Sometimes I become a bit overzealous when I get into obsessive geek mode. Sometimes this leads me to erasing my entire Windows (or Mac) operating system in favor of something quite experimental. I create many e-hassles, but typically the new-found knowledge is worth the effort.
I've been interested in cloud computing ever since it became clear that almost every operation I use a computer for is online. More specificily, almost every operation is preformed in a browser window. Writing in Google Docs, catching up with friends in Facebook, reader the latest news in Google Reader, storing important files with Box.net, and listening to music in Pandora. The browser is my most valuable app.
The above explains my interest in Google's Chrome OS. The new operating system that is browser. Chrome OS is nothing fancy, but a bare bones OS that concerns itself with only one simple task: Getting the user online.
This weekend, I attempted to install Chrome OS on my Gateway LT2113U netbook. It was difficult because the OS hasn't seen an official public release yet. There are a number of ways I could have accomplished the install, but each proved difficult with my limited code knowledge. Sadly, I also spent a good chuck of time trying to install a version that I later discovered was fake. It was a frustrating experiment that left me with an OS-free netbook. I was able to get Chrome Flow and Chrome Vanilla installed (binaries created by Hexxeh), but the update servers weren’t working so my versions were out-dated. While I completely respect what Hexxeh has done, I still wanted something more official-like. In the end, I just had to wave the white flag and wait for a public release in the future.
It won’t be a problem to re-install Windows XP on my netbook, but my desire for a cloud-based OS still wasn’t sated. It was time to take another look at Jolicloud.
Jolicoud is a linux-based OS that focuses on cloud-based apps. While Chrome OS is a browser with OS functions, Jolicloud is the perfect marriage of the two. In Jolicloud, users can install web apps (like Gmail, Google Docs, or Facebook). These web apps are browser windows with the address bar stripped away (I’m oversimplifying it). What you get is a website that looks more like an application you would run from the local hard drive. Also, on a netbook this saves some valuable screen real estate. The benefits of Jolicloud over Chrome is that users still can access and run apps from their hard drive. Something Chrome currently won’t do and probably won’t in the future. What is nice about Jolicloud is that it has been tweaked to work with many netbooks and can actually breath some new life into older models while Chrome OS is currently being tested to run on specific hardware.
I used Jolicloud almost a year ago before dropping it for Ubuntu Netbook Edition. I did this because of my experimental obsessive nature. Jolicloud was the first linux distro that I’ve played around with. This also meant that I started to install things on Jolicloud that the OS wasn’t meant to do. Jolicloud works best when you use the apps and tools the developers give you (which is a lot.) At the time I just wanted to mess around with linux and after breaking Jolicloud, I installed Ubuntu. Now, I want to have an OS that is quick and cloud-based which describes Jolicloud perfectly. The newest update also replaces Firefox as Jolicloud’s web app base with Chrome. In a way I’m getting my cake and eating too.
One negative is that Flash and linux are still problematic together. There is some YouTube relief in the form of HTML5, but don’t expect Flash video to be smooth. Also, Jolicloud really sucks down my battery life when compared to Windows XP. Lastly, while it hasn’t happened enough to be annoying, I have had a restart where my screen is just black and nothing is happening. A hard reboot brought back the computer fine, but a couple more of those could be a deal breaker.
So, by the end of the week I’ll have a netbook dual-booting Jolicloud for every day use and Windows XP for some old games like Baldur’s Gate. As curious as I am for Chrome OS, the OS duo seems to offer the best options for now.
Although, I could still try and install Android instead?
I've been interested in cloud computing ever since it became clear that almost every operation I use a computer for is online. More specificily, almost every operation is preformed in a browser window. Writing in Google Docs, catching up with friends in Facebook, reader the latest news in Google Reader, storing important files with Box.net, and listening to music in Pandora. The browser is my most valuable app.
The above explains my interest in Google's Chrome OS. The new operating system that is browser. Chrome OS is nothing fancy, but a bare bones OS that concerns itself with only one simple task: Getting the user online.
This weekend, I attempted to install Chrome OS on my Gateway LT2113U netbook. It was difficult because the OS hasn't seen an official public release yet. There are a number of ways I could have accomplished the install, but each proved difficult with my limited code knowledge. Sadly, I also spent a good chuck of time trying to install a version that I later discovered was fake. It was a frustrating experiment that left me with an OS-free netbook. I was able to get Chrome Flow and Chrome Vanilla installed (binaries created by Hexxeh), but the update servers weren’t working so my versions were out-dated. While I completely respect what Hexxeh has done, I still wanted something more official-like. In the end, I just had to wave the white flag and wait for a public release in the future.
It won’t be a problem to re-install Windows XP on my netbook, but my desire for a cloud-based OS still wasn’t sated. It was time to take another look at Jolicloud.
Jolicoud is a linux-based OS that focuses on cloud-based apps. While Chrome OS is a browser with OS functions, Jolicloud is the perfect marriage of the two. In Jolicloud, users can install web apps (like Gmail, Google Docs, or Facebook). These web apps are browser windows with the address bar stripped away (I’m oversimplifying it). What you get is a website that looks more like an application you would run from the local hard drive. Also, on a netbook this saves some valuable screen real estate. The benefits of Jolicloud over Chrome is that users still can access and run apps from their hard drive. Something Chrome currently won’t do and probably won’t in the future. What is nice about Jolicloud is that it has been tweaked to work with many netbooks and can actually breath some new life into older models while Chrome OS is currently being tested to run on specific hardware.
I used Jolicloud almost a year ago before dropping it for Ubuntu Netbook Edition. I did this because of my experimental obsessive nature. Jolicloud was the first linux distro that I’ve played around with. This also meant that I started to install things on Jolicloud that the OS wasn’t meant to do. Jolicloud works best when you use the apps and tools the developers give you (which is a lot.) At the time I just wanted to mess around with linux and after breaking Jolicloud, I installed Ubuntu. Now, I want to have an OS that is quick and cloud-based which describes Jolicloud perfectly. The newest update also replaces Firefox as Jolicloud’s web app base with Chrome. In a way I’m getting my cake and eating too.
One negative is that Flash and linux are still problematic together. There is some YouTube relief in the form of HTML5, but don’t expect Flash video to be smooth. Also, Jolicloud really sucks down my battery life when compared to Windows XP. Lastly, while it hasn’t happened enough to be annoying, I have had a restart where my screen is just black and nothing is happening. A hard reboot brought back the computer fine, but a couple more of those could be a deal breaker.
So, by the end of the week I’ll have a netbook dual-booting Jolicloud for every day use and Windows XP for some old games like Baldur’s Gate. As curious as I am for Chrome OS, the OS duo seems to offer the best options for now.
Although, I could still try and install Android instead?