Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
Except that this works both ways. The Windows machine needs to jump through hoops to do some of the things that are the strength of the Chromebooks, if indeed it can do them at all:
- Running silently
- Booting from cold in about 6 seconds
- Waking from sleep instantly
- Updating the operating system with a 6 second reboot
- No antivirus or security updates
- No application updates
- No slowdown from application clutter
I've documented above where I need my Windows machine instead of the Chromebook, but I think printing's the only thing that I do on the Chromebook that requires a bit of hoop-jumping. One hoop (turn on Windows machine), though, not dozens.
It's also worth noting that when we moved to Windows 7 we had to buy a new printer. Our HP Laserjet of the time was not supported.
A couple of years ago, Chromebooks were an interesting experiment but flawed. They've now reached the point where they are very, very nice secondary machines for people with a Mac or Windows PC, and also ideal sole machines for people who don't need specific niche or high-end software.
It's going to be fascinating to watch the system improve over the next few years, to see how much of the market share it can take.
Graham |
My MacBook Air will do all of these things with the exception of application updates. My wife was given a Chromebook last week and I had a play with it over the weekend. I regard it as a toy. I have a Windows7 i7 32GB desktop, a MacBook Air for out of Office and an iPad3 to play games, check email etc. I can't see a Chromebook ever being of use. My wife has already lost interest in hers. Among other issues I will never trust any form of cloud computing. (Talk about putting all of your eggs in one flimsy basket.)