Google Chromebook A New Way of Low Cost, Low Maintenance Computing

INTRODUCTION Think of a Chromebook as a laptop that is mostly dependant on internet access. While that may seem like a disadvantage to some, you trade off with lightning fast startup times, super portability, and relatively inexpensive. For all intents and purposes this computer relies on its Chrome web browser. The best aspect of this is that all your data will be saved in the cloud, so you can access it from any computer and its always backed up. If you tend to work in places where you’ll have internet access and are mostly just using it for web browsing, , photos, and word processing, then a chromebook may be just what you need. The fact that they’re so inexpensive is the icing on the cake. Since these days WiFi is available almost everywhere, a Chromebook’s internet dependence isn’t such a big deal anymore, and a Chromebook may be just what you need.

Advantages of Chromebook All your work is done in Chrome, a fast, modern browser Send mail Create documents Edit photos All your work is saved securely on the web Because everything in the Chromebook is web-based, it’s as easy to use and simple to set up as it’s fast, with an array of automatic features that take the manual labour out of tasks like system updates and file backups. Every new Chromebook comes with 100GB of free Cloud storage for all your most important data.

Surf the web anytime Chromebooks come with wired and wireless connectivity Some Chromebooks (i.e. Samsung) have optional 4G capability The internet-dependent Chrome OS allows the Chromebook to boot up in just a few seconds, wake up from sleep almost instantly, and load websites with lightning-quick speed so you can get right to work or play right away. The Google Chrome OS updates itself automatically in the background, so you’ll always have the latest performance improvements and security upgrades without having to do a thing. You won’t need to download any additional security software – the secure Chrome OS is designed to safeguard your data from viruses and other forms of malware.

Easy Maintenance Chromebook will update itself, usually about every two to four weeks Built-in security in Chrome so no additional software required Chrome comes with built-in.PDF viewer and Adobe Flash player

Google Stuff The Chromebook is designed to live in the cloud so it’s fully integrated with all of Google’s cloud apps you already know and love. GMail YouTube Google Docs (docs, spreadsheet, presentation) Google Play (books, music, movies, apps) Google Calendar Google Reader Google Maps Google+ Photos (your snapshots sync automatically, so you can take a photo on your phone and then edit it on your Chromebook) PicMonkey (for photo editing ala Picasa)

Good Hardware (Acer) 11.6" display, Intel processor HDMI out 16 GB Solid State drive 2 GB RAM, can be upped to 4 GB WiFi, Ethernet, 3 USB ports, SD card slot HD camera, use with Google "hangouts" $199 with one year warranty

Printing from Chromebook Requires connecting to Google Print Services Printer already connected to PC or Mac Cloud-based printer (i.e. wireless printer) which requires no computer connects your printer through the cloud so you can print from anywhere.

Chrome Store Lots of apps Many cool extensions

CONCLUSION Whether it’s because of their very affordable prices or an aversion to Windows 8′s complexity, more and more shoppers are buying Chromebooks. There are some valid reasons to choose a Chromebook over a Windows machine, including a very intuitive interface (it’s largely browser based), a lack of upgrade headaches, and less worrying about malware. And while Chromebooks have limited offline capability, there’s a growing number of apps that work without a Wi-Fi connection. Chromebook