"Why Chromebook Pundits Are Out of Touch"

[frahse]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

On a related note, Google Drive storage prices have been slashed:

• 15 GB = free
• 100 GB = $1.99/ mo (was $4.99)
• 1 TB = $9.99/ mo (was $49.99)

For those who signed up for the free 2-yr 100GB plan with your Chromebook purchase, it'll only cost you $1.99 per month to continue. I didn't sign up for it. As is, I haven't used any of the free 15GB I already have.

This will pain Drop Box and Box and others a lot.

$24 a year for 100 GB isn't bad.
I just looked up a replacement 500GB laptop harddrive for $50 (after a $40 discount.)
2 years at $24 a year is $48 about the same price and your backup is assured as is omnipresent availability.

I did see that the 100GB (corrected was $100) might be all your g mail storage, your g+ storage, etc.
I don't don't know what that means for most people.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by frahse

This will pain Drop Box and Box and others a lot.

$24 a year for 100 GB isn't bad.
I just looked up a replacement 500GB laptop harddrive for $50 (after a $40 discount.)
2 years at $24 a year is $48 about the same price and your backup is assured as is omnipresent availability.

I did see that the $100 might be all your g mail storage, your g+ storage, etc.
I don't don't know what that means for most people.

One of the other factors worth remembering with Google Drive storage is that anything in Google formats is stored for free, photos below a certain (reasonable) resolution are free, and you can also upload 20,000 music tracks to Google Play for free. These are all things that would take up space in DropBox or Box, as far as I'm aware.

Another good thing is that when you share a file or folder in Google Drive it only counts towards your own storage. With DropBox it comes out of everyone's.

However, while Drive is brilliant for ChromeOS devices, I have found that it doesn't synchronise as quickly on Windows. DropBox seems to kick in immediately a file is saved, whereas Drive seems to poll on an occasional basis. I find that I have to Pause then Resume it to make recent changes go up to the cloud.

Graham

[Kumabjorn]

Soo, I have really pondered getting Asus Chromebox, the $179 version. I see that it is continuously Sold Out on Amazon and unless it is a problem in the supply line, which I doubt because it doesn't seem to contain anything very special, then it must be because it is selling like fridges in Greenland (huge seller there, storing food outdoors give it frost burn). Before I jump in some questions to those of you who are already converts.

1) How well do you work with Google Office (Docs, Sheets etc)?
2) Is there anything that comes close to OneNote on the platform?
3) Does Chrome support multiple monitors?
4) Can you run all the apps under Chrome on an Android device?
5) What is your most recurring frustration when running Chrome?
6) Are there any good (educational) Chrome discussion boards?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

1) How well do you work with Google Office (Docs, Sheets etc)?
2) Is there anything that comes close to OneNote on the platform?
3) Does Chrome support multiple monitors?
4) Can you run all the apps under Chrome on an Android device?
5) What is your most recurring frustration when running Chrome?
6) Are there any good (educational) Chrome discussion boards?

I'm the wrong person to respond, but I'll weigh in anyway. I use home computers for entertainment and information, therefore I have no need for office programs of any type. Chrome supports multiple monitors from what I've read, but I don't know how well it implements it. It's something I wouldn't do. No idea on the apps and forums.

The biggest drawback to Chrome for me is its lack of support for Audible and OverDrive. Because of that, I can't cut the Windows cord. My Chromebook is a secondary device and resides in the living room on a coffee table.

I'm seriously considering the Chromebox; primarily as a toy, but also as a backup desktop (albeit, with limited capabilities).

[ndixon]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'm seriously considering the Chromebox; primarily as a toy, but also as a backup desktop (albeit, with limited capabilities).

Most of my online activity involves Google. I use GMail, GDrive, Docs, Maps and several other Google products extensively.

But for me a Chromebook/-box would only be useful as a second, backup PC; about as much use as a space-saver spare wheel for my car. Good enough for emergencies, but not a long-term solution.

It might do everything that 80% of users need, but I'm somewhere in that other 20% who were using PCs before they became entertainment devices around the mid-Nineties.

Until I can run things like IntelliJ, Eclipse, Scrivener and pandoc on a Chromebook, it's not going to be enough. Also KSP.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by ndixon

Until I can run things like IntelliJ, Eclipse, Scrivener and pandoc on a Chromebook, it's not going to be enough. Also KSP.

Developing in Java on a ChromeOS device is probably a non-starter, I guess, as it's deliberately not supported. However, there are some nice IDEs emerging. For code-editing, I like ShiftEdit and Caret.

My ChromeOS devices actually weaned me off Scrivener. Not because there's any replacement - the closest is a cloud Scrivener clone called Scriptito - but because the ChromeOS devices work so smoothly together that writing in the cloud using a combination of Google Docs and Workflowy is a joy.

While file sync services like Google Drive and DropBox do work under Windows, they're not as fast and as seamless as simply working in the cloud directly, for which the ChromeOS devices are optimised. Added to that is the joy of being able to move from my Chromebox desktop to my Chromebook without missing a beat - even down to having the same document open on both machines. Plus any change to the setup of one machine - browser bar, launcher icons, etc. - is instantly mirrored on the other.

Like you, I still have to go to my Windows machine for some things, so ChromeOS hasn't yet reached the point where it can replace Windows. But for the majority of the tasks that can be done on ChromeOS the experience there is so much smoother and hassle-free that my ChromeOS devices are my primary ones. My Windows machine is the one that was relegated to 'second PC'.

I originally bought the Chromebook as a 'backup device'. It became my primary one very, very quickly.

