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Bought Chromebooks (and Chromecasts) for all my tech-illiterate family members in order to cut down on having to provide tech support, and it's been amazing. No

Bought Chromebooks (and Chromecasts) for all my tech-illiterate family members in order to cut down on having to provide tech support, and it's been amazing. No issues so far, and everything just works.

antimora 13y ago
That's exactly what I did this year too. I bought a Chromebook for my mom and she's loving it. I am loving it because I don't have to worry about the OS becoming bloated over time and malwares creeping in.
rkudeshi 13y ago
What do they do for Office-type documents and photo management? Google Docs and Picasa?
- dded 13y ago
  In the two cases I know of, nothing replaces Office-type docs (as in, they don't use them), and Facebook replaces an over-loaded SD card that never leaves the camera for photo management. (Note, I'm not the GP.)
- gkoberger 13y ago
  In my family's case: Word: Google Docs is more than enough for the type of documents they work on. Photos: Photos are taken on the iPhone and shared directly via FB/etc. No need to touch a computer.
- cbhl 13y ago
  Depends. Some users don't need Office-type documents on the laptop -- they have a work-issued computer or it's not a requirement of their day-to-day needs. Similarly with photo management -- maybe they don't have a camera, or they just leave photos on their phone without a copy on the computer. Other users believe in the Google vision, which is Google Docs and Google+ Photos. (Picasa's web interface is basically dead now.)
cshimmin 13y ago
I do nearly all my work on remote machines, writing code in Vim over SSH. Could chromeOS work for someone like me? Is there a decent terminal app for chromeOS? I don't want a PuTTY-like utility that allows me to open sessions; I'm looking for a tabbed terminal that allows me to run basic linux commands locally and ssh into remote machines...
- whyrusleeping 13y ago
  I do a lot of remote work with my chromebook, their basic terminal "app" is pretty nice, but I installed crouton (ubuntu) along side chromeOS and it works beautifully for me.
- whyrusleeping 13y ago
  I do a lot of remote work with my chromebook, their basic terminal "app" is pretty nice, but I installed crouton (ubuntu) along side chromeOS and it works beautifully for me.
- cgs1019 13y ago
  Look into the SecureShell chrome extension. I use a mac basically like a chromebook, using just chrome+SecureShell, and I do all my real work on a remote linux box through ssh. I do everything through SecureShell now...no more terminal or iterm. Chromoting is useful, too, if for some reason I need to use the GUI on said remote linux box, but this is rare.
- 10098 13y ago
  There is, in fact, a terminal app. It's not very advanced though (i.e. doesn't support tabs), but I use tmux and it solves most of the issues (tmux has its own version of "tabs" and even lets you split your window horizontally/vertically)
- emidln 13y ago
  I use a system called Crouton[1] that installs a full Linux (Ubuntu or Debian currently) in a chroot (so that it still uses the Chromebook's kernel and x11 config). It works extremely well for my development needs. I do Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Python, and Clojure. The only real downside is that my particular Chromebook, an Acer C7 with a new SSD and 16GB of RAM, is still only a dual core Celeron. That makes some things awkward (starting the JVM for leiningen when I do Clojure/ClojureScript takes more seconds (around 20) than I'd like)). Using a jedi integration (Python code introspection, refactoring, execution) for Vim is also really slow when first loading Python into a buffer (the solution, never leave my vim, is acceptable to me). To be fair, neither of these things were exactly instant even on my former i7-based Retina Macbook Pro. Long story short, I can alt+ctrl+shift+f2 and get to an Ubuntu install where I have XFCE installed and access to a real xterm + tmux + Skype. It has all of my dev tools (c compiler, python, jvm) and can even do Android development. I can alt+ctrl+shift+f2 and go back to normal Chromebook stuff. I use Chrome plus a special plugin in ChromeOS that lets ChromeOS and my Crouton/Ubuntu install share a clipboard. Combined with Chrome's normal syncing, I sometimes forget which environment I'm in when browsing the web. If you can follow some instructions and want a cheap dev laptop that is no fuss for the basics, I'd recommend a similar setup. These days, I'd probably go for the 14" HP, although I haven't checked to make sure I could upgrade the HDD and RAM to acceptable specs. [1] - https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton
pmelendez 13y ago
>"for all my tech-illiterate family" For all my tech-illiterate family I bought an Ipad which pretty much worked in the same way (Not need to do tech support and satisfied their needs).
- mark_l_watson 13y ago
  +1 few of my friends and family need anything more than an iPad (or one of the new high end android tablets).
- nogridbag 13y ago
  I've had the exact opposite experience. I develop on a MacBook Pro Retina, but I know little about the whole Apple ecosystem (ex Windows power user/dell tech). I purchased an Ipad mini for my mother and found it incredibly unintuitive and difficult to use. For one, she is unable to click 70% of the time even after using the device for several months. I thought it was user error, but even I have a hard time with it. From what I've seen observing her and attempting to use the device myself, the main issues I see are: * All of the actionable UI items are too small - Simple things like giving focus to the App store "search bar" are difficult for me, very difficult for her - Clearing App store search bar by clicking the X is very difficult for me, impossible for her - Install button takes 1-3 attempts for me, maybe 10 for her * Use of icons instead of simple text - I purchased the new iPad Air for her, hoping the larger size would make it easier to use. Embarrassingly, I could not even figure out how to install an app. I was searching for the "Install" button for ~30 seconds and even clicked the wrong icon once. * E-Mail application randomly closes emails - Once again I thought this was user error. She attempted to open several emails, and each time they would close immediately and return to the inbox. It turned out to be some bug in the mail application. Restarting the device didn't fix it. On the other hand, she also has a Samsung Chromebook and has had absolutely zero issues with it. To be fair, it's a bit slow playing some facebook games and occasionally I wish I got her a normal windows laptop (for instance, the Optimum app is not supported, nor is the slingbox player). Interestingly, I just gifted an iPad mini retina to my girlfriend earlier today and just went through the setup a few minutes ago. She attempted to install her first app which is marked "Free" and "iPhone only" (there is no iPad version). Upon clicking it, she had to log into her Apple ID (even though she just entered this information in the setup process). Next it said her ID was never used in the iTunes store (what's that?!?) and she had to register with her credit card (free app!?). After that dialog submit failed with two error messages (because I saw her click the Submit button twice), it returned back to the install screen. She clicked the Install button a second time, it forced her to enter her Apple ID and password AGAIN and then it started downloading. I thought iOS was supposed to be easy to use!? Even she kept commenting how difficult it is to use. She also has a Kindle Fire and never had any issues with it.

