The Problem with Chrome Apps
Hello Readers, going to keep this blog post quite short since I don’t want to rant on. But after using the Chrome Web Store a few times now, I have come across a few annoyances with the applications on there. As you’ve probably experienced yourself some Apps on there such as the official YouTube app is simply just a glorified link to YouTube.com which is a complete waste of the User’s time and patience.
Making the most out of the Chrome Web Store
The Chrome Web Store can actually be a very useful tool for any Chrome/Chrome OS user, all that is required is the developers creativity in order to supply the user with fantastic Web experience when using Google Chrome. Think about it, designing a Chrome App has a lot less limitations to say designing a general website, there is no other web browsers to consider, just pure Google Chrome users downloading and installing the app. This allows developers to provide the user with HTML5 rich experience, take the YouTube app as an example again. If the User wanted just a plain YouTube page then all that user needs to do is enter in YouTube’s normal address into the address bar. If the user wanted to have the “Chrome” experience of YouTube the user simply needs to click on the YouTube icon in the app section of Chrome and there would be a fresh HTML5 interface optimized for Chrome users. Sounds simple right? So why are we getting glorified web links?
Essential Chrome OS Apps
Got a shiny new Chromebook or have recently converted your old Netbook? Well here is a quick list of a few great apps to try out on Chrome OS which all of them can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store, take a look below:
Productivity – Google Docs
Need to create a quick Word Document or a Spreadsheet that needs to be accessed from any computer you used? How about needing to share the document publically instead of having the need to attach it to an email? Google’s own cloud-based Office Suite allows you to create, edit and publish your own Word Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentation. It also has the ability to view PDF files and so much more. This is definitely a must have app on Chrome OS.
Available to install from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/apdfllckaahabafndbhieahigkjlhalf
Gaming – Angry Birds
The smartphone phenomenon has now landed in the Chrome Web Store. Blast your Angry Birds through loads of levels including some exclusive “Chrome Dimension” levels which can’t be played on the Smartphone versions of the game! You have the option to either play on a SD or HD version of the game and even have the ability to play the game offline.
Available to install from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/aknpkdffaafgjchaibgeefbgmgeghloj
Social Networking – Silver Bird
Twitter user? Then you must try out Silver Bird (Previously named “Chromed Bird”). Once installed you will now see a nice blue bird sitting next to your address bar. Not only can you read other people’s tweets quickly, but you can send Tweets from the same app. Including the ability to quickly shorten URL’s in your Tweets. Hovering over another user’s tweet will give you a few options down the right hand side of the tweet such as the ability to reply or retweet the message. Silver Bird also has a little search bar tab in order to search multiple phrases to see what other users are talking about regarding the keyword you have entered in. Silver Bird can also give you notifications of new tweets from the “Silver Bird” icon as well as giving you desktop notifications which can be enabled from the options menu.
Available to install from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/encaiiljifbdbjlphpgpiimidegddhic
Blogging – ScribeFire
ScribeFire is a simple yet powerful Blog editor. Once installed you simply type in your URL of your blog and your User Name. Have multiple blogs? Not to worry! ScribeFire supports multiple accounts/blogs all your need to do is press the “Add a New Blog” link in the top right hand corner of the left pane. With the Editor in ScribeFire you can switch from creating/editing Blog articles in Visual or HTML view, as well as having advanced publishing features such as Scheduled posting and setting a published blog to be viewed privately or publicly.
Available to download from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/elkkomimknapgodalnkjeddkjnjkfmfp
Instant Messaging – Imo IM
Need to contact your fellow Skype, Windows Live / MSN, Facebook, Yahoo IM, AIM, Google Talk, Jabber, ICQ, and MySpace contacts? Imo Instant Messenger is one of the most useful web-based instant messaging clients from the Chrome Web Store because it has advance features like Video Chat for Windows Live Messenger. If you use this feature a lot on your Windows machine then this is definitely a must have application for you.
