Chromebook
 

I was just looking at some of the specs and it seems like its a $400 laptop with a $250 price point. I wonder how the OS is and if its portable enough to carry with you wherever you go.

I'm wondering what it can do that my phone can't. I'm in the market for a new laptop, and this might be an option.

Here's a cnet review. Seems like a pretty solid internet mavlchine and not much else.

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/sams...l?qwr=FullSite

Yeah, it seems to be basically a smartphone/tablet only on a PC.

I haven't used one since they were first released, but it was effectively just a Chrome browser. They've improved for there, but it's still a pretty specific market.

If you're invested in the Google ecosystem, and only need a lightweight laptop, it's a good buy. For anything more, I'm not sure.

I've played around with one at the little Fiber expo in Westport. I was less than impressed, even being a big fan of all things Google.

Getting one because my 9-year-old uses them in school. Didn't dump too much into it, so if it's a bust I won't cry, but at the very least it seems a little cool..

Pretty disappointing. Incredibly limited "OS". Smartphone OS on a thin laptop is pretty accurate. Tablet would be a better investment than Chromebook.

Yep. If you need a laptop, get an actual laptop.

Got both and iPad and Samsung tablet. So "check" to those ideas. This deal was to have at home what they're using at school. So the two-fiddy it took to do this deal too seemed kinda simple. If it doesn't work well we'll see how it skims across a lake or something, but it's never bad to have the same option at home as you use in school/work...

I wish the school systems would see that same logic... But I fear if they do, they'll do that dumb leap from a $200 Chromebook to a $3,000 MAC book.

But your point is not lost on THIS IT guy...

Just picked up an HP Chromebook 11 yesterday... This thing is fantastic for what I need it to do. Incredibly quick boot time, nice screen for the price (doesn't seem any different from my Macbook's) and as good a keyboard as I've used on a laptop in some time.

The touchpad sucks. No two ways about it. For no reason whatsoever, it sticks when you drag your finger across it. But that's offset by the computer never getting hot (this may have been the biggest thing I was looking for in a laptop; I hated typing on my Macbook and feeling like wrist cancer was imminent). Writing with Google Docs has its limitations, but as the saying goes, 'art through adversity'. I can also testify to never having used 99.999999% of the features offered by MS Word, Pages, WordPerfect etc. Google Docs is fine.

Yes, the OS is fundamentally limited. That said, if I'm being honest, this machine accomplishes 99% of what I did on my old macbook anyway. It sucks that my iTunes library was lost in a crash, but I was getting bored with most of my music anyway.

The other big benefit: my job doesn't give me a real desk, so I'm constantly bouncing between computers; having something this portable and lightweight is tremendously useful.

Full on, these machines are not meant for everyone. However. For the right crowd, they're exceptionally useful.

This... As a person who "owns it all", I'm pretty darn happy with that purchase. And I have a nine-year-old, so it even MORE perfecter!!!

Give them time to expand on it, and I think it'll get all the better.

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

BTW,

There are some awesome new addons for Google Drive out there. Here's a post featuring a few:

http://lifehacker.com/the-best-add-o...ive-1541643206

My daughter's school just ordered 160 Chromebooks for the kids to work on during the day. If they're still around in a couple of years....I'll probably end up getting her one that she can work on at home.

I'm loving my Chromebook. I got a $130 refurbished Acer off Amazon. Its super light and portable. The boot up time is near-instant. It came with 100gb of cloud storage.

I understand that it is a limited piece of equipment, but I have not come up against any of these limitations so far. Its done everything I have wanted it to so far, and I could see things just getting better as more programmers start writing software for Chrome.

Do a bit of research before you buy one so you can make sure you aren't going to be missing out on something for which you would need Windows. It may not be for everyone but I am certainly enjoying mine.

THAT'S exactly what moved me to get one. It's what the son uses every day at school, so why not have one at home too? Along with the Droid tablet, the iPad, the laptop, the desktop, (formerly) the MacBook Pro..... LOL, technology isn't something he's without (or afraid of). Like!

