In praise of Chromebooks

In a recent blog post, tech guru MIguel Guhlin reflects on how much he likes using a Chromebook. He writes:

Enter the Acer C740 Chromebook, one of the best devices I've owned in my life. That Chromebook has seen me through many a conference, countless blog entries, and projects. When you spend as much time as I have writing on different devices, you realize that each device tickles your brain in a different way. For some people, it's paper and pencil. You need this pen or pencil, that piece of paper or notebook. I found it a better, more enduring purchase than an iPad 3rd generation. Given the difference in price, that's saying a lot.

Like Miguel, I am a Chromebook fan. When my much loved Macbook Air died a few years ago, I picked up a cheap ($200) Chromebook at the local Target store. I was familiar with the Chrome operating system since my school district’s 1:1 program used Chromebooks and we also supplied them to most of our teachers. 

I actually now have four Chromebooks - one my 89-year-old mother uses, one I keep by the side of my recliner in my living room, one that stays at a friend’s house where I regularly spend my weekends, and one that sits in a drawer in my upstairs office that I take on trips. I believe the most I paid for any of them was $300.

Despite having worked in technology most of my career, I admittedly am not a “power user.” I don’t play interactive games that need graphic strength; I don’t edit movies or photographs; I don’t do fancy spreadsheets or databases; my slideshows are fairly simple. GoogleDocs are my go-to production tools and GoogleDrive works just fine for most of my storage needs. Nearly every application and tool I need is in the cloud - banking, shopping, communicating, games, and accounts of every color and shape. My single frustration with the Chromebooks I own is that I think they could use a little more RAM since my Squarespace editing tool refuses to sometimes open until I restart my machine. A small price to pay for a machine that is a quarter of the cost of a new Macbook.

Despite being an Apple user since 1980 (my first home computer was an Apple IIe purchased in 1983), when my iPhone and iPad give up the ghost, I may see what my Chrome options are for both replacements. If the simplicity and automatic updates are built into the mobile devices using ChromeOS, I’m in.

Yeah, Google knows when I’ve been sleeping, knows when I’m awake, knows when I’ve been bad or good (so I’m good for Google’s sake). I’ve pretty much given up all hopes that anything I do online is private and the best I can do is keep my financial passwords safe, dodge any scams that pour into my inbox or voicemail, and resist targeted marketing efforts for crap I don’t need. I still wonder how Google manages to stay awake while watching me. I’m pretty darned boring.

Last post I ruminated a bit on buying better, not more. Perhaps one should also think about buying what is right for the job. How big a car/truck do you really need? How large a refrigerator? How many bedrooms? How powerful an electric drill? How fancy a vacation? For me, a Chromebook is just enough without being too much. 

Thanks, Miguel, for the reminder of why I love my Chromebooks. 

Comments

[Kenn Gortman]

Happy Thanksgiving Doug!