What's On My Chromebook Shelf Right Now (Late May 2014)

THE MOST USED APPS ON MY CHROMEBOOK, AND

WHY THEY'RE THERE

This is my latest Chrome OS shelf line up that I'll probably stick with for at least the near future. While my iPhone and Google Nexus 7 Tablet are mainly used for leisure, my Chromebook is used mostly for work, I spend I've most of my day, it's what I use to update this blog and work on various other projects. So I thought I'd do a post in the style of the what's on my Mac Dock and why, but for Chromebooks, so here's what's on my Chromebook Shelf and why. First off we'll cover some of the stock Chrome apps, and there are a few. The first is Chrome as it's permanently placed on the Shelf by default, Files as it's easier than having to go through the App Drawer to find it, finally I've got the Wallpaper Picker as it's convenient for quickly changing my Desktop Wallpaper. Now onto the rest of my Apps.

• Clock Calendar.  Clock Calendar adds a nice convenient Month view Calendar and Clock that can be used like a widget.

• Google Calendar. I Use Google Calendar on a daily basis, not always to add events. So it's essential to have Calendar in easy reach.


• Google Drive. It's essential for me to always have quick access to all of my work with more advanced features than using Files.


• Full Screen Weather. I use Full Screen Weather, because it's always nice to keep an eye on the weather.


• Google+ Photos. I use Google+ Photos as it's a nice simple way to view all my photos that are backed up on Google+& even shared to Google+.


• Google Play Music. I use Play Music as a lot of my music is already stored on Play Music, and having it on the Shelf makes it easy to use when I want to listen to anything.


• Hangouts call. Hardly ever used, but it's still there if I need it.


• iCloud. I've replaced WeVideo with iCloud since I never did my Home Office Tour video, an since I've started using my iCloud email address as well as my Hotmail,Outlook & GMail addresses I thought that I might as well add it to my Shelf line up and maybe I'll get some use out of the other iCloud features.


• OMG Chrome. As it's nice to keep an eye on the latest Chrome & Chrome OS news.


• Spotify.  I like using Spotify & it's nice to be able to use Spotify from the Shelf.


• Sunrise Calendar. I've started to use Sunrise Calendar on my iPhone and the Android Beta on my Google Nexus 7 for review purposes, so I thought that it makes sense to use the Chrome/Chrome OS version as well and it has some nice extra features that you don't get in Google Calendar, so Google Calendar has taken a back seat for now.


• WeVideo. I've added WeVideo to my shelf as I'm planning on doing a tour of my Office/Desk at some point during the next week and thought that it would be an ideal time to experiment with WeVideo, so it's gained a place on my shelf for at least the next few weeks.


• WordPress.com. Since my blog is hosted on WordPress.com it makes sense to keep the WordPress.com app on the Shelf.


• YouTube. I watch YouTube videos nearly every day, so keeping the YouTube app on the Shelf makes sense.


• Google Play Music Mini Player. Having the Google Play Music Mini Player on the Shelf means that I can get access to some of the Google Play Music features without having to go into the Google Play Music app, would be nice to be able to use the Google Play Music Mini Player while the Google Play Music app is closed though.

That's everything on my Chromebook Shelf. I've got loads of other apps on my Chromebook, but the list I've provided in this post are the select few that I use enough to allow to grace a spot on my Shelf. That's enough about my Chromebook, what about you? Be sure to share your Chrome Shelf setups in the Comments.

Roland

Sunrise Calendar For iOS, Chrome/Chrome OS & Android Review

 

After installing Sunrise Calendar on my Chromebook as well as my iPhone 4S & discovering that there is an Android version in Beta I thought I'd write a review of all three versions of Sunrise Calendar.

Sunrise Calendar for Chrome/Chrome OS

compared to the amount of different views in Google Calendar as Sunrise Calendar is a little lacking as it only has two views compared to the 5 in Google Calendar.

[caption id="attachment_2207" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sunrise Calendar Month view.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2208" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sunrise Calendar Week view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2209" align="alignleft" width="300"] Google Calendar Day view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2210" align="alignleft" width="300"] Google Calendar Week view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2211" align="alignleft" width="300"] Google Calendar Month view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2212" align="alignleft" width="300"] Google Calendar 4 Day view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2213" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Google Calendar Agenda view[/caption]

But where it's got the edge over Google Calendar is the ability to have Google Calendar and iCalender in iCloud in the same Calendar along with Facebook Calendar and a few other services calendars all together, but unfortunately there is no option for a Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Live & Outlook) along with some built-in Sports fixture Calendars & Religious & National Holiday Calendars.

Sunrise Calendar in Chrome/Chrome OS is a more stylish option to Google Calendar if you rely on different Online Calendar services, but if you also use Microsoft Calender then you are left out in the cold.

Sunrise Calender on iOS

Like Sunrise Calendar in Chrome/Chrome OS Sunrise Calendar in iOS only has two views compared to the four in iOS Calendar.

