Ten years ago --did anyone beside me --try to get Slackware to run on a tiny X86 machine --and could only get the browser to work? I loved that dearly. Well, that's what the modern Chromebook is all about living online with only a great browser. All other apps trashed --as bloatware.
People are automatically opening their Chromebooks and finding the Aura update now. You can choose Beta or Developers Chanel, No Aura yet on my Stable Chanel. These Chanels are like the Mozilla/Netscape nightly beta versions. The old opening was to the Google basic search page we all now. Lots of white. I like that. Aura is instead opening to a desktop pic with your Chrome Apps in a line at bottom left --a little like your Windows/Mac/Linux opening desktop pic --with your cursor active in a Google search bezel in the Chromebook.
Google has promised everything for off line. But the only thing I think that works offline for me is the text note pad Scratchpad. A Chrome extension or app. That is very useful for students. You can carry your Chromebook around campus and text type notes all day long. Then go back home or to a wifi Hotspot and get online to organize and make a permanent Google Doc out of your notes. Everything automatically always saved. I buy a large 5G of cellular connection --the same connection as cell phones have --from Verizon for $50/month. Also has 8 hour battery life. Eight second start up. Lift the lid and immediate going --from Sleep --closing the lid. Great all day classroom note taker. That's the only off line thing enabled. But. frankly, I don't stay with any computer that isn't connecting to the internet. I don't want to just sit their --listening to my music, peering at my pics and videos, perusing my documents. No internet, I shut down and go do something else --with any massive desktop or laptop.
Take into consideration what your needs are. I'm that 50% of computer people that doen'st do any work --none at all --with their computing devices. Entertainment and enjoyment only. Wa yow gungfu --I love leisure.
I had the mighty PhotoShop and Graphic Converter apps on my Macs for 15 years --and never used them once. Have seen a red eye pic in many years --your Google Picassa pic/video storage has minor editing to clear up picture red eye. I don't even like to crop pics or cut out video material. That trash can sitting there in the background might be very interesting to someone in the future. Maybe.
We should be sending everyone the pic --let them crop to their heart's content. SEND everything --don't just store it on a hard drive that will drop dead within 10 years.
Spend $300 now for todays models or wait maybe six months for possibly an Ivy Bridge much faster processor? Up to you. Get something now and have it outdated in 6 months --or wait and get a better device --that will itself get outdated in it's 6 months.
The Chromebook is all the computer I need. But join me as the New Trivold Man --got Chromebook and iPhone --and big desktop in the closet. iPhone --for phone and texting --internet screen is so really small. But Chromebook can do everything web-wise that the smart phones can do. Or are some web pages built for "mobil" and sometimes a bit different than the regular web site? I'm not sure. iPhone can view/edit/and add to my cloud Google Docs/Picassa pics/ Music. But I like that Chromebook --and iPhone --can do what I like better than my music collection --Chromebook can do the web radio Pandora.
Hardware:
When the last of my Mac laptops died 6 months ago --I was prepared to get a great new MacAir. But Google Groups Chromebook-Central convinced me that the Chromebook is a mini MacAir. Much smaller or weaker. But all the power I ever do use. Chromebooks have only 2G ram and 16G SSD. So no spinning 5400 RPM disk memory and fan. Solid State Drive which is much faster. So 10 second start up, instant on from Sleep, and as fast a page loading as my last dear 866 mhz 12 year old Panther Mac laptop. Probably a little slower page loading than today's MacAir. Chromebook page loading as fast as I'e ever known. The MacAir has power I'd never use. Even the Chromebook keyboard is slightly different --no top row f keys but dedicated to internet uses --go back a page, Forward, sound level and screen brightness things. Caps Key replaced by a new tab. You enable/disable your shouting Caps Lock by tapping both Shift keys at once.
Software:
The only software is the great full screen Chrome browser and a tiny amount of Linux OS to make it work. Same Chrome browser with all the apps and extensions, settings --that you have done to your Mac/Windows/Linux Chrome browser. All your files kept in the Google "cloud" --Docs/Picassa pics and videos/Music. Where you organize, share, minor edit the files online. Google is probably the safest back up you can have. I lost every kind of file the Mac laptops had when they sadly died. All but the keeper stuff I had already uploaded to the Google cloud with my Macs. Like your Gmail --Google keeps all of your thousands of email --if you want them to. They will also keep all your keeper stuff for free --free for now. Use two different cloud services --if you are really paranoid.
Lordy.
When hardware truly upgrades over time --we have to buy the new device. But every couple of weeks when I open my Chromebook in early morning --I might notice that today is an up graded new version of the software being given to me. They come pretty much automatic without delay or anything on my part. Chromebooks are maintenance free --no upgrades, patches, virus anything to worry about. So my software is constantly getting better --like this new Aura desktop opening screen appearance thing --a picture rather than that mostly white Google basic search window. Soon perhaps there will be more of the promised off line apps --and maybe they'll get Skype to work. Until Skype comes to the Chromebook --I need some kind of phone as well as the Chromebook. But I don't need any other computer.
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