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Chromebooks

The Rise of Chromebooks

For my birthday this year, I received a Chromebook.  Specifically an Acer Chromebook 15 (Find it here).  It has been a great addition to my collection.  They truly boot in seconds and it gets days on the battery.  You can easily do eight hours a day of work on this and go home and catch up on the news.

Can you do work on this

I can connect via a URL to my work if needed, I can edit documents using Google Docs.  I can surf the web.  Now, with the addition of Android apps, I have even more tools available to me.  I have configured Outlook for Android to check my work email.  I can use other tools available either in the Google Play Store or Chrome Store to access other applications that I use.

Updates

Updates are downloaded on a schedule which you can find here.  You will be prompted to restart, but again it takes seconds.  This is versus hours for the last Windows 1803 update.   If something breaks you can easily reset your computer.  Your settings are saved via your Google account so you don't need to worry about losing data.

Its just a browser
You have access to your Office applications in their online form.  You can also highly customize the browser experience by using any of Google Chromes plugins that are available in the Chrome store.

The biggest downside is that you still need an internet connection for the best experience.  You can't do too much offline.  You can edit documents and they will sync once your internet connection is back.  You also live within Google's ecosystem mostly.  Obviously, you can access webmail and your Office 365 web applications, but you need a Google account to use the device personally. 

If you are unsure if a Chromebook fits your needs you can go the Berkshire Anthaneum in Pittsfield and borrow a Chromebook.  They have a few to choose from and this will allow you to test the basic functionality of them.

For anyone who lives online and doesn't require desktop applications for there work a Chromebook is a good affordable choice.

Let me know what you think

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