Gyroscopic Investing

Dual e-mailed me for an update about the Chromebook I've been using:

It's a good solution for what I'm using it for, but it is not a replacement for a regular windows computer, but rather a supplement. 

I would not want to use it without a separate wireless keyboard, mouse and a full size monitor. 
The external drive does help with things, but like I said... still no substitute for a windows machine. 

For travel, I'll probably just take my iPad.  Or my regular laptop.

That being said: The real benefit to the Chromebook is that I can do 70% of my work on it and not have to worry about picking up computer viruses.  I also do my online banking with it.  Just seems more secure than running a windows machine that may have picked up a keystroke logger. 

Who knows if it actually is faster?

The almost immediate boot up time is fantastic.  But is it worth buying?  I'm still on the fence.  I'll stick with this setup as it works for me.  But if you're looking to replace (rather than supplement) your existing laptop with a Chromebook?  I wouldn't do it.

Coffee,

Can you elaborate on why you wouldn't think of it as a Windows replacement?  I've read the arguments for and against...I'm just wondering what you've thought (beyond the hardware issues.)  I work across platforms and locations, so I've pretty much moved all of my work to the Chrome browser and Evernote.  So, I've wondered how easy it would be to just get Chrome book for personal use when my current generation of computers (Mac laptop and Windows desktop) die. 

Yes-- it would probably work fine for you, if everything you do is in the cloud.  But for me, for example-- I need to use FTP and photoshop.  And probably a few other pieces of software that don't come to mind right now, too.  I haven't found the google apps to be all that good. 

I also find Google docs auto-save feature to be annoying.  You might be able to shut that off, I haven't spent that much time with it.

Despite all of that-- the longer I have it, the more I like it.  I love booting it up in the morning and having it be almost instantly "on."  I love not having to boot up all the bloat and crap just to get online.

Thanks, Coffee, et al.

I just bought a new computer (a desktop) with top of the line specs.  The page load speeds compared to the Chromebook are so noticeable that it makes recommending the Chromebook difficult to all but a pre-teen.  Like... Porsche to Volkswagon.

Coffee wrote: I just bought a new computer (a desktop) with top of the line specs.  The page load speeds compared to the Chromebook are so noticeable that it makes recommending the Chromebook difficult to all but a pre-teen.  Like... Porsche to Volkswagon.

But will it stay fast 
Anyway, I think the new Chromebook looks pretty nifty for the price, but as you said, it's probably best as a supplement and not a person's sole computer- especially if they can afford something better. I have a $600 Linux laptop from 2010, so I'm in no hurry to replace it with a $250 machine.

All valid points. 

And it is nice having a backup machine that reliably boots and doesn't run on Windows. 

Also-- there may be some way to speed up the browsing, but it requires more techno-savvy than I have.  But people in the Chromebook threads seem to allude to it.

I got a chromebook prototype (CR48) for free from Google. Before they rolled out the product they shipped out a few hundred to people who asked for them, in a kind of lottery.  I remember filling out a questionnaire, and the final question was, "Why should you be one of the people given this opportunity?" I replied, "Because I am old, and you probably don't get a lot of old people in these evaluations."

It arrived just before Christmas, without so much as a warning, or scrap of paper inside explaining what it was. I figured I that out pretty quickly. I guess it's been 3 full years, and it still gets all the updates, runs well enough. The battery has  gotten shallow, and runs down in about half the time it used to. Since it is a prototype, a replacement battery is not available.

I will keep using it until I can't. I am posting this message now from it. Very handy when you want something small with a keyboard. Would I pay actual money for one? Probably not.

A Christmas present from Google, nice!
And i was excited to get free gmail keyboard stickers from them for asking. Didnt know they were giving out laptops.

What else are they giving away?

smurff wrote: What else are they giving away?

Your personal data?

Pointedstick wrote:

smurff wrote: What else are they giving away?

Your personal data?

Ha!  Good one.

FatWallet is showing a Chromebook for $180 today.

Right after I bragged here about getting a free Chromebook from Google, it quit working.

My old Dell Inspiron 9400 (beast) has become unreliable, so I needed some type of laptop to replace these.

I settled on a new MacBook Pro. So far I am very happy with the choice. It is a little larger than the Chromebook, with a bigger screen and a lot more processing power. Probably one of the more costly solutions. It is a very fine piece of workmanship, though.

So I guess, I was telling the truth when I said that a free Chromebook is a pretty good deal, but I would never buy one for actual money.

If the day comes when I have to run Windows apps on it, I will either run Parallels or Bootcamp.

SteveGo wrote: Right after I bragged here about getting a free Chromebook from Google, it quit working.

Good to know, Steve.
If I buy a non-Apple machine, I should probably build it myself.