Google Chromebook, anyone try it?

[Don Shepherd]

(12-22-2015 04:22 AM)Den Belillo (Martinez Ca.) Wrote:  I tried one based on the Lenovo N21, was underwhelmed and am giving it back. It had no ethernet connection, only one usb 2 and one usb 3 plug, and I couldn't get it to talk to my printer. There is no complete manual for that distro on this particular box. It's fast and has a lot of memory but can't do much with either.

On the good side; it has at least 6 hours of battery life and it's very light.

Yeah, none of the Chromebooks have Ethernet, only wifi (the Chromebox has Ethernet). Mine also has 2 USB ports; I use one for a mouse and the other for transferring files from my PC. I occasionally use the SD card slot for my camera's SD card. Many people have had trouble getting printers to work with the Chromebook. Fortunately, the Brother wireless printer I already had (per Katie's recommendation) connected easily and printing has not been a problem, to date. Good manuals seem to be a thing of the past. It seems that user forums have, effectively, replaced manuals. I have a little text file that contains everything I have learned along the way; it currently has about 66 items!

I bought the Chromebook because all the kids at my school were using them and I wanted to see what it was like. Also, my 12-year-old PC won't last forever (most would say it is already way beyond its useful life), and rather than replace it with the latest Windows version, I wanted to try something new, and I haven't been disappointed. I'll probably pack my desktop PC away in a month or two and use only the Chromebook. I only power on the PC every few days now to access a file I might need.

I know that the Chromebook is not for everyone, but if most of what you do is browse the Internet--and you have a relatively fast Internet connection speed--it is worth considering. I recently upgraded my Internet speed from 3 mbps to 18 mbps and am quite happy.