Available to install from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ocaebkdojpikfmhmnekiflipcicedobi
Utilities – Theme Creator
Need to personalise your Chromebook? How about using the Theme Creator which will allow you to create your very own skin for Chrome. The Theme Creator allows you to add your very own images or colours into your Chrome interface you can then even install previously made theme packs. Once you have finished creating your very own skin for Chrome you can share it with the rest of the world!
Available to install from: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/akpelnjfckgfiplcikojhomllgombffc
So that’s it for now just a few applications I have come across browsing the Chrome Web Store. If you have found any more interesting applications that you would like to share with the rest of the readers make sure to make a reply to this article using the comment box below!
Turn your Old Netbook into a New Chromebook
Want a Chromebook but don’t have $500 to replace your current Netbook? Or do you live outside the United States like myself and can’t get one yet? Well how about turning your old Netbook into a Chromebook following a few simple steps! Recently, I borrowed my friend’s old Acer Aspire One A150 since he didn’t have a use for it and I wanted to give Chrome OS a spin since I haven’t tried it in a while. This article is going to show the simple procedure you need to do in order to Install Chrome OS on your Netbook.
What you’ll need
1 x Netbook
1 x USB Stick which is larger than 4GB
It is worth noting that a Netbook with an Atom processor inside is recommended but not necessary as well as having 1GB+ of RAM. Again this isn’t required since Chrome OS is so lightweight but it will give you a nice smooth experience when using Chrome OS and a very fast boot time!
Download & Install Chrome OS
Go ahead and grab the Daily USB image of Chrome OS Vanilla builds from the Chrome OS Hero Hexxeh, you can get a daily image from his site by clicking here (The top build is the latest). Once downloaded extract the .img inside the .tar.gz file using 7-Zip or a similar program. (Windows user’s might have to extract the .tar.gz then extract the .tar file inside in order to access the .img file). Now insert your USB stick and format it this should only take a few seconds. In order to transfer the Chrome OS .img file onto your USB stick using an .Img Writer, Windows users can use the Win32DiskImager which is available to download from here. Mac and Linux users can use the DD command.
Once that has finished you now have a bootable USB stick running Chrome OS!
Booting Chrome OS
All you need to do now is stick your bootable USB Stick into your Netbook and make sure you have set your USB stick to have the first priority in your BIOS menu. Once you have done that simply sit back and wait for Chrome OS to boot to the Installation screen. From here you can either test Chrome OS to see if it’s right for you and your Netbook by following the setup steps, this will install Chrome OS on your USB and will not effect any files on your hard disk.
Installing Chrome OS
Once you feel ready for Chrome OS make sure to back up any important files on your Netbook and then press Ctrl + ALT + T in order to access the Chrome OS command line. From here you just need to simply type in the command “install” when you get to the password prompt just type in the phrase “facepunch” then begin the installation phase by pressing "the “y” key on your keyboard.
Warning: This will wipe your data from your Netbook’s hard drive. I am not responsible for any data lost due to you not backing up your data accordingly.
The installation procedure should only take a couple of minutes to do, so just sit back and wait. Once that’s done follow the instructions on screen by typing in the phrase “exit” this will return you back to the Chrome interface. Then you will need to sign out by pressing the “Tool” button and then selecting the “Sign out” option. Now that you have returned to the Log In screen click the Shut Down button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen in order to turn off your Netbook. Remove your USB stick then power your Netbook back on again making sure to give your Hard Drive boot priority from the BIOS Menu like you did with your USB Stick previously. Come out of BIOS and Chrome OS should start to boot within 20-40 seconds depending on the specs of your Netbook.
Finishing up
Hopefully if all has gone smoothly with the installation you now have the set up screen sitting on your Netbook. Congratulations! Simple follow these steps and you have now saved yourself $500 from not needing to buy a brand new netbook! Enjoy having Chrome OS as your Netbook Operating System! Pretty simple? Make sure to help your Friends and Family by speeding up their Internet browsing experience on their Netbook by telling them and even installing Chrome OS on their Netbook.
