The Chrome Cast

This week on The Chrome Cast, we discuss Google's latest Chrome OS update bugs, how to fix them, and why in the end these bugs aren't nearly as big of a deal on Chrome OS as they are on competing operating systems.  For the second half of the show, we dig into all the new hardware on the way from ASUS, including the new CX9 and surprise Flip CX5400.  Both of these devices add high-end, premium options from ASUS that are quite reasonably priced for all the hardware they possess and fill out ASUS' portfolio for 2021 Chromebook to include a little of something for everyone.

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This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee, a coffee website that we have been using for a while now. We made the switch to FRC from the hand-roasting coffee method we had been doing for years and couldn't be happier. They offer great prices and they roast the coffee right before it is shipped to your doorstep! To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase of coffee and/or tea.

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

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This week on The Chrome Cast, we’re excited to welcome our contributing writer – Luke Short – who is well versed in the development that is ongoing with the gaming changes coming to Chrome OS in the coming months. Between ‘Mushu’ and a dedicated GPU in the works for a Chromebook, the Borealis project (which is bringing Steam games to Chrome OS), Proton (which brings Windows games to Linux for Steam), and the all new Steam Deck handheld gaming PC, we stick to gaming and gaming alone in this episode.

All of these things are working together towards a gaming revolution that is on the way for Chromebook users. Better GPUs add to the custom Steam container (Borealis) and the combo will make Steam games possible in the near future. Proton opens the door for Windows games in this setting and the new Steam Deck only propels the impending availability of the 50,000+ Steam games with Valve hoping to have 100% compatibility for their library by December when the Steam Deck actually launches. It all works together to create a very compelling case for local gaming on Chromebooks by the end of 2021.

This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

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This week on The Chrome Cast, we start the show off by discussing the most recent leaks surrounding the upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro that give us more details on what to expect this fall along with a promise for 5 years of regular security updates from Google.

In the second half of the show, we start by discussing Chrome OS 91's update issues and the current pause from the update server.  After that, we expand on the new Jasper Lake benchmark scores we're seeing and the impact this line of Chromebooks could have on the ecosystem as a whole.  That leads to talk about tablets, ARM processors, and Google's custom silicon eventually coming to Chromebooks.  It's a full show this week!

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This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Chrome Cast, we discuss the new apps that have arrived for Chromebooks and why they are so important to the ecosystem. It isn’t just that Zoom has an official PWA or that Opera has optimized the Android-based browser just for Chromebooks, it’s the fact that larger entities are beginning to really take note of Chrome OS and are building experiences just for the platform.

For the second half of the show, we discuss Stadia’s arrival on Android/Google TV and what it is actually like to use the service. With a great app on very affordable devices like Google’s new Chromecast and the ridiculously inexpensive Onn. streaming kit from Walmart, it feels like Stadia may get a big shot in the arm from the larger user base that could be inbound from this new platform. Oh, and we talked about this, too…

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This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin by discussing all the gaming news that is swirling in the Google/Chromebook world this week.  From Stadia finally launching on Chromecast with Google TV (and Android TV) to more news on 'Borealis' and Steam games coming to Chrome OS, there was a lot of great news in the gaming sphere this week.

From there we move on to talking about my lost hope in seeing an updated Pixelbook anytime soon.  With the two boards 'Halvor' and 'Lindar' both being outed as decidedly not Google hardware, we really don't have anywhere else to look for a new Pixelbook in the near future.  That being said, there's hope on the horizon in the form of Google's custom 'Whitechapel' silicon that gives us hope that we may see another Pixelbook down the road.

This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Chrome Cast, we open the show by explaining a bit about our new, upcoming series simply called Upstream.  With audience-submitted questions and expert-driven answers, we hope Upstream will turn into a place for all our readers to get interesting, insightful answers to things that aren't always a Google search away.  We follow this up with in-depth discussion about Google's freshly-opened retail store in New York City and what that move could mean for the mostly-online search giant.

For the second half of the show, we talk through the new Material You design language and what it could look like on Chromebooks in the future.  With mock-ups from our own Michael Perrigo, it is a lot of fun to consider what Chrome OS will look like after the next paint job.  As it tends to do, this discussion derails into talk of yet another Google-made Chromebook and what that could look like later this year.

