Chromebook with Google Earth and Garmin Updates
I am contemplating a Chromebook. Has anyone experience with Chrome OS using Google Earth and updating a Garmin Nuvi GPS ?
Forum Discussion
Got out my Ubuntu laptop, which has the 12.4 long term stable release, let everything update to current versions. Checked the Ubuntu store, no Garmin update utilities there, no Google Earth.
Went to Google, downloaded 32-bit debian version of Google Earth stable release, version 7.1.2.2041-r0. Unpacked and installed, Opened a terminal, ran google-earth. As the window came up, I got a popup warning that my graphics card was inadequate for Google Earth. The application wants 3D accelerated graphics with shader support. In the Google Earth window, I got the 2D vector graphics, and controls similar the Google Earth I was using in Windows four years ago. There was no earth imagery, just the globe outline and a lot of square spots that might have been reference points for tiles of images. The terminal window showed a long string of connection failures for URLs.
I don't know whether Chromebook hardware will have adequate graphics for Google Earth, or whether any other netbook will. I suggest a midrange laptop, i3 or i5 processors which will have at least one 3D processor on either CPU chip or in the chipset. A Celeron may not be adequate, and I don't know where the 3D accelerator falls in AMD processor and chipset technology.
One of your two critical applications appears to be Windows-only. The other, Google Earth, is Windows, Mac, and Linux, with a somewhat immodest hardware requirement. This leads me in the direction of a full feature Windows laptop, not an Internet device or tablet.
Went to Google, downloaded 32-bit debian version of Google Earth stable release, version 7.1.2.2041-r0. Unpacked and installed, Opened a terminal, ran google-earth. As the window came up, I got a popup warning that my graphics card was inadequate for Google Earth. The application wants 3D accelerated graphics with shader support. In the Google Earth window, I got the 2D vector graphics, and controls similar the Google Earth I was using in Windows four years ago. There was no earth imagery, just the globe outline and a lot of square spots that might have been reference points for tiles of images. The terminal window showed a long string of connection failures for URLs.
I don't know whether Chromebook hardware will have adequate graphics for Google Earth, or whether any other netbook will. I suggest a midrange laptop, i3 or i5 processors which will have at least one 3D processor on either CPU chip or in the chipset. A Celeron may not be adequate, and I don't know where the 3D accelerator falls in AMD processor and chipset technology.
One of your two critical applications appears to be Windows-only. The other, Google Earth, is Windows, Mac, and Linux, with a somewhat immodest hardware requirement. This leads me in the direction of a full feature Windows laptop, not an Internet device or tablet.
