These strangeres appeared when I did an image search for Cloud Computing Unicorn Zen
Thanks to some serendipitous luck, yours truly kindly received one of the 60,000 computers Google has produced for their Cr-48 Chome Notebook Pilot Program. This little act of corporate charity been enough to inspire me to write more regularly about stuff I like to do. I assume Google is watching everything I do, and hope that their engineers flip the webcam on only when I’m fully clothed.
The Cr48 is feather light on processing power, storage capacity, and weight. It lacks moving parts. It’s a Cloud Computing terminal for storing and retrieving information from the Web and gliding through the etheral networks of the Internet.
There are already members of the pilot that have peered into its gleaming, simplified insides. There are geniuses who have swapped out the operating system to flip its brain from one corporate master to another. There are without doubt lots of people in the pilot program who can and will gleefully modify, destroy, resurrect and transform these devices, and will probably continue to do so. The only shocking thing will be if someone out there does NOT find a novel, sideways use for one of their prototype device.
That someone won’t be me, by the way. I have no interest in trying any of the above, either. All I want to do is use it.
And I mean USE it. I want to see if I can use it to talk to servers, do some light programming, write, make pictures and above all work on this website with it. I’m a person who loves to communicate and create with this medium as quickly as I can.
So the question becomes, does this little device makes it better, faster, slower, harder, or just plain different to do this kind of work?
To do this kind of work with zeal means learning a certain amount of craft. I’m not a talented developer like Mr. Ben Ringold, the man behind Sleuth, but I’ve learned how to hack my way through databases and computer code. I’m not a network engineer, but I’ve learned to work with servers. I’m not a creative genius like Mr. Jason Forbes, but do love to work with graphics software and make things work. My contributions to the world are mostly as a thinker, behind-the-scenes rabble rouser, goad and organizer. That’s the space where I try to take things like project management, writing, deal-making and the Zen of media production and apply enough zeal to create something akin to digital art.
So, my little contribution to the Pilot Program is going to center around 4 slightly technical questions (depending of course on your point of view) to answer a bigger question. Namely, can I manage effdot.com better, worse, or about the same with this effervescent piece of technology? And will doing so get me moving again on this site?
Current Phase: Phase 2 and I just started! Read on to find out why!
Overview
This is a simple project to answer whether I can fully manage effdot.com with this Cr48. An overall objective is to get back on the horse with regular updates on this site. Naturally, other opinions about the utility of this device and cloud computing will arise from this effort.
Goals
- Manage a Linux Server
- Update some graphics
- Upgrade this Blog
- Move this website to a new server
- Write weekly about this project and with opinions on the device
When the project is over, I should have some articles about Cloud Computing, using the Cr48, and if all goes well hopefully an upgraded site living on a new server.
Project Phases
There are three phases of this project.
Phase 1: Hacking Away
This phase is all about getting to know the device, by documenting its quirks and the things I like. There are many applications and extensions available for Chrome OS (including some neat media based ones from Marvel and Sports Illustrated). The device itself also works has its own quirks, via the buttonless touchpad that comes with it. I figure that it will take a few weeks to learn the device and find apps that I like to use with it to help me accomplish the goals.
Phase 1 closes the moment I figure out how to connect with my server with this and do some light maintenance. That means I need to find a terminal application that works with Chrome OS.
EDIT: Shocker, this didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Click to Parting Thoughts to find out why!
Phase 2: Doing Fun Stuff
The main thing here is to create some simple graphics for use here, created solely with the netbook. There are a lot of graphics programs available, so this is both about discovering graphics software and settling on a program that’s easy and fun to use.
The bigger task here is to do an upgrade of this blog only using the device. Since this is a WordPress site, in theory this could be done via the admin system. There are some tasks that I want to accomplish that require some actual code updates, however. To accomplish this, I need to find an IDE or editor that will allow me to work directly on code. While I could work through the terminal, the idea is to find easier, faster, lighter ways to do this kind of work.
As soon as I settle on some graphics tools and get the site upgrade finished, it’s time to move on.
Phase 3: Move It!
I have a few apps running on the server that powers this site. The server powering this stuff is more than I need, however. The goal here is to find a cheaper cloud or virtual server option, and move the server to a new home using the Cr48. That work may be accomplished via the terminal only, although the goal will still be to find some Chrome OS option.
When the site is moved to its new house, Phase 3 is complete!
Success Metrics
Each phase has a Success Metric, defined by the phases outlined above.
Phase 1
- This phase is successful if …
- … the question of whether a terminal application that can use Chrome OS is settled
- … a decision can be made about whether use feels smooth and natural
Phase 2
- This phase is successful if …
- … 3 graphics programs are found, used, and judged on their utility
- … 3 or more cloud based IDE or text-editor programs are used to try and update this site
- … this site ends up with an upgrade
Phase 3
- This phase is successful if …
- … a new server is found and the site is moved using this device as the medium
- … a subjective answer about whether it was easier or harder to do is made
The most important goal, and the one that will help me define overall success, is whether there’s at least one Life in the Cloud entry each week.
Parting Thoughts …
I'm a pretty good typist, but everyone makes a lucky mistake now and again.
Phase 1 ended earlier than planned because it turned out the task that I thought would be a bit of a challenge, namely finding a terminal app, was incredibly easy, thanks to my dumb luck. It turns out the cr48 already has a terminal app built into it. I found it by accident when I tried to open a new browser tab with a ctrl-t and hit ctrl+alt+t by mistake. Doing so opened up the terminal.
Creating a connection via ssh is pretty easy. Once the terminal is started, type this at the command prompt, replacing username and host.server with your username and server name …
$ ssh username host.server
… and that’s it. I got in, did my bit of business, exited the device, then exited the terminal. While not the most robust client, it helped me quickly do what I needed to do. Being able to use some keyboard shortcuts to get to a terminal is pretty cool.
When I outlined the project, I thought that I would have to do a big search to find a terminal application. It never occurred to me that the people who conceived this would’ve built one right into the device. In hindsight, it seems obvious. This device is built by passionate software engineers, working for a smart company, who have probably needed to quickly get to a terminal. Duh, of course one would be built right inside!
So, Phase I ended early because of clumsy typing.
Click here if you jumped ahead to this section and would like to go back to where you started.
If you follow this project’s progress, I hope you find it interesting. If you found this entry during a search for Cr48 information, but don’t have your own and would like one, you might as well try applying for one. That’s all I did.
With that, Phase 1 is done. On to Phase 2!
Life in the Cloud project updates are posted every Monday at 10.30am ET.