So... a Google CR-48 showed up in the mail today

[Joel Crane]

A mysterious package showed up on my doorstep this morning. My wife and I were baffled at what it might be. The box had my name on it, but there was nothing significant about the address.

I unboxed it and noticed that the inner box looked remarkably like a netbook box, but I certainly hadn't ordered a netbook. Had my wife bought me an Android tablet? Nooooo, she didn't stop me from opening the box, and It had my name on it.

Turns out it WAS a christmas present, but it wasn't from my wife!

It turned out to be a Cr48 netbook from Google! I hardly remember signing up for the program a few weeks ago, but never dreamed that I would actually receive one.

It's super cool. It looks just like a Macbook, except the finish is matte black, which is super clean. It matches my G1 perfectly. I don't have time to delve into the details at the moment (psychology final tomorrow), but this thing is sweet.

Honestly, I've got a lot more questions than answers. Most importantly, Is this mine to keep?

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Oooooo, post more on your impressions on the OS!

[Joel Crane]

The OS itself is familiar to me, because I've been following the development of Chrome OS and Chromium OS since they were first announced.

First, it's dead simple to use. I've never used a simpler, more user-friendly machine. Even the keyboard is simple, with all unnecessary keys removed, such as Caps Lock and F1-12 keys. The finish is a beautiful matte black, just like my G1, which doesn't show dirt of fingerprints, unlike my beloved ASUS EeePC 1005ha.

While user-friendly, it's got some geek goodness, such as a simple terminal environment that even has an SSH client. I was able to SSH into my Ubuntu 10.10 Minecraft Server with ease. Awesome!

If you are interested in Chromium OS (Chrome OS' open-source brother), check out chromeos.hexxeh.net. It will run off a flash drive on most common netbooks. It's not as polished as Chrome OS (this is the first time I've ever used an official Chrome OS build) but it does give you the general idea. The easier way to check out Chrome OS is to fire up the Chrome browser; that's all Chrome OS is. The user hits the power button, Chrome appears. It's that simple.

If anyone has any specific questions about the device, please don't hesitate to ask.