Learning to Program In Google Apps Script (Part 2)

In part two I'll go through some more of the Google Apps Script tutorials.

The third Script

The third Script is basically just creating a custom function that uses Google Sheets to convert from Inches to Millimeters, it's not as complex as the script used in the first of the Google Sheets Scripts that was the second of the tutorials that I did in the last part.

The fourth Script

The fourth Script is still pretty basic but it's a little more advanced as it uses a Google Sheets Spreadsheet to send messages to multiple recipients, this could be used to send basic emails to multiple contacts. But in reality I think it's just an example of what you can do with Scripts in Google Sheets.

In the next part of this series I'll go through some more of the tutorials.

Roland

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What's New In Chrome OS 33

Since I briefly talked about the features in  part 9 of the Living with the Acer C720 series Chrome OS 33 has gone to the stable channel in the form of Version 33.0.1750.124.

What's changed in Chrome OS 33 stable

In the stable release of Chrome OS 33 the new full Screen mode that was present in the beta version has made its way to the stable, Google Now seems to be somewhat missing from the stable release even though there is a Google Now flag in chrome://flags, but it seems to be hard disabled as even when it's enabled Google Now doesn't work even though I've got it set up on my Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini, Asus Google Nexus 7 and iPhone 4S. I'm wondering if Google Now in Chrome OS has been omitted from the stable release due to it being a bit buggy with its location reporting, as when I was using the beta release of Chrome OS 33 reported on occasions that I was in Manchester or Birmingham, which is a bit strange when WiFi Location reporting is usually quite good.

A nice addition that's going to be helpful to new Chrome OS users is the first run tour. The first run tour is an interactive tour of Chrome OS that overlays info on the key parts of Chrome OS onto the Desktop.

Another new feature of Chrome OS 33 is Contacts search right from within the search bar on the top of the app drawer. This feature is a nice idea, but if you're like me and use outlook.com for email a lot of your contacts will be stored on the outlook.com website then it's not going to be that much use. Also I've found that not all off my Google contacts show when I do a search.

Chrome OS 33 Conclusion

Chrome OS 33 is a minor improvement over Chrome OS 32. One thing from the change log for Chrome OS I've noticed that doesn't seem to work is the renaming of files in Google Drive in offline mode doesn't work as I fried that this morning and couldn't get it to work.

If Google re-introduce Google Now into a future release of Chrome OS 33 or a future build of Chrome OS, and sort out the reliability of renaming files in Google Drive in offline mode along with improve the Contacts search feature then Chrome OS could become a serious contender as an OS.

Roland

Learning to Program In Google Apps Script (Part 1)

Setting up Google Apps Script

The first thing that needs to be done is to Install the Google Apps Script web app from the Chrome Store, using the web app for Apps Script will prevent you from losing the bookmark in your bookmarks folder in Chrome and will make it easier to open Google Apps Script when you're using Chrome OS as you'll be able to pin it to the Chrome OS Shelf.

The Google Apps Script IDE

The Google Apps Script may look lightweight and simple when you first open it, but from reading what Apps Script can do on the Google Developers Apps Script tutorial site it looks like a very powerful scripting language.

Creating a first Script

Google Apps Script is based on the JavaScript scripting language so anyone proficient in JavaScript should feel right at home and only need to learn how to use the Google specific pieces of code to write a script or customization. for anyone who doesn't know how to code in JavaScript the I'd recommend using the tutorials here and set up your workspace so you can follow the tutorials without having to switch between Chrome and Google Apps Script (if you're using Chrome OS I'd even alter the resolution of your Chromebook, Chromebox or Chromebase so that you can snap Chrome and Google Apps script to the sides without any overlap 1536x864 resolution, it's not the best for playing YouTube videos, but if you need to maximize your screen real estate then it'll be ok, just remember to drop down to the recommended resolution when you've finished )

The first script in the tutorials

The first script in the tutorials is a simple one, but when I tried it I keep getting an error saying TypeError: Cannot find function getbody in object Document. (line 6, file "Code")

[caption id="attachment_1954" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Error message[/caption]

But yet if I copy and past the code into the Apps Script editor it works without any problems what so ever.

Extending Google Sheets

The second example in the tutorials is a simple case of downloading a sample Google Sheets Spreadsheet into your Google Drive library and copying the sample code into the Apps Script editor and following the tutorial instructions for running the script. it doesn't teach you much in the way of coding the particular Script but you can always look through the code that you've copied at your leisure, but the tutorial shows you some of the advanced scripts & customization that you can do with Apps Script.