What was the deal with the cloud storage? Ours is a Samsung so it might not of come with it, but I'm not sure I read each little thing that come with it. Perhaps it did...

So let's hear your opinions....

My parents need to get a new laptop. Their current laptop is 5 years old and running XP. Would a Chromebook be better? My Dad has straight up killed some of his past computers because of malware and shit like that. They're in their 60s and really only need to edit documents, check e-mail, browse the web and possibly skype later on. My Mom says that she'll need to use Publisher....but I'm not to sure about that one.

Would a Chromebook be a better purchase?

At 60 many people aren't as open-minded to change the way they do things. But if they're the exception to the rule other than "browse the web Publisher" (I'm not sure that that is), there's nothing they can't do. And the need to be connected to the web might be tough if they don't have a well-connected house - and locations they travel too. I used mine for a week solid (packed the laptop away for a week), and simply found that I packed my MiFi "all the time".

Hell, if nothing else, if you have a kid, I'd order one and let them try it. If not, order the laptop and tell you kid they have a new toy...

But again, I'm liking mine...

I love it when people list off things like that and use "only" in the same sentence. That's describing a real computer. They might be able to do some of that with Google Docs, but it'll piss them off and they'll complain to you.

The high budget option is a Mac. She can print pictures and make cards to her heart's content with iPhoto and the stuff that comes with the Mac out of the box. Dad can't muck it up with malware either. I know folks from an older generation that really liked the ability to go take classes and stuff at the Apple Store.

Low budget option is a Windows 7 machine, but factor in all the software when you compare prices.

Guess it depends on how much you value the time spent having to be their help desk.

Nice! You must have a Mac... And the extra coin you spend on it is usually a fraction of the extra coin folks don't spend on protection. Don't get me wrong a Mac is less likely to be attacked than a windows machine.

I've used both, but I find that I end up being tech support regardless. And as long as I wear three layers of clothing, the MacBook Pro wouldn't burn my legs then just inexplicably and suddenly die without as much as the courtesy of the BSOD! And the fine folks at the Apple store, when they weren't teaching the hags from JKV how to use the one-button mouse, would look at it - for a price! I find that if you don't want to be tech support, tell them you're not tech support!

But I loved that Mac, I loved that Mac, I loved that Mac...........

Their budget is $500.....so the Mac is out of the question.

Got a monitor? What about a mini?

Well that's a used Apple mouse from the 80s!

http://www.folklore.org/images/Macintosh/1984_girl.jpg

Since I made the switch, I've done far less tech support.

"I'd love to help you but I don't have a Windows machine in front of me so I can't walk you through it. Sorry."

Look on Craigslist.

I got a 2011 iMac 21.5" for $800.

The lady barely used it and after 8 months gave up and got a Windows machine.

You can find newer MacBooks on there for less than $500.

To each their own, I suppose. To replace the office apps, iPhoto and iMovie you're looking at adding $250 for Lightroom and Premier Elements plus between $70 and $100 per year for office.

Add that to the fact that my seven year old iMac is still going strong while our mutual friend has a five year old machine that can't be upgraded.

Except my parents aren't going to use any of that shit. They already own Office from their last laptop. They're literally adding nothing in the way of software outside of what comes on the laptop when they buy it.

No need to get pissy there bro. You're the one that said they needed to edit documents and use publisher.

It's not being pissy....it's simply stating that they don't need all of that stuff. It's like asking someone about a $4000 vehicle and them telling you that you should buy a brand new BMW.

She'd LIKE the ability to use Publisher later on. Doesn't have to be now...

It most likely won't work. Just letting you know.

If they're actually locked into Microsoft Office (and Publisher more specifically), a Chromebook won't do it. Chromebooks are great for what they are, but you're obviously locked into cloud-based software, so primarily Google Docs and that kind of thing. If they only need basic spreadsheets and word processing, that's a great way to go (and you're right that a Chromebook is less prone to malware since everything's online). But if they really need full-blown Office, you're pretty much stuck with a Windows/Mac computer.

That said, you can get a great laptop these days for under $500 without a problem. And, though I won't at all go so far as to say malware isn't an issue, they've put a lot of safeguards in place since Windows XP that make it at least a little more difficult to get into something nasty.

