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Chrome OS, Chromebook, Chromebox

 

Chrome OS by Google, Reviewed by expert

Introduction

I am going to try to put this review in simple, easy to read and understand words for non-technical users, also mentioning some technical stuff for technical users and anybody, you might look around. I have an IT background, and have been using a Chromebook AND Chromebox everyday since a year now.

 

What you must know

  1. Chrome OS that you find inside Chromebooks and Chromeboxes is in fact a very simple software, very similar to Android on your phone, the only thing you can open is the Chrome Internet Browser, and many other apps that are based on the Chrome platform.
  2. If you need your computer to browse the web, there is no better computer today to purchase than a Chromebook or Chromebox
  3. Chrome OS autoupdates to the newer version, no extra cost, for life, this is ultra-cool. In the future, just like phones, if your hardware is not as good you might get stuck in some version, but not yet there.
  4. Chromebooks and Chromeboxes need Internet to work, period, because you are browsing the web. There are offline apps, you can sync Google Docs, Google Drive and other apps locally and when you have a network sync them to your cloud storage, but the main intention is to be online to be able to be productive and use the device 100%
  5. There is no better way to browse the web than with a Chromebook or Chromebox, I enjoy it a lot, it is a gratifying experience, I enjoy my Chromebook or Chromebox that cost me aprox. $300 dollars than my $600 dollar laptop with Windows.

 

Purchasing tips

  • Don’t compare to buying a regular PC with Windows because this ones require much more hardware specs to run, each new version of Windows requires a better processor, more RAM, more hard drive, etc. with Chrome OS where talking about light weighted OS that works super efficiently in cheap hardware.
  • If you are on the go constantly or even not at constant, pick a Chromebook, they are lightweighed, easy to carry, you will love to have it around. Pick a Chromebox for special needs like if you are going to hide it behind your TV and use it in there, or put it behind your monitor on the office and never ever move it around (some chromeboxes come with a mounting dock for the back of your lcd led monitor, so it looks like an all in one computer)
  • If you can afford it, or you can stretch your budget, buy a more expensive Chromebook or Chromebox, with more RAM memory and better processor unit, you will not regret it.
  • I bought my Chromebook with a lifetime cellular 4g band chip inside with T-Mobile with 200MB of Internet, in case you can’t connect to a wifi, or you cannot turn your phone into a wifi hotspot, which is why new chromebooks don’t come with mobile chip capability anymore, you already have a phone, but the deal was cool, look around for deals that you find attractive.

 

 The good

+ Easy OS to use, turn your computer on in 5 seconds and you are working already, you are finished, you turn it off in 3 seconds.

+ No mumbo jumbo, simple interface, simple words, no error alerts or weird driver messages, this Chrome OS is for the common user, it’s like using a mobile phone, but on a PC.

+ Incredibly good compatibility with hardware, you can connect any usb mouse, keyboard, storage device, flash driver, or hdmi monitor and you are working, instantly, no “wait for install driver” nor anything that might frustrate you.

+ You get a faster working computer for less money, compared to Windows.

 

The bad

– You cannot print easily, you cannot connect a usb printer into your chromebox o chromebook yet, this should be in the top priority to develop for Google, but for now you must install your printer in a Windows computer, share it to the cloud, and cloudprint from your chromebox or chromebook, which is how I use it, but you need another computer.

– If you need special software to be installed on your PC, you might not be able to find it cloud based, this means, to be able to run it inside the web browser.

– Some file extensions, like .avi for example which is almost a Windows format, will not open correctly in some cases in your Chrome OS device, so you might have problems with some file extensions that where built for Windows, or a suggestion is first upload them into your Google Drive and “convert” to Google format, before opening the file (you might use this a lot like me).

 

Might be bad for you, depending on your use

– I have every file, picture, video, etc, since 20 years ago in the cloud storage, nothing local, so if you are the same, you don’t need local storage and don’t have to worry about the limited hard drive on most Chromebox and Chromebooks, this relatively small storage is never ending for us, because everthing is stored in the cloud (google apps, gogle drive). This local storage is used to downoad files and either review them, keep them there, then delete them, or then be transfered to our cloud storage. For me and cloud storage users, small hard drives are not bad at all.

– No CD, DVD, etc. you can connect an external DVD device to read disks but in my case, for what? I don’t like nor depend on this, but if you need it, buy an external USB device to read disks.

– I am very used to the Windows keyboard, shortcuts, numeric keypad, etc, so you might find your keyboard on your included in your Chromebox very frustrating, the good news is that I strangely bought a keyboard – mouse bundle from Microsoft, connected it to my Chromebook and you have your keyboard back, although keep in mind not everything will work exactly as before, remember it is not Windows.

 

Leave a comment if you need for me to extend anything on this article!

 

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