In the next part I'll go through another two maybe three of the tutorials from the Google Developers website.

Roland

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iPearl mCover Hard Shell Case for Acer C720 / C720P series Chromebook Review (Part 1)

In this two-part series I'll review the iPearl mCover Case for the Acer C720/C720P series Chromebook.

The iPearl mCover comes in a choice of 9 colours, as I had to purchase one for this review and they didn't have the black(possibly clear) one on Amazon UK I opted for the Orange one as it looked the best choice of colour for me to have to live with, and as Orange is the colour of my home town Hockey team then it was the perfect choice. See picture above for the colours that are available.

Design

The iPearl mCover is a two-part cover that has a base cover with cut-outs for all the ports and a top cover that covers the lid of the C720 so it's fully protected while still easily being able to use it without having to take it out of a pouch or sleeve.

[caption id="attachment_1935" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The two-part design of the iPearl mCover[/caption]

The iPearl mCover also has a unique feature in that it sports two pop-out legs on the back of the base cover allowing for it to be popped up at an angle on a desk, which is a handy feature if you use your C720 on a desk with an external Keyboard and mouse.

[caption id="attachment_1936" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Rear legs of the iPearl mCover popped out[/caption]

The iPearl mCover is just see-through enough that the Acer and Chrome branding shows through the lid cover making it look as if it's the real colour of the Chromebook.

[caption id="attachment_1937" align="aligncenter" width="300"] iPearl mCover from the back with lid open[/caption]

When the lid of the C720 is closed it still looks as stylish as it does without a cover, but it has more protection with the cover than what its got naked.

 Installation

Installation of the iPearl mCover is simply a case of making sure that the lid is clean and dry, I used a baby wipe to clean the lid of my C720 and dried it with a micro fibre cloth then attached the lid making sure that the two cut outs lined up with the hinge then pushed it down until all the tabs snapped into place. I then followed the same procedure for cleaning the base of my C720 then it's just a case of placing the C720 into the base cover starting with the back and pressing down until all the tabs snap into place.

Conclusion

The build quality seems pretty good and the cut-outs on the sides seem big enough that the ports can be used without having any problems with plugs staying in place. There is an added feature on the front right where the power & charging indicator is as the cover has been notched out creating a flat spot on the cover to allow for the indicators to show through without being obscured by the case, a big bonus of using a cover is that the brightness of the LED indicators is toned down a bit.

I'll post another part giving my opinion of the cover along with a full Conclusion after I've used the cover for a week.

Roland

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Programming in Chrome OS

When it comes to programming in Chrome OS the main language and IDE is Google Apps Script. Google Apps Script is a Scripting language based on JavaScript. Google Apps Script can be thought of as similar to the VBA Scripting language used to develop automation style Add-ons in Microsoft Office.

Google Apps Script is used to develop customizations and automation Scripts for Google Services such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and much more.

[caption id="attachment_1941" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Google Apps Script project selection window[/caption]

Google Apps Script's IDE looks like the IDE from any other language, but with several differences.

1. Google Apps Script can't be used to create complex applications like you can with Python, C, C#, C++, Visual Basic as it's more like VBA meets JavaScript.


2. Google Apps Script can't create Scripts for Microsoft Office as that requires VBA (but it might be possible to create Scripts for anything written in JavaScript).


3. If you want to create anything big and complex like an OS and OS Kernel then you might be better with something like Assembly language or C or C++.

[caption id="attachment_1942" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Google Apps Script Code Editor[/caption]

If you are proficient in JavaScript then it's entirely possible that you can write some pretty complex customizations or even automation scripts for Google services.

If like me you're new to Google Apps Script or even writing code then a wealth of tutorials and information can be found on the Google Developers website.

If you want to create something a bit more complex than what you can create in Google Apps Script while still using Chrome OS then there is the Nitrous.IO IDE that can create Python, PHP, Ruby/Rails, Node.js & Go programming languages, but for the average Chrome OS user then I think Google Apps Script will be more than adequate. Google Apps Script will be enough for professionals that are ether using Chrome OS or just the plain old Google Apps service on a Windows, Mac or Linux setup as Google Apps Script is a cloud based scripting service and your scripts are stored in Google Drive then it makes it a truly cross-platform  language that can be used on any of your devices (I'm not sure if scripts or customizations will work on the mobile versions of Google Drive or not).