What are they currently using for email? And if it's not web-based, are they open to changing email addresses?

Both of them have a Hotmail account.

FWIW, I traded in a POS EEE PC with XP in at Best Buy to get a $25 gift card and a $75 coupon good towards a new laptop of any kind. Got a new Chromebook for $110 after taxes that I'm picking up tomorrow.

For anyone interested in a Chromebook, try using Chrome and only Chrome on your computer for a day or two. If you can accomplish what you need to, it makes a great secondary machine. BTW, Best Buy XP Trade in deal ends this Saturday.

Fair enough. Another idea (although also Apple based though) would be to just get them an iPad. My mom has a laptop and and iPad and never uses the laptop. She loves the iPad and it's pretty hard to mess up. Make sure they've got their documents and things stored in iCloud and there you go.

It's more comparable to a Chromebook because if you are considering going with a Chromebook, you're looking at going with an alternative to a traditional computer anyway.

Yeah, those years Mom and Dad had their Mac and didn't know I had one, I claimed the same thing in reverse.

Don't get me wrong, it was nice in a lot of ways, had a great screen, and the touchpad/gesturing was awesome! But it was way too pricey for me to consider buying (it was a work deal), and the support kind of pissed me off. We're getting a new round at work, I might ask for one and see if anything has changed.

But if you've got the coin, go for it..

Like I said, I bought mine lightly used for $800. It retailed for more than twice that.

It's rock solid stable and does everything I need it to do. I especially love it for testing software. If I don't like something, I drag the app container and a few pref files to the trash and it's done. No registry, no residue, no hassle.

Just for fun I took a machine I bought in the mid-90s, reloaded it from the original Win95 CD, and guess what, it ran just as fast as the day I bought it.

Nothing new about that. But try to load the newest Apple OS and Apps, just like Windows, and I'll bet you can't.

But I get your point, not trying to be an ass.

If they find a deal like that, that'd be awesome... I'll let work buy mine. :)

Teacher here

Our district is going to them next year.

Upside-
The district will not have to host server space for each of the 10,000 students.
Many of the staff have been using google docs and have converted our stuff over too.

We have turned our email hosting to google. Again, less for our techs to worry about and it is more reliable than our own servers. I am thinking about moving my weather site off the school server.

There are apps Chrome/chromebooks are offering. Hopefully more in the future.
I noticed the touch pad is tough to work with too.

Downside-
Docs needs a little work for 'publisher' type items.
EVERYTHING needs to be online. No outside programs.

The thing is, from a system resource standpoint, most Apple stuff will run for a lot longer. OS X is a much more streamlined and efficient operating system than Windows.

Yup... Too bad they cost so much.

I'm just gonna keep saying it. Buy used. They're out there. Prey on the people that can't handle the switch.

Or the office... :thumb:

I'm the proud owner of a Toshiba Chromebook 2 now. Chrome OS is incredibly limiting, but it was a snap to get A real Linux distribution running on it.

I haven't had a chance yet to play with offensive wireless shenegans yet, but this seems like the next step for nerds wanting a cheap ass Linux laptop.

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

And I'll say this, since I got one for my son a while back, it's been AWESOME! And we even use it to stream to the TV.

I'm sure wannabe super-computer snobs will thumb their noses at it, but that's because they think they're cool...

I think they're awesome, even if they have a few limitations.

It's an interesting device to be sure. I didn't buy mine and the price point seems a little odd for the limitations but it's supplanted my old Asus netbook for the knock around whatever device.

Well, about a year with ours, and I've not had one "tech" call from the son.

Now we do have to figure out ways to do things at times, but hell it's that way for almost anything non-Windows around this house.

But yes, there are limitations, but not getting the tech-support calls/requests are far more welcome than the challenge of occasionally figuring-out something with the son...

Yeah, that's where it fits in my mind. If you just need an internet machine for people to use (and if Google Docs is sufficient for your needs), it's a great machine that's pretty hard to break. But if you're a power user, you'll probably get frustrated with it pretty quickly.

