Chrome Can: The best computer choice for most.

In this series, I have mainly written about Chromebooks and their capabilities that many people might not know about.  In this post, however, I want to discuss some of the things Chromebooks can do just as well and sometimes even better than other computers.  This will include setup booting and updating, viruses and malware protection, and generally what most people use their computers for.

Set Up Process

Chromebooks are amazingly simple when it comes to setup.  Right out of the box you open your Chromebook, choose a language, connect to WIFI and log in using your Google account. Within minutes you are up and running. This is somewhat different on the Windows side of things.  Recently I had to set up 6 new Windows-based computers for our robotics program.  The process was easy enough to complete and was also very cool as Cortana started up and there was this dialogue between the computer and me to set almost everything up. However, the process was painstakingly slow.  It took me approximately 30-40 mins per device to get everything set up and ready to use.  So I have to say the Chromebook excels in this area as they are easy and fast.

Updates

The update process on a Chromebook is also simple and painless.  Everything happens in the background.  When an update is ready to apply, a small icon appears.  All you need to do is click it and your Chromebook will restart.  Thirty seconds later, sometimes less, you are up and running again.  Don’t even get me started on Windows updates.  With Apple, the process is an improvement compared to Windows but still takes ages compared to a Chromebook.

Viruses

Chromebooks don’t get viruses or malware.  The other do and so you need to get anti-virus applications to protect your computer.  There are free ones but this is still something to have to worry about and deal with. Chromebooks are hassle-free.

This commercial basically says it all!

Computer Use

I want you to think a bit about what you do with your computer?  What do you do with it 90% of the time?  Does what you are thinking about happen inside a browser like Chrome or Firefox?  I would say that for the most part, people use their computers for email, social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest etc…), Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and possibly some basic desktop publishing.  They might also play some web-based games as well.  Yes, there are people out there who do so much more with their devices and while they might want a different computer, say for heavy gaming, video editing, photo editing or other tasks which might need a bit more processing power, the Chromebook might not be the best choice. However, for the most part, people don’t even come close to using the power in a $1200 computer.  In fact, in this article by Forbes, it is stated that the main reason the desktop computer and later the laptop, was even considered as something to buy in the home, was so people could access the Internet.  Normal everyday people didn’t need a computer to do anything really other than accessing the Internet.  This article asks if these types of devices are actually becoming obsolete.  I understand that many people are doing much more with computers these days but my main point is that the majority of people out there do not need a $1200 computer all they need is a Chromebook.

Let’s take a look at what most people are doing on their computers and see how Chromebooks stand up to the competition.

Browsing (Email-Social Media and others)

Browsing the Internet is super fast on most Chromebooks and when using Chrome Browser a much smoother experience than on a Windows machine.  On my Mac, the browsing experience is also very smooth on most browsers.  However, if you are using Google products like G-Suite the experience can sometimes go wrong when using Safari.  Since Chromebooks were made to be cloud-based devices they typically run Internet-based things well.  Whether you are reading blogs, watching Youtube, getting on your favorite social media platform or emailing friends and family the Chromebook does them all well.

Streaming

Whether you use Netflix, Prime Video or Hulu, all are available on the Chromebook and all work well.  Chromebooks these days also run Android apps so you can choose to use the web interface or download and use the app.  The ability to add the application is most of the time positive and usually makes the experience better. Either way, the Chromebook handles them all!

Conclusion

Chromebooks are fantastic devices that do what most people need. They are the easiest computers to set up, are the most trouble free regarding viruses and malware and super quick for updates. They are great devices for the majority of people.  So if you are not a gamer, a professional needing to do heavy image, audio, and video editing, then check out Chromebooks for your everyday computing needs.  You won’t be disappointed!

Thanks for reading

Dr. Shannon H. Doak