Clothes have been my major purchases since I started earning dollars, and I've splashed out on some fun things like classy sleepwear and cheeky underwear ;) However, my biggest purchase occurred yesterday, when I brought myself a new computer, and not just any old computer, but a Google Chromebook.
I've been interested in Chromebooks since they first came out in 2011. At that stage, I had already been using Gmail (Google email) and Google Docs (word processing) for several years, and was in the process of switching to Google Drive for document storage. Chrome was my preferred internet browser, despite the fact that I had a Microsoft Windows laptop at the time. I wasn't surprised to see that Google had entered the operating system market, although I did wonder how they'd go competing against Apple and, of course, the operating system king, Microsoft. It wasn't until very recently, when I seriously considered getting a Chromebook, that I started doing some more in-depth research about what the Chromebook, and Google's operating system Chrome OS, were about.
Where Chromebook differs from other makes of computer is that it has no hard drive or memory of its own. Everything on the Chromebook is stored on Google Cloud, all on the web, and the computer itself is just a gateway to the Wonderful World of Google. Take Google Drive, for instance, which is Google's Office Suite. Docs is a word processor which can do everything Microsoft Word can, with a few formatting exceptions, and Google Sheets is a spreadsheet app that works exactly the same way as Microsoft Excel. There are some very large, successful businesses that don't use Microsoft Excel to do their spreadsheets, but do everything with Google Sheets. There is also Google Presentations, which makes slideshows in the same way PowerPoint does. While you're working on your document, Google will be automatically saving your work as you go, so if you suddenly run out of battery power in the middle of writing that important assignment, don't stress, Google will have saved it up to the minute for you.
Nothing is stored on the computer itself, all your apps (Drive, Gmail, Google Play Music [yes, you can store your music with Chromebook], Google Play, Calendar etc.) are all stored on Google's cloud, which means that, wherever you go, you can log onto your Google account and access all your documents, bookmarks etc. without your Chromebook. Although, I don't know why you wouldn't take your Chromebook with you wherever you go, because it's slim, compact and, most importantly, light. The Samsung model, which I have, weighs in at a measly 1.1kgs, and is about 11ich wide. It's smaller than most computers, but it more than makes up for it with a super-bright screen, and a spacious keyboard.
Anything you can store on a regular hard drive, photos, documents, PDFs etc., you can store on Google Cloud, simply by installing some handy (free!) apps from the Chrome Web Store. The apps on the Chrome Web Store are the 'software' for Chromebook, and you can find everything fun, friendly and practical in there. There's offline apps as well, so if you ever loose your internet connection (very frustrating, I'm sure you'll agree) you can still read emails, edit documents, and upload photos.
One of the best things about Google is that you only need to sign into your account once to access all your Google apps. To log onto the Chromebook, you just need to type in your Google password, and the world is yours, well, the world of Google, anyway.
Chromebook comes with most of the essential apps built in. Gmail, Drive, Chrome Web Store, Google Search, Youtube, Google Maps and Calender all come as standard with the Chromebook. From there, you can choose from, literally, thousands of apps to personalise your Chromebook.
Speed is another thing the Chromebook as going for it. The Samsung model boots in less than 10 seconds (a standard laptop takes between 20 and 30 seconds to boot), and there's no need to install anti-virus, or updates, the Chromebook does that automatically.
Well, I don't know what else I can say about my Chromebook, other than I think it's absolutely the bees knees. I love it, and I can't wait to continue playing around on it and learning how it works. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me when I do.
From the Chromebook,
~ Juliana