So our school is looking at Chromebooks vs. iPads. I pretty much hate the iPad as a productivity tool. That being said, in the school environment, laptops/PCs (and I would assume chromebooks) tend to start running like absolutely shitty rather quickly. They also break rather easily when being handled by 150+ kids in a given day.

So... what the durability on them? Also, as multiple kids log in to them with various profiles, will they start screwing up after a while?

I run my class entirely off google drive, so I'd be great going with chromebooks (I also teach English, so I want keyboards, which is added cost for iPads). I'm just worried about their life cycle vs an iPad's life cycle in a school environment.

Currently almost all teachers prefer the iPads just because they boot up reliably and quickly in comparison to all of our laptops, which can take 10 minutes for a kid to log into.

We got ours because the son's school uses them exclusively. So far they don't seem to have issues with their toughness. They also use iPads, obviously they have their advantages, but at the price they seem to be unsustainable (talking to the geeks in the schools system).

I know I have to support iPads in, well, a lot of hospitals (on the network side), and while the doctors love them, they are a beast on the backend to support. And if you want security (like FIPS security!!!), forgedaboudit!! We also have iPhones and iPads in the house, oh and a Samsung tablet, and the iPad and tablet seem to get about the same love.

LOL, I just checked, and this house, at this moment, has 19 wireless "things" connected to the three WiFi APs! Two of them are my neighbors laptop and his phone - better signal than his own house gives!

Yeah, maintaining the iPads and mass loading new apps we want and such on them is a nightmare. You can't just say, "Oh wow. I found this cool thing last night, and I want to use it in my class today" like you can if you find a cool website. You have to know a ways out that you need a given app and get our tech department to mass load for you, which they're great about.. but it's just a pain.


If you don't mind, could you let me know the name of your son's school (feel free to PM me). I'd like to have our tech committee contact them and get their opinions.

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I don't think the store hardly any profile info locally, and they don't run simultaneous sessions or anything, so multiple users should essentially make no difference.

Every kid in our school received Chromebooks this year.

It has been a hit or miss thing.

My thoughts.

1. We have Dells. I believe they have an almost glass screen and can break easily. We also have 1500 kids. Many of them have been given almost everything handed to them. pencils, paper, answers, money, lunch, rent-you get the idea.

2. Just a few days after launch-broken screen started to show up. the response is "I don't know how it broke" yea, right. You were stupid. One day, 5 came in because they don't care about others property. They did have to may an insurance fee. But repair time is long.

3. We had to lay down the law about charging the battery and use. they are not issued a loaner. They are not given an extra charger. They are expected to use them in class.

4. Every kid was given a carry bag. They are not allowed to carry them anywhere unless it is in the bag. I did watch a kid drop it out of his bag because he was not smart enough to zip it up. Kharma. The bags had the silicon beads in them, When they were not removed, the bags broke and some beads got into the headphone jack. Yippie, solve another issue.

5. They have great battery life as long as you don;t run a lot of video and streaming music. Kids don't get it. When some get to my 7th, thier book is dead. tough. We do not allow them to charge at school.

6. Chromebooks create a barrier. When they are up, and I am in the front of the room, I have no idea what they are doing. I have to be in the back of the room to monitor them. That is hard when I have a smartboard in the front of the room. I pads are on the desk and you can walk by and see what they are doing from any angle.

7. Free draw is almost impossible on the Chromebook. I teach 8th grade earth science. I like to have kids draw pictures to explain what we are doing. I cannot take them inside the earth, to the moon or sun to show it to them like we can dissect a frog in Life science.

8. Google docs is good. Not perfect. Some things need to be improved to word and spreadsheet.

9. We use schoology as a way to teach. My kids are using it now and are required to hand it in online. That is 180 degrees from what I thought I would do this summer. I was also very grumpy this summer.

10. They are a tool, not the end all of education. There is no replacement for a teacher.

11. I know some teachers that refuse to use them because of these issues. It is their right.

Thanks for the educator perspective! I'm going to pass that along to my tech committee as well. I like to see honest opinions. Far too much of educational contact points are "smoke and mirrors" PR types. They'll tell you how awesome everything is with a given program or implementation, but the reality on the ground is far different.