antimora 13y ago

That's exactly what I did this year too. I bought a Chromebook for my mom and she's loving it. I am loving it because I don't have to worry about the OS becoming bloated over time and malwares creeping in.

rkudeshi 13y ago

What do they do for Office-type documents and photo management? Google Docs and Picasa?

dded 13y ago
In the two cases I know of, nothing replaces Office-type docs (as in, they don't use them), and Facebook replaces an over-loaded SD card that never leaves the camera for photo management. (Note, I'm not the GP.)
gkoberger 13y ago
In my family's case: Word: Google Docs is more than enough for the type of documents they work on. Photos: Photos are taken on the iPhone and shared directly via FB/etc. No need to touch a computer.
cbhl 13y ago
Depends. Some users don't need Office-type documents on the laptop -- they have a work-issued computer or it's not a requirement of their day-to-day needs. Similarly with photo management -- maybe they don't have a camera, or they just leave photos on their phone without a copy on the computer. Other users believe in the Google vision, which is Google Docs and Google+ Photos. (Picasa's web interface is basically dead now.)

cshimmin 13y ago

I do nearly all my work on remote machines, writing code in Vim over SSH. Could chromeOS work for someone like me? Is there a decent terminal app for chromeOS? I don't want a PuTTY-like utility that allows me to open sessions; I'm looking for a tabbed terminal that allows me to run basic linux commands locally and ssh into remote machines...

