The Chrome Cast

Latest Episodes:

Upgrading our website with Kinsta, new Nest Wi-Fi, and the brilliant Masters website Apr 09, 2022

Show notes

This episode of The Chrome Cast was a tad bit different than most, but it was a great conversation. We begin the show discussing our recent web hosting woes and the direction we've finally taken to escape them. While many of our listeners may not be looking for quality web hosting at the moment, it doesn't mean you all won't be on the receiving end of a much faster, much more optimized Chrome Unboxed website moving forward. We're excited about where we've landed and only expect the user experience to get better and better with our new hosting partner: Kinsta.

For the second part of the show, we discuss the emergence of a possible new Nest Wi-Fi with a much needed upgrade on board: Wi-Fi 6. With this tech, routers are much better at overall bandwidth throughput and dispersal, so in crowded environments your connection is faster and more stable than it was with Wi-Fi 5. As our homes and places of work continue adding layers of connected devices, this is a necessary move, and combining Wi-Fi 6 with Google's already-stellar, solid and stead router, I think this new Nest will be a huge hit.

Finally, we discuss the new 2022 Masters website from a technical perspective. You don't have to enjoy golf to be absolutely blown away by the masters.com website and we take a quick dive into all the functionality that is on offer via web-driven technology right in your browser.

Notable Links

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Kinsta Managed WordPress hosting: https://chromeunboxed.com/kinsta

This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee. To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per 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, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

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

Making better apps for Chromebooks with Google's Iein Valdez Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

For this interview episode of The Chrome Cast, we had a chat with Iein Valdez who leads the Chrome OS Developer Relations team at Google. We talked about how he and the Chrome OS are making things easier for developers on the platform, what developers are asking for/doing, and what improvements are being made for PWAs, Android Apps, Linux and more. It was a fantastic conversation and we hope you enjoy hearing about the ways Google is pushing development of applications in all segments from one of Google's own.

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100 versions and counting of ChromeOS Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of The Chrome Cast, we are talking all things ChromeOS 100. The ride from "just a browser" to full-blown OS has been long and over 100 version at this point, so it's nice to stop and look back at all the ChromeOS team has accomplished over the years.

We also chat a bit about our conversation with Google's Alex Kuscher and what that discussion revealed about some of the inner workings of Chrome OS over the years. Chromebooks aren't just browsers any longer, and web technology is more prevalent and useful than it's ever been. Here's to the next 100 versions!

Notable Links

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This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

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

5 questions with Google’s Alex Kuscher about Chrome OS 100 Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

For this episode of The Chrome Cast, we have a very special guest from Google to chat through the Chrome OS 100 milestone: Alex Kuscher. We’ve spoken with Alex one other time here on The Chrome Cast, and we’re delighted to have him back to answer 5 questions concerning the maturation of Chrome OS over the years on the way to version 100. It’s a great conversation with one of the few people who have been around since the early days.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Qc1ZVU6gUZ0

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Steam on Chromebooks feels a little like magic Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

For this episode of The Chrome Cast, there's no escaping the gravitational pull surrounding the arrival of Steam for Chromebooks. Sure, there are only a few Chromebooks that can currently participate in the open Alpha and yes there are bugs, but the overall experience of loading up Steam on a Chromebook is one of the coolest new arrivals we've seen for Chrome OS.

Even if you aren't much of a gamer, there's so much to discuss around this topic as a fan of Chrome OS. From an operating system that was 'just a browser' to the do-just-about-anything OS, Chrome OS continues evolving in its abilities. Not only will the Steam on Chromebooks be great for games, it will also help other virtualizations on Chrome OS - like the Android, Linux and Parallels containers - to get faster over time as well. There's a lot to discuss, here, so let's dive in.

Notable Links

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Sponsored by VIZOR - Chromebook 1:1 Management Software for Schools! Special Offer: CLICK HERE to schedule a no-obligation demo of VIZOR for up to 20% off your first year.

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

Steam on Chromebooks, Stadia white labeled, and Google Play Games on PC Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

This week on the Chrome Cast, we get into all the news that came from the Google For Games Developer Summit. From a bit of a surprise announcement around Steam games on Chromebooks to Stadia officially being white labeled as a Google Cloud service to Google Play Games finally arriving on Windows PCs, there was a lot to discuss in the gaming world from a Google fan’s point of view.

