"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
01/03/2018 at 21:59 • Filed to: None
0
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"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
01/03/2018 at 21:59 • Filed to: None | 0
| 15 |
Until today, I really only had my work computer to use for everyday things that you might not want to do on a phone or small tablet. I have my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which is awesome, but bolted to a wall in the kitchen... so yeah. My experience with the kitchenputer being a chromebox got me thinking, I should buy a cheap chromebook just to have a laptop around, when I don’t have (or want to use) my work laptop.
bonus doggo
I did my homework, though, read a ton of reviews, and decided not to totally cheap out; I ended up with an Asus Chromebook Flip C302. It has a beautiful screen that can go up to 2400 x 1350, but looks great at 1920x1080 or lower, too. It has a nice keyboard, which is kind of the whole point of a chromebook over a tablet, no? And because I most often use this in my dimly lit living room at night, I LOVE that the keyboard is backlit!
It’s nice that it flips around so you can use it as a tablet, too. I don’t know how often I’ll do that, but it’s cool. And one thing that used to be really limiting about these devices was the Chrome OS, which was little more than a browser; they now support Android apps, which opens a huge door for me. I’m psyched to try out some of that functionality, but for now, I’m enjoying typing this out on a nice keyboard while holding a device that’s currently charging yet not burning my legs, and weighs a little over 1 kilogram.
If you’re in the market for a small laptop/tablet, I’d highly recommend a look at this one. I found a deal on the model with the faster m5 processor, so I expect it will be fast, too. I haven’t taxed it yet, but Chrome devices are fast to start up anyway. Barely two whole minutes passed between opening the box and having a browser open. My work computer with Win7 takes that long just to start up from being shut off completely.
The keyboard is great, the touchpad is excellent, and I’ve only had this out of the box for 10 minutes.
I’m excited for this. Lots of Oppo will be had on it, I’m sure of that.
CB
> functionoverfashion
01/03/2018 at 22:36 |
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Can you crop photos on it? I’m lacking in the ChromeOS knowledge, but I think my girlfriend was looking at this exact model for her mum.
Brickman
> functionoverfashion
01/03/2018 at 22:43 |
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Asus is a great brand. Never had a problem with them.
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functionoverfashion
> CB
01/03/2018 at 22:43 |
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Absolutely! Basic photo editing, built in. I’m sure you could get an Android app, though, for much more functionality.
I haven’t explored this at all, but I gather you can even get regular Microsoft Office apps this way, too. Anyway, to answer your question, yes.
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CB
> functionoverfashion
01/03/2018 at 22:49 |
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Most excellent. I’ll let her know.
smobgirl
> functionoverfashion
01/03/2018 at 22:50 |
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I’m curious to see how much you use it (versus the tools you already have) in the long run. I haven’t had a computer of my own in about 5 years and I can’t make up my mind about whether I actually need one. Or if I got one, if it would make the tablet useless.
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functionoverfashion
> smobgirl
01/03/2018 at 22:56 |
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I’ve been in that spot for 3 years, and finally decided to get this thing. We’ll see... I suspect I’ll try to leave my work computer at work a lot more often than I do now. If I do some work on this, that’s OK with me. It’s just the right size.
I should add that I work in IT and don’t work enough hours in the office to fulfill my regular work week, so I work at home a fair amount. I don’t love having my work laptop with me all the time, and don’t love using it at home. Work will never pay for a second machine for me, so here we are.
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functionoverfashion
> Brickman
01/03/2018 at 22:58 |
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Good to hear. This thing got top marks in nearly every comparison article I read online, unless you want to spend $1000 in which case just get a macbook, probably. But arguably, this does more than a macbook and is cheaper than an ipad pro. Also it’s not apple.
winterlegacy, here 'till the end
> functionoverfashion
01/04/2018 at 01:37 |
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My thing is - if I buy a laptop, I want to be able to do some serious computing on it. I want to be able to run some lighter weight time-burning games such as Terraria, and for that, I need something with some serious umph in the laptop landscape.
I like the idea of Chromebooks. I just wish they didn’t have the obnoxious badge. I’d find one that runs an x86/64 arch processor, get root, and install myself a fresh new Linux OS - maybe elementary, since pantheon-files is possibly my favorite file manager of all time, and the pantheon DE in general is pretty slick.
RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> functionoverfashion
01/04/2018 at 05:44 |
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Never had any issues with ASUS at all! In fact, I think my last two video cards have been ASUS and my last two motherboards in my Win10 desktop have been ASUS as well!
On a side note - being a Chromebook, you could probably install a full-fledged Linux desktop on it as well and switch between that and ChromeOS on the fly if you like tinkering! :)
https://www.mrgazz.com/computers/computers-mainmenu-138/howto/linux-dual-boot-asus-flip-302
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functionoverfashion
> winterlegacy, here 'till the end
01/04/2018 at 07:44 |
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I gotcha. I think there are some higher-end chromebooks that are pretty powerful. For me, I’m not running any games; the most intensive thing I do is streaming HD video through a VPN, which isn’t much for processor activity; it’s more an issue of bandwidth over my own internet connection at home.
I’m with you on the Google thing, though - I’d rather this was a straight-up plain old android device, or a nice linux platform. But it works well for what I want.
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functionoverfashion
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
01/04/2018 at 07:54 |
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Wow, that’s interesting. I might like to try that... I’ve never really messed with linux but always been intrigued. Thanks for the tip!
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> functionoverfashion
01/04/2018 at 08:28 |
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No worries! My main desktop is a Win10 machine, but I was given an older (Win8 era) HP laptop for free with no hard drive and it never came with a Windows license key...installed Linux Mint on it and use it daily. :)
Not good for gaming (although it can do light gaming no problem), but as a fully fledged “everyday’ desktop for web browsing, word processing, Netflix, Youtube, whatever, it’s perfect! :)
TheRealBicycleBuck
> smobgirl
01/04/2018 at 08:33 |
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I’ve had both an Android tablet and a small laptop (Dell Inspiron convertible) for the better part of a year now. The tablet sees a lot more use than the laptop, but I’m really just surfing the web or playing casual games while watching TV. Neither of them have enough power to play PC games, but both have enough oomph to get basic chores done. The laptop gets powered up when I need to use a keyboard. Otherwise, the tablet is fine. Your mileage will vary based on how you intend to use them.
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smobgirl
> TheRealBicycleBuck
01/04/2018 at 10:23 |
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Appreciate it. I’ll probably cave and buy one eventually. I really don’t need another tool to encourage my natural laziness though!
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winterlegacy, here 'till the end
> functionoverfashion
01/04/2018 at 11:56 |
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At least it’s bolstering the numbers of devices considered to be Linux on the internet.
“We actually have market share for once!”