Anyone have a Chromebook and feel like explaining what it's good for?

[imported_falacy]

I've been considering replacing the o'l Inspiron 1501 lappy with something that is light, not hot/loud and won't need to ne plugged in all the time. For browsing, a Celeron based Chromebook looks good on paper, but I am curious about how practical it is for other stuff.

I'm an old timey Linux user, so it would be handy to do stuff like remote into my desktop from the living room. If ChromeOS has native text editor such as Geany, I could easily use it to program on remotely (compiling on the desktop remote)... It would be neat if it could run old Windows games (using Wine in development mode), but I don't know if the gpu could handle it.

Anyhow, how useful is a Chromebook for geeks?

 

[JeffMD]

No experience with chromebook myself, but I imagine much like android, it is as far away from a command prompt as possible. And it won't run linux apps, I think they updated it so its possible to run android apps (no store app, but rather its easy for a programmer to make the app run in chromeOS).

Also chromebooks are fairly underpowered. The entire point of chromebook is to be a window to the internet, using web services for everything. Very little runs on the laptop.

 

[nerp]

They're inexpensive. They can be all someone needs for basic computing. And ChromeOS is becoming more like Windows in that you can run more on the device itself and newer hardware comes with more storage etc. Get the right model, usually from Google, and you can at some point run full blown android apps from the android store which opens up a huge door of possibility.

But get this -- you can spend $1,000 on a fancy schmancy chromebook. For that money, just get a ThinkPad X1 Carbon or x260 or something and call it a day. Then you have an actual computer with all-day battery that weighs very little. And new skylake machines don't get hot and don't need to be plugged in all day. If you're only going to spend $300 or less and only need a basic machine, get a Chromebook. But personally, now is still not the time to buy one thinking ti will replace a decent laptop.

 

[s44]

No experience with chromebook myself

That's clear, since everything you say is incorrect.

But get this -- you can spend $1,000 on a fancy schmancy chromebook.

That's like saying you can spend $3000 on a Windows laptop. Technically true but irrelevant.

For OP: yes, you can remote in easily. Yes, there are text editors, though not Geany specifically. For old games you'd have to either run Android ports or install Crouton (which supports Wine IIRC).

 

[WildW]

I've had a couple. It is a web browser, and while you technically can do all kinds of other things with it I've never felt like it did them very well. All the games I've tried for it have been pretty poor. If however you treat it as just a web browser it is a pretty good one.

Both have had an excellent trackpad, snappy performance from an Intel Celeron, and excellent battery life at a genuine 8+ hours. When I'm sat downstairs I find it a much more satisfying web browser than any tablet or phone, especially if I want to type anything.

My current one cost 129. Any tablet I could've got for the same money would not do the same job nearly so well - though granted it would do other things better.

 

[nerp]

That's clear, since everything you say is incorrect.

That's like saying you can spend $3000 on a Windows laptop. Technically true but irrelevant.

For OP: yes, you can remote in easily. Yes, there are text editors, though not Geany specifically. For old games you'd have to either run Android ports or install Crouton (which supports Wine IIRC).

If you want a real Chromebook from Google, they don't run cheap for decent models. Buying a $150 or $200 model means cheapo plastics, cheapy keyboard, etc. Sometimes people want something that doesn't feel so cheap. And suddenly, you're paying laptop prices. That's when it starts to become debatable whether a gimped Chromebook is worth it when the same price buys you just as much portability tons more power and the same battery life. Plus, they run Chrome too.

 

[s44]

Sometimes people want something that doesn't feel so cheap.

None of these are anywhere near $1000:
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/chromebook-13-7310/pd

http://store.hp.com/us/en/ContentView?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&eSpotName=chromebook13

And ChromeOS vs Windows is a feature, not a bug. Zero maintenance, much less worry about loss/breakage, and remote to your desktop is trivial.

 

[Kaido]

I've had a Chromebook as my primary computer for a couple years now. Thoughts:

1. Cheap
2. No viruses
3. No maintenance
4. Great battery life
5. FAST

Cons:

1. Useless without an Internet connection
2. Can't install anything

Sure, there are plugins, but it's not like installing whatever you want on the desktop. But it boots up in 10 seconds & wakes up in 2 seconds. Think of it as a giant smartphone with a keyboard that only runs one app - Chrome. I thought it was a kind of stupid idea when it came out, but the idea grew on me after a friend sang praises of his, so I got myself one, which ended up overtaking my main PC, and that's pretty much what I've kept all this time. I currently use a gaming computer, mostly for VR, but the Chromebook is my go-to device.

