). You'll need to restart to activate any changes.

Rather than try to memorize a bunch of cryptic "about:xxxx" commands, install the ChromeAccess extension, which makes them all accessible at a glance.