Some advice needed, please

[Mycopsycho]

My wife's old Dell pc running Windows XP is about to give up the ghost and I'm getting tired of constantly having to tweak this thing to keep it going and listening to her complaining about how slow it is when booting up. My wife is 78, a technophobe, and technically challenged. All she uses her pc for is gmail and a little web browsing. Occasionally she will write a letter in Word. She's using the chrome browser now. She's never out of wifi range. So I was thinking of getting her a Chromebook Pixel. It seems to me that that CP will give her everything she needs and wants with a brilliant display and solid build. Can a usb keyboard and mouse be attached if she can't live with a touchpad and CB keyboard? Any comments/advice will be greatly appreciated.

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[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Yes. Standard USB mice and keyboards work perfectly. On keyboards with extended functions (like volume or special keys for browser or calculator) those functions won't work, but the standard 104 keys work fine on mine. Likewise with mice -- two buttons and a trackwheel work great, but on ones with extra buttons, only the primary three will work.

 

[Algus]

A word of caution - the keyboard layout on a chromebook is actually slightly different from a regular keyboard layout. I don't think this is a big issue with a usb keyboard but if your wife isn't very tech savvy it may be something you have to hold her hand through.

Chrome OS is probably one of the easiest operating systems to learn and even for someone coming from Windows it is very straightforward. At the most basic level it really is only the Chrome web browser. That said, it IS different from Windows and it might not be for you or your wife. I'd recommend taking a look at one of the low end machines (the Acer C7 or Samsung 3) before committing to the Pixel. You don't necessarily have to buy one but if there is a Best Buy in your area, it will probably be worthwhile to go down there and play with the demonstration units for a little while. That said, the Chromebook will probably meet all her needs and if she's got her chrome install associated with her google account already, she will probably be pretty happy to find out that almost all of her chrome data (extensions, bookmarks, etc.) will follow her to the Chromebook and be imported automatically.

 

[Mycopsycho]

Thanks, All. The wife only uses the basic functions on a keyboard so that would probably work out okay. I'd have to play with the CB Pixel, of course, it being a new "toy" in the house. But I need my laptop since I do web development in Dreamweaver so I'll stick with that and a Samsung tablet.... She works with the Chrome browser now and has for some time so she's familiar with that part. .I've played with the lower end CBs at Best Buy and will continue to do so. The fact that everything seamlessly becomes available on a CB appeals to me. I'd get her a new laptop but I refuse to buy into Windows 8. She would never get that. Sigh. Thanks for the advice. I'll focus my search a little more now.

 

[Algus]

RE: keyboard issues. Chromebook has some oddities like a search button instead of caps lock and a combination of ctrl or alt & arrow keys for page up/page down and home/end. Function keys replaced by browser control keys. It's actually very straightforward and probably better for a technophobe than F1, F2, F3, etc. As long as she won't miss that caps lock key

Ordinarily I don't like to recommend OS X but if you're looking to spend Pixel money on a computer, a Macbook might be worth considering. It is relatively straightforward to use and support is readily available online. And it's strongest selling point (for me at least): IT ISN"T WINDOWS!

I will say that unlike a lot of low end computers the two cheap Chromebooks are actually pretty decent machines. The C7 is upgradeable (RAM and HD) and while the battery isn't so good, it can be made into a pretty speedy machine for a fraction of the cost of the Pixel. The Samsung 3 is a complete package with a lot going for it (no heat, no noise, fast, long battery life) but of course they are both low-end computers so they have some build quality issues and the screens aren't very good. Still, if you're talking buying a $1300 web browser (nothing wrong with that, the Pixel is awesome), then maybe $200/$250 isn't such a high price to pay to give the OS a go for awhile and see if it is something that will work for you.

