Google Chrome OS? Cr-48? They’re just computing in the cloud and not storing things locally, on your machine. I’ll be taking this one by the horns. Cutting up all the paragraphs short, Chrome OS is Google’s idea of a future notebook: in the cloud, all the time, web access anywhere you go due to Verizon Wireless’ free 100MB data every month for 2 years, never losing data, and a simple interface with a clean keyboard. Let’s just get on with the rest, okay?

It all sounds so, dare I say, “magical”, (for lack of a better word that has probably been trademarked by Apple internally) doesn’t it? Sure, there are some who hate the idea of a cloud operating system, both the experts cannot speak for all the consumers. Whoa, nelly! I’m defending Google’s alpha-stage, completely unfinished and new product, right? Right? No.

Note: these awesome photos weren’t Photoshopped in any way. Just resized and watermarked.

To start off, Cr-48 is the only way to test the latest builds of Chrome OS beta and developer builds (which according to my Google ninja, dev builds are only available to Googlers). It’s a beautiful piece of hardware. Simple, elegant, light, and a mild rip-off of the Macbook that used to be in black (no offence here Google, just the facts). In fact, It’s been my “on-the-road” computer for days now. It has a battery life rated at 7-8 hours of usage, which always ultimately stands truthful. I’ve no crucial problems with the Cr-48 hardware, except that my Google ninja told me I can’t have the cool stickers they use in their videos, for which I am extremely annoyed, but nevermind that.

I could actually review the Cr-48, but like my “acquaintances” (hopefully they approve of that) at Engadget and a few other sites, I’ll refrain from doing so. Probably all of the other sites that fully reviewed it wanted to get the pageviews for reviewing a prototype product (yeah, I went that far).

So if this post isn’t a review, a guide, or a rant (hopefully not), then it’s my (short?) thoughts on Chrome OS 0.9.128.12 official build fd028a5b beta x86-mario.

To start off, the setup asks you to complete a couple of things, mainly an agreement, your Google account login info, and a few seconds of setting up the Cr-48 for the first time. Afterwards, cold boots (no pun intended) are at a maximum of 20 seconds and waking up from standby is smartphone-like in a little less than a second.

I could go on and on, like how Flash sucks (because it does) and that Adobe should be releasing a fix soon, or how there’s no universal file browser, although you can access one through pressing Ctrl+O, how switching between windows is insanely cool due to there being a dedicated button for it, and the quick swipe that occurs instantly, doing the whole Google Cloud Print thing, how Verizon 3G is extremely fast and nearly stays for the full 4 bars in my area, how the trackpad sucked so badly at first, but by tweaking to maximum sensitivity and giving the trackpad a firmer touch makes it work (almost) like a charm, how I fought for about an hour to play some MP3 files from Amazon, then found out you could do so by dragging the file to the Omnibox of all places, how there’s little to no heat at times underneath, how it’s impossible to watermark and resize the photos here because the SD card is recognized but I don’t see the files, and finally how it’s pretty much worthless to talk about the current version of the operating system, because an update is on its way soon.

Having everything in the cloud could scare the air out of some people, and can entice just as many. In the end, in the same way everyone thought HD was cool but unpractical due to costs and migration of hardware, I think one day, cloud computing of this sort (and it may not even have to be Google’s Chrome OS for that matter) will have a market share, much like Mac OS X or perhaps taking over Ubuntu’s role (speaking of that, where the hell is Ubuntu headed anyway?).

But there’s one thing I really, really hate about the Cr-48, Chrome OS, and everything about Google’s little creation: why is there a VGA port? Obviously with it dying by 2015 and being phased out by 2013, isn’t this whole cloud computing thing about the future?

Anyways, I’ll probably write up something whenever there’s an important update of some sort. As for now though, I can completely see this as becoming an on-the-road computer, which ultimately when using it day in and day out, feels like it was designed to be used as such.

Keep in mind that one of the most tedious tasks of building an OS is those annoying drivers. Google hasn’t had the time to get all those drivers straight. Meaning that even if it were to come out next week, it would only work on a couple of systems.

So would you jump into the cloud-based OS arena?

Comments?

[TechCrunch]

Talk about an epic cloud computing failure. All of your important info (ha, ha) is now missing due to a severe error with Microsoft/Danger’s server. And if you thought there was a chance you could get your stuff back, well, read this official statement:

Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger’s latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device – such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos – that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. That said, our teams continue to work around-the-clock in hopes of discovering some way to recover this information. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low.

That’s right. No more personal data for you, it’s all gone. The T-Mobile Sidekick gave you a big kick in the side.