And that goes for everything. We see Apple giving away their stuff to Doctors knowing they'll get them hooked on them and they'll end up demanding we use them later. Yeah, at those prices, good luck with that...

But hey, it's all expensive, it's just some are more expensive than others, and the marketing teams earn every penney they make, they sure can gloss-up a turd.

I liken it to the VTC world saying the Video conferencing can replace travel. Sure.... Not that it's a bad thing, and I use it MANY MANY MANY hours of every work day, but I've never fooled myself that it can replace travel. I'll but that as soon as the top brass make that "big corporate deal" over a VTC session.

Again, nothing replaces the real thing...

New Chief-feel free to PM anytime. If I don't have an opinion or know, I will ask others.

I think my concern with either Chromebooks or iPads at school is that kids aren't learning how to use/fix/hack real computers.

I just learned the other day that they no longer teach cursive script to kids. Was kind of shocked by that one.

LOL, itz like OMG 'n sht up n here....

But yeah, I thought it was funny when I heard it. But I guess at some point the Romans were stunned when their numerals fell out of favor.

Yeah. Was never a fan of cursive, but seemed odd. Like when finding out my son needed graph paper to do simple math problems in elementary school. I understand the world changes, but when you learn of the change without any context as to why it can be a bit surprising.

Yeah, I was surprised by the cursive thing as well, though I personally print any time I have to write (which isn't much).

Do they still teach how to READ cursive? And are people starting to "sign" in print these days, or do you learn how to sign your name in cursive, but nothing else?

That was my point when I found out, I'm not sure how they handle it. I simple Google search returns nothing obvious.

We don't teach much handwriting and cursive anymore. The thought is more is done on the computer-and voice recognition is getting rid of keyboarding.

Don't get me started on trying to teach kids how to read an analog clock.

But in my room, there is a sign over the clock.

Time will pass-Will you?

Anyone have any advice on which Chromebook to get? I've got a 9 year old and twin 6 year olds that use Chromebooks in school. I want to get two of them so that they can get some familiarity with them and also work on their homework as well.

Any deals? Brand?

My son has a Toshiba and recommended it. I picked one up and love it. Use the Chrome Cast app to stream stuff to the TV. Works great, boots fast and has keyboard. My old ass doesn't like the on-screen keyboards.

Bought one of these back in February to use when traveling. Here’s the purchase:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wound up paying $160 for it because the shipper didn’t include a charger.

CONS

* The mouse pad can be frustrating when trying perform things like highlight, copy & paste, and left click
* You’re stuck with the Google Store as to what software you can and cannot install
* No customization what so ever. I’m used to hacking my Linux & Windows PC in all different directions. Not this guy.
* You have to login to your Gmail account to get into the operating system
* Not much storage on this particular model but not much is needed. This is designed for the cloud

PROS

* The price is amazing
* The display is wonderful 1080dpi so it’s easy on the eyes and great for watching video
* Battery life is amazing. It’s 12 hours easy unless you’re streaming video consistently
* It’s so light weight and thin it’s amazing. Like picking up a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue
* Very good-looking laptop
* Throws of NO heat. I mean NONE. My old laptop used to get hot at the PSU. This guy, NOTHING!

While this will never be anything but a travel buddy for movies, surfing the web, and some lightweight cloud work I can’t say enough good things about it for the ROI. I’ll always be a desktop guy when it comes for getting shit done. But some people can work on their smartphone so maybe I lack flexibilty in that area.

For the price: 5/5 stars

porn watching beast

District got cheap ones for all the staff. Just HP 11.6". Even still I love the thing. Love opening it up and having it usable instantly.

I personally am looking to get a tablet as well. Considering Ipad and surface pro's but also am considering the HP chromebook x2 which is a detachable tablet as well and obviously much cheaper.

https://smile.amazon.com/Lenovo-Chro.../dp/B07GM2J11Q

That one is on sale today. Good reviews.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo....385986.0.html