Chromebook

The Google Chromebook has taken the tech industry by storm. Its an inexpensive way to get into portable computing. Walmart has two models that are fully functional for $150. The question most people have is " what's the catch"? Let's look into that.
Day to day computing has changed in the past ten years. To see that let's take a trip down memory lane to see what home computing has been. Our first home computer was a Magnavox 286 machine my wife and I purchased at Dillard department store. I remember the purchase because we had a Dillard's charge card for financing the machine. It was 1992 and our oldest child was  5 years old. He would wake us up in the morning at 5:00am to turn on the system so he could play a game called Sesame Street Alphabet. He taught himself the alphabet on this system. The software we had was from a library of app(lication)s we bought from Dillard's. Comp USA, WalMart, Office(Max)Depot all had selections of  software from boxes you could purchase. This continued up until the mid to late 20's.
By the mid to late 20's computers had become ubiquitous in most households. Email and word processing were the mainstay of everyone's work. We all had a few games and and applications we ran. As the internet became faster we started running a lot of these programs on websites instead of running to the store to by a box with software in it. I for one have converted to the internet for everything but two programs that run my business. I rarely store any digital data on the system I am using. I definantly don't purchase box software anymore and have not for years. So now I ask myself, why not a Chromebook?  My family has reluctantly converted over also. Its a mind set for them to think they need a Windows based machine to do their work. From streaming Netflix or any other web based video.
The mindset of needing a laptop with tons of unused storage space for malware and viruses to occupy is a hard one to break. We don't use software anymore. Apps are the way to go. The bulk of the computing in done on the web so a low powered machine is all you need. I consult clients all the time and tell them you can thrown away $300 dollars in three years or you can throw away  $2000 in three years. The choice is yours. The system will be outdated to the point that it will not be functional so get in as cheap as you can for your needs.
This brings us to the Chromebook. It is designed for the internet. The newer systems are still functional for basic word processing  and offline email or spread sheets when offline. The thing most people don't realize is how little they are actually outside of the swath of the internet. Even while driving or in a seemingly remote spot you can use your phone as a hotspot(most cell companies throw this in to get you beyond your allotment of data to ring up extra charges). If you factor your cell phone as a hotspot your practically always have access to the internet. Knowing this why not take the Chromebook plunge.
For $150 you get a basic system with an acceptable screen, enough storage space for pictures and documents you always want, and the ability to change systems without loosing data. That is the blast point I want  to make.
Over the years as we replaced different desktop and laptop  systems we always had the dilemma of  the continuity of our data. If a hard drive failed(which was the usual reason for an upgrade) we would loose 2-3 years work of work and memories. If it didn't fail we had to figure out a way to connect the hardrive internally or externally to have access to our data. The next prob!em we would have is the additional drive would go unused and fail. Since it was rarely accessed but assumed to be working it would be inconvenient when the drive failure was realized. All of these scenarios became common place over the last 20 years. The Chrome book concept has solved all of these issues.
I have decided to replace all of our systems with Chromebooks except for my youngest child. He is a gamer and want to go into graphic design when he enters into college next year. He will require something more powerful. I think in 5 years the gamers and graphic designers will be web based so he will then be able to participate in the Chromebook phenomena. I have been pretty successful at predicting the trends in technology and I think this is one that will grow by leaps and bounds in the next few years. Computing is mobile, convenient and cheap. The days of the $2000-$3000 dollar system are growing short except for a few vertical industries. Tablets, Chromebook and like products are what will allow the digital divide to diminish to oblivion. Stay tuned and see.