# Chromebooks - a viable alternative!



## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

When the Chromebooks first came on the market, I pooh-poohed them because they were browser only.

But these days, the Chromebook has become a viable alternative to the laptop and/or tablet. Inexpensive and very fast considering their very light specifications, they are amazingly more useful than I originally thought. Yes, most things are still done all online, but more and more things are becoming available for offline work also. Including GoogleDocs, the online office applications.

You can even have a relatively full Linux install on one and hot-switch between the ChromeOS and Linux with a key combination. That's because the Chromebooks are based on the Linux kernel, and any hot swap Linux shares the kernel. Very slick.

I got a Samsung 303C12 Chromebook a couple weeks ago and now find that I use it more than the MacBook Pro or Acer Win8.1 laptop. I found that in general, if I'm on the computer, I'm online. There are limitations of course.

If you are contemplating getting one, or are just curious about whether it is viable for you, here's an easy way to test out how it operates in general. Just open your Chrome browser and do everything in it for a day or so.

MS seems a bit nervous about the Chromebooks with their 'scroogled' ads. And Google has found a market that likes them in the schools. Security on them is very good, you can literally switch users around and the users are completely unable to see what others might have done. Even hackers can't see it since the data and other stuff isn't on the Chromebook at all. It is all in the cloud!


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## amh84 (Apr 19, 2010)

I just bought a laptop for my wife but I think it'll be the last "traditional" PC I'll end up buying. She's a middle school teacher and she applied for and received a donation of 10 Chromebooks for her classroom. So far she loves the speed and applications that are available to her. If it weren't for the lesson plans and lessons she creates using a Windows application, I would've bought her a Chromebook.


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## dstout (Jul 19, 2005)

Thanks for the review. I have been considering a Chromebook.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Here's some things to consider if you want to go that route.

1. All Chromebooks come with a minimum of 100Gb of GoogleDrive space for 2 years. That's worth about $120 total if you were to buy it. 
2. HP has a new 14" version that looks very sweet and gives you a bigger screen than almost all the others.
3. Acer has the new C720 with the Haswell Celeron processor with great battery life. And they also have a new, not yet shipped C720P which has the same processor, more RAM, bigger SSD, backlit keyboard and touchscreen.
4. ALL app for it have to come from the Chrome Store. No other way to get them.

For info, GoogleDocs works superbly with the Chromebook, as does MS's Office web apps.

Downsides are no actual email client nor usenet client. Have to use webmail and GoogleGroups. Neither of which are my favorite ways, but it works well enough.

One thing that I really like is that the 11" versions all do 720p which is great on that size screen. You can actually read them without squinting. I had a MacBook Air 11" that I took back 'cause it was impossible for me to read almost all text because of the very tiny fonts they used. Work arounds kind of sucked too!

Printing from the Chromebook is a bit different. Google for 'google cloud print' and it will tell you all about using older printers in some cases, or newer cloud print ready printers. It all works quite well. Just takes a little getting used to the differences.


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## dualsub2006 (Aug 29, 2007)

I spend all most all of my time on one of my Chromebooks now. I have a Cr-48 that still plugs away quite nicely, and I have the Samsung 11" as well. 

I love having 2 Chromebooks, 2 tablets and 1 phone but only one location to store my stuff. 

Whatever I need to work on, whichever device is in my hand, I can do what I need to do. 

My Windows Ultrabook is for Photoshop, ABC Mouse and for backing up my Google Drive and Google+ photos locally. I'm never going back to Windows or Mac as my primary device again.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

I find myself using the Chromebook most of the time since it is so convenient.

But I also still use my MacBook for music engraving and some other tasks that the Chromebook cannot do. I'm still a little new to the idea of using the cloud for storage, but I'm learning. With saving to the cloud and keeping my MacBook synced to it, I also have a local backup of my cloud documents via TimeMachine. Adds that little bit of safety.


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## dualsub2006 (Aug 29, 2007)

But I also still use my MacBook for music engraving and some other tasks that the Chromebook cannot do.
Have you tried Google Play Music in the browser? iTunes was my most used Mac application after my Cr-48 came, but I uploaded all 15,000+ tracks to Google Music and put iTunes away forever. 

Added a Chromecast at every TV and I can stream music to speakers in every room, though sadly not from the Chromebook yet.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Thanks.

I'm talking about writing musical scores, not playing music.


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## dualsub2006 (Aug 29, 2007)

Thanks.

I'm talking about writing musical scores, not playing music.
See, I made an assumption. My fault.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

For those of us who have been in the industry long enough, this is the latest version of the "Thin Client".

There are advantages (cost) and disadvantages (everything has to come from the network) to this model and manufacturers keep trying to figure out how many "thick client" features (like local disk storage - how much and what to put on it) to incorporate into the 'thin client'.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Yep, it is definitely a run at a 'new' thin client.

And maybe it is now time for one. With Google's entry into it with the Chromebook and Chromebox, coupled with enough online storage and 'net bandwidth good enough to the consumer. And don't forget Microsoft and others. MS's Office 365 and Win8.1 want the default saving spot to be SkyDrive, so they are throwing in a bit of online storage to go with Office 365. Not to mention the slew of smaller amounts of online storage you can get for free.

Early on Acer's Chromebook had a 320Gb hard drive. I suppose to hedge their bet on the Chromebook, but as more and more models showed up with 16Gb SSDs instead that found wide acceptance, even they've moved away from that. There are models with 3G/4G connections for when you can't find a wifi available, and when you get them you get 200Mb of data to use for free for a couple of years.

Some big players in this think this is possibly one of the 'next big things' it seems. Sales figures are showing that the Chromebook is finding a market. That market may be a niche one, but it is very possibly a pretty big one. And as long as people can get the connection without big issues, I think it will just continue to find more customers.

There is a 'management' method that allows parents to restrict what/how the kids could use the Chromebook, and an even more controlled environment for the schools to use with them. And the cost upfront is pretty low, but the ongoing costs to maintain is even lower. Basically if you have one screw up, a reboot fixes it. If one is more hosed than that a USB recovery method is there and that recovery image can be made from Windows and Macs as well as on a Chromebook. A few, and I mean a very few, minutes and the box is just like it was when it came out of the box brand new. With no moving parts inside, hardware failure should be lessened as well. Leaving the screen, hinge and keyboard as the most vulnerable.

I allowed my family to toy with mine when I was up visiting over the Thanksgiving week. Virtually all took to it like a duck to water. They knew how to use a browser, so they were ready to go. Some that already had a Gmail account and used the Chrome browser on other machines, just logged in and away they went. Hell, even my 93 year old mother liked it well enough though she didn't use it much at all.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

It only works if you have really good broadband.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Define 'really good'.

It is viable with 3/1Mb DSL. And most areas can get at least that these days.

For those that can't, don't buy any device that wants to be online most of the time.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

At that speed, it wouldn't be viable for me - but that's where you're getting into SUBjective decision points as opposed to OBjective.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

I suppose nobody makes a 17" model, right? I can remember fighting with my boss because of the small CRT screens we had to use way back when and now it seems like we're going backwards. I would happily go for one of these if it had at least a 17" screen.

Rich


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Biggest so far is 14" and only one mfg doing that, HP.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

lparsons21 said:


> Biggest so far is 14" and only one mfg doing that, HP.


Figures.

Rich


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