Not sure if this is the forum to post this question but since I’ve read that the new Google Chromebook runs a Linus OS, thought I’d start here.
My question: Are there plans to have a Scrivener app that runs on Chromebook, or is there one already available? My wife, who helps me with many of my books written with Scrivener, is considering buying a Chromebook and I’m hoping that she use it for the Scrivener work.
Thanks for the help.
I’m waiting for my Chromebook 3g to arrive in the next few days.
If you want to see what it’s like to work on one, download the Chrome OS.
Sign-in with your GMail account; then visit the Chrome Web Store.
Set up apps and extensions. I have about 40 so far in Work/Play categories.
(Work is writing-information; Play is music, film, television)
When you get the Chromebook, you sign in and there’s your OS environment.
Nice advantage: you’ll see the same setup on a Mac or PC running Chrome.
And all of your files are stored in the Google Drive (read iCloud)
So, if you use Google apps and services, the CB is a great buy.
It resembles a MacBook Air 11" but at one-fifth the cost. ($249 or $332)
Or an iPad with a big screen and actual keyboard.
I plan to write more about this after trying it for a while.
Downside: no Scrivener app, unless someone builds a web-based version.
But: there’s always SimpleNote or EverNote as preludes to Scrivener.
I’ve also found a web-based outliner and a mind-mapper (and most apps are free).
I’ve attached a zip archive of a screenshot, to show the first page of apps
chrome.jpg.zip (73.1 KB)
Doe’s Anne know you buy all these soddin’ gadgets. Jeezz!!! wot y’ like?!!
what :mrgreen: can :mrgreen: I :mrgreen: say? :mrgreen:
Spoil’t :mrgreen: rotten! :mrgreen:
(Actually, I financed it with an election bet that I won off Wock.)
Liar! Wock may be a hill-billy, but he ain’t daft. He’d only bet on certainties.
Don’t take my word on it, since I have neither used Chrome OS or Chromium OS, but the the .tar.gz should work fine with Chrome OS since it is, as you said, Linux based.
That’s just theory though. You could always get the chromebook and return with your findings if no one else has had any experience with running Scrivener on one.
EDIT: Probably should’ve Googled before the post… Run across a few things that reminded me: it’s cloud based in storage and applications and locks the system down to bare bones to make virus infections almost an impossibility.
Meaning that getting Scrivener to run would be theoretically possible, but a pain, and likely requiring an external media of some sort. Running it on Chromium OS, however, would be different, since it doesn’t include the system lock as much (if at all.) That said, one of the big reasons to get a chromebook is the system lock, and several fast booting hardware features that Chrome OS is made to take advantage of but Chromium OS is not.
I bought a Chromebook today – the new £229 one. Mind you, I’m quite proud of myself that I didn’t walk out of the shop with a Macbook Air at nearly four times the price…
I’ll mainly be using the Chromebook for taking plain text notes in a confined space at the Library or Archives – I’ve been taking the 17" MBP but it’s really too big to be comfortable there – and I really couldn’t justify the MBA just for taking plain text notes. Damn. I wanted one.
But having played with the Chromebook for few hours, I’m impressed enough with it. It’s quick enough and very light, the screen is perfectly satisfactory and the keyboard is actually rather good, so as a plain text entry machine, it’s going to be fine. It won’t replace the MBP or iMac at home of course, but that’s not what I wanted it for.
A quick skip through the Chrome Web Store and I’ve downloaded Syncpad for Simplenote, which has a markdown preview built in. I’ve tested it, and it works fine synchronising files with Scrivener.
So far, so good then.
Congrats on your purchase. I am still waiting for the 3g version to ship from Amazon. You might try Google Docs for writing styled text and export as either Word or RTF files. If you install Chrome on your home machines, you have ready access to all files on Google Drive. As you may know, many writers use G Docs for creative works. See tinyurl.com/cfcy22y
Hi Druid,
Thanks for the suggestions.
It was your original post that started me thinking about the Chromebook and I followed your suggestion and downloaded some apps (I already had Chrome as a browser on the map).
I doubt whether I’ll use Google Docs much, simply because of my workflow. On the Macs, I take notes in Devonthink or Tinderbox using QuickCursor linking with Folding Text. So, all I need for the Chromebook is to be able to take plain text notes and synchronise them. I’m starting off with Syncpad for Simplenote (which can work offline), as I said and that will sync directly with both Tinderbox and Scrivener and for the time being that will be enough.