This episode is brought to you by VIZOR for Chromebooks! Are you a School or District with a Chromebook 1:1 program? If so, get ready for your summer intake today with VIZOR for Chromebooks. VIZOR is a Chromebook management solution that seamlessly integrates with the Google Admin Console and your Student information system. With VIZOR you can easily see which student has which Chromebook, manage repairs, and even automate disabling lost or stolen devices while notifying parents, all in one click. Listeners to this podcast get 2 months free, so be sure to tell them you heard about VIZOR on The Chrome Cast podcast to qualify. Click here to learn more about VIZOR for Chromebooks and qualify for 2 months free!

This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! Click here to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Chrome Cast, we stay in a pretty #madebyGoogle sort of mood.  Starting with some early thoughts on the new Pixel Buds A-Series, we talk through all that Google is doing right in this space and - perhaps more importantly - all the things they are still basically missing on.  Yes, the new earbuds are pretty nice, but they are on the pricey side for a device that lacks many of the features seen in far cheaper headphones.  On sale and closer to $79, these new Pixel Buds could be just the right price, though.

For the second half of the podcast, we delve into the recent reports on Google's foldable OLED screens beginning manufacture in October.  Samsung has been tapped for sourcing and The Elec says along with screens for VIVO and Xiomi, Samsung will be manufacturing screens for Google as well.  If this is the case, we're likely tracking an unveiling of the Pixel Fold in October at Google's hardware event and perhaps a release of this still-mysterious phone sometime in late 2021.

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This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin the show by covering down on all the new features available in Chrome and Chrome OS 91.  Between updates to the V8 JavaScript engine - dubbed Sparkplug - and the arrival of Nearby Share, version 91 of Chrome OS is a nice, incremental update that should improve performance across the board and provide a new, useful way for files to be shared across Google's growing line of Android and Chrome OS hardware.

For the second half of the show, we focus in on reports surrounding the upcoming - and mysterious - Pixel Fold.  As it turns out, Samsung is now supplying Google with not only foldable OLED screens, but also the ultra-thin glass it uses in the manufacturing of devices like the Galaxy Flip and Galaxy Fold phones.  There are no additional details for now on what Google is planning or when we could see a folding Pixel, but this new news is definitely great fodder for discussion.

This episode is brought to you by VIZOR for Chromebooks! Are you a School or District with a Chromebook 1:1 program? If so, get ready for your summer intake today with VIZOR for Chromebooks. VIZOR is a Chromebook management solution that seamlessly integrates with the Google Admin Console and your Student information system. With VIZOR you can easily see which student has which Chromebook, manage repairs, and even automate disabling lost or stolen devices while notifying parents, all in one click. Listeners to this podcast get 2 months free, so be sure to tell them you heard about VIZOR on The Chrome Cast podcast to qualify. Click here to learn more about VIZOR for Chromebooks and qualify for 2 months free!

This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! Click here to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Chrome Cast, we’re discussing further leaks regarding the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, including new renders that showed up and more details about what we can expect from the new Google-made processor inside. After discussing our excitement over what the Pixel 6 could mean for Android phones and for Google, we pivot to a discussion surrounding some new hardware that arrived this week. From Acer’s 4 new Chromebooks to new devices on the way from HP and ASUS alike, there’s a lot to discuss this week from a Chromebook hardware perspective.

This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was there any question what would dominate our discussion this week? Google I/O 2021 came and went and in its wake, we’re left with all sorts of things to discuss. From new language AI like LaMDA to WearOS updates to Material You, there was a ton of new stuff that came from Google I/O that sparks the imagination and ensuing conversations. We try our best to stay on track and get through all the stuff that really interested us from I/O, and even in our 90 minutes of talking it feels like we only scratched the surface. It was fun to really dig in, so grab a snack and come along for our Google I/O 2021 recap.

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN. Get a VPN that takes your privacy seriously. NordVPN is our VPN of choice and will secure your browsing on your Chromebook or on any device. Use NordVPN to keep your private data to yourself whether you are at home or on the go! CLICK HERE to try it out and get a 3-year deal for $3.49/month.

Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices