Chromebook – A Laptop With Its Head In The Cloud

  Many moons ago, there was chatter and speculation about “The Cloud”. It seemed there was no getting away from all the countless discussions regarding Cloud Computing’s pros and cons. In all honesty, during that time, I was highly skeptical. In fact, I have to admit, at one point I called the whole idea stupid, and a foolish security risk – especially to enterprise systems.

  Fortunately the world doesn’t revolve around me, so “The Cloud” continued to grow and grow until it reached the point of normalcy that it is today. Along the way, bit by bit, I found myself embracing more and more of this “stupid idea”. For me, it all started with Drop Box. I’m not sure why – maybe I was finally seeing a practical, day-by-day end user use for “The Cloud”.  Drop Box seemed to be the trigger for me.

  I had already been wrapped up in GMail, and unable to survive without Google Calendar. But then Google dropped a huge bomb… Google Drive. This was huge for me because finally all of my Cloud solutions were going to be in one place. In the interest of time, and to try to bring the focus back to the true topic, I eventually got an Android phone and tablet – the rest is, as they say, history…

  You’re probably wondering, “Brother, what does all of this have to do with the Chromebook?”. The simple answer is – everything. I mention all of this to preface what I believe is absolutely essential when considering purchasing a Chromebook. Quite simply, you have to have at least a basic understanding of Cloud Computing in order to understand and use a Chromebook. I also wanted to point out my current state in The Cloud before reviewing this device so that you understand that I’m not speaking purely from a “Google Fanboy” perspective – I do most all things cloud-based. In fact, aside from  recent installations to achieve Cord Cutting, and a piece of music production software, it has been a few years since I’ve actually installed a physical PC application for day to day use.

  The Chromebook I am using is the Acer C710. Unlike most blog posts of this type, I’m not going to list all the specs here – you can simply click on the hyperlink to view them. In fact, this blog post really isn’t about the model I’m using. It started off that way, but after speaking with some upset clients, reading negative reviews and comments online, I began to feel it that it was more important to clarify what a Chromebook is and isn’t. One quick blurb about this Acer model – it’s smooth, speedy, and has a beautiful display. I may do a full product review of it at a later date.

  First, what Chromebook isn’t – Chromebook is not a Windows laptop. Chromebook is not a Mac Book. If your day-to-day depends on downloaded or disc installed applications, Chromebook will not run those applications. In fact, you cannot install Windows (.exe) applications on it. You won’t be able to download Microsoft Office (though Google Drive offers a similar productivity suite). Chromebook is not Windows. Chromebook is not Mac OS. Chromebook is Chrome OS. You can download pictures, videos, documents and the like. You simply cannot download and install applications like you are accustomed to on PCs and Macs.

  What Chromebook is – as the title says, Chromebook is a purely cloud-based laptop. From office productivity (via Google Drive), to entertainment (Play Music, YouTube) and social networking (Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter) – everything is done online via cloud computing. I personally see this as advantageous. Remember the days of working hard on a presentation, spreadsheet or document, only to have your PC crash for whatever reason and you lost it all? Not with Chromebook. All of your pictures and music? All safe in the cloud. Even if, for some reason, your Chromebook died all of your work is stored safely in the cloud and is accessible via any PC with an Internet connection – simply log into your GMail account. No more computer running slow as it waits to load an installed application – all apps and extensions are run through Chrome itself.

  If you already are used to extensively using Google’s cloud based services, either via a PC or Android smart phone or tablet, you are pretty much experiencing what a Chromebook experience is like minus a physical keyboard and larger screen. From a personal perspective, I have yet to come across anything that I do during my normal day-to-day on a PC that I can’t do on my Chromebook. But again – I have not relied on installed PC applications for some time now.

  From a larger scope perspective, I have seen reports of school districts around the world adopting Chromebooks in the classroom. I think this is an excellent idea. Seeing as everything is web-based, a school with a well secured network and knowledgeable admin will have a better, more hassle free experience than a PC or Mac based environment in my opinion. From a security perspective alone, removing the ability to download potentially harmful pieces of software is well worth the switch to Chromebooks. Having all the apps the schools would use based in the cloud also eases the hassle of having them locally installed or based on an in-house server. I could go and on promoting cloud computing for schools, but perhaps I’ll save that for another entry for another day as well!

  All said and done, would I recommend a Chromebook for someone looking to buy a new laptop? Most certainly! In fact I would encourage anyone to become more familiar with cloud computing, learn how to use cloud based productivity tools, familiarize themselves with uploading their music and picture libraries, and enjoy the many games and videos available. With this blog entry I hope to offer at least a bit more understanding as to what to expect when taking a Chromebook into consideration. Sadly, I’ve had clients tell me, “but, the sales person at ____ told me it’s just like laptop x, but I can’t get it to do….” It’s this lack of understanding that I hope I’ve at least shed a bit of light on. Bottom line is, I love the Chromebook and I think others will too provided that they fully understand what it is.

12/10/2013: A date which will live in Cord Cutting Infamy

 Back in August, I blogged about  my first weekend with Chromecast, in which I shared my feeling that although Chromecast has a very attractive $35 price tag, the actual content left a lot to be desired. Sure – there were the usual suspects: YouTube and Netflix. But that was about it.

 Being a lover of pretty much all things Google, I knew that (based on Google’s track record) it would only be a matter of time before this changed. Well that time came yesterday, 12/10/2013.

A date which will live in Cord Cutting Infamy

 In fact, there were 10 new apps announced on this day for Chromecast. But keeping in line with my continued support (and often trumpet blowing) of Cord-Cutting, the most significant of these is Plex.

 If you would like a recap, or if this is your first time viewing my blog, please feel free to check out The Truth About Cutting The Cord – Part 3: Suggested Software as well as The Truth About Cutting The Cord – Part 4: Optimizing Your Experience. These 2 entries will explain what Plex is as well as how to set it up to better optimize your Cord-Cutting experience.

 Now back to the matter at hand. Plex and Chromecast. Needless to say, I (like many) have been waiting and hoping for this. I’ve told many people that if Plex made its way to Chromecast, this would be a game changer in my opinion when it comes to endorsing Chromecast for Cord-Cutting.

 
 
   For the most part, provided that you follow my setup suggestion, I can most certainly endorse Chromecast with this welcomed addition that adds more choice and more content. As the picture above illustrates, with the Plex app installed on your mobile device, you are able to “cast” all of your Plex content.
 
   Unfortunately, however, at the moment you have to have a Plex Pass subscription, which costs $3.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or (the option I paid for some time ago) $74.99 for life. So if you’re new to Cord-Cutting and you’re looking into this option, be prepared to spend a little to get this to work.
 
  One other factor to consider is that the only way to use it with Chromecast, you will have to do so from a separate device. Unlike the Roku, and most other streaming devices, there is no physical remote control. This could present an issue if your household is similar to mine – simply put, I’m the only one in my house interested in the “techy” stuff. My wife and children simply need to be able to turn on the TV and select what they want to watch. My children are too young for mobile devices, and my wife has no interest in installing the Plex app on her phone. As such, when I’m not home, there is no way for them to use Plex via Chromecast.
 
 Perhaps one of the most awesome factors to consider is travel. If you’re a business traveler, on vacation, or simply travel frequently for other reasons, you can take your Chromecast with you and have access to all of your content on your Plex wherever you go! (provided, of course, there is WiFi available and a TV with an open HDMI port).
 
 Overall, Chromecast is slowly but surely taking its place in the growing arsenal of Cord-Cutting gear.
 

Must Have App – 500 Firepaper

 I’m not a fanatic about it, but I must admit – I love a nice wallpaper on my mobile devices! So, I search and finally decide on a beautiful wallpaper that I love….for about a month or so. Then, I’m back to square one – looking for that ultimate wallpaper for my mobile devices.

500 Firepaper to the rescue! This must-have app does all the work for you. It pulls beautiful, high-quality photos from 500px.com at update intervals that you set (30 seconds, 1,2,5,10,15 or 30 minutes, or 1 hour) and automatically sets them as your wallpaper. In fact, there are quite a few cool settings included –

  • You can display all images in black and white
  • Change the categories of pictures to pull from
  • Adjust the brightness
…and more!
What if a wallpaper shows up that you don’t like? NO PROBLEM! Simply tap the wallpaper with three fingers and 500 Firepaper will load a new image!
 So, if you’re like me and like to have a great wallpaper on your mobile devices, but want to have an easy way to keep it fresh, 500 Firepaper is a must have app! 
 One word of caution – I would strongly advise parents of children with mobile devices to proceed with caution with this one. Every available category may not be suitable for the kiddies (specifically, there is a “Nude” category). Not that any of these categories are distasteful in any manner, but I think it’s worth a mention to avoid any shock or surprises.
500 Firepaper can be downloaded for Android devices via Google Play.