My next Chrome OS series will be on learning how to create scripts and customizations for the Google services that are supported by Google Apps Script.

Roland

Living With The Acer C720 Chromebook for A Month (Part 10)

This part will be a short but very detailed conclusion to my Living with the Acer C720 Chromebook series.

Conclusion

The Acer C720 Chromebook maybe under specced and use an older Haswell based Intel Celeron 2955U processor instead of a newer Baytrail based Intel processor and only have 2GB of DDR3 RAM.

The specification of the Acer C720 really hide the fact that it's one hell of a fast machine and in the month of owning it I've not come across any lag or slowdown due to the 1.4GHZ Celeron 2955U Processor or the fact that it's only got 2GB of RAM, but that could be due to the fact that the Acer C720 packs a 16GB SSD (out of that 16GB of SSD Storage only 8.4GB is usable by the user with the rest being reserved for Chrome OS) and with Chrome OS being a lightweight OS it takes full advantage of the 2GB of RAM and the Celeron 2955U may be an older Intel Processor and only have a clock speed of 1.4GHZ but it gives exceptional battery life without sacrificing on performance like what you have to do in Windows with a faster processor, but with 100GB of free Google Drive Storage for 2 years on top of the free Google Drive Storage that you get as standard with a Google Account then the 8.4GB of internal Storage doesn't really stop it from being a usable machine.

If you want a Ultrabook that looks like a traditional Windows-based Ultrabook then I'd recommend the C720 or if you want a touch screen then the C720P as apart from the Chrome branding in the upper right corner of the lid and the lack of a Windows COA on the bottom it looks like any other Windows-based Ultrabook out there.

If you're in the market for a low-cost Ultrabook with excellent battery life and don't need any of the bloat associated with a Windows machine and can live with cloud computing or are already invested in the Google ecosystem then I'd recommend the Acer C720 Chromebook.

My next Chromebook related post I'll be reviewing the iPearl mCover Hard Shell Case for 11.6" Acer C720 / C720P series Chromebook case that I'm expecting to come in the Post on Monday.

Roland

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Living With The Acer C720 Chromebook for A Month (Part 9)

This part was originally supposed to have been written and posted yesterday (Wednesday the 5th of February) but due to a busy day on Tuesday I never had chance to get Tuesdays part finished and posted, so I'm running a day behind.

Google Now hits the Google Chrome OS Dev Channel

Google Now the intelligent personal assistant service that launched with the release of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in June of 2012, was added to the Development Channel of Chrome OS in January of this year. I switched to the Development Channel before last weekend and Google Now seemed to have issues with the location reporting as it was saying I was in Manchester when my Chromebook along with my Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini, Google Nexus 7 & iPhone 4S with Google Search installed are all in Sheffield.

[caption id="attachment_1910" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chrome OS Settings showing Developer channel[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1911" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Google Now on Chrome OS 34 Developer channel build[/caption]

Google Now hits Google Chrome OS Beta Channel

On Tuesday Google Now hit the Chrome OS Beta channel ahead of a possible release to the Stable channel later this month. The Beta release brings some improvements to Google Now including better location reporting from other Google Now enabled devices meaning that you don't get Travel Cards showing up when they don't need to.

[caption id="attachment_1912" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chrome OS Beta Channel showing in Settings[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1913" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Google Now in chrome OS 33 Beta Channel build[/caption]

Other improvements in Chrome OS 33 Beta build

There are other improvements to Chrome OS in Chrome 33 Beta including better handling of Window Controls in applications that are set to open in a Window, in Chrome 32 which is the current stable build the Window controls get overlaid onto the full-screen window meaning that things can get obscured in the top right of a Chrome application Window, in Chrome 34 Dev the controls get pushed to a pop out bar that can be slightly annoying if you mouse over the top of an application Window. In Chrome 33 Beta the Window controls are completely hidden from view and replaced by a floating pop out window saying that you are in full screen mode.

There is no sign that these other improvements will hit when Chrome 33 goes stable or if they're intact cosmetic indicators to the Dev & Beta Channels, but it would be nice to get the improved full screen Window controls handling that is present in Chrome 33 Beta.

Roland

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Living With The Acer C720 Chromebook for A Month (Part 8)

I mentioned Chrome Remote Desktop in Part 7 of this series, but in this part I'm going to talk more in-depth about Chrome Remote Desktop.