When I finally get round to writing stuff in anger, it will be in Scrivener, of course, but I won’t be doing any long writing tasks on the Chromebook, so this won’t be a problem.
I hope you enjoy the 3G version when it comes…
I just located a Chrome writing app called Scriptito. (Script it to).
scriptito.com
It looks like Scrivener, with Research and Draft folders, Index cards, and a writing Editor.
But it’s vague about Export and Import, so I don’t think you can use it with Scrivener files.
Another app you may like is Writebox, which interacts with files in your DropBox account.
Especially those written in SimpleNote.
Both are in the Chrome Web Store and run on PC or Mac via the Chrome browser.
Also, I installed SyncNote for SimpleNote and see that it works quite well. Thanks for the tip!
Just as an update for anyone who’s interested.
I’ve had the Samsung ARM Chromebook for a couple of weeks now and it’s fine if you want to browse and read emails and write, as long as you’re online. This is made perfectly clear in the adverts and it’s fair enough. The keyboard is fine for touch-typing and the screen’s acceptable, so it does what it sets out to do and does it very well for £229, I think.
However, I bought it to take simple notes while I’m in the library and archives, where there’s no wireless, and unfortunately I’ve found all the note-taking apps I’ve tried fail in one way or the other. The only one that works well is Google Docs I’m not keen on using that because it adds extra steps at the end of my notetaking process. But that’s just me, and the Chromebook is a fine thing to have.
So, I’ve put a Ubuntu 12.04 variant (Chrubuntu http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/arm-chrubuntu-1204-alpha-1-now.html) on it and it works well for my purposes, even though it’s alpha software at the moment: the desktop and browser work fine.
But most importantly of all, I can get rid of them and use vim in the console to take notes, and that’s all I need it for, really… (yes, yes, I know.)
I will have a go at installing Scrivener when I get a moment… [To make it clear: unless somebody writes a web app for Scrivener, you won’t be able to use it on the ChromeOS; it needs to be installed on your hacked linux version.]
To sum up: if you want a cheap laptop to surf and check email, it’s very good. If you like playing around with linux and have a reasonable grasp of the basics, then it’s not a bad way to get a functioning cheap linux laptop, which will only get better as the alpha software is developed (I hope).
Vim is awesome. 
(No sarcasm. I wrote my dissertation pieces–in csound and LISP–using it.)
I’m not a Vim power user by any means, although I’ve used it off and on for years, mainly for text entry, rather than programming.
Whenever I take it up again, I’m always amazed by how well it does some things: so well that it spoils you for other editors (yes, it’s better even than Scrivener for the actual business of putting the text in and entering it. QuickCursor is my friend…).
I do like Folding Text, though, even if it could do with a normal mode…
If you like Vim & text that folds, you should try Vim Outliner.
Thanks Ioa. I’ve just typed out a long reply and bloody Chrome lost it.
I’ve installed vimoutliner, but as far as I can see, you use it or you use markdown and I need markdown.
I’m almost certainly wrong about vimoutliner, of course, and I’ll check it out in more detail, but for the time being, I use vim-markdown (https://github.com/tpope/vim-markdown) and vim-markdown-folding (https://github.com/nelstrom/vim-markdown-folding) which together give me both (slightly limited) visual feedback and folding.
I hear you on that complaint. I have the same problem with OrgMode (well, that and it requires Emacs—the VimOrg project is still far behind). I’ll have to check out Markdown-folding, that is a new one to me. Here is one for footnotes, too.
Hah! I gave in and installed Aquamacs a couple of days ago (I used to use XEmacs years ago, purely to use gnus) and I thought I’d have a play with Org mode because I read about it…
Looked interesting but Aquamacs was being particularly stupid about typing # when I’d typed £. I tried to use m-x ctl-y c-p fix-the-bloody-input-method-it’s-2012-not-1978 but it refused and I gave up in disgust and went back to Vim, which I think I prefer anyway. Emacs is overkill for anything I do.
Thanks for the footnote link – I shall download and play…
50iEmacs is outrageous :!say “Indeed”
:!echo “;-)”
webpages.charter.net/edreamleo/front.html
Take a look at Leo. A programmable editor with the best outlining I have ever used.