I think you’re quite wrong about Chrome, but only time will tell. For me, a happy medium right now is to use the Chrome browser on a Mac OS machine; that gives me access to Scrivener and Devonthink, with a streamlined way to track e-mail, contacts, tasks, notes, and drafts. Instead of having to run several other programs, I use a browser and its tabs. And for me, the Chromebook improves on the iPad by offering an excellent keyboard-screen combination in a lightweight and low-cost machine. People who have used one for a while are writing quite positive reviews. See zdnet.com/google-chromebook- … 000009563/
This is my setup as well, with the added wrinkle that my (Android) phone can access email, contacts, and to do lists, and can create Google Docs files when I want to make a lengthier note and that’s the only device available. All of which will magically appear on my main computer when I get back to it.
Katherine
Katherine, that’s good to hear. I’ve used iPhones for four years but long for a simple, low-cost wireless. When my current contract is up, I hope there’s a Chrome or Android phone available to use with SmartTalk. Possibly the Nexus 4, if it ever becomes widely available.
I’ve read that Chromebooks are pretty much useless when they are away from the internet, with only a limited number of apps supporting offline use - is this not true? If they were only any good when connected to the internet, they wouldn’t be much use as portable machines in England, where wi-fi access is still fairly limited. (I was thinking of buying one for my son’s birthday, since everything he does is online and they are so cheap - to keep him off our computers - but as you can’t run Roblox or Minecraft on them, he’d never use it…)
Oh, and to stay on-topic: there are no plans for an online version, nor any plans to make plans for an online version, nor any internal speculation on the possibility of making plans to make plans for an online version, sorry! 
All the best,
Keith
I have a Chromebook. You can use them offline with Google Docs, but there seem to be few others which do it well - even for plain text.
I’ve put linux (Chrubuntu) on it and that works well enough for me. I’ll try and put Scrivener on at some point just to test it.
An online version of Scrivener would allow:
- write from anywhere, any OS, any device - all you need is an internet connection.
- automatic backups - data storage, secured, no HD crashing or losing your USB drive
- no need to download, install or update or deal with your own technical issues
- real time collaboration with beta readers, co writers, agents, publishers.
For years, Final Draft was considered the best software for screen play writing. Now Adobe Story is fast taking over the market. It’s an online collaboration version. That’s where the technology world is heading. Every IT person knows this. I’ve talked with a person at Adobe in the last year or so, and he confirmed they are looking at offering a service more for novelists similar to Adobe Story.
He said any IT company would be crazy not to be looking at the marketplace and be moving in that direction.
Microsoft, Google, all the biggest players are moving to software as a service models. Win8 doesn’t even support Pop3 mail clients like Outlook. Email is web-based. Office is going Office/365 which is also web-based. Everything is moving that way, whether you like it or not.
If the makers of Scrivener aren’t seeing that, then they are either crazy or stupid. Somebody soon will offer up that kind of service for novelists, and Scrivener will be irrelevant if it doesn’t change. It’s only a question of when.
Making a web site act rather badly like software does not automatically give you real time collaboration (nor does it make it any easier). It is not necessarily a good thing to have your software tied up in a subscription model. It is a worse choice to have your data tied up in a subscription. You only have to punch one button every four months or so to keep Scrivener up to date, I think the current model works just fine. You already have automatic backups, at your fingertips. As for accessing your novel from anywhere, you will be able to do that once we have the portable versions ready.
At any rate, it’s good we aren’t an IT company I suppose.
And because it doesn’t seem to be read nearly as often as it should be:
Everybody isn’t Google, Microsoft, Adobe, etc… Those are big companies with huge staffs. Seriously, how big a money maker do you think Scrivener has been so far? You think Keith is raking in Millions or Billions like the above players, able to employing thousands of staff to support their products, experiment with emerging technologies, and run their campuses (not their offices… CAMPUSES… that’s how big they are). Hell, Google’s rolling out their own fiber-optic-to-the-home + cable tv service, providing FREE INTERNET to households at today’s speed, and competitive prices for those willing to pay more. Think about that in comparison to Scrivener’s handful of hard-working staff.
If you expect every boutique developer to be able to accomplish what MS & Google can, you’re either crazy or stupid.
EDIT: That was bad form on my part ;I apologize. It’s never polite to imply that a differing decision or opinion makes the other person/people stupid. There might be a case for ‘crazy’, if you expand the epithet to include the regulars who frequent this board, however. Myself included. 
Wouldn’t an online version require you to be online?
Sounds a bit restrictive to me.
Just a reminder of the forum rules: be polite. It’s okay to disagree with us and discuss where you think the industry is heading, but please respect that other people - we - may disagree. It’s absolutely not all right to call us stupid for running our business the way we deem best fit.
Thanks and all the best,
Keith
Yes, the Cbooks work best online, but hundreds of apps and extensions work offline. Including games. Just visit the Chrome Web Store and in the search box enter “offline.” Any changes made offline synch to Google Drive when you go online again.