[caption id="attachment_2214" align="alignleft" width="200"] Sunrise Calendar Agenda view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2215" align="alignleft" width="200"] Sunrise Calendar 3 Day view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2216" align="alignleft" width="200"] iOS Calendar Agenda view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2217" align="alignleft" width="200"] iOS Calendar Week view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2218" align="alignleft" width="200"] iOS Calendar Month view[/caption]

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2219" align="alignleft" width="300"] iOS Calender Landscape Week view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But where it's got the edge over iOS Calendar is the ability to have Google Calendar and iCalender in iCloud in the same Calendar along with Facebook Calendar and a few other services calendars all together, but unfortunately there is no option for a Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Live & Outlook) along with some built-in Sports fixture Calendars & Religious & National Holiday Calendars.

Sunrise Calendar in Chrome/Chrome OS is a more stylish option to Google Calendar if you rely on different Online Calendar services, but if you also use Microsoft Calender then you are left out in the cold.

Sunrise Calender compared to iCalendar in iCloud

When it comes to comparing Sunrise Calendar to iCalendar in iCloud there isn't too much difference when it comes to views as iCalendar in iCloud only has one extra view.

[caption id="attachment_2207" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sunrise Calendar Month view.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2208" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sunrise Calendar Week view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2220" align="alignleft" width="300"] iCalendar in iCloud Day view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2221" align="alignleft" width="300"] iCalendar in iCloud Week view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2222" align="alignleft" width="300"] iCalendar in iCloud Month view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But where it's got the edge over  iCalendar in iCloud is the ability to have Google Calendar and iCalender in iCloud in the same Calendar along with Facebook Calendar and a few other services calendars all together, but unfortunately there is no option for a Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Live & Outlook) along with some built-in Sports fixture Calendars & Religious & National Holiday Calendars.

Sunrise Calendar in Chrome/Chrome OS is a more stylish option to Google Calendar if you rely on different Online Calendar services, but if you also use Microsoft Calender then you are left out in the cold.

Sunrise Calendar Android Beta

Sunrise Calender for Android is only in a closed Beta at the moment and like sunrise Calendar on the other platforms has only got 2 views compared to the 4 views in the Android Calendar.

[caption id="attachment_2223" align="alignleft" width="187"] Sunrise Calendar Android Beta Agenda view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2225" align="alignleft" width="187"] Sunrise Calendar Android Beta 3 Day view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2226" align="alignleft" width="187"] Android Calendar Day view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2227" align="alignleft" width="187"] Android Calendar Agenda view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_2228" align="alignleft" width="187"] Android Calendar Month view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2229" align="alignleft" width="187"] Android Calendar Week view[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But where it's got the edge over the Android Calendar is the ability to have Google Calendar and iCalender in iCloud in the same Calendar along with Facebook Calendar and a few other services calendars all together, but unfortunately there is no option for a Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Live & Outlook) along with some built-in Sports fixture Calendars & Religious & National Holiday Calendars.

Sunrise Calendar in Chrome/Chrome OS is a more stylish option to Google Calendar if you rely on different Online Calendar services, but if you also use Microsoft Calender then you are left out in the cold.

Conclusion

Sunrise Calendar on all platforms is a nice alternative to the stock Calendars & really comes into its own is if you use Android, Chrome/Chrome OS & iOS as everything is nicely synced between all devices that have Sunrise Calendar installed.

Roland

Cloudhq The Easy Way To Integrate All Your Cloud Storage Accounts Into Chrome OS

 

If like me you rely on Chromebooks as your Laptop of choice but have a Microsoft Account, a Dropbox Account, a box Account as well as your Google Account you'll find that the Chrome OS Files App is lacking in integration for your other Cloud Storage Services, then Cloudhq could be the answer to your problems.

With Cloudhq you can synchronize all your Cloud Storage Services to a folder for each service on your Google Drive Account which means that you can easily get to all your important files no matter if you're using your Chromebook or a Windows or Mac Computer, and with the Sidebar Customization in the Chrome OS Files App you can even add a link directly to the folder of one of your Cloudhq synchronized services.

[caption id="attachment_2201" align="aligncenter" width="300"] box, Dropbox and OneDrive integrated into the Chrome OS files app via Cloudhq and Google Drive[/caption]

Being able to have all of your Cloud Storage Services integrated into the Chrome OS files App as well as being able to get access to them from any computer without having to sign into multiple accounts and having multiple browser tabs open, by just having one tab with your Google Drive Account open and the ability to drag and drop files without having to go through the slow uploading process is a bonus for productivity as well as convenience.

Cloudhq has multiple different Account tiers ranging from a free account that gives you 1 sync pair limited to 50 files (14 days of the Premium tier) to the Business tier that gives you 10 sync pairs with unlimited files and access to all the features of Cloudhq.

If you want to give Cloudhq a try then hit the link bellow.

