Chromebook?

[smstonypoint]

I am in the market for a new laptop and I am considering a Chromebook. There are numerous models to choose from -- Find Yours – Google Chromebooks. Thanks in advance for advice on models to consider or to avoid.

Steve

 

[MossRoad]

There's a few pros and cons to those devices.

No skype would be a deal breaker for us, as we use that with our remote children (hahaha).
Some of the apps won't function off-line.
I'm sure you've looked at some other issues that may concern you, but those are the two that pop out to me.

A good way to test is try loading the Chrome browser on your current PC and using that AND ONLY THAT for a week or two to do everything. If you like it, then go for a Chromebook. If you find there's things you cannot do through only Chrome, then that settles that.

They are awful dirt cheap at the low end, that's for sure. And they're supposed to update automatically. All your stuff (photos, email, etc... ) is stored out on the web, so you can access it anywhere in the world. And it should be backed up automatically out there.

Another thing I don't like is that Google has all your stuff (like they don't now anyway). If they go down, and they rarely do, but it has happened, you can't get your stuff, regardless of how many computers you have, Chromebook or not. So that's not really specific to Chromebooks, just a rant on my part.

 

[oosik]

You know MossRoad - it makes me smile and I'm darn proud to say, I don't have the foggiest idea what you are talking about.

 

[MossRoad]

You know MossRoad - it makes me smile and I'm darn proud to say, I don't have the foggiest idea what you are talking about.

That makes two of us....

 

[Gunny]

Wife gave me a chromebook (Samsung) about two years ago. I've only used it two or three times since they're pretty much useless without WiFi, at least for me and what I want and need to do. Grandkids play with it here at the house since we do have WiFi here and even though I've since installed WiFi down at the farm, I've not seen much benefit on taking it down there. I usually keep a lot of downloaded manuals and reference material on my old laptop, so I use it and I still have the ability to get online if needed.
Some pretty decent laptops are available for just a bit more money than chromebooks.

Your wants, needs or desires may be considerably different than mine, but I don't particularly care for them.

 

[DFB]

Timely posts as I'm also needing a new laptop and just recently took a look at these Chrome books but didn't know much about them either. :confused3:

 

[Johnny g]

That makes two of us....

Make that three.

 

[forgeblast]

I just got through a grant I wrote 17 of these Google for Education Products, they are not the best out there but durable for k-6th graders to use.
They are fast, fast, fast. Everything works well, ie docs, sheets, etc. It is no windows 10 whoo hoo!

 

[Sysop]

I'd avoid them all considering Chrome, Android, and most other Google software stays at the top of the lists for known/distinct vulnerabilities.

Top 50 products having highest number of cve security vulnerabilities

 

[dmccarty]

I'd avoid them all considering Chrome, Android, and most other Google software stays at the top of the lists for known/distinct vulnerabilities.

Top 50 products having highest number of cve security vulnerabilities

Apple looks to be worse than Android just based on the raw numbers listed.

However, there is a big difference between a CVE with a CVSS value of 1 vs 10 where 10 is really, really, really bad. A better metric would be which software has the most CVEs with a CVSS value greater than say 6/7.

This link gives a more accurate view on product vulnerability severity, CVSS Score Distribution For Top 5 Products By Total Number Of Distinct Vulnerabilities

Android has less "severe" CVEs vs Iphone OS but not by that much. Iphone has more vulnerabilities but many of them are lower CVSS values which helps improve their weighted average but the reality is that Iphone has more severe vulnerabilities than Android.

Software scanner that looks for security vulnerabilities only find around 65% of the KNOWN vulnerability TYPES. The scan software looks for security vulnerabilities can only find what it has been programed to find which means known vulnerabilities. The programs can't find what they don't know. The scanners miss a HUGE number of vulnerabilities so it really is hard to tell which platform is more secure than another.

I would not trust valuable information on Android OR IPhone.

For the OP, I would not trust Google with valuable information created on the Chromebook but I would not trust Microsoft or any other Cloud storage provider either. If one uses the Cloud to store valuable information, encrypt it before pushing up to the Cloud.

Later,
Dan