Chromebooks?

[Pawz4me]

I'm in the market for a new laptop and keep seeing Chromebooks mentioned.  Anybody have one, or know anything about them?  What do you like/dislike?

 

My needs are simple -- Mostly surfing the internet, doing relatively simple word processing and the occasional posting of a picture to a message board.

 

Other than Gmail I'm not immersed in the Google culture.  I have an iPhone and an iPad and my current laptop is Windows based.

 

Talk to me in kindergarten language. ;) 

[Lanny]

I'm in the market for a new laptop and keep seeing Chromebooks mentioned.  Anybody have one, or know anything about them?  What do you like/dislike?

 

My needs are simple -- Mostly surfing the internet, doing relatively simple word processing and the occasional posting of a picture to a message board.

 

Other than Gmail I'm not immersed in the Google culture.  I have an iPhone and an iPad and my current laptop is Windows based.

 

Talk to me in kindergarten language. ;)

 

I did some research on this last Summer. My wife ended up buying a mini Laptop (Windows based) for her DIL, last August, because the Dell Latitude laptops we use are too big and heavy for her to carry around in her backpack all day.  I think it is an ACER.   It may have more capabilities than a Chromebook but I'm not sure. It seems to be problem free.  I suggest that you Google for something like "Chromebook vs laptop comparisons" and see what comes up in the SERPs.   Since you already have a Windows laptop, the Chromebook may fit the bill for what you want to do with it. Look before you leap.  GL

[73349]

DH (a software engineer) has looked into them and says they're a terrible idea. (I think his objection mostly has to do with storing everything online--you can't use your stuff if your internet isn't working?)

 

They're supposed to have good battery life and mostly avoid viruses, though, I guess because you can't download/install a lot.

[rwilk]

I have a Chromebook, and I love it.  It works great, doesn't have any load times, and does everything I need it to do. We also have an older desktop for more intense computer stuff, but most day-to-day things can be done on the Chromebook.

[J-rap]

My daughter got a Chromebook for college, has had it two years, and loves it.  Sure, eventually she wants a MacBook, but this works out fine for her.  It cost $250, it also works fast because it doesn't store much software at all, she can do all of her school papers on it, research the internet, post things (yes, pictures too) on Facebook and eBay, etc.  Most of the programs it uses are not stored on it, but accessed online.  This is why you need to be in a wifi area for most of the work you do on it.  However, there are some things she can do offline.  For example, the full word processing program is only available online, from what I understand, but you can still work on papers, etc., when offline, which my dd does (on car rides, planes, etc.).   It's very light weight, and it has both a normal size keyboard and a touch screen.  I said she could upload pictures from it, and she can, but she can only actually store a small amount of photos on it at a time.  She is able to upload photos from it though to an online storage site.

 

The only thing I'm not sure of is if she can watch movies on it.  She wouldn't be able to download them, but maybe she can stream them, I don't know.

 

I will say that she also has an iPad Mini, so for a few things she can't do with her Chromebook (Skype is the main thing that I can think of), she does with her iPad.  I'm not sure if there's another similar program you can use with Chromebook besides Skype, or if the Chromebook has a camera, but I'm sure you can find out.

 

She has never had any issues with it.  Strangely, she has been at two colleges now, and she said she has only seen one other student altogether besides herself that has a Chromebook.  

 

 

[Cinder]

:bigear:   My dd's private school is requiring Chromebook only; they're a Google school. (I'm not sure what that actually means. lol)  Last year was the first year a device was required (7th grade and up) and the administration decided that it needs to be Chromebook from now on. And it will be required for 6th grade and up. I think they had too much trouble of one sort or another allowing every kind of device to be used.

 

The school did give recommendations on Chromebook devices but last I looked at it (last month) it was out-of-date; it's from a year ago. Hopefully it will be updated soon. Either way, I'm going to consult my resident tech geek (ds1) before I buy. But it's nice to read what others think of it as I don't know anyone with a Chromebook IRL.

[xixstar]

My college student has one and likes it. It fit their linited budget and it does 90% of what they need to do for personal use and for school. It has lots of limitations compared to a standard laptop but if everything you do is web based, it can be a good option.

 

The 10% it doesnt do, my child would go to the campus lab to do.

[MeaganS]

I have one (am typing from it, in fact) and love it. I've had it for over 2 years now. But I am the first to say that it will only work for specific purposes. I use it mainly for web-surfing, occasional simple word processing and spreadsheets, Facebook, Netflix, etc. Basic stuff. And I already use Google Drive a lot, so it didn't require me to change anything I do.

 

It is mostly online, but I use it almost exclusively at home where I have wifi, so that's not an issue. It has a very small storage capacity, so you mostly use Google Drive (the cloud) for storing things, which I did anyway because I like being able to access my files from my computer or phone. I believe most chromebooks come with a year free of extra storage on Google Drive but I've never used more than the free amount (mostly documents and .PDFs. Occasional JPEGs). 

 

I love that it starts up immediately and the simplicity is perfect for me. I can use it for several hours without having to plug it in. It is very slim and light. The price was right as well. I will say though, that if all of those qualifiers fit your purposes, I would still not get one unless I had access to a standard computer as well. 99% of what I want to do, my Chromebook will do, but every now and then I need the regular computer. We have a desktop, so I use that.

