+Chromebooks are very different from traditional computers… They do not have a classic system (Windows or macOS) and that changes everything. Here is a little article to remind you why this system is interesting and why to buy a Chromebook.
Before entering into this small article, I encourage you to take a look at the complete pixelbook go review as it has more detailed than this one, and is also a little older. I am personally convinced by this system, which I use every day at home.
1. simplicity
The big advantage of these devices is their apparent simplicity: no drivers, no updates, no antivirus, no complicated settings management. Here it is simple, you just have to use your computer without having to worry about maintenance. Internet-related tasks (email, social media, classic web) are clearly the things Chromebooks are great at.
However, you have access to some classic parameters such as wifi or Bluetooth management, screen management parameters (brightness), sound ... Just enough so that it does not become too complicated to manage.
2. The prices
Another advantage of these machines, they are today rather interesting at the price level. For example, you can easily find LapTop for less than 300$ and it will not hurt your wallet too much to renew this LapTop every 2 or 3 years. In addition, Google systematically offers 100 GB of storage space on Google Drive for each LapTop purchase.
For a student who needs a LapTop for taking notes in class, writing files, and going on the internet for documentation, it's a perfect LapTop. It can obviously do more than that, listen to music or watch his favorite series when he has finished his homework of course!
3. Android applications
Chromebooks have access to the Android store to install new applications. This means that Adobe software (Photoshop express, lightroom mobile…) and other “big” free software (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) will be perfectly usable on Chromebooks. Since you have a keyboard, a mouse, and now good software, you will be able to use your devices 200% under ChromeOS. Really great!
4. The Cloud
A Chromebook is a LapTop that relies on the use of the internet primarily. Today we can have access to it almost everywhere (at home, airport, train, plane, university, in shops & restaurants…) and therefore deporting part of the content of the hard drive to remote servers is possible. The Chromebooks have a compact disk (often limited to 64GB) for storing files being worked on daily. Automatically, these files are synchronized to Google Drive in order to make a backup and also to allow other people to work on them at the same time. For example, a group of students will have the possibility to share a set of courses and documents in order to make their group work more efficient.
Then, for files that are used less often, ChromeOS will store them on remote servers and will be used only when the internet is present. For the user, this will be transparent because it looks like the files are stored on the Chromebook disk (the line between what is remote and what is locally stored is not visible at first glance).
Also note that it is possible to connect the hard drive, USB keys, and even install a 128 GB SD or microSD card in most Chromebooks, in order to expand their “local” memory (to store your favorite movies, for example). We, therefore, have a complete hybrid system, which leaves the user the choice to store their data wherever they want.
5. Speed
ChromeOS is built around Chrome on a Linux foundation. Outside of Chrome, Android apps, and a file browser, we don't have much. This, therefore, results in a computer which is very fast at start-up (only a few seconds), and which, despite its low price and its relatively un-muscular components, remains fluid & extremely pleasant to use for simple tasks (emails, office automation, social networks, etc. ).
This speed is stable over time (unlike Windows which tends to slow down as it ages) and I have never been able to see any bugs or crashes appear, even after several years of use.
6. Viruses & Security
The base of ChromeOS is under Linux, and therefore very secure and very little targeted by viruses and malware of all kinds. The only applications that can be installed come from the Google store which is secure and does not allow you to install anything. So you have a super stable and "safe" platform, on which no anti-virus exists because you don't need it.
It is therefore a machine particularly recommended for people who have the annoying habit of picking up viruses all over the place. I will also recommend it to all seniors who cannot tell the difference between a risky attachment, a scam, and a classic web page.