The requirements to use "Cloud Print" are basically[1] a desktop machine, always on, fully powered and connected to an always on printer, for which one has gone through the hassle of setting up the printer. And after that you can print only from Chrome, and only where you've paired the printer to your account.

"Stupid simple" is only half right.

To me that's a lot of hassle to get basic functionality from a $500 dumb terminal. Better to spend $350 on a laptop, then use printer sharing on that desktop machine. Printer sharing is something that is in all major os's since Windows XP at least. This solutions allows you to print from any app on your laptop.

Better still to perhaps print from the desktop machine which is wasting space, money, and electricity acting as your print spool.

[1] of course cloud ready printers will become more available, but they are rare in the market atm

Yeah and there's only one printer (I think) from HP that supports cloud print...

The assumption is that you've set up a desktop Windows machine. Printers are fickle things at best, made cheaply, and have mechanical in addition to software problems.

He's either got to buy a compatible printer (extra cost) or set up a windows machine too. It probably has to be on. Not the end of the world (and might be just right considering the family computer situation), but I stand by the notion that there are more potential points of failure.

I don't see how it's any more difficult to set-up a printer with a Chrome device than it is with a regular desktop, especially for a random noob user. It's just not that hard, even if you opt against Cloud Print.

Oh come on, at least tell me what's wrong with the post if you're going to downvote it? Even if we leave of Cloud print entirely, how is it harder for a user to configure a printer with this than it is with any conventional laptop? Surely you don't think the Windows process of downloading a 200MB driver hidden in a manufacturer's website is easier than the Chrome utility?