Although I promised myself I wasn’t going to spend time running Google’s Chrome OS right now, I got the bug. Thanks to gdgt who put an image together, I’ve spent about 15 minutes tinkering with it in VirtualBox. Chrome OS is definitely bare-bones right now and slow in a VM, but any performance judgements should be considered irrelevant right now. Two thoughts came to mind as I got my hands dirty: who is this for and what can make it successful.

As far as the first question, Chrome OS is for someone like me — someone who spends 98% of their day in a browser. Or it could be for everyone else, provided they use it in the manner intended. Is it meant to replace a daily operating system for most people? No more so than a netbook would be a replacement for a high-powered workstation. It’s simply not that kind of tool. Chrome OS is intended for quick access to the web on a portable notebook-like companion device. Think of it as the environment and device you’d go to when you don’t want to boot up a full OS but you want a larger screen and keyboard than your smartphone has.

So what can make it successful? There are several factors, but one of the key ones is what makes Firefox so useful — extensions. As Mozilla’s browser has shown, you can do quite a bit in a browser with the right tools. And oddly enough, while Chrome OS doesn’t yet support extensions officially, you’ll see in my video that I have a few installed anyway. That’s my first look and first thoughts. I’ll have plenty more to say as the project matures.

Note: because I couldn’t resize the virtual machine or Chrome OS, I recommend watching this video in full screen and in the HD version when it becomes available.

What the hackintosh community brings, Apple taketh away. And the hackintoshers then put it back. With the 10.6.2 Mac OS X update, Apple removed support for Intel Atom CPUs, so all of those netbooks running Snow Leopard lost their spots. A modified kernel brings back support, says MacWorld, although I’d be pretty leery of said kernel. Put another way: I’d live with OS X 10.6.1 on my netbook — but that’s just me.

Even though I had fun running OS X on a both a netbook and a touchscreen UMPC, a couple of weeks with the operating system turned semi-frustrating. Ironically, it was for the same reasons that Windows was a hassle on UMPCs when they first hit: the desktop operating system isn’t designed to fit in a space under 1280 x 800 or so. Does it fit? Yup. Does it work well? Sometimes yes and sometimes no, depending on the dialog boxes you see. It simply required too much tweaking to use on a full time basis for me — not to mention that pesky licensing issue.

Google held their developer and press event today to show off the upcoming Google Chrome operating system. The source code for Chrome OS is open source and available as of today, so theoretically, you can build your own Chrome OS. However, the actual release isn’t planned until late in 2010.

Some takeaways from the live stream that I watched:

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Adobe Labs has released beta versions of Air and Flash, bringing new features and opening up both for better developer support. Both Air 2 and Flash 10.1 now have support for multitouch and gestures, and Flash can use hardware to better handle H.264 video.

The new betas are available for Windows, Mac and Linux, so the much-anticipated mobile Flash is not part of this beta release. Adobe says WebOS will get Flash 10.1 later this year, and Android “next year.”

Adobe Air 2 is said to be more memory friendly and allows Air programs to use flash memory for the first time. Flash 10.1 should provide better video playing, even on systems with low-end graphics systems. Early reports say the beta does not support hardware support using Intel-integrated graphics yet, meaning most netbooks may not see improvements.

Both programs can be downloaded from the Adobe Labs web site. These are beta versions, so install at your own risk and expect that problems could crop up.

Memory maker Active Media is claiming their new USB flash memory drive is the “smallest 16 GB USB drive on the planet.” I don’t know about that but no question it is as small as can be. The hardest thing about using one of these drives will be not losing it. The drive comes in capacities from 2 GB to 16 GB, and is embossed with a “wink” emoticon, thus the name. I suspect they’ll be hearing from Sarah Palin’s people pretty soon.

Credit: LAPTOP Magazine

A few weeks ago, I ran some battery tests on my netbook. I have  both Windows XP and Windows 7 installed on my Toshiba NB205, which takes hardware variances out of the equation. My early looks show that Windows 7 offers 10% less runtime on the exact same device. I’ve since done some additional testing, thinking that the graphically intensive Aero features of Windows 7 might be the biggest factor. Unfortunately, that’s not what I found — using Windows 7 with all of the advanced Aero features off not only makes your netbook look like a Windows 95 beta, it doesn’t help run time in any noticeable way.

Readers offered up great commentary on the testing techniques and I can’t argue that there are many ways to run these tests. But even my informal testing shows the same trend continuing. When I use XP in my normal work day, it runs longer than when I use Windows 7 on the same hardware and in the same use cases. But don’t take my word for it. Brad Linder of Liliputing confirmed the same results not long after my testing and now LAPTOP Magazine completes the trifecta.

In fact, LAPTOP put three different netbooks through the paces — and all of them offered less run time on Windows 7. They used an entirely different approach as well, one that’s more reflective of real world usage, so it’s a safe bet that you’ll see less battery life on a Windows 7 device. Will there be exceptions? Of course there will — everyone uses different power management settings, not to mention they use their devices in different ways. But by and large, it looks like there’s a small battery life sacrifice with Windows 7 on a netbook. Should that stop you from using Windows 7? My opinion, is no, but if you’re happy with XP and don’t want or need some of the new Windows 7 features, you might want to stay put.