Create a Linux Tablet Distribution
A Linux Distribution with tablet solely in mind is missing, there have been a couple of recent attempts such as Enlightenments Tablet Spin and Meego’s Tablet UX which is still being worked on for the recent version 1.2. So instead of waiting around and letting your tablet PC collect dust, how about you create one yourself following a few simple steps. So lets begin shall we? For this tutorial I’m going to be using my Viewpad 10 as my Tablet of choice as well as using Ubuntu 11.04 as a base for my custom Linux Tablet Operating System. I am also assuming that your hardware is compatible with Linux.
What you’ll need:
- A Tablet
- A Linux Distribution
- USB Ports
- 1GB or Larger USB Stick
- USB Keyboard
- Wireless Internet Connection
Install Linux on your Tablet:
I’m not going to go into too much detail into this, all I’m going to say in this step is if you don’t know how to already create a bootable USB stick check my previous blog post out to see all the popular available applications which will create a bootable Linux Live USB Stick. Once you’ve got a bootable USB stick plug it into your Tablet and select your USB stick in the BIOS in order to boot from the USB stick. Once the USB stick has booted go to your Linux Distribution’s of choice installer. From here follow the steps which are displayed on the screen. Once all the steps have been completed restart your device and make sure you have switched back to booting from your primary hard drive.
Installing Gnome-Shell
Gnome-Shell is a fantastic interface for tablet users such as you and I. It supports finger scrolling through the Applications menu and many more Touch Friendly features. If you’ve chosen Fedora 15 as your Tablet OS base then you’re luckily to have it pre-installed as the default interface. If your Linux Distribution of choice has it included in it’s repository then you can install gnome-shell package just like you would with any other package (Ubuntu 11.10 users can use “sudo apt-get install gnome-shell” to install it.
If you are a Ubuntu 11.04 user like myself then you will have to add the Gnome3-Team PPA. To add the Gnome3-Team Personal Package Archive make sure you’re connected to the internet and then open up your terminal (This is where the USB Keyboard comes in handy) and enter these following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo apt-get gnome-shell
Log out in order to return to the GDM then select the Gnome-Shell session (The name varies it might be labelled as “Gnome-Shell” “GNOME” but just keep trying each option if you are unsure which one to pick and you’ll probably find it eventually.)
If you find that you are coming across some strange theming issues when using Gnome-Shell in Ubuntu 11.04 then just enter in these two commands:
sudo apt-get remove gnome-accessibility-themes
sudo apt-get install gnome-themes-standard
Then reboot! (Thanks to this useful thread at the ubuntuforums)
If the problem still occurs you might need to manually select the default Gnome-Shell theme, Adwaita, you can do this by useful gnome-tweak-tool which can be installed by using this command:
sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak tool
To run gnome-tweak-tool simply open up the ALT+F2 run command box and type in “gnome-tweak-tool” once the application appears click on “Interface” on the left hand-side menu in the application. From here select the first drop-down box labelled “Gtk+ Theme” make sure “Adwaita” is selected, same goes for the “Cursor Theme” drop-down box. That should fix any theme issues.
FIX: Downgrade GDM (Ubuntu 11.04 users only)
For some strange reason version 3.0.2 of the GNOME Display Manager refuses to Automatically login, this function is vital for tablet users since we don’t have a physical keyboard so we won’t be able to enter in our password every time we log into the operating system. Luckily the previous version of GDM (Version 2.3.2 can be used instead) to downgrade the GDM we need to go into “Synaptic” from here search for GDM in the search bar. Once you have found the package select it and then go to the “Package” tab then go down to the “Force Version…” option, make sure you select 2.3.2 of GDM then lock that version using the option on the “Package” tab. Once you’ve done all that click the big “Apply” button in Synaptic package manager and close it down. This should allow you to automatically log into Gnome-Shell.
(Thanks to this post)
Installing Useful Applications
There are some very useful applications to install on any Linux operated tablet devices, for example in order to enter text into your device you will be needing a on screen keyboard (They are also called Virtual Keyboards) Linux doesn’t have a wide range but I have found “Florence” to be a very useful virtual keyboard since it has features such as Auto-Hide, Transparency, custom colours, etc. Unfortunately when I tried using it in Fedora 15 it refused to work. Luckily, a group of developers have been packaging Meego’s keyboard, Maliit for Fedora! Follow this link in order to try out Maliit for yourself on Fedora.
