Chromebooks - how do you use yours and why did you get it?

[Bsteel]

Do you store photographs on your computer anyway? With cloud and cheap external drives there's probably much better options.

Of course for users of chromebooks do you actually do much with photographs on it? It's not exactly the device for working on photographs not having the ability to use photoshop a equivalent on it. You might as well argue that it can't run CAD on it. It's not meant for such use.

I'm running DigiKam via Linux on the Chromebook to manage photos on a NAS. There are options available for photo editing, GIMP and Darktable using Linux or Polarr for Chrome as a start. No reason not to use it for CAD I believe products such as Tinkercad or Fusion 360 are available for Chromebook.

[al_yrpal]

All my photos are in Google photos, thus available on my phone too.

By music on Macs I am talking about software like Garageband and similar for collaboration to write and score songs, not Spotify etc to rip off musicians.

Glad to hear Polarr is in use. I find it adequate.

With computers, it horses for courses. Average folk rarely need more than a Chromebook.

Al

[Tangled Metal]

But if you're using CAD professionally you're probably not doing a light cad usage but more in depth using something definitely not possible on a chromebook. I've used autoCAD and a few of the cheapo lighter CAD packages I'm not sure I want to use them on a computer that's not got the resources to cope properly again. There's possibly better sketch packages and apps for that.

BTW if you're using Linux os is it technically still a chromebook?

[Tangled Metal]

<snip>
With computers, it horses for courses. Average folk rarely need more than a Chromebook.

Al

I tend to agree. Most images are simply cropped or just viewed as is for most folk I reckon. Music is streamed, photos stored on cloud or external drive. Internet, shopping, Google searches, a bit email, chat, etc.

Exceptions are always possible such as geeky solutions to allow more intensive use such as Linux or parallel or others, but I'm not sure most buyers will be going down that route. If they are I'd bet there's back up, more appropriate solution available to them. The more geeky IT types, no offence meant geek is considered a compliment these days, are likely to have a few tech options as it's kind of a hobby too. Just my opinions. I've met a few people like that and whilst not it trained they might as well be.

[Bsteel]

But if you're using CAD professionally you're probably not doing a light cad usage but more in depth using something definitely not possible on a chromebook. I've used autoCAD and a few of the cheapo lighter CAD packages I'm not sure I want to use them on a computer that's not got the resources to cope properly again. There's possibly better sketch packages and apps for that.

BTW if you're using Linux os is it technically still a chromebook?

I'll leave the long and correct technical answer to someone else, but on a modern Chromebook Linux is used as a virtual OS so expands the applications available. The machine will still start up into ChromeOS as normal so you'll still benefit from the encryption and security updates.

[Tangled Metal]

A virtual machine? I've had that on a Windows PC once to enable a borland engine to work on an unsupported software after windows updated beyond the ability to play well with it.

All I know is that took a professional IT / coder type to sort it out and it didn't work for long. I'm of the view you're still looking at a minority if chromebook owners doing that.

[Psamathe]

Do you store photographs on your computer anyway? With cloud and cheap external drives there's probably much better options.
...

I store all my photos on computer. External drives are slower and less secure. Cloud storage is even slower and outside your control. I do use external drives and cloud storage as bckups but for storage for use not a good method.

Ian

[Psamathe]

Forgot about the music bit. Store music grandad?! 😆 not heard of streaming? :lol:

Streaming only works when you are online. Even if in good GSM coverage that means more battery use than local storage. When e.g. touring battery use is at a premium and even Wi-Fi coverage can be poor, let alone GSM coverage.

Ian

[Tangled Metal]

I assumed you had broadband at home, and don't take your computers on tour with you, so streaming is a good source of music. We're talking of computers usually used in places with WiFi such as home, work, cafe with WiFi etc.

I still remember seeing touring cyclista in the cafe/reception of a small campsite just outside Bruges with a laptop rearranging their route due to really terrible weather. Not usual carry when cycle touring though.

[Psamathe]

I assumed you had broadband at home, and don't take your computers on tour with you, so streaming is a good source of music. We're talking of computers usually used in places with WiFi such as home, work, cafe with WiFi etc.

I still remember seeing touring cyclista in the cafe/reception of a small campsite just outside Bruges with a laptop rearranging their route due to really terrible weather. Not usual carry when cycle touring though.

Even with good broadband photographic work from cloud storage is "slow". I have a good fibre internet at home but cloud is still not viable for photography (and that is despite my software being very optimised for handling offline images).

A reasonable portion of my music in not available through things like Spotify, Apple music, etc.

One of the issues in this thread is how many seem to be assuming that the way they use their device is the way "most people" use their devices and that anybody that makes different use is the exception.

We were being told up-thread how massive 32GB storage is - but the current model of my bike GPS has 32GB storage (no additional cards). In Bolivia I met a French girl cycling the length of the Andes and carrying a rather old clunky Windows laptop with the massive external PSU.

Ian

[Tangled Metal]

I think that some people are talking about the mainstream users and others about more outlying users. It seems to me that you have more demanding requirements but there's a lot of people using kit suitable for your pattern of use that might have been better served with a chromebook.

I doubt many people most suited to using a chromebook, such as for basic Internet, emails, social media, basic office product, etc, will want to use more than the basic photo manipulation apps. I also doubt people without access to adequate broadband will consider a device and os designed for use with Internet access.

[mjr]

You can convert to Linux but I heard an easy dodge is something about installing Firefox ESR (education focused version of Firefox that's more stable). It's supported and more stable than unsupported chrome os browser iirc.

Firefox ESR is its Extended Support Release: like a major version number release, except that the "browser wars" rather messed up browser version numbering. It's not particularly education-focused, but it is popular in education with IT support and educational software developers who are often underpaid, overworked and with plenty else to do besides updating what browsers they install or target every month.

The official explanation of the difference between ESR and rapid release is https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ch ... te-channel

I understand that another big thing for Chromebook buyers beside updates expiry, and memory and disk sizes and types, is the display type, with IPS (In-Plane Switching) displays preferred to TN (Twisted Nematic) because of the wider viewing angles and higher maximum brightness, at the cost of some expense and power usage.

[mjr]

A virtual machine? [...] All I know is that took a professional IT / coder type to sort it out and it didn't work for long. I'm of the view you're still looking at a minority if chromebook owners doing that.

It's come a long way, baby.</fatboy-slim> I'm not a Chrome developer and rarely an Android one, so I may be wrong but I think Chromebooks run Android apps in a virtual machine (ARC: Android Runtime for Chrome) and most Chromebook owners seem to run those. Far fewer switch their "purer" Linux VM (crosvm or Termina, depending on Chromebook) on, but I'd say a vast majority use the Android one and, hey, both of those plus Chrome OS are Linux-based anyway, so almost everyone is using it.

[al_yrpal]

I tried one Android Application on my Chromebook and an oblong thingy like a phone appeared in the middle of the screen. I deleted it!

Al

[mjr]

I tried one Android Application on my Chromebook and an oblong thingy like a phone appeared in the middle of the screen. I deleted it!

Cool story, bro. I wonder if it was a phone simulator app...