It is an ages old marketing technique when a new OS is soon to ship — offer free (or cheap) upgrades to the new OS when it launches to prevent buyers from waiting. There are not enough computer buying dollars going around as it is, and the free upgrade ploy keeps systems going out the door. We are heading into a month after the launch of Windows 7, and both HP and Dell customers are up in arms that their Windows 7 upgrades are not available yet.

Customers are frequenting forums run by both companies, detailing their horror stories of difficulty not only getting the upgrade, but in cases even getting an acknowledgment that one will be forthcoming. While it is not surprising to hear these tales of woe, you would think these companies, who have been doing this upgrade bit for years now, would have their ducks in a row. You’d think.

So did you purchase a system entitled to an OS upgrade? Did you get it yet, or at least hear when you might?

The rise of the netbook helped bring reasonable computing power to smaller packages. While that’s good, one of the downsides is trying to cram all the expected ports and jacks in a thin, small device. USB ports and audio jacks aren’t so bad, but when it comes to that VGA output — well, lets just say it can be a design challenge. In fact, some netbooks don’t use a full-sized VGA out. The HP Mini 1000, for example, uses a mini VGA jack, which requires a small cable adapter. I’m all for simplicity, so I’d rather not have extra adapters to carry and potentially lose while on the go, but I can understand why HP and a few others went in this direction. But that size constraint may soon become a thing of the past.

Today, the Video Electronics Standard Association, or VESA, issued a mini DisplayPort Standard for version 1, Rev. 1A. If mini DisplayPort (mDP) sounds familiar, it should. This is the video adapter interface developed by Apple, who will now be licensing it to VESA for inclusion the DisplayPort standards going forward. In fact, VESA is already finalizing the DisplayPort 1.2 standard, which will include mDP — the new standard is expected to double bandwidth to 21.6 Gbps for video. VESA says “[t]he increased bandwidth enables new capabilities such as multi-monitor support via a single output connector, higher resolutions, refresh rates and color depths, along with high performance 3D displays.“

That all sounds well and good, but the biggest netbook and notebook benefit I see is the smaller port size. mDP is smaller than VGA by a bunch — I have such an interface on my MacBook and I’d love to see it on my netbook. Unfortunately, in my current setup the mDP interface requires that dreaded adapter since my external monitor offers DVI and VGA inputs. Regardless, this development could lead to thinner netbooks and notebooks — well, if they can lose the blocky RJ-45 jack for wired Ethernet, that is.

Kevin and I have been using Dropbox for a long time, primarily to exchange large files. The service provides great file-sharing and syncing features to keep all your devices up to date. One of the confusing things about Dropbox has been the web home. Due to a domain problem, the service has always been found at getdropbox.com. We received word today that it has resolved this issue, and the new home is dropbox.com, as you would expect.

The news didn’t end there, as Dropbox also announced the new iPhone app. The app lets you access files in the Dropbox cloud, download files for viewing later, sync iPhone photos and videos to your Dropbox, and share files with friends via links to the Dropbox location. There are free and paid versions of Dropbox, depending on the amount of storage needed.

Image Credit: LAPTOP Magazine

I’ve mentioned the Intel CULV, or Consumer Ultra Low Voltage, platform several times this year. That’s the product that will help bridge the gap between underpowered netbooks and powerful, but less portable, notebooks. Mark Spoonauer offers up an insightful observation over the LAPTOP Magazine blog on this space. He notes that a $399 Acer Aspire 1410 configuration compares more than favorably against some of the top-rated netbooks in the same price range. In fact, two out of the three netbooks — Toshiba’s NB205 and HP’s Mini 311 — cost more and offer less on a spec and feature basis. Only the Asus Eee PC 1008HA cost less than the full-figured Acer in this comparison, and not by much

So here you have a more powerful notebook at roughly a netbook price. The Aspire 1410 and its 1.2 GHz Intel SU2300 beats the pants off the netbooks when it comes to benchmarking performance. It also comes with 2 GB of RAM, an 11.6″ display capable of 1366 x 768 resolution and weighs 3.2 pounds, which is about the same weight as my Toshiba netbook. Extra power generally comes at a hit to battery life, but the Aspire 1410 tested to run for over six hours. Oh and the version of Windows 7 it comes with is Home Premium, not Starter Edition.

At the end of the day, Mark makes a compelling argument for this sector to start displacing netbooks. The product gains performance, offers more screen real estate yet is still easy to tote around and offers solid battery life. While we’re expecting the Intel PineTrail Atom devices within the next month or two, I think Mark’s final point is accurate: “[i]f you can nab a fully capable ultraportable for less than 400 bucks, I think traditional netbook prices will have to sink even further if the category is going to stick around.” I suspect the category will stick around because tens of millions have proven they want and can use a device in the 10″ display range. And some won’t want to give up the 8 or 9 hour battery life they see on a netbook — as good as the Aspire’s runtime is, some netbooks can still run for 40% longer, if not more. Thoughts?