Should You Get a Chromebook?

-

If you need a laptop should you get a Chromebook, an MacBook or a Windows laptop? It depends upon what you are going to use it for.

HP Chromebook  Amazon.com

Following are two lists of what a Chromebook can do In 2022.

Online - What can be done while connected to the internet:

  • Browsing
  • Email
  • Social apps like Facebook, Zoom, Twitter, etc.
  • Work apps like Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
  • Office 365 apps - Word, Excel and PowerPoint
  • Financial apps like Google Finance, Charles Schwab, your bank
  • Any online available apps
  • HTML and JavaScript development


Offline - What can be done without the internet:

  • Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, can all run offline
  • Code or text editing via Caret
  • MP3 player
  • Video player and Image viewer
  • File manager that keeps improving
  • Scientific calculator
  • Record Videos using the Camera
  • Read any saved web pages
  • Read Kindle books via Kindle app


If a Chromebook can meet all of your needs, I recommend the Chromebook. It's not only cheaper and simpler, it's more secure.

In a Chromebook, all apps must run thru a browser running JavaScript. This restriction provides a layer of protection against most known hacking techniques. Hacking a Chromebook is not impossible, but it is very difficult compared to machines that run apps in native machine code. With a Chromebook, an antivirus app is not needed.

But before you buy that Chromebook, let's see why a Windows or MacBook may be needed.

Processor Intensive Apps

Windows PC's and Apple Macintosh's, forerunners of today's Windows laptop and MacBook, were designed before the World Wide Web, or the Internet as we now know it. Before the internet, computers, including personal computers, had to be self contained machines. They had to provide their own storage for data and software programs, or apps. All of the apps were also self contained and executed offline, i.e. there was no online.

Steve Jobs & Original Macintosh   NPR

In addition, older machines weren't as powerful as today, so the emphasis was on performance. To achieve performance, apps were compiled to and executed in native machine code. The emphasis on the Chromebook is internet security.

So altho the internet now makes possible lighter, internet based laptops like the Chromebook, the 'heavier' Windows laptops and MacBooks still have advantages.

When a lot of intense processing and interaction is required, such as video processing, browser interpreted JavaScript code is no match for apps compiled into native machine code. As fast as one's internet connection might be, its data access is no match for data stored on the local disk drive, or in cache memory.

If processor intense apps are needed, a Chromebook is probably not the best choice.


Software Development

Software development is another area where the Chromebook might fall short. If you think that you might want to write significant amounts of software in a language other than JavaScript, the browser language, you may want to consider a Windows or macOS machine.


There is an alternative. Linux can be installed on a Chromebook. It is highly recommend that if you do plan to install Linux, get a Chromebook with an Intel processor. There are a number of websites with articles on how to do the installation, and what the options are. But as is says the laptopmag.com article, the installation process is "not for the faint of heart".

In theory, once Linux is installed, your Chromebook would be a dual-boot machine. You could either boot up in ChromeOS or Linux.

Altho I do not have experience with running Linux on a Chromebook, I do have experience with Linux running on a PC, and I was very happy with it. If Linux on the Chromebook works as advertised, it would check a lot of boxes for software development needs. That said, running Linux isn't for the faint of heart either.

In Conclusion

If after this article you think that a Chromebook will suit your needs, pick a good one and enjoy. Windows and macOS machines have a lot of complexity that can get in the way if not needed.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Low End Chromebook Adventure

-
Image
  I bought a low end Chromebook. See what it can do. A Chromebook can function as a workstation A Chromebook can be your TV's streaming device Beware of relying too much on internal storage      7 minute read Introduction You've decided to get a Chromebook. Now what? There are numerous Chromebooks available each with its own set of specifications (specs). Fortunately, there are a number of websites that provide a lot of information about what Chromebooks are available and what capabilities that they have at what price. This article will address my experience with the Flagship HP Chromebook I bought recently at Amazon for $135: This Chromebook is a low end machine. So before you spend more $$ than might be necessary, lets see what a low end 11.6" Chromebook provides. Support Before you buy a Chromebook, go to the Google
Read more

My Personal Philosophy

-
Image
The Answer Like a lot of people, I have been searching most of my life for the answer to the big questions: Who are we? Why are we here?  How did it all get here? What is reality? Luther Standing Bear Wikipedia Then I read the response from Luther Standing Bear of the Lakota Nation, when he was asked “Who is God?” He replied : From Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka , the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things - the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals - and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery The answer is there is no answer. Nobody knows. It is a tremendous relief to let go of the endless task of trying to figure it all out. It’s an emancipation from the never ending debates. Debating the nature of the Great Spirit is pointless since the Great Spirit is the Great Mystery. Spiritual Harmony with Science The c
Read more

Did Semantics Cause Your Conflict?

-
Image
The Meaning of a Word is more than a dictionary definition Our life experience shapes the meaning of words Some words or phrases are ambiguous 5 minute read Ludwig Wittgentstein Ludwig Wittgenstein , the 20th century philosopher, famously said, “ If a lion could speak, we would not understand what he said... I can't understand a lion's language because I don't know what his world is like.” (It is dramatized in a 4 minute video here .) The world Wittgenstein meant is the world of experience. Our experiences form our worldview, our reality. He didn't mean that a lion would speak in some foreign tongue , but that whatever words or phrases the lion used, he could not convey the idea or experience he was trying to describe. Photo by  jean wimmerlin on  Unsplash The way a lion runs, hunts, catches prey, eats and mates are beyond our experience. If a lion talked about any of these activities, how could we understand him? We would have no shared con
Read more