On the ropes (Score: 1) by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-08-15 11:18 (#3W1) I'm still on the ropes with this reformat of my Chromebook. On the one hand, this machine does admirably most of what I'd like it to do. On the other hand, it does not do a couple of things I need every day. Weirdly, back in 2000 when it came time to reformat Win98 and put on Linux (SuSE 7.1, if you're curious) I went full steam ahead. This time, the differences in firmware and the whole "developer mode" thing somehow make me a bit more anxious about borking my box. Or maybe I've aged and am now more risk averse. What will probably tip me over the edge is noticing all the subtle but creepy ways Google "knows me" through my interactions on Youtube, G+, and searching the 'Net. I've got a couple of adverts following me across the WWW right now and it reminds me it might be smart to keep some distance from Google.That said, its 4 second boot to a usable web browser is pretty awesome. Re: On the ropes (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on 2014-08-16 14:17 (#3WT) Well, not really just age. Windows machines (at least then) shipped with a full copy of Windows AND driver disks, making a full reinstall relatively painless. You knew you were getting a CPU and an OS to install on it.Preconfigured (often SSD or ROM based) "appliances" such as Chromebooks and iOS/Android devices don't ship with reinstallation media and go out of their way to disabuse you of the notion that the software is separable from the hardware... Even for techies. Re: On the ropes (Score: 1) by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-08-16 22:30 (#3WZ) Fair enough, but that's simply the next step in a path that includes laptops that no longer carry OS disks in lieu of reinstall media or worse, reinstall partitions. Android and is do the same thing - what's the difference or distinction between an iPhone and iOS?
Re: On the ropes (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on 2014-08-16 14:17 (#3WT) Well, not really just age. Windows machines (at least then) shipped with a full copy of Windows AND driver disks, making a full reinstall relatively painless. You knew you were getting a CPU and an OS to install on it.Preconfigured (often SSD or ROM based) "appliances" such as Chromebooks and iOS/Android devices don't ship with reinstallation media and go out of their way to disabuse you of the notion that the software is separable from the hardware... Even for techies. Re: On the ropes (Score: 1) by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-08-16 22:30 (#3WZ) Fair enough, but that's simply the next step in a path that includes laptops that no longer carry OS disks in lieu of reinstall media or worse, reinstall partitions. Android and is do the same thing - what's the difference or distinction between an iPhone and iOS?
Re: On the ropes (Score: 1) by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-08-16 22:30 (#3WZ) Fair enough, but that's simply the next step in a path that includes laptops that no longer carry OS disks in lieu of reinstall media or worse, reinstall partitions. Android and is do the same thing - what's the difference or distinction between an iPhone and iOS?