Monday, March 21, 2016

Most don't need a laptop PC or Macbook, just a Chromebook


For a lot of us, a Chromebook does everything we need a laptop to do.

I really love my Dad. I'd do anything for him, including walking him through how to do "stuff" to his computer. While that's always a nice way to spend time on the phone with him, it's something I don't have to do anymore since I bought him a Chromebook.

Dad's not a complete luddite — he's been around my computers and gadgets for more years than I like to mention. He also used a computer at work for years, so he isn't afraid to do things, he's just unsure about some of it. When an update would go off the rails on his old laptop, or he wanted to install Firefox as the default browser, he needed someone to walk him through the process. We all have someone in our family or circle of friends who aren't quite sure how to do more than the basics.

The final straw was when he called me because some company he never heard of from a place he's never been wanted $79 to "decrypt his data" and relinquish control of his web browser. Thankfully it wasn't a real extortion scheme and was just a pop-over that hijacked his browser and we were able to fix things. After he was squared away, I immediately went to Amazon and had a Acer Chromebook 15 shipped out to him.

A Chromebook can do everything my Dad needs a laptop to do.

A few days later, we had him up and running with Chrome OS and a handful of extensions as well as a short explainer on Google Drive, the cloud and what he could and couldn't do. He loves his new laptop, because it does everything he wants it to do without any fussing.

And that's the important thing — Chrome OS can do everything he needs a laptop to do. He's not writing software or playing immersive 3D games. He doesn't need Photoshop — Google Photos lets him look at his pictures and share them. All his passwords are safely stored in his personal cloud (as safe as a cloud can be, anyway) and his laptop remembers who he is and signs him in when he wants to do some online shopping or visit his bank's website as long as he's signed in with his Google account.


For my Dad, a Chromebook is better.

We have Chrome Remote Desktop setup in case things go wrong, but (knock on wood) so far he's not had any issues using his new computer. He turns it on, logs in, and does his thing. I imagine it makes him feel better knowing he doesn't have to ask for help with things, and I know I feel better knowing he can be on the Internet safely and free of malware and assorted headaches. 

A Chromebook won't work for everyone. I don't want anyone to think I'm insinuating anything of the sort. There are times when I have to use my MacBook because I need to do things that Chrome can't handle, and I know that I'll never be able to play the games I like to play on a Chromebook. But we're not all the same and we all have different needs, and for someone like my Dad a Chromebook does everything without him needing to fiddle around with anything. It's literally plug and play.

Now he can call me just to say hello without feeling like a dummy because he needs help on the computer. And that's the best part.

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