You'll need Chrome Remote Desktop  Installed on your Chromebook and as long as you've got Chrome installed on you other Computer and are logged in to Chrome with the same Google Account as on your Chromebook Chrome Remote Desktop will get synced to your Chrome Apps folder.

Setting up Chrome Remote Desktop

To set up Chrome Remote Desktop you just need to make sure it's Authorized on both devices and that it's enabled on the device that you want to Remotely connect to and have set up a PIN you're all set to go.

Using Chrome Remote Desktop

Once you're logged into Chrome Remote Desktop with the PIN you set up when setting up Chrome Remote Desktop, you're presented with a fully scaled Desktop that is fully functional as if you were set at it.

Everything runs smoothly with no lag, but I can't say that you'll have the same experience if you're trying to play Battlefield 4 Online as I'm going to assume that you'll get some serious lagging as your Network will hit a bottle neck with the intensive through put to and from the Internet for the game along with streaming your desktop to your Chromebook, but for something like the Sims or just using a Windows or Mac application you shouldn't have any trouble at all.

Roland

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Living With The Acer C720 Chromebook for A Month (Part 6)

  When it comes to playing music in Chrome OS is handled by Play music, although locally stored music can be played as well. Other streaming services such as Spotify can be used for listening to music,but if you live in a country that is covered by the Apple iTunes Radio service you'll obviously be out of luck as iTunes isn't available on Chrome OS. If you want to use local storage you'll probably not get much of a choice of music on the 16GB of internal storage, especially if you keep some videos, pictures and Documents on your internal storage. You can also use your Google Drive storage to store music, but unlike with videos I've not been able to get music to stream from Google Drive. I don't know if it was just the particular mp3 that I downloaded from my Play Music Library, but then again there really isn't a point of being able to stream music from Google Drive when you can store 2000 songs for free right in Play Music. The reason that you can stream videos from Google Drive is that the Google Play Movies & TV app doesn't support the upload of videos.

Conclusion

If you combine Google Play Music with a streaming service such as Spotify you'll have a decent portable Music Player & if you connect that with the video capabilities it becomes a solid all round media player.

The size of the speakers in the Acer C720 may be small but they're loud, and don't distort at full volume.

Roland

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Living With The Acer C720 Chromebook for A Month (Part 5)

In this part I'll talk more in-depth about video playback with the Acer C720.

YouTube

The Acer C720 plays back all YouTube videos without a problem, I've not had any problem playing back Standard Definition, 720P HD, 1080P HD & even 4K HD. I really can't see the point of why anyone would want to playback a 4K video on an 11.6" Ultrabook, but out of curiosity when I saw the 4K option on a YouTube I had to try it out to see how well the Acer C720 would handle it.

Locally stored videos

The Acer C720 can handle locally stored or streamed over USB from an external HDD all video formats that you can throw at it ether natively or via a third-party video player, the only slight problem I've come across was when I tried to playback an episode of Game Of Thrones in .mkv format, where the video played-back but it couldn't playback the audio for some reason, and so far I've not found a way to playback .mkv encoded videos, but at least a Chromebook can be used as a portable media player & the inclusion of a full-sized HDMI port on the Acer C720 means that it can be hooked up to a TV and be used as an inexpensive media player even though the 16GB of SSD storage is a bit limiting.

Streaming videos

I've not really tried using streaming video services like Netflix on the C720 yet but it's possible to store videos on Google Drive and stream them to the C720 but the free 100GB of Google Drive for 2 years combined with the free as standard 25GB of Google Drive storage space might be a bit of a limiting factor due to Google Drive being used to the rest of your data, and a subscription to a higher storage plan might be wise but once you go past the 100GB plan they start to get on the high price  a month or year.

Conclusion

The Acer C720 is a capable machine for video playback, but you're going to have to think hard about whether you're going to store your videos on the limited internal storage or whether you're going to use an external HDD or SD Card.

If you want to stream videos I'd seriously consider using a service like Netflix over using your Google Drive storage as using Google Drive could become an expensive option considering that you also store your pictures and Documents  on Google Drive.

Google could do with adding a video Upload feature to Play Movies & TV like they've got on Play Music, it'd allow Chromebook users along with Android users as they'd be able to watch their video Uploads on any device that supports the Play Movies & TV app along with any computer running Chrome that supports the use of Chrome web apps.

Roland

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