You mentioned your wife is older, does she have special needs like a larger screen or better image quality that would necessitate spending more on a laptop to ensure you have a good screen? One last thing I would recommend

Laptop Reviews - Notebook Reviews and Computer News

Notebook Review is an excellent website that covers laptops of all sorts. It has a fairly decent forum community, including an entire forum dedicated to giving and receiving advice on what kind of laptop to buy. If you are still totally on the fence you might get some better advice there.

 

[Mycopsycho]

...Ordinarily I don't like to recommend OS X but if you're looking to spend Pixel money on a computer, a Macbook might be worth considering. It is relatively straightforward to use and support is readily available online. And it's strongest selling point (for me at least): IT ISN"T WINDOWS!

You mentioned your wife is older, does she have special needs like a larger screen or better image quality that would necessitate spending more on a laptop to ensure you have a good screen? One last thing I would recommend

Laptop Reviews - Notebook Reviews and Computer News

Notebook Review is an excellent website that covers laptops of all sorts. It has a fairly decent forum community, including an entire forum dedicated to giving and receiving advice on what kind of laptop to buy. If you are still totally on the fence you might get some better advice there.

Oh, Algus, different strokes...etc. My take with the CB is that at least it isn't Apple. LOL....Actually, I'd end up with a big learning curve having been wed to the PC since 1984 and Android for the past 4 years.

No special needs for the wife. It's me who has the special need...Lots of patience....Thanks for the reference which I'll definitely check out. I've read numerous reviews and watched several YouTube vids on the CBs, especially several indepth reviews on the Pixel which has helped a lot but I find the user comments in forums like this extremely useful.

 

[return_0]

If your wife is a light user I'd recommend the $249 Samsung Chromebook or the $199 Acer Chromebook. Those should easily cover her needs and more at less than a fifth of the cost.

 

[Mycopsycho]

If your wife is a light user I'd recommend the $249 Samsung Chromebook or the $199 Acer Chromebook. Those should easily cover her needs and more at less than a fifth of the cost.

Actually, I've been thinking I might get her a SCB 5 550 and let her get used to the Chrome OS on that. But I've also decided to do nothing for now and wait to see what comes out of Google I/O in May. Today I saw rumors of some new Chromebooks in the works. I still think a Chromebook is the answer for her.

All the comments have been most valuable and informative. Thanks, everyone.

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[return_0]

Actually, I've been thinking I might get her a SCB 5 550 and let her get used to the Chrome OS on that. But I've also decided to do nothing for now and wait to see what comes out of Google I/O in May. Today I saw rumors of some new Chromebooks in the works. I still think a Chromebook is the answer for her.

All the comments have been most valuable and informative. Thanks, everyone.

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Ooo, CB rumors? Link please

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[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Ooo, CB rumors? Link please

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Rumored Tegra 4 with a FPU for NEON extensions. Codenamed Puppy. Expect it at Google I/O.
I don't have enough to put it on the blog just yet, but I've got a few rumors I'm working with.

 

[Mycopsycho]

Ooo, CB rumors? Link please

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I'll have to look back through my RSS feeds for today and see if I can find it.

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[Mycopsycho]

Rumored Tegra 4 with a FPU for NEON extensions. Codenamed Puppy. Expect it at Google I/O.
I don't have enough to put it on the blog just yet, but I've got a few rumors I'm working with.

The following appeared in Lilliputing today:

http://liliputing.com/2013/04/at-least-2-more-chrome-os-devices-in-the-works.html

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[Algus]

Ahh, I've seen coverage on Peach Pit over at the Google+ Chromebooks community. They can talk about the processors all they want but I really want to know if we're going to get something in the same form factor as the Series 3 with the same general attributes.

I just want a series 3 with a better screen (and maybe 4 gigs of RAM?) and I'll be happy to pay an extra $200-$300 for it. It'll be interesting though if they add (or replace) a new machine at the same price points as the C7 and Samsung 3. There has been quite a debate as to which of the two is the best deal. Love that Google is helping to bring solid computers at that price to the market.