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Chromebook usage
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goodValue
Posts: 481 Forumite

in Techie Stuff
The websites I looked at for information on Chromebooks had so much detail that I couldn't see the information I was looking for:
1 Are they small and light, and so suitable for travel?
2 Do they need to be connected to the Web for the operating system to work?
They seem to be restrictive in the apps that they use. Would the following be available:
LibreOffice
VLC
Adobe Reader
Notepad alternative
Notepad alternative
I did see that they are popular in the Education field, but couldn't see if the lightweight OS translates into a compact, light machine that would be suitable for travel.
I wondered if they would be suitable for holding travel documents whilst travelling, and so would mostly be used offline.
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goodValue said:The websites I looked at for information on Chromebooks had so much detail that I couldn't see the information I was looking for:1 Are they small and light, and so suitable for travel?goodValue said:2 Do they need to be connected to the Web for the operating system to work?goodValue said:They seem to be restrictive in the apps that they use. Would the following be available:LibreOfficeVLCAdobe Reader
Notepad alternativegoodValue said:I did see that they are popular in the Education field, but couldn't see if the lightweight OS translates into a compact, light machine that would be suitable for travel.
When it comes to travel I am not sure compact/small and/or light are that important anyway. The difference between a 1.5kg vs a 2kg laptop is pretty much irrelevant when carrying everything else, a small size that makes something impractical for easy usage is equally a negative. Personally when travelling "Small and light" to me reflects impractical and delicate, two things I really do not want to have to deal with. Last time I did any significant travelling where weight might have been a consideration I took a ruggedised notebook, because I did not want it breaking part way through a trek across the Andes.goodValue said:I wondered if they would be suitable for holding travel documents whilst travelling, and so would mostly be used offline.
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While I would not buy from them.
Pop to Currys & have a look & test some.👍Life in the slow lane0 -
From our friends at ChatGPT:
The newer Windows laptops have excellent run time on battery power, but typically cost double the cost of a Chromebook. You can do a lot worse than use a phone with cloud storage for documents.Use Case
Best Choice
General home/office
Windows 11
Web browsing, school, simplicity
Chromebook
Gaming
Windows 11
Creative work (Photoshop, video editing)
Windows 11
Long battery life, fast boot
Chromebook
Offline use
Windows 11
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What you can do is limited, but you can still read stored emails, read and edit documents and lots of/most apps work offline as well.Thanks for such a detailed response. There are lots of items in it that I will have to find out more about.When it comes to travel I am not sure compact/small and/or light are that important anyway.Whilst reading your reply I became aware why a small light machine is appealing.I never use a mobile for internet work because of visual/dexterity problems. And I don't think a tablet would work because I've now become used to a keyboard.So I suppose you could look at this as using it for web tasks that most people do on their mobile. Having a larger screen and keyboard would make things much easier for me.As well as documents, I was also thinking of guides/itineraries, and books via the library (for which Adobe would be a help).I'm getting the impression that there is quite a difference in Chromebook models, so that there are some that would be suitable for me once I got a feeling for these differences.I don't store anything online, so IIUC Google Docs wouldn't be suitable for me.Remember however that 2FA might not be an option if you lose your phone, hence also having them (password protected) on a/multiple flashdrives.I didn't understand the implications of this, could you expand on the point please.0
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- and so would mostly be used offline.-
That's almost the inverse of what Chromebooks are meant for, always-connected to high speed internet with documents in cloud storage.
Have you look at an iPad with keyboard/case or if you're using an Android mobile a Samsung Tab S9 with keyboard/case?0 -
I had a Kindle Fire that I bought with the idea of using it for travel.
But I ended up mainly using it for reading books.
I have the impression that tablets were relatively expensive compared to other devices.
I now realise that I was mixing two different requirements:
1 storing travel data - mainly offline use
2 a small light device w/o the problems I get using a mobile for internet use
Would Chromebooks and Notebooks be suitable for this?
I suspect the answer is yes, depending on the model.
I'm assuming that a Notebook is just a small version of a laptop - are there other features that are different?0
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