 

From what you said, I think a Chromebook might work very well for you. Googe Drive is very simple to use. It is integrated into Chromebooks so it is just like using a normal hard drive, except you can access all your files from anywhere. 

Edited May 26, 2016 by Meagan S

[theelfqueen]

My kids use chromebooks at home -- they can stream videos, they can do almost anything online (Mango, Kahn Academy, etc.), they can write papers, create presentations, spreadsheets and whatnot. We've had to look things up a couple of times to figure out how they work on a chromebook... it has almost no internal memory - so it's not good for storing and processing photos but it can do anything that's online. And no CD/DVD drive annoys us occasionally.

 

Overall they've been great for the kids needs.

 

Edited May 26, 2016 by theelfqueen

[Lanny]

This article was posted on the web on 13 May 2016.  It is a comparison of Chromebooks and Windows 10 laptops.  I think it is a good article and one the OP and others might find interesting. After reading it, I believe my wife made the correct choice last August, when she bought the mini Windows laptop for DIL.

 

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/chromebooks-vs-windows

[Ravin]

My DD adored her chromebook. We replaced it with a Windows laptop after her brother spilled water on it. She preferred the Chromebook.

[ocelotmom]

DH (a software engineer) has looked into them and says they're a terrible idea. (I think his objection mostly has to do with storing everything online--you can't use your stuff if your internet isn't working?)

 

They're supposed to have good battery life and mostly avoid viruses, though, I guess because you can't download/install a lot.

 

Our family has used Chromebooks exclusively for years, and one got me through my college degree. This isn't really accurate. DH and I are both former system administrators, so not coming from a non-technical background. 

 

Chromebooks have fairly limited storage compared to computers with hard drives, but files can be saved locally, and many apps are available for local use. You can enable offline access in Google Docs and work on stuff locally when offline (I do this regularly). Someone mentioned Skype - it's not something I use regularly, but I have used it on a chromebook, and there are chromebooks with video cameras.

 

For the sort of casual use that OP describes, they work very well - they're inexpensive, easy to use, lightweight, and have an exceptional battery life.

 

They are not a good option for someone who needs to run software that isn't available for Chromebook. They may not be the best option for someone who wants something to use primarily offline (but how often is that the case these days?). Probably not the best option if you're doing video or music production. As someone else mentioned, it's not a good option if you want to use CDs/DVDs.

 

The main problem I've run into is that memory is a little on the low side, and I can't have 50 kazillion browser tabs open without things crashing. But that varies by model, and mine is about two years old. Also, I can't download Amazon Prime videos to watch offline (I can watch Amazon Prime while online), which is tolerable, as I have other devices that will. The newer chromebooks are supposed to be able to run Android apps soon, which should fix that particular problem.

Edited May 26, 2016 by ocelotmom

[knoxinsox]

I really like mine, and will get another one when this one wears out.  I got it on a whim on an Amazon flash sale for $59 and its been worth every penny.  It was a little strange at first....

Fast start up.  Lightweight---a regular laptop feels so heavy now.  Auto updates.   All my bookmarks, contacts,etc came over from my old computer without me asking it to. 

No virus products needed.  I do a powerwash every so often, also ALT + volume up key + x is helpful if something sticks and a page won't load.  

Everything is on the cloud.  Its sync'd with my Android phone. Really nice.  

I can't work offline with files, but then I'm not working much with off-line files. 

I can now print coupons on it, which I couldn't at first. 

It doesn't have a CD drive, which is sometimes a problem since I want to print my Math Mammoth, etc and have to use my old laptop.

Which....the old laptop is connected to a big ole non-wireless printer for school stuff.  

The Chromebook cannot connect to that old printer, so I had to purchase a wireless one instead, so I have 2 printers. Which is kind of a pain.

The wireless printer has been the source of many frustrations.  It did not work well out of the box like it was advertised--such as printing off the cloud.  I basically didn't use it for a year and then its worked perfectly since. I've done nothing differently, but its working now.  Like the coupon issue, I think that Chrome/the printer company/coupons.com have fixed their systems and updated their software.

 

[katilac]

  (I think his objection mostly has to do with storing everything online--you can't use your stuff if your internet isn't working?)

 

 

You can download anything you have space for, and sync it to your online documents (this is based on using google drive, but I'm sure most are the same). 

 

My kids have had chrome books for years, and love them for what they do well: internet surfing, creating and storing documents, and email. A big plus is that they are so much lighter than a laptop, so if the above is 90% of what you do, it's much more convenient. 

 

Any utterly crucial documents can be downloaded, but it's pretty rare that a person would need a specific document online and truly not be able to access it. Wifi is pretty abundant in most areas, and they can always hotspot from a smart phone. 

DH (a software engineer) has looked into them and says they're a terrible idea. (I think his objection mostly has to do with storing everything online--you can't use your stuff if your internet isn't working?)

 

 

 

Actually, this is why we love ours -- yes, your files are (usually) stored entirely in the cloud, and aren't available if wifi isn't working, but the upside is huge:  If a chromebook every breaks (or is lost), you can simply log into any other chromebook and continue working right where you left off.  No backing up, no restoring, no re-loading software.  It is great!

[xixstar]

Oh yes - printing is a challenge. My child can't print st home. They have to upload to google drive or dropbox and access files from another computer to print. This was a VERY ANNOYING discovery.

 

However, they found they need to print less and less, so it is still fine. Not printing woukd be a dealbreaker for me. And i am not buying another compatible printer either.