Graham

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Graham

While file sync services like Google Drive and DropBox do work under Windows, they're not as fast and as seamless as simply working in the cloud directly, for which the ChromeOS devices are optimised. Added to that is the joy of being able to move from my Chromebox desktop to my Chromebook without missing a beat - even down to having the same document open on both machines. Plus any change to the setup of one machine - browser bar, launcher icons, etc. - is instantly mirrored on the other.

Like you, I still have to go to my Windows machine for some things, so ChromeOS hasn't yet reached the point where it can replace Windows. But for the majority of the tasks that can be done on ChromeOS the experience there is so much smoother and hassle-free that my ChromeOS devices are my primary ones. My Windows machine is the one that was relegated to 'second PC'.

I originally bought the Chromebook as a 'backup device'. It became my primary one very, very quickly.

Graham

That's interesting. I guess my wife is in the same position. I've been thinking of her Windows laptop as her 'main' machine, but she really uses the Chromebook far more of the time. The Windows machine is for controlling her die cutting machine, doing Library audiobooks and DRM related stuff, but while those tasks are important and can't be replaced, they are not what she spend the majority of her computer time doing.

Still, if the Chromebook was as expensive as some of the new ones are, we might not have gone for it. While it's simplicity and fast boot and autoupdates are nice, it's limitations make me wonder if it will stay a successful product when the prices are within a few dollars of a Windows machine. The proposed free version of Windows, if done right, may force Chromebooks back to the $199 point (or whatever the new 'well under any other option' point will be.)

ApK

[Graham]

Originally Posted by ApK

it's limitations make me wonder if it will stay a successful product when the prices are within a few dollars of a Windows machine.

It's going to be interesting to see. The limitations are getting fewer all the time. Even with the free version, the Windows manufacturers are going to be hard-pressed to build compelling machines at a price that can compete with the cheaper ChromeOS devices. Windows just needs more 'oomph' behind it.

Graham

[frahse]

I find that despite all the machines available to my wife and myself, it is necessary to purchase another Windows laptop. The only question now is whether it is a super light and slim machine or whether it has an optical drive. Between $450 and $500. This will impact my home machines budget because of other items that are coming due and I will have to very reluctantly put off buying myself a new Chromebook.

Drat you Bill Gates!

(... and he was said to have said as he was led out of sight, "it is no use worrying cause nothing is gonna turn out alright.")

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by frahse

I find that despite all the machines available to my wife and myself, it is necessary to purchase another Windows laptop. The only question now is whether it is a super light and slim machine or whether it has an optical drive. Between $450 and $500. This will impact my home machines budget because of other items that are coming due and I will have to very reluctantly put off buying myself a new Chromebook.

Drat you Bill Gates!

(... and he was said to have said as he was led out of sight, "it is no use worrying cause nothing is gonna turn out alright.")

Don't get mad, get even. The best way to stop Bill Gates to make money right now is to by the original Surface Pro, if you look around $400 is not out of the question.

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by ndixon

Until I can run things like IntelliJ, Eclipse, Scrivener and pandoc on a Chromebook, it's not going to be enough. Also KSP.

look, a software developer! quick, someone give the man a mainframe so he doesn't need to resort going back to the workplace just to, you know, work...

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by frahse

I find that despite all the machines available to my wife and myself, it is necessary to purchase another Windows laptop. The only question now is whether it is a super light and slim machine or whether it has an optical drive. Between $450 and $500. This will impact my home machines budget because of other items that are coming due and I will have to very reluctantly put off buying myself a new Chromebook.

This is kind of sad to me and, frankly, what is wrong with everything today. We live in a completely adversarial society where it is not sufficient to buy and enjoy a product just because the price and performance are the best fit. Politics, popularity, and personal prejudice taint judgement with each purchase decision. Worse, once we make a decision, we feel compelled to convince EVERYONE that our device is the best choice and that all other products are inferior.

We have forty two pages of debate over the merit of the inexpensive Chromebook and how those who like it are somehow out of touch.

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by wizwor

This is kind of sad to me and, frankly, what is wrong with everything today. We live in a completely adversarial society where it is not sufficient to buy and enjoy a product just because the price and performance are the best fit. Politics, popularity, and personal prejudice taint judgement with each purchase decision. Worse, once we make a decision, we feel compelled to convince EVERYONE that our device is the best choice and that all other products are inferior.

We have forty two pages of debate over the merit of the inexpensive Chromebook and how those who like it are somehow out of touch.

Not really if you look thru most of the pages it has become more of an announcement page for any new chrome OS based device. Yes a new poster to the thread might come and post how chrome OS is useless but the people that are actually having a conversation are the ones that own the devices or planning to get one.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

Not really if you look thru most of the pages it has become more of an announcement page for any new chrome OS based device. Yes a new poster to the thread might come and post how chrome OS is useless but the people that are actually having a conversation are the ones that own the devices or planning to get one.

And because in the first place it was an article elsewhere, which was offered up for discussion here. And as usual for MobileRead, it quickly became a technical discussion about the pros and cons and totally forgot its original premise of people being out of touch.

The title is very misleading.

[QuantumIguana]

When people tell me a device is not right for them, or might not be right for some people, I have no problem with that. When people insist a device is not right for me, there's a problem. Part of it is tribalism, people get very tribal about their possessions, and not just computer stuff. People get very tribal about their cars or their beers.

But part of it is simply being unable to see things from the perspective of another person. Some people just are unable to imagine that what might be right for them might be right for someone else. It's a cognitive lapse that is annoying at best.