"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
03/01/2015 at 17:11 • Filed to: None
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"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
03/01/2015 at 17:11 • Filed to: None | 1
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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I really like it so far. cheap, light, quick and decently powerful (even the new celerons are of the level of an old core 2 duo 2.0ghz.
kind of like getting a hyundai as a daily driver compared to my win7 desktop/gaming machine. but this seems like it will do the job quite nicely.
anyone else have one and care to chime in on what really makes these things so cool?
JasonStern911
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 17:27 |
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my previous Samsung Chromebook was cheap and had no moving parts - fanless, SSD, etc., so it could take the occasional drop. the battery life was great. it was gutless - had a hard time with Flash and streaming to a Chromecast was useless. but I got infinitely more use out of that than I have my current tablet. I'm apparently the 1% of people that finds a physical keyboard really, really useful.
so for just surfing the web, they're great. if you're working on your car and you want to watch a how-to video on YouTube or look up torque specs, wouldn't you rather risk getting grease on a cheap Chromebook than an expensive laptop?
the one drawback is a lack of USB driver support, so you'll have a harder time getting something like a Durametric or USB OBD2 code reader working. same thing with printers, although printing is like writing checks and mailing letters with stamps - it's getting rarer and rarer that is an issue.
all and all, I personally view Chromebooks as complementary devices. I still have a workstation at work to develop on, and a gaming-oriented desktop at home to game and do photo/video editing on. but for internet purposes, which is the 90% case for me, the Chromebook handles 95% of the tasks at 50% of the price. and that's huge because it's easier to replace, which means that I am more willing to take it places, and also that I can justify upgrading it in a year or two.
DavidHH
> JasonStern911
03/01/2015 at 17:30 |
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no moving parts == more reliable laptop
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JasonStern911
> DavidHH
03/01/2015 at 17:37 |
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mine still crapped out on me after ~18-24 months, but it also saw a lot more abuse than the average laptop sees. but the fact that a Chromebook replaced an Alienware laptop, which died a constantly moving cooling fan failing related death, for 18-24 months is a testament for how great they are at what they are great at.
Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 17:45 |
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I have a Samsung one, it's about two years old now. It can get a little cranky if I try and watch YouTube while doing other things, but it's been great so far. I know mine can work with Chromecast ok, at least sending Netflix. The screen flickers a lot if you don't get it in the right spot, but that's not the end of the world.
MooseKnuckles
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 17:55 |
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What can't it do compared to a Windows unit? Programs like AutoCAD or Photoshop aren't compatible right? What about something simple like VLC?
Every time one goes on sale on Amazon I consider buying one but have yet to pull the trigger.
JGrabowMSt
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 18:12 |
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Which Chromebook did you get? I'm really thinking of upgrading mine because it's a first generation Samsung (white lid, black bottom). Works fine, but the latest updates have made it a little sluggish.
For most things, I'm totally satisfied by it, because it lets me work on writing and surf the web when I don't need anything else.
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Sweet Trav
> JGrabowMSt
03/01/2015 at 19:28 |
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i picked up a refurb toshiba CB35-a3120 for $160 open box at micro center, it's 13.3 and the keyboard is actually pretty damned good for a sub 200 piece of equipment. its got a celeron 2955U in it, which is actually a Haswell unit, like a core i3 processor, as opposed to some of the N2830 which are a baytrail atom processor. it only has 2gb of ram vs 4gb on some of the new ones, but i rare do much intensive multitasking. netflix seems to run just fine, and the speakers seem to be surprsingly good.
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Sweet Trav
> MooseKnuckles
03/01/2015 at 19:45 |
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yeah, it cant do any normal X86 windows apps. however i can always use a desktop sharing software to access my main pc in my own house.
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JGrabowMSt
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 20:53 |
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Im still shopping around, but the latest chromebooks do appeal to me, so once I pick the one I want, Ill jump on it. I mainly just need something a little faster with a higher screen resolution (even if just a little more) compared to my current one.
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Sweet Trav
> JGrabowMSt
03/01/2015 at 21:02 |
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the toshiba chromebook 2 is getting some good reviews.
Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 21:26 |
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I have an HP 14 and I absolutely love it. I use it constantly and it rarely lets me down. Granted most of what I do is web based anyhow, but that's my reason behind getting this. I can't stand tablets and I really like using an actual keyboard. In fact, at the same time, that is my one major complaint: The keyboard on mine is nearly identical to what's used on macs, and it isn't backlit. But I do really like using the computer. It is very user-friendly in my opinion, with a lot of intuitive shortcuts and controls. The display on it is pretty decent. The sound is not the best but it does what I want it to. Plus it's small, light, and super fast, which is everything I wanted.
bhardoin
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 21:33 |
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They're really cool for being as portable as a tablet but still having a (shockingly good) keyboard and similar battery life.
I had the first samsung one they came out with for 2 years, beat the shit out of it taking it to school every day in a backpack with 10lb engineering books, and its only problem was that it didn't like streaming youtube at 720p. I blame that on youtube, cause Netflix and vimeo HD worked just fine. When its battery life started to fade (from 8 hours to 6... oh, no!) I picked up another one.
They're awesome, but in no way a replacement for a desktop - I've got an old beast that stays back home. Get used to using google drive, it's epic for syncing files between your chromebook and your desktop. Also, become acquainted with Spotify's web player.
shop-teacher
> Sweet Trav
03/01/2015 at 23:01 |
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I got an education grade Lenovo for Christmas. I use it solely for screwing around on the internet, which it is excellent for. I can't stand typing on a touch screen.