If you're willing to wait a bit, the new crop of Chromebooks will be out soon with native Android support, so you can run any Android app you want to. As it stands right now, the price range of a new Chromebook is around $170 to $1300, with the $1300 model being the big-boy from Google, the Pixel, with a high-res screen, i7, 16 gigs of RAM, etc. I'd recommend getting a model with at least 4 gigs of RAM because it is very easy to max out the RAM. Some have touchscreens, some are 2-in-1's, lots of options. This is a good place to keep track of Chrome news:

http://www.omgchrome.com/

You can also get mini boxes, AIO's, and even DIY:

https://www.neverware.com/

Chrome Remote Desktop works great for accessing a computer at home:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/...esktop/gbchcmhmhahfdphkhkmpfmihenigjmpp?hl=en

As far as which CPU, for starters I would definitely recommend an Intel chip. From there, it depends on how you use the computer. I usually have like three windows open with 10 or 20 tabs each (I really need a model with 8 or 16 gigs of RAM lol). Celeron does fine, although an i3 would be even better. Screen quality is also something to think about...most come with a basic but acceptable TN screen, usually with something like 1366x768 resolution. The better models come with a 1080p IPS screen. A nice middle-of-the-road model is this $199 Acer:

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-C300SA-DS02-RD-Chromebook-13-3-Storage/dp/B01F57BT48/

Handed those puppies out at Christmas for my family, haven't had to do tech support in over 6 months now, it's been amazing :awe: So the basic questions are:

1. What screen size do you want?
2. What resolution do you want? And what screen quality?
3. Regular or mega battery? (most of them have great battery life)
4. Regular power (say Celeron + 4GB) or high-power (i3/i5/i7 + 4GB/8GB/16GB)

There are text editor plugins available, such as this one:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/text/mmfbcljfglbokpmkimbfghdkjmjhdgbg?hl=en

If you just want a basic model to replace what you have now, pick up the one I linked above. Screen is fine, battery is great, doesn't burn your legs off, it's quiet, and it's zippy. Posting from one now!

 

[fire400]

Chromebooks haven't really innovated themselves nearly as much as when they first came out, but the variety of options are growing as consumer choices deepen between manufacturer offerings. At least they're not so much in beta stages anymore, and rumors have it that android apps may even soon be compatible with Chromebooks!, which would be sweet.. but may pose more security issues, too, if that does actually go through.

Wouldn't spend more than $300 on a Chromebook based on its meager system requirements and the advantages of units that are priced in that budget arena.
Best prices I've seen come from Acer, offering the best resolution and screen quality at an affordable price.

I would recommend the Chromebook to have at least 4gb RAM and yes, with the newer Intel processors built for +2016. I also prefer my screen to be matte finish, the glossy displays are totally luxury, but can be a huge strain on eyes when viewing for long periods of time.

There are some useful offline tasks, such as google docs and viewing pictures from an SD/micro SD card, as well as the possibility of using Linux apps if the system was rooted for Linux, just to name a few.

Chromebooks are great for surfing the web and not having to be overly concerned about antivirus. There are tons of cool and useful apps from the Google store that can be accessed. Also, the system can easily be reset if the standard OS is used and someone is locked out of the system with the press of a few hot keys at the login screen, which is quite awesome^ Google has also helped tweak these laptops with manufacturers to offer excellent battery life (5 to +10 hours) and stellar performance while surfing the web. I'd say the Chromebooks are useful if someone absolutely does not want a Mac, Windows or a tablet OS, but would still want flexibility with a mouse cursor and keyboard while having the potential of fast & easy Internet access when connected to the web (w-lan/wan, mobile connect; local hot spot or roaming data), and not to mention, the desire for mostly excellent software security!

 

[npaladin-2000]

I actually bought my Chromebook as a cheap 15 inch FHD screen so I can work remotely in a comfortable manner. But I like it so much, I only use my Windows laptop to program my Harmony remote these days. Everything I don't do on Android I do on my Chromebook, even layered photo editing. Including my work stuff, through Office 365. Now I just wish they made a FHD 12 inch touchscreen, it'd probably replace my SHIELD tablet.

 

[sn8ke]

It's a cheap toy to have fun with to me really. I didn't even bother keeping Chrome OS, but if you want a spare web browser, or if someone is only a basic user to pay bills, check social media etc then Chrome OS would work fine. And yeah, you can get a Bash shell right out of the box. With something like Arch installed though it's a full blown workstation computer for super cheap. But I would say do yourself a favour and avoid the 2GB RAM and Celeron models. They are usually not even that much cheaper and the performance hit is not worth that small amount of cash saved.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If you're going to go so low on the totem pole of features that you are considering a $200-and-under ChromeBook, then consider the various Windows 10-based CloudBooks also popping up in the same market space. They, of course, have the advantage of being able to run Windows' apps, which is very important to some people (me!), and they have a similar form-factor, size, hardware features, and most importantly, price, as compared to contemporary ChromeBooks.

I was able to pick up several Lenovo IdeaPad 100S "CloudBooks", with Win10 32-bit, 2GB/32GB, and a quad-core Atom Z3735F, for ~$120 shipped each from BestBuy last Nov. or Dec. I expect that they will drop that low again, occasionally.

