I am a bit of a simpleton when it comes to computers, although I use one at work & have a Surface Pro (which I like) provided by company. My son is about to go to University & will need a laptop of some description. Are Chromebooks any good? He will be using it for taking notes, assignments etc. Any recommendations/advice would be welcome.
Chromebooks
- Thread starter Woodface
- Start date
Snufkin
pfm Member
From my experience which is a few years out of date, I would say yes and no.
Yes - as they are effectively a dedicated internet browser without the clutter of normal laptops.
Yes - everything has to be done 'online' which is not usually a problem.
Yes - they have a good battery life.
Yes - if you don't mind using online documents (Google Docs etc.).
No - if you want to save files onto your computer.
No - if you want (or have) to work offline.
Yes - as they are effectively a dedicated internet browser without the clutter of normal laptops.
Yes - everything has to be done 'online' which is not usually a problem.
Yes - they have a good battery life.
Yes - if you don't mind using online documents (Google Docs etc.).
No - if you want to save files onto your computer.
No - if you want (or have) to work offline.
venton
pfm Member
Browsing and note taking they are fantastic. What you can't do is instal pc applications such as you do on your Surface Pro. You can run android apps on modern Chromebooks. Think of them as large screen Android phones with great battery life. So really, he needs to do some homework to what software he may need. Say for example he needs to professionally edit movies or run a 16 bit recording studio. All possible on laptop, but not Chromebook.
venton
pfm Member
He won't be needing ultrafast graphics or huge processing power for law. Just a mid range generic laptop (eg Lenovo or Acer etc.) will be fine. A chromebook may well do. Usually university newbies are assigned a mentor from the year above. He should probably ask someone whos on the course, ie the mentor, before you commit.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
what degree is he doing?
Thanks for this, plenty of time to sort this out as he doesn't start until October. This is all dependent upon him getting the required A-level results next week, think I am more nervous than he is.
Law all being well
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
ah law. Tell him to contact the Uni IT people to find out what OS is best supported. If its anything like us then any Win10 laptop will do. We do support Linux and Apple, but we have a shed load of SW we give to out students for free, and that best integrate with outrsystems. Chromebooks we support but you'll get e better experience with a Win10 machjne
Thanks for this, really helpful. Expensive business, thankfully managed to get him a push bike for nowt from a mate.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
in fact his chosen Uni might have discounted deals with one of their preferred suppliers.
Excellent
Eyebroughty
JohnC
Hi,
I have both Win10 laptops and Chromebooks.
Chromebooks as said above by Snufkin do what he said, however you can save documents onto a USB stick from the Chromebook.
If he gets a phone contract with a good amount of data, I get 20gig plus free calls and texts for £21 a month and often pair it to my Chromebook, so use it when I go away for a night or two.
Also when it updates itself it does it in seconds not hours like Win10.
You cannot get a virus with a Chromebook.
You can pick up a cheap second hand HP or Acer one for around a £100 and he could use it as a backup to his laptop.
Then he would have the best of both systems.
I use my Chromebook a lot, open the lid and it is ready to go, close lid and it is shut down,very fast to use if in a hurry.
Cheers
John
I have both Win10 laptops and Chromebooks.
Chromebooks as said above by Snufkin do what he said, however you can save documents onto a USB stick from the Chromebook.
If he gets a phone contract with a good amount of data, I get 20gig plus free calls and texts for £21 a month and often pair it to my Chromebook, so use it when I go away for a night or two.
Also when it updates itself it does it in seconds not hours like Win10.
You cannot get a virus with a Chromebook.
You can pick up a cheap second hand HP or Acer one for around a £100 and he could use it as a backup to his laptop.
Then he would have the best of both systems.
I use my Chromebook a lot, open the lid and it is ready to go, close lid and it is shut down,very fast to use if in a hurry.
Cheers
John
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
If he is on campus then IME the wifi will be pretty good.
All my Win10 machines take minutes to update. I have never experienced Win10 taking hours to update
You can, but little evidence of them in the wild.
Check the Uni regulations that he is studying, some, advise against using USB sticks. Many students apply for extension to coursework, as they have lost their USB or because it has corrupted, some Uni's will no longer permit an extension if it relates to a USB stick.
We (like many) provide a corporate and student environment that deploys a full set of MS applications, and a cloud solution based on OneDrive. I would strongly advise the OP to check what his sons Uni is saying. We are content that our students use a chromebook, but they will not get access to any of the software we provide for free. Yes our cloud can be accessed from a chromebook, but it has not proved to be very reliable. If a student was coming here then I would advise Win10.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
Expensive indeed. I have two girls about to go and a third about to start her final year. Beans on Toast for me and the Mrs I reckon.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
I have been thinking about Chromebooks for the two newbies off soon. I think they are OK with the idea but it sounds like we need more input from the Uni on software expectations before we go out and buy anything.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
It is well worth asking first. At best you may find discounted hardware and free software, and at worst nothing. I think (IME) that the easiest and most trouble free experience will be with a Win10 machine.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
I think you are right about that. If they are going to live on campus, and playing games, music, video etc on it then I would perhaps think a little more oomph might be useful.
SteveG
pfm Member
I went with Surface Pro's as uni machines for both my kids and they've been good, although I've recently got my wife a Lenovo Yoga and that would also have been a very good uni option (and a good bit cheaper).
Chromebooks would be ok but I think a Windows 10 laptop will be considerably better for general use as well as being more versatile and more compatible with standard software etc.
Chromebooks would be ok but I think a Windows 10 laptop will be considerably better for general use as well as being more versatile and more compatible with standard software etc.