As for games, the CWS has a Games category; click it to see boodles. (Under settings, you may also choose UK as a preference, and that may change the listings.) Many variants of Minecraft are available, and for Roblox there are news and fan forums. Bear in mind that most of these are free or very cheap. chrome.google.com/webstore/
PS: the Samsung Cbook accepts SIM cards from wireless providers for 3g data service. The Samsung is lightweight and elegant; the Acer is plainer but has more ports (like VGA out) and file storage.
Hmm. A Scrivener license costs $45, and you can use it on as many machines as you like for as long as you like. Office 365 costs $6 per user per month. Google Apps for Business is $5 per user per month, or $50 per user per year.
Tell me again why software as a service is supposed to be so much more attractive?
Katherine
In the words of Mandy Rice-Davis, “he would say that wouldn’t he”
To describe someone who’s made a successful business out of writing highly regarded software as either crazy or stupid says more about you than it does about them. Frankly if it came to paying Keith the going rate for upgrades every couple of years or so, or paying Google/Adobe/whoever, a monthly fee to be able to do what I want, I’ll stick with Keith thanks.
I can still work anywhere there’s an internet connection by using Dropbox, so like Katherine I really can’t see what major benefits an online version would bring.
The best retort ever uttered in a British court. Thanks for reminding me Tacitus.
One wonders what part of the word “No” is so difficult to understand …
Hello folks - so, here’s the deal with “Cloud” apps.
- if you are caching it locally so that it works offline too, then it isn’t a cloud app!
- if it IS a cloud app, then you can’t use it when the network is down.
- if the network is down and you are using a cloud app, then not only do you lose access to your tool; but you also lose access to all your work!
- the argument for cross platform capabilities is specious. L&L could write it in Java and deliver it to any platform too; real-time updates; also specious - The chrome browser (and OS) is a local app, it updates in real-time and silently (without you even realizing it, mostly) - it’s an optional feature.
As a writer (and also a technologist) I look at the cloud as something that has its place, but isn’t the answer to everything. For email - it’s a no-brainer; for document creation it has its place in certain situations (IE, regulatory control of corporate documents) and of course for many collaborative applications like Box. For the writer, it has no compelling advantages and several draw backs.
If you want your data (scrivs) backed up and accessible from the cloud, use a tool like Dropbox (or better yet, Bitcasa). An option for portability (run everywhere) would be to have L&L create a portable version of the application that could be run from a USB stick - then you could carry your tool (and your data) around in your pocket, and plug it in to any machine you happen to be near.
From a purely technology business perspective, if L&L decided to do an online version with local caching (browser based for example) then they would be able to move to a subscription model, which IMHO would be worth $10/mo and would likely increase revenues from (conservative guessing here) $20/year/user to $120/year/user - compelling business case - worth exploring using a Kickstarter campaign. On that note, I wouldn’t staff up for it; I’d use the internal expertise as PM oversight and use a Chinese dev company to execute the coding at a fraction of the cost.
And give the great Chinese public exactly what they want … another application ripped off and available for free. The Chinese don’t think they should pay for any software. I suspect it’s also partly Microsoft’s fault because they have always turned a blind eye to the pirating of Windows and Office (There are pirated versions of Office for Mac available now, but you’re taking risks with viruses if you run those).
The standard reply of a Chinese in relation to buying a Mac always was, “There’s no point as there’s no software available for OS-X!” What they meant was, “There’s no pirated software available … and I’m not going to pay for any software!” Macs, particularly MacBook Airs, are selling like hot cakes in China, and the buyers are then just running Windows under BootCamp for that reason. I asked a friend of mine who sells mostly iPhones, iPods and iPads, though he’ll also get any computer you want, why the iMac and the MacBook Pro in his shop both have Windows running. He said, “The people are only interested if they see Windows running.”
Putting the coding out to a Chinese dev company is the last thing I’d suggest.
Mark
I haven’t forgotten that. Katherine made a point about the demand making it not worth the investment, and I was replying to that because while Lit&Lat won’t make something only because there is demand, they are less likely to make something that isn’t worth the demand.
True Google hasn’t replaced Microsoft, but Google is still growing.
It’s not true anymore. When they first came out, offline they had maybe a plain text editor. My chromebook is wifi-only and I use it in lots of places that lack wifi. It can do less without a connection, but it’s not useless.
Though if you have desktop or other computer you can leave running, chrome now has Chrome Remote Desktop. So with the help of another computer, you can kinda use Scrivener from a chromebook as long as you’re online. It would also work for any computer running chrome, or able to run the chrome portable app (making it a possible alternative for a portable / USB stick version of Scrivener unless one comes out). It’s not the best solution, but in some cases it can work, and therefore drives down the need for an online version even more.
Thanks for this tip. I just installed CRD on my iMac and now I can share its screen with the Chromebook.
But the image of that screen is awfully small, so I’m not sure how practical it will be to use.
The usual Control-Plus did not make the image any larger. Any suggestions?
It’s no problem, I’m glad it’s helpful 
There should be a blue arrow thing at the top in the center and if you click it some options should slide out. One is called Screen Options, and it controls if you see the whole screen or not. In my screenshot, Scrivener isn’t maximized since I’ve sized it down manually to fit on my chromebook’s screen.
