Chromebook Experiences

[engine]

I inherited a Chromebook a couple of weeks back and wanted to check it out. Having never run the Chrome OS it was all new to me.
Setting up with a Google account is easy, and took very little time.
Getting used to the UI from Windows or Linux was a little more challenging, but i'm getting there I think.

I wanted to install Firefox, and that's where it gets far more challenging. I followed the directions to set the Linux environment, then to run the FF download.
Nothing, it won't run.
The Chrome help for this is negligible to non-existent.

What this tells me is that Google do not want anyone to run anything other than Chrome, and what it thinks is a captive audience for its own ecosystem.
It also tells me that a Chromebook is aimed at basic users.

[ronin]

What most puts me off Chromebook is that often - or at least half the time - I want applications and files that run locally, on the OS.

I know there are PWAs which run via the browser and have offline capability.

I know that we can create documents in the cloud and store them in the cloud.

I know that - if you want to - you can probably do anything via a browser or an app which you can do via an executable on the OS.

But I want applications that sit on the hard drive and run on the OS. I want to be able to create, read, update and delete files (image files, text files, spreadsheet files etc.) which sit on the hard drive and run on the OS.

However. I recognise that "But I want to work from my local device" isn't a sticking point for most people.

A while back - it may be as long ago as ten years ago - I was working on my laptop at a small airport. A gentleman approached me and asked how I'd managed to get online.

I explained that I wasn't online - I was just working on my laptop. A brief flicker of confusion passed over his face.

[engine]

Interestingly, on the Chrome user forums, most people have no clue, or worse, just give hurdles or excuses, whilst not actually answering the original question.

So far, I'm not impressed.

[engine]

OK, i'm very close to ditching this freebie Chromebook, and sending it off to charity. I'm sure it'll suit someone that isn't bothered about the hard lockdown of Chromebooks.

[not2easy]

My sister has one and her experiences scare me. She is happy because they take care of the backups for her. I would not use a Chromebook.

[engine]

I used Google accounts for various tasks, so i'm sort of prepared for the "scary" aspect, but I know what you mean.

I have tried many, many times to get the full version of FF installed, but Chrome really doesn't want me to run it (via Linux, as per instructions).

I'm sure there will be a local charity that would love to have it.

[csdude55]

I bought a Chromebook earlier in the year so I could take it with me while traveling. I wanted to just have something cheap with basic info on it in case it was damaged, lost, or stolen.

What you're looking at is really just an Android phone with a larger screen and a keyboard.

You're right, you're limited to whatever apps exist in the Play Store (read: whatever Google has pre-approved). Which I guess is great for the majority, since it eliminates the possibility of viruses?

I tried to install Notepad++ and Filezilla so that I could do some basic coding while traveling, though, and that didn't work out at all.

I could use it for Gmail, basic web surfing, and downloading movies to watch on the plane. I might could have downloaded books to read, but I had my Kindle and didn't try. But that's pretty much all I could use it for, though. It definitely will never replace my regular computer.

I imagine it's OK for the general public... the people that are good with default settings and mostly just use it to look things up? But definitely not people like us.

For free, though, it's worth keeping just to triple check how sites look on Chromebooks. It might be able to replace your Kindle, and you might travel in the future and wish you had something that you didn't care to lose.

[engine]

Thanks csdude55 , and it makes me feel slightly less frustrated that it's not just me having trouble with installation.

>Gmail, basic web surfing
Yup, that's what it's best for.

Nah, I'm not going to keep it. I spoke with someone last evening and they suggested a charity that i'll contact next week.