I Told Ya’ It Would Make Sense (sorta)!

Today, Moto X users found out what the seemingly force-installed Motorola Spotlight Player is all about in a fun-filled, interactive short titled “Windy Day“.
  This short was created by Jan Pinkava, co-director of Pixar’s “Ratatouille”. Simply put, a mouse discovers a pretty red hat and he simply HAS to have it. The only problem is the annoying gusts of wind that keep snatching it from his clutches – reminiscent of the squirrel from “Ice Age” chasing the acorn.
   And that’s where the fun comes in – you move your Moto X (and your whole body at times!) around to keep your view on the hat and the mouse, seeing all things around you in this make believe world as if you were there! 
    There’s all types of other woodland creatures, trees, and even a cool ending scene with a view from the sky.
   Overall, I think it’s a cool and interesting Easter Egg type surprise with plenty of future potential. Windy Day did get a bit, well, long-winded (it lasts for about 4 minutes) so I’m not sure if maybe making the experience a bit shorter would be more enjoyable. 
   But hey – I like goofy and fun things and this certainly falls into that category! So I say “Good job on this, Motorola!”
  If you’re a Moto X user, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below about Windy Day, and the whole idea behind Motorola Spotlight Player.

You Get What You Pay For, But How Much Does It Cost?

It’s one of the oldest of old school pieces of advice ever given –
You get what you pay for

  In fact, I’ve said it countless times throughout my life, and tend to follow it – especially when it comes to tech gadgets. And for the most part, it trends to hold true without fail. Recently however, I may have run into the all-important exception to the rule.

  In  The Truth About Cutting The Cord – Part 2: Equipment and Cost, I suggested the Motorola SURFboard eXtreme SB6141 (DOCSIS 3.0).I also mentioned that I had originally purchased a Netgear equivalent to this model, the CMD31T, but it kept periodically dropping the connection.

At the time, I purchased the SB6141 for $149.99 – not the most expensive modem on the market, but enough of a price that I expected top-notch performance with no hassles. In other words, I expected to get what I paid for. Unfortunately the SB6141 turned out to be anything but hassle free.

 From the onset, something seemed odd. Whenever I would log into the modem’s interface, the log would have countless errors listed – some controlled, many others not. At first, this did not present an issue. But over time, many errors began showing up as critical, and the modem would reboot on its own. At first, it happened a few times so I didn’t think much of it. But over time the condition got progressively worse.  Then, the oddest thing happened.One day, I was home with my sons – one taking a nap and the other on the couch with me watching a movie. It was raining pretty hard outside, but I didn’t think much of it. But then, there was an earth-shattering BOOM! Yep – of all things, our house got struck by lightning. As you might imagine, there were a few electronic items that were lost. But that’s what insurance is for!

  The SB6141 was still functional though, so I replaced all the other damaged items and in a day or so my network was back up and running. 


  Well, sort of….  The rebooting issue got worse and worse. The error log was multiple pages long. Finally, after day or so of hoping things would get better, and having Time Warner come out and replace the main run to our house and several inside, I decided to go ahead an replace it. Thniking it had to have been damaged by the lightning strike, I returned it and got another SB6141. Two days later, I got a text message from my wife telling me the Plex channel would not play. I established a remote connection and checked the error log of the brand new SB6141 – it was deja vu all over again…

   Fortunately, the Time Warner tech who came out was the kind of tech all techs in any industry should be – an honest one. He had told me that the SB6141 was actually known to have these issues. In fact, although it’s listed in the top group of modems to buy on the Time Warner website, he said he would not recommend it. In fact, he had one at his home and had the same problems with it and got rid of it.

  Now, before anyone asks “didn’t you read any reviews before you bought it?” – yes I did. However, the majority of the reviews were positive so I chose it. Plus, I’d had Motorola modems in the past that didn’t give me any problems.

  So, as soon as I could, I took down the new SB6141 and headed to Best Buy for yet another warranty exchange. Oddly enough, while reading random reviews of other modems, I found one that seemed to consistently get 4 – 5 star ratings from users.- the Zoom 5341J. Better yet, this modem was only $74.




   The Zoom has turned out to be what a modem should be – a simple, working device. I’ve logged into the interface periodically to find what I should have found with the Motorola – 0 errors, 0 correctable, with 0 noncollectable. And, to this day, it continues to simply work, as a modem should.

   For the most part, “you get what you pay for” may ring true. But the exception to the rule is –

Higher price does not always mean higher quality