This next application isn’t a tablet-specific program but is very useful for any gnome-shell user. If you missed the suggest previously in this tutorial then you should install gnome-tweak-tool it allows you to do some useful tweaks in gnome-shell from one click, such as allowing desktop icons, showing the day of the week in the clock, showing the Close, Minimize and Maximize icons and so much more.
If you are a Mozilla Firefox user then make sure to check out the Grab and Drag add-on. This will allow you to scroll through webpages by using your finger, if you are a Google Chrome user then check out ChromeTouch which does a similar job in Chrome.
Tablet Tweaks
In order to get an even more better experience using Linux on a tablet you can do some tweaking with the interface. For example, one useful tablet tweak is to enable holding down your finger to right click. To do this in Gnome-Shell simply click on the “Accessibility” indicator then select the bottom option labelled as “Universal Access Settings” from here, select the last tab in the application window “Pointing and Clicking” and switch the second button to “ON” which has the title “Simulated Secondary Click” make sure to set the acceptance delay to “Short”.
Note: If it doesn’t work straight away restart!
So I hope this guide has come in useful and has given your tablet device a new life as a fully fledged Linux-operated tablet! If you have found a useful tip or a program useful on a tablet then make sure to share your suggestion with everyone in the comment box below!
Have fun!!
We Want YOUR Wallpapers!
Got a wallpaper you’ve made that you want to share with the rest of the world? Want to display your talent? Well every month I will create an entire blog post of all the (suitable) submissions including your name and any website you run, whether it’s a forum or another blog. Simply click on the “Contact” button at the top right of this blog and link me to your wallpaper creation!
So hopefully at the start of next month we can see all your wallpaper contributions, just as long as it’s copyright free and suitable for all ages!
5 Reasons for why you SHOULD be using Chrome OS on your Netbook
Chrome OS is Google’s answer to a Netbook’s Operating System, while it’s still currently in development, it’s almost ready for prime time later this year. To get you interested in the Google Chrome OS, I’ve made a list of 5 selling points, Chrome OS has when used on a Netbook.
1. It’s Fast
Chrome OS is simple just the Google Chrome Internet Browser. Nothing Else. Sure, there are a few other background services that are required to use the Browser first, but what you won’t need to do in order to use Chrome OS is sit at your machine for ages while other programs load up along side the browser. Once Chrome has loaded you’re away! The whole world wide web at your fingers.
Don’t think that a month or two down the line after heavy usage is going to slow it down either. Once installed on your machine, Chrome OS requires no extra huge programs eating up your system’s resources.
2. It’s Lightweight
Chrome OS is designed to be used on Netbook hardware, this means that it requires no more than 1GB of RAM and will feel extremely fast even on a small Intel Atom processor!
3. It’s Safe
Linux is secretly running behind Chrome OS, so that means you can be reassured that it’s safe and secure. No longer would you need to worry about having a virus scanner constantly scanning your Netbook for those nasty viruses which Windows can catch! That’s right you don’t need ANY virus protection software!
4. It’s User Friendly
If you’ve ever used an internet browser, then you can definitely use Chrome OS, since it’s just that an Internet Browser! It’s a very familiar format, such as all the functions on the top bar, the back button is the first button on the toolbar, the forward button is the next, then you have the address bar. I’m pretty sure this looks similar to the browser you’re using to few this blog post on.
5. It’s free
I’ve saved the best reason for last. Chrome OS would cost you nothing. There is also applications for Chrome OS such as Angry Birds, Google Talk and WordSquared which are all entirely free as well!
So are you tempted yet? Enough talk from me, you can try it out for yourself using the Vanilla builds which can be downloaded here provided daily (6PM GMT) by a user named Hexxeh. Make sure to tell me what you think about Chrome OS! Did you enjoy using it? Was it easy to use? Any improvements would you like to see? Tell me in the comments below!