 

[daxzy]

I guess I'm also in the boat of not understanding the value proposition of Chromebooks. I can get Windows 10/Ubuntu devices that run Chrome and its plug-ins plus whatever else, just in case.

Chromebooks used to have a large pricing advantage compared to Windows based devices, but that has all but disappeared since Microsoft got aggressive with giving Windows with Bing! as a freebie.

Anecdotally, I've heard a lot about how Chromebooks are faster, but it's mainly because they use eMMC/SSD storage (compared to mechanical disks for low-end Windows devices). Now that Windows "Cloudbooks" are shipping with eMMC's, that point has been mostly negated.

People often show how they use it in a developer workflow, but frankly, Ubuntu, Fedora, and even Windows 10 with Bash seems like a better option.

 

[kem327]

I have a Toshiba Chromebook 2 (i3 version).. my first foray into the world of Chromebooks. If you're not familiar, it has an amazing FHD screen. Very nice screen. I only bought it because it's hackable though. It came shipped with a 16gb ssd and 4gb of RAM. The RAM is soldered on, but the hard drive is replaceable. I immediately swapped it out for a 128gb one.

Next, I followed instructions on the interwebs to put Elementary OS on it. It worked 100% -- sound, video, trackpad, wifi, even the LED keyboard (which is nice). I ran that for maybe 6 months. No problems, just got tired of Elementary OS.

At that point, I started googling some more, and realized that people had hacked it enough to get it to run Windows 10. So I installed an acquired (cough, cough) Windows 8.1, just long enough to get the free upgrade to Win10Pro. That's what I'm running now, and everything works.. it's great.

This probably isn't a great answer for you, as I never really ran the ChromeOS I'm happy though-- I spent $400ish on a pretty slick laptop and had some fun hacking it. If you're set on running ChromeOS, you should check out the Toshiba Chromebook 2. There's a (cheaper) Celeron version, and you can probably pick up a refurb'd one for cheap, then upgrade the SSD, and you won't find a nicer screen on a laptop at that price point.

 

[ninaholic37]

I've had a couple. It is a web browser, and while you technically can do all kinds of other things with it I've never felt like it did them very well. All the games I've tried for it have been pretty poor. If however you treat it as just a web browser it is a pretty good one.

Both have had an excellent trackpad, snappy performance from an Intel Celeron, and excellent battery life at a genuine 8+ hours. When I'm sat downstairs I find it a much more satisfying web browser than any tablet or phone, especially if I want to type anything.

My current one cost 129. Any tablet I could've got for the same money would not do the same job nearly so well - though granted it would do other things better.

Exactly. It's a web browser. That's all some people want, no other fluff. I would prefer a FirefoxOS personally, I guess putting a light Linux on an x86 Chromebook could achieve that once you get past it's bootloader locked mode or whatever, then hopefully you have the right drivers for the hardware.

 

[the0ry]

I use an Asus C201 Chromebook every night, its the 4GB RAM version. I primarily use it for browsing from the couch instead of using my phone. I use the Secure Shell terminal app to ssh into my NAS/Raspberry Pi's/Octopi/remote server and it works fine. I'll download files off Thingiverse and upload them onto my Octopi to start a print. It's pretty basic but does what I need it to. If I need to work on a 3d model I'll move onto a Windows laptop in the office.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

Linux. X86 chromebooks (and most ARM ones, though it can be a massive pain) can take standard Linux distros, giving you what the very earliest Eee PCs should have been from the start. Plus, since ChromeOS is itself Linux, hardware compatibility is pretty much guaranteed.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

The old HP chromebook 14 (4gb) has been my primary laptop for almost 3 yrs now. I bought it in Oct 2013 for $350. As others have said, depending on your usage, it can most def be your primary computer. It is fast and there is no maintenance. Amazing battery life. My needs aren't great as I use it to browse the internet/social media, Netflix/Youtube/Spotify, use google docs and slides as my office replacements as I don't need to use it that extensively. As for work, it has Citrix and I can remote into my hospital medical records (EPIC) and do documentation and chart review from home.

Another plus or minus, depending on your views, is it's robust integration within the google ecosystem. I logged into my dad's chromebook when I left mine at home and it pulled up everything within the time it booted up, including my extensions. Makes it easy to use switch computers or have multiple ones and has me thinking of getting a 11 in chromebook to travel with. Honestly, I don't see myself going back to a PC laptop, although I will probably get a gaming desktop at some point.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

It's a $200 facebook machine with a "real" keyboard, basically immune to most windows malware, and it renders full Desktop websites instead of mobile.

It's definitely a laptop you keep in the living room for looking up that-actor-whose-name-you-totally-remember when you're watching that-movie-with-the-guy-but-not-that-one-the-other-one. Or to bring up recipes when you're cooking and don't want to get organic agave nectar on your Macbook Pro.

It basically competes against tablets.

The Google Docs/Drive/etc. ecosystem is also really great for schools. Chromebooks are much easier for district IT to manage vs. iPads.