Hasta La Gadget!

When Google Chromebooks started arriving without the Netflix streaming we’d been promised we were predictably bummed, but that may be rectified soon. While Chromebook owners attuned to beta channel updates first noticed an entry for a Netflix plugin last month, it still couldn’t actually play movies and didn’t appear on older, single-core Atom powered Cr-48 laptops. Fast forward to the present, where one of our friendly comment moderators, masterofrandom has spotted this updated v1.0.2 plugin lurking in the depths of his murdered out 12-incher. There’s still no playback to be had, but we’re figuring Netflix didn’t update the version number past 1.0 because it’s finally figured out the perfect queue management system. Chromebook owners or prospective owners (and by extension, Linux users) still awaiting Watch Instantly streaming — your alert level is at Vermilion.

[Thanks, masterofrandom]

Netflix plugin for ChromeOS hits v1.0.2, is an official release around the corner? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Does it hurt your brain to look at the picture above? That’d be Chromium OS — running on a MacBook Air! Pretty much the definition of “worlds colliding,” this feat is brought to you by Hexxeh, whose most recent mind-warping project put Chrome on an iPad. The platform-mixing maestro says in this case everything works except Bluetooth, owing to a lack of support. But hearty souls who seek to follow in his footsteps, take heed: there’s no dual-boot option, and you will lose OS X — so perhaps this is a job for your now outdated model. Click the source link for 14 easy steps to turning your svelte laptop into Frankenstein’s monster, but sadly, there’s no mention of where to buy that hopelessly cute Chrome pillow.

[Updated: Diligent researchers found the Chrome pillow. Peep it in the second source link. Thanks, Matthew.]

Chromium OS running on a MacBook Air: somewhere, a mad scientist cackles in the night originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How do you solve a consumer education problem like the Chromebook? You put it into the idle hands of urbanite travelers — that’s how. The fast-booting neither laptop, nor netbook entity with negligible storage and not-yet-defined purpose will find a temporary summer home at select Virgin America gates and New York’s Ace Hotel starting Friday. Jet-setters flying between San Francisco and either Chicago O’Hare, Dallas / Fort Worth, or Boston Logan can get an on-the-fly, marketing-fortified crash course in Chrome OS computing by visiting special ‘Chrome zones’ located near departure gates. Virgin’s also thrown in some free in-flight WiFi to ensure you test drive Google’s Cloud-dependent lap-dweller . And if you’re one of the millions of tourists planning on seeing the Big Apple in all its humid splendor, the Ace Hotel’s got an on-the-house stash that lobby lizards can use, but only guests can take out. But the promotional push doesn’t just stop there: all partners involved have bundled specialized travel-planning apps into the experience — sure to be ripe with cooler-than-thou recommendations. It’s a noble attempt by our search giant overlord to make a name for its portable computing entrant, and a helpful distraction from that armrest hog next to you.

Continue reading Chromebook boards Virgin America, checks-in at Ace Hotel for summer vacation

Chromebook boards Virgin America, checks-in at Ace Hotel for summer vacation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The US has already tasted its first piece of the Chromebook pie, and now Samsung’s serving up a slice to our friends across the pond. That’s right, the Samsung Series 5 will grace European soil starting this Friday, and will set our European brethren back €399 (or £349) for the Wi-Fi model and €449 (or £399) for the 3G version. The Chrome OS laptop will be available in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy to start, and is said to be on the way to other countries in the next few months. So stop licking your lips already. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Series 5 lands in Europe June 24th, starting at 399 euros

Samsung Series 5 lands in Europe June 24th, starting at 399 euros originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For almost two years now, Google’s been talking up the idea of always-on, always-connected laptops based on a version of its Chrome browser. Local storage, of course, was not an ingredient in the equation. And while a lucky few developers got to put the concept to the test with the help of the CR-48, it never surfaced as an honest to goodness consumer product. At last, though, the Chromebooks are here, starting with Samsung’s Series 5, a cute little number that promises instant-on access, 3G connectivity, and long enough battery life to web surf with the best of ’em. But is this new class of computers — and this solidly built one, in particular — poised to make an impact? Let’s find out.

Continue reading Samsung Chromebook Series 5 review

Samsung Chromebook Series 5 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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