Chromebook for grad school?

[LifeJourney]

My laptop has bit the dust. I have a great desktop. I'm on the fence between a laptop with Windows or Mac versus a Chromebook. 

 

What would you recommend?

[DKSL]

I have a macbook pro and love it. 

[CageFree]

Chromebooks are just a bad idea. You can't use popular programs like Word... might as well just have a tablet, really.

 

Between Windows and Mac, it's all a matter of price and personal preference. I hate Macs... can't stand the operating system. They are also very expensive. But a lot of people like them... you gotta use what's comfortable for you.

[FestivusMiracle]

I started a thread on this a while back, so just search for Chromebook and you should be able to find it. The Chromebook is decent as a limited-use second computer, but it's definitely limited. It is extremely light weight and has a long battery life, though, so it's not a completely terrible option if you understand its limitations beforehand.

[fuzzylogician]

Here:

[mfball]

You're better off just getting a small laptop with whichever operating system you prefer. One of my friends has a Chromebook and she constantly complains about how it can't do anything -- you can pretty much only use web-based applications with it, so it's pretty useless without internet (and she has had issues with connectivity in places where there was definitely strong unrestricted wifi, so it doesn't seem to work well even when internet is available). 

 

I have an Asus netbook that I really like if you're looking for portability with the processing power and storage space of a real computer. I don't think they market them as netbooks anymore, but a quick search on Newegg for laptops with screens around 11" should probably give you some useful results. 

[LifeJourney]

Thank you for the link to the other thread.

[vityaz]

You mentioned that you already have a desktop at home. In this case, I'd highly recommend a Chromebook. Chromebook's come with a remote desktop application that allows you to access any programs you have on your desktop (you can test it out on any computer, it's an extension for Chrome and is available on the web store). 

 

I purchased a Chromebook (13" Toshiba Chromebook) several weeks ago and am really happy with it. It does everything I need on the go, and if I do happen to need a Windows application (which is surprisingly rare), I can just remote in to my desktop. I love the 8-10 hour battery life too. The best part is that it only cost around $350 so it wouldn't be the end of the world if something happened to it (vs. a $1000 Macbook).

[LifeJourney]

I've thought about a MacBook. Just can't afford it.

[Varangian]

If you strictly want something that is light weight to carry around, I would suggest a surface. http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/pdp/en_US/Surface-2/productID.286867200

 

It's built for functionally, has office pre-installed and loads of ports for you to attach any hardware. You also don't have worry about purchasing an additional usb keyboard as with most tablets because it comes with. Students also get 10% off.

[asdfx3]

I have a 4gb Acer C720, so my opinion is based on that. If I had the money I would have gotten a MBA. If I didn't care about portability or battery life I would have gotten a comparatively priced Windows laptop. At the time (can't say how things have changed since ~November) there weren't any ultrabooks that could match it's strengths.

 

Pros:

+ Extremely light

+ Excellent battery life (10 hours of use easy, sometimes 12+, loses about 5% battery overnight)

+ Can easily load a linux distro using crouton (very important to me so that I can set up a real email program, dropbox, firefox, PDF editor, openoffice, etc). If you want dropbox, I recommend getting one of those tiny usb drives and setting your dropbox directory to be on it so you don't take precious harddrive space. Can do the same for Zotero, and probably other reference managers that have large files.

+ IMO decent keyboard

+ 11.6" is a solid size for one full-screen app

+ Includes some bonuses (Google drive upgrade, google music, GoGo flight passes, some others I think)

+ 4gb ram is more than enough for my use

+ Can edit Office documents (Word and Excel for sure, never tried Powerpoint) out of the box. Can also use SkyDrive if you don't like the baked in capability.

 

Negatives:

- Screen is usable but not great, worst part for me is the contrast. In ChromeOS you'll need to position the screen just right to see things very vividly. In linux you should be able to change the contrast in the display settings depending on your desktop environment (KDE and GNOME should be able to, at least).

- SSD space is limited (16gb on mine). Not a concern with just ChromeOS but you'll chip into it if you put actual linux on it. As I said in the pro's, I recommend having apps that store a large amount of disk space store it on a usb.

- Trackpad is usable and comparable to a lot of windows laptops, but doesn't compare to Mac's

- The speakers are extremely weak, don't know if it's just the one I got or if all C720's are like that. With headphone's it's fine.

- Obviously if you stick to ChromeOS you'll only have access to web apps, and with crouton you're still limited to what's available on Linux. 

 

 

Overall, a solid device depending on what's important to you. If you're willing to put linux on it (putting it on is easy, using it depends on whether you have experience with linux or not though it's become much more user friendly) it's a very good device for most on-the-go usage. That said, I'm planning on selling mine because I no longer need a hyper-portable laptop. I'm done with classes, my desk at lab has a computer now, and if I ever have an absolute need for a laptop I have an old MBP.

Edited March 22, 2014 by asdfx3

[zipykido]

It's not the worst idea in the world. Just set up remote desktop to your desktop when you need to use applications like word or excel. It's just a pain to use if you have to network print though. 

[roguesenna]

If you strictly want something that is light weight to carry around, I would suggest a surface. http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/pdp/en_US/Surface-2/productID.286867200

 

It's built for functionally, has office pre-installed and loads of ports for you to attach any hardware. You also don't have worry about purchasing an additional usb keyboard as with most tablets because it comes with. Students also get 10% off.

 

tablets are not laptops. just keep that in mind. a tablet is not going to do the things you expect a laptop to be able to do. I have a wonderful iPad, but I would never write a paper on it.

[Varangian]

tablets are not laptops. just keep that in mind. a tablet is not going to do the things you expect a laptop to be able to do. I have a wonderful iPad, but I would never write a paper on it.

OP mentioned having a desktop already. A Chromebook is barely a laptop. If the point is lightweight functionality, for bringing it to school or showing a presentation, a tablet is a better option. If the point is the functionality of a desktop with portability, then a laptop is the better option. Either way, PC and android related devices will serve OPs needs at half the price of Mac with the same or better customizable functions.  

[Maziana]

Note that some campuses (like mine) require downloading and installing something in order to get online. So if you want to use a Chromebook on one of those campuses... well, you can't.

 

Chromebooks are great for basic internet access, taking notes, and portability. (since laptops can be heavy and personally, I like having a full-sized keyboard). I've took mine on a few trips - nice to have something so light. Bring a flash drive for files, though you can store a few files on it. For $200, not bad.

 

 

You mentioned that you already have a desktop at home. In this case, I'd highly recommend a Chromebook. Chromebook's come with a remote desktop application that allows you to access any programs you have on your desktop (you can test it out on any computer, it's an extension for Chrome and is available on the web store). 

 

Wait, can you actually use remote desktop on a Chromebook??? That's amazing. Still, I don't have a desktop, and can't leave my laptop on all the time, so it's not perfect. But still, thanks, I'll try this out.