We also spend a bit of time discussing some fun, new features available on Chrome OS 99 and the fact that I have once again pivoted in my smartphone ownership. That’s right, folks: it’s back to the Pixel 6 for me!

Notable Links

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Sponsored by VIZOR - Chromebook 1:1 Management Software for Schools! Special Offer: CLICK HERE to schedule a no-obligation demo of VIZOR for up to 20% off your first year.

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

Technology in the Classroom with Google's Taryn Sullivan Mar 16, 2022

Show notes

For this episode of The Chrome Cast, we have an interview with Tayrn Sullivan, Product Manager on the Google For Education Team. We had a really fun chat discussing an upcoming feature in Google Classroom called Practice Sets. While this is a little different than our normal content, this new feature is using some "Google Magic" and leveraging some awesome technology to help teachers better support their students and help them learn more effectively.

And at the end of the day, a lot of our listeners and readers are parents, so we thought it would be fun to hear directly from a spokesperson at Google how they are using technology to help children in the classroom. We really hope you enjoy the conversation!

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This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee. To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase!

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

Pixel 6a benchmarks, Pixel Watch/Pixel Buds with skin gestures Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

This week on The Chrome Cast, we cover quite a bit of ground. Off the top, we begin by talking about the Samsung Galaxy S22+, Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds 2 as a cohesive ecosystem we really wish Google would cultivate. With the Pixel Watch, Pixel Buds and Pixel Phones it is possible, but still definitely not there just yet.

From there we talk through some news surrounding the Pixel 6a and the Tensor chip it seems will be powering it when it does release. In addition, we chat through Google's latest, strangest patent that could allow for skin-based gestures for their watches and earbuds in the future. Could this apply to the Pixel Watch we're expecting in the next few months? Hard to tell, but perhaps.

Finally, we discuss the new Android 12 Quarterly Platform Release program and dive a bit into an upcoming video we have where we attempted a full install of Chrome OS Flex on a non-supported 2010 Macbook Pro.

Notable Links

Sponsored by VIZOR - Chromebook 1:1 Management Software for Schools! Special Offer: CLICK HERE to schedule a no-obligation demo of VIZOR for up to 20% off your first year.

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per month.

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

Lenovo announces new Chromebooks at MWC 2022 Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

On this latest episode of The Chrome Cast, we spend the bulk of the show discussing Lenovo's new Chromebook lineup that was announced at MWC 2022. With meaningful updates to beloved Chromebooks like the Duet and Flex 5, Lenovo has put together a strong showing as we move into the second quarter of 2022 and the new Chromebook Duet 3 and Flex 5i are both big upgrades on already-great devices.

We also discussed Google's upcoming hardware in the Pixel 6a and Pixel Watch that have now shown up at a US wireless provider in their inventory system. With 3 colors of each device now outed and storage numbers also revealed, we're just waiting on the leak of the actual release date.

Notable Links

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per 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, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

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

Pixel 7 leaks, Pixel 6 bugs and Galaxy S22 launch day Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of The Chrome Cast, we begin the show by talking about the release of the Samsung Galaxy S22 series and the fact that Samsung is really outdoing itself lately when it comes to making the best Android phone you can buy right now. As much as we want that title to go to Google's own in-house Pixel devices, Samsung is delivering solid hardware with software perks we'd expect to see from Google. On top of that, they're offering far more update support than the Pixel phones get, giving users a full 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates.

We then put that into the context of the Pixel 6's woes across the board and at this point, the picture isn't overwhelmingly pretty for Pixel phones in 2022. We're all fans of Pixel and want to see these phones do well, but there's no denying the fact that Samsung is putting themselves into the position of not only the most dominant Android phone option in the US, but also quite possibly delivering the best experience, too.

Notable Links

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This episode is brought to you by Fresh Roasted Coffee. To check it out, go to https://chromeunboxed.com/coffee/ and use the discount code CHROMEUNBOXED for 15% off your initial purchase!

This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN.CLICK HERE to try it out and get 2 years for $3.29 per 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, and more. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.

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

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