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- United Kingdom
- neema_t
I notice there's very little discussion about Chromebooks around here, but I thought I'd start a thread anyway...
My 2013 MacBook Air is getting old, it's a bit warped because I stepped on it, the screen is covered in bright spots and the 1440x900 resolution doesn't cut it any more, not to mention the battery life is now about half or less than it was on day one. It was great when I got it but today it's less great.
My laptop use case is very simple and I honestly think I solely use Chrome (and through that, a 2TB Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Photos and Music), Parsec client for game streaming, Splashtop client for when Parsec is being unreliable (this also has the added bonus of working outside my flat with zero setup so I can connect to my PC from work), Terminal for making tweaks where necessary and SSH access to my PC or Raspberry Pi-based VirtualHere USB server, Steam with the following list of games and that's it.
Many of these are available on Android and those that aren't can just be streamed from my PC anyway if I was really that bothered, and I'm not really in most cases as these are just distractions for the rare occasion when I'm away from home and want to play something.
I have an Android phone and obviously my PC is Windows 10, so I can't really see why I'd buy another MacBook Air to replace this one. I also don't really want two Windows computers to have to deal with - one problem child is enough - so that has left me looking at tablets and Chromebooks.
I don't think a tablet is what I want so I'm currently dead set on the yet-to-be-released Asus C434 Chromebook Flip, provided the price in GBP is comparable to the expected MSRP of $569 (IIRC), due in March. The main reasons for choosing it are Android app support, Linux app support, the possibility of just installing Ubuntu on it should Chrome OS not work out for me, the dimensions and weight being on par with the MBA, 1920x1080 screen (good balance between pixel density at 14", wringing a bit more performance out of the limited GPU and battery life, while also being the ideal resolution to stream games to), USB-C charging, a USB type A port, SD card slot and the dual-purpose nature of being able to use it like a good laptop or a heavy and awkwardly-shaped tablet with a laptop keyboard on the back.
In case you can't tell, I can't see how it would be anything but a heavily compromised tablet when folded all the way over, but since I also can't envisage myself using it as a tablet I don't really care. Then again I'm quite aware that I've thought similar things about other tech and have ended up being surprised that the reality was the opposite, so a C434 may well be a gateway into tablet ownership if I get fed up with the compromises.
The main thing is that in all the research I've done so far, most of what I've read is a few months old and probably out of date and it all seems to vary a lot so I'm especially interested to hear any anecdotal reports of the current state of a few features I'm pretty sure I'll use like the "Better Together" integration between Android phones and Chromebooks, the Android and Linux app support (mainly what it's like to actually use and rely on those on a daily basis) and Bluetooth audio, as I use BT headphones a lot.
So how about you, do you use a Chromebook? How do you feel about the OS compared with macOS and Windows 10?
My 2013 MacBook Air is getting old, it's a bit warped because I stepped on it, the screen is covered in bright spots and the 1440x900 resolution doesn't cut it any more, not to mention the battery life is now about half or less than it was on day one. It was great when I got it but today it's less great.
My laptop use case is very simple and I honestly think I solely use Chrome (and through that, a 2TB Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Photos and Music), Parsec client for game streaming, Splashtop client for when Parsec is being unreliable (this also has the added bonus of working outside my flat with zero setup so I can connect to my PC from work), Terminal for making tweaks where necessary and SSH access to my PC or Raspberry Pi-based VirtualHere USB server, Steam with the following list of games and that's it.
Many of these are available on Android and those that aren't can just be streamed from my PC anyway if I was really that bothered, and I'm not really in most cases as these are just distractions for the rare occasion when I'm away from home and want to play something.
I have an Android phone and obviously my PC is Windows 10, so I can't really see why I'd buy another MacBook Air to replace this one. I also don't really want two Windows computers to have to deal with - one problem child is enough - so that has left me looking at tablets and Chromebooks.
I don't think a tablet is what I want so I'm currently dead set on the yet-to-be-released Asus C434 Chromebook Flip, provided the price in GBP is comparable to the expected MSRP of $569 (IIRC), due in March. The main reasons for choosing it are Android app support, Linux app support, the possibility of just installing Ubuntu on it should Chrome OS not work out for me, the dimensions and weight being on par with the MBA, 1920x1080 screen (good balance between pixel density at 14", wringing a bit more performance out of the limited GPU and battery life, while also being the ideal resolution to stream games to), USB-C charging, a USB type A port, SD card slot and the dual-purpose nature of being able to use it like a good laptop or a heavy and awkwardly-shaped tablet with a laptop keyboard on the back.
In case you can't tell, I can't see how it would be anything but a heavily compromised tablet when folded all the way over, but since I also can't envisage myself using it as a tablet I don't really care. Then again I'm quite aware that I've thought similar things about other tech and have ended up being surprised that the reality was the opposite, so a C434 may well be a gateway into tablet ownership if I get fed up with the compromises.
The main thing is that in all the research I've done so far, most of what I've read is a few months old and probably out of date and it all seems to vary a lot so I'm especially interested to hear any anecdotal reports of the current state of a few features I'm pretty sure I'll use like the "Better Together" integration between Android phones and Chromebooks, the Android and Linux app support (mainly what it's like to actually use and rely on those on a daily basis) and Bluetooth audio, as I use BT headphones a lot.
So how about you, do you use a Chromebook? How do you feel about the OS compared with macOS and Windows 10?