Cloudhq free-$29.90/month: Try Premium Free for 30 days

Roland

Why I Moved from The Chrome OS Dev Channel

After months of being on the Chrome OS Dev Channel and being happy with how stable it was for Development builds, today I moved down to the Beta Channel due to not all websites loading properly. Now that I've moved down to the Beta Channel the websites that were not loading properly are now working fine and I was having issues with using the Gimp on RollApp app in the Dev Channel is now working with no problems.

I chose the Beta Channel as it's only one release behind the Dev Channel release it retains the folders in the App Launcher which is lost in the latest Stable Channel release, also many of the new features that are in the Development Channel are just place holders or not fully implemented yet, where as the features that are in the Beta Channel releases are fully implemented but the release might be slightly buggy.

At present I'd rather have a slightly buggy release that doesn't have features that aren't fully implemented just to have all websites that I visit or use to load properly.

It's been nice using the Dev Channel, but the Beta Channel will probably give me the best of having the latest Chrome OS release with the stability of the current stable release of Chrome OS.

Roland

Toast Real Wood Acer C720 Chromebook Cover (My Thoughts)

American company Toast have created a stylish looking Real Wood Cover for the Acer C720 Chromebook that's available from their website, the basic cover costs $50 US and comes in a plain or with the Chrome logo cut out. for an extra $5 US you can have custom text added.

There is one slight downside to these covers and that is they stick to the lid of your Chromebook and you only get one shot at putting it on, as well as once they're applied they can't be removed and re-used meaning that if you're C720 gets replaced with a new one thy you'll have to purchase a new one.

I'd love to do a proper full review of this cover, but I can't justify the $50 US plus shipping to the UK to do a review when I'm currently quite happy with my iPearl hard shell full body cover.

I'll try contacting the Toast PR Department and see if I can get a cover for review though.

Roland

My Home Office Set-up 2014

My Home Office setup isn’t like the video tours that you see on YouTube, it used to similar at one time. It’s now a lot more modest and minimalistic, but it works well for me.   So here’s my text and picture tour of my Home Office as it didn’t seem worth while doing a YouTube video. The storage part of my Home Office is an old Computer desk that houses a Box of Printer Paper, a Shredder, a Box of Envelopes and a brown box that has some Computer stuff on the bottom shelf, the Keyboard drawer has an old Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard while the top shelf has a Printer Organizer with mostly odd bits of scrap paper and the charger for my Asus Google Nexus 7, bluetooth headphones and my Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 USB Headset & on top of it I've got my Kodak esp 1.2 AIO Printer.

[caption id="attachment_2146" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Printing station[/caption]

On the floor in front of the desk I’ve got a locking filing case that I keep all of my important paperwork and weekly bus pass in.

[caption id="attachment_2147" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Filing area[/caption]

Now onto the main part of my Office. My work area is a two-seater sofa where my Targus Slimline Netbook Case lives.

[caption id="attachment_2148" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tech storage[/caption]

The front pocket mainly holds Headphones and Memory cards along with my 32GB Samsung SD Card, Pens, my Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini, a keyboard dusting brush and the charger for my Acer C720 Chromebook.

[caption id="attachment_2149" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Accessory storage[/caption]

The main compartment holds my Acer C720 Chromebook in an iPearl hard shell full body cover, my Asus Google Nexus 7 (2012), External USB 3.0 HDD and the power cord for my Acer C720 Chromebook.

[caption id="attachment_2150" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Main storage 2[/caption]

The great thing about this setup is that I'm always ready for going on the road, as all I've got to do is attach the shoulder strap for my Targus Slimline Netbook Case and I can leave the house with my bag.

[caption id="attachment_2151" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Static to mobile office with the case shoulder strap[/caption]

This probably isn't one of the best Home Office setups around but a Home Office isn't always about large desks and dedicated room, but something that can go from static to mobile office and as long as your setup works for you, and ever since I started my blog in 2010.

Here is a couple of pictures showing how versatile my Home Office setup is.

[caption id="attachment_2148" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Home Office[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2158" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mobile Office[/caption]

Roland

New App Launcher Position Coming To Chrome OS

Google are experimenting with having the Chrome OS App Launcher in the middle of the Desktop compared to the normal Desktop OS position of in the lower left hand side of the Desktop, at present the new App Launcher position is hidden behind a Chrome flag.

[caption id="attachment_2137" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The current position of the Chrome OS App Launcher[/caption]

In my mind the new position of the App Launcher in the middle of the Desktop is more suited to touchscreen Chromebooks than to none touchscreen Chromebooks. This new middle of the Desktop position could also mean that Google are toying with the idea of removing the App Launcher from the shelf and turning the Search key into a Chrome Key, since the Search key also opens the App Launcher, or Google are toying with the idea of an Arm based Chrometab and an intel based Chrometab Pro.



I prefer the traditional position of the App Launcher being positioned in on the lower left hand side of the Desktop & hope that once it’s implemented the Chrome flag stays to allow it to be put back to where it currently is or they add an option to change it back in Settings.

 

Now over to you the reader do you prefer the App Launcher in it’s current position or does the new position sound better?

 Roland