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Change in hardware/change in software?
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Posted by Ken
Jul 28, 2014 at 08:39 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>Thanks, Doc. I live in a rural area, where wifi accessibility is still
>>hit or miss in a lot of towns, so I am always concerned about being
>able
>>to save files locally.
>
>You’re welcome. That’s a valid concern. It really depends on what
>exactly you’d want to use it for when you’re offline. The main strength
>of the Chromebook is the ease and speed of web browsing and using web
>services, and the long battery life (7-10 hrs).
>
>If we’re talking about Google Docs and other files on Google Drive, it
>is possible to sync Google Drive with a Chromebook and have it as
>offline access. However, most Chromebooks come with small hard drives,
>and so there will come a point when not all of the data will fit on the
>local machine or where syncing may become too slow.
>
>But otherwise offline Chromebooks can function perfectly well as
>typewriters, notakers, outliners etc. (depending on the offline
>availability of the given app), saving locally, and syncing later (with
>your choice of cloud service, normally Google Drive, Dropbox, Box).
>
I think that Dr. Andrus gave a pretty good overview of where a Chromebook will or will not serve a person’s needs. In my case, I decided on one because much of what I cannot seem to get done these days is web-based, and I have good wifi at home and at work. On the go, I have my phone, and it doubles as a hot spot. So, my Chromebook will function as a step up from my iPad in that it will be an almost instant on device, but with a reasonably sized keyboard. This is useful for me, as I frequently need to respond to email, and I sometimes cannot get to my desk and boot up my main laptop (which is hooked up to two monitors among other things). If I wanted to spend more money, I would have either bought a small laptop like the MBA 11” or a Lenovo Yoga. These have similar form factors, an important criteria for me, but as I really do not need their additional processing power and software, I decided to spare my wallet any more damage. The price differential is significant in comparison to this Acer, as I walked out the door, after taxes, with change from $200, and fully capable laptop of that size is no less than $500, and probably closer to $800. I am willing to live with these trade-offs, at least until my primary laptop needs replacing, and then I will reconsider.
—Ken
Posted by Dr Andus
Jul 28, 2014 at 09:28 PM
Ken wrote:
>So, my Chromebook will
>function as a step up from my iPad in that it will be an almost instant
>on device, but with a reasonably sized keyboard.
Yes, that was exactly why I bought mine in the first place as well. The other advantages just came as a surprise and a bonus.
> If I wanted to spend more money, I would have
>either bought a small laptop like the MBA 11” or a Lenovo Yoga. These
>have similar form factors, an important criteria for me, but as I really
>do not need their additional processing power and software, I decided to
>spare my wallet any more damage. The price differential is significant
>in comparison to this Acer, as I walked out the door, after taxes, with
>change from $200, and fully capable laptop of that size is no less than
>$500, and probably closer to $800. I am willing to live with these
>trade-offs
The irony of that is that even if you spend hundreds of more dollars on a Windows laptop, it will never be as quick to use for checking your calendar, browsing, emailing and note-taking, once you factor in the boot time, wake-up time, and the inevitable degradation in performance. And then there is the fan noise…
Posted by John Deweerd
Aug 3, 2014 at 01:58 PM
Someone I met recently bought a Chromebook, installed a larger SSD drive, installed Linux on it and is very happy with the result. I’ve pretty much given up on Linux for my own use but it seemed like a good way to get an inexpensive fuller-featured laptop.
Posted by John Deweerd
Aug 3, 2014 at 02:00 PM
Ken wrote:
I normally try to get the most out of hardware as I do not have
>unlimited amounts of money and time to keep switching out to the next
>BSO (Bright Shiny Object). But, my last phone was a disaster, and when
>technology gets in the way of being productive, action is usually
>necessary. I have mixed feelings about my iPad2. It has served me very
>well these past three years and has been used heavily as a device for
>reading the web, something that I do quite frequently. But, the moment
>any significant input is required, I find that wait until I am on a
>device that has a good keyboard, and that has a mouse attached. I
>suspect that I would enjoy a MBA or a Chromebook, but until I clear out
>some of my older technology taking up space in the house (as they have
>not been properly decommissioned during the transition period and then
>relegated to the bottom of my seemingly endless task list), my beloved
>would not be too happy with me if I brought home “another box” to live
>in the house.
>
>—Ken
I’m also tired of having to update everything with every new iteration of BSO. My newest way of dealing with it is to depend on specialty apps as little as possible and save all my documents, etc. as plain text and password encrypted zip files and synchronize using a cloud service (currently Dropbox). Most of my input is still through a Windows laptop, but even then I keep everything on a USB key so I can switch easily from computer to computer without having to worry about installing applications.
For mobile devices I have a Galaxy S3 and a Nexus 7, both of which are sync’d to Dropbox using DropSync. Android 4.4.3 has disallowed writing to the SDCard so I’m not sure if I’m going to stick with Android devices for my next BSO purchase. I do feel confident that I’ll be able to switch to Windows Phone (or whatever) and easily take my stuff with me though since I’m sure there will be an app that will be able to read text files and open the zips.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Aug 4, 2014 at 09:20 AM
I have to confess I now avoid Android like the plague, but I realise it’s a very practical solution for many people.
As a substitute for SD cards, you could take a look at the SanDisk Connect series of mobile products (Flash drive and Media drive). They’re not very expensive, and act as wireless servers for Android and iOS devices. The apps have improved (a lot) since they were first released last year. They’re very portable, have pretty good battery life, and act as a very useful repository for stuff (documents and media files). More details at: