First Impressions
Setting up the new laptop couldn't be easier. Sign in with your Google account, that's all there is to it. My extensions, theme, and other settings were automatically synced with my account. Now if we could only have this kind of setup on other Windows and Macs. Keyboard shortcuts has taken some getting used to. I often have to refer to the ctrl-alt-/ guide.
With the basically instant on advantage, I find myself picking this laptop up often to do quick searches, check twitter, and the like.
After Extended Use
After using the laptop for a while, there are a few things that can be improved.
First off, Netflix support. Netflix uses Silverlight plug-in for online streaming, which is not currently supported on Chrome OS and there is no way to install Moonlight or similar plugins.
Another issue I found is trying to use multiple Google accounts. Google claims their engineers have used Chrome OS full-time and other businesses could do the same, so I thought I'd put this to the test. My first obstacle was trying to log into my work's Google Apps account. I enabled multiple account sign-on, however, this doesn't work as expected because you use your Google account with Chrome OS. It kept signing me out of my work account while logged into my laptop with my personal account. The only solution I found was to log out of the laptop, then create and back into the OS using my work credentials, however, this solution is not ideal.
I use Google Reader to subscribe and listen to netcasts (podcasts), which I often listen to while working. If logged into my work account, I either have to manually visit those sites to listen to the netcasts I want to listen to, or re-configure my "work" Google Reader and subscribe to those netcasts. The issue with setting Google Reader with my "work" account is that I have to manually keep track of the ones I have listened and updating my personal account to keep it inline with my work account.
Conclusion
While still in the works, Chrome OS does have some advantages. I know of some people who could benefit from this type of OS given some improvements, which will happen over time.
Continue to check back to hear more of my thoughts and challenges with Chrome OS.