whyrusleeping 13y ago
I do a lot of remote work with my chromebook, their basic terminal "app" is pretty nice, but I installed crouton (ubuntu) along side chromeOS and it works beautifully for me.
whyrusleeping 13y ago
I do a lot of remote work with my chromebook, their basic terminal "app" is pretty nice, but I installed crouton (ubuntu) along side chromeOS and it works beautifully for me.
cgs1019 13y ago
Look into the SecureShell chrome extension. I use a mac basically like a chromebook, using just chrome+SecureShell, and I do all my real work on a remote linux box through ssh. I do everything through SecureShell now...no more terminal or iterm. Chromoting is useful, too, if for some reason I need to use the GUI on said remote linux box, but this is rare.
10098 13y ago
There is, in fact, a terminal app. It's not very advanced though (i.e. doesn't support tabs), but I use tmux and it solves most of the issues (tmux has its own version of "tabs" and even lets you split your window horizontally/vertically)
emidln 13y ago
I use a system called Crouton[1] that installs a full Linux (Ubuntu or Debian currently) in a chroot (so that it still uses the Chromebook's kernel and x11 config). It works extremely well for my development needs. I do Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Python, and Clojure. The only real downside is that my particular Chromebook, an Acer C7 with a new SSD and 16GB of RAM, is still only a dual core Celeron. That makes some things awkward (starting the JVM for leiningen when I do Clojure/ClojureScript takes more seconds (around 20) than I'd like)). Using a jedi integration (Python code introspection, refactoring, execution) for Vim is also really slow when first loading Python into a buffer (the solution, never leave my vim, is acceptable to me). To be fair, neither of these things were exactly instant even on my former i7-based Retina Macbook Pro. Long story short, I can alt+ctrl+shift+f2 and get to an Ubuntu install where I have XFCE installed and access to a real xterm + tmux + Skype. It has all of my dev tools (c compiler, python, jvm) and can even do Android development. I can alt+ctrl+shift+f2 and go back to normal Chromebook stuff. I use Chrome plus a special plugin in ChromeOS that lets ChromeOS and my Crouton/Ubuntu install share a clipboard. Combined with Chrome's normal syncing, I sometimes forget which environment I'm in when browsing the web. If you can follow some instructions and want a cheap dev laptop that is no fuss for the basics, I'd recommend a similar setup. These days, I'd probably go for the 14" HP, although I haven't checked to make sure I could upgrade the HDD and RAM to acceptable specs. [1] - https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton

pmelendez 13y ago

>"for all my tech-illiterate family" For all my tech-illiterate family I bought an Ipad which pretty much worked in the same way (Not need to do tech support and satisfied their needs).

mark_l_watson 13y ago
+1 few of my friends and family need anything more than an iPad (or one of the new high end android tablets).
nogridbag 13y ago
I've had the exact opposite experience. I develop on a MacBook Pro Retina, but I know little about the whole Apple ecosystem (ex Windows power user/dell tech). I purchased an Ipad mini for my mother and found it incredibly unintuitive and difficult to use. For one, she is unable to click 70% of the time even after using the device for several months. I thought it was user error, but even I have a hard time with it. From what I've seen observing her and attempting to use the device myself, the main issues I see are: * All of the actionable UI items are too small - Simple things like giving focus to the App store "search bar" are difficult for me, very difficult for her - Clearing App store search bar by clicking the X is very difficult for me, impossible for her - Install button takes 1-3 attempts for me, maybe 10 for her * Use of icons instead of simple text - I purchased the new iPad Air for her, hoping the larger size would make it easier to use. Embarrassingly, I could not even figure out how to install an app. I was searching for the "Install" button for ~30 seconds and even clicked the wrong icon once. * E-Mail application randomly closes emails - Once again I thought this was user error. She attempted to open several emails, and each time they would close immediately and return to the inbox. It turned out to be some bug in the mail application. Restarting the device didn't fix it. On the other hand, she also has a Samsung Chromebook and has had absolutely zero issues with it. To be fair, it's a bit slow playing some facebook games and occasionally I wish I got her a normal windows laptop (for instance, the Optimum app is not supported, nor is the slingbox player). Interestingly, I just gifted an iPad mini retina to my girlfriend earlier today and just went through the setup a few minutes ago. She attempted to install her first app which is marked "Free" and "iPhone only" (there is no iPad version). Upon clicking it, she had to log into her Apple ID (even though she just entered this information in the setup process). Next it said her ID was never used in the iTunes store (what's that?!?) and she had to register with her credit card (free app!?). After that dialog submit failed with two error messages (because I saw her click the Submit button twice), it returned back to the install screen. She clicked the Install button a second time, it forced her to enter her Apple ID and password AGAIN and then it started downloading. I thought iOS was supposed to be easy to use!? Even she kept commenting how difficult it is to use. She also has a Kindle Fire and never had any issues with it.