As a long -standing defender of chromebooks, I have repeatedly heard the same old myths and false ideas on Google’s laptops many times. It’s been a while since I went from Windows to Chromeos, and I can say that many of these formerly written objections are now obsolete.
Here are some of the most common false ideas of the Chromebook which are still transmitted but can be overlooked.
Myth: Chromebooks must always be connected to the Internet
Dave Parrack / Foundry
Many people think that chromebooks must always be connected to the Internet and that they become unnecessary bricks when offline. It’s just not true! Yes, Chromeos is designed to be based on the cloud by focusing on web applications, but you can do a lot with an offline chromebook.
Some of these things include using offline applications, playing downloaded games, watching the downloaded media, managing files and working on documents, among others. (But how often do you have you connected to the Internet anyway?)
To make sure you can continue to use your Chromebook while you are offline, be sure to download applications and games with offline support, store your important files locally and / or activate offline mode in Google’s basic productivity applications such as Gmail, Drive, Docs and Sheets.
Myth: Chromebooks are reserved for students
If it is true that Chromebook has developed an identity as an affordable laptop option for educational environments, this does not mean that chromebooks cannot be useful elsewhere. I have been an average man who writes to live and I have been using chromebooks for years, both for cases of personal and professional use.
Given the ease of configuration and to use Chromeos, a Chromebook is suitable for anyone of all ages – it turns out that the ease of use makes it an excellent tool for the demographic student.
In fact, I consider perfect chromebooks to Elderly who just need to access the Internet with a minimum of technological interference. Not only are chromebooks easy to use, but they are delivered with several integrated safety features that are important for less informed users in technology.
Myth: Chromebooks are inexpensive, low performance and disposable
Dave Parrack / Foundry
There is a difference between an “affordable” laptop that is “cheap” – and in the context of chromebooks, this distinction is the key. While a lot of chromebooks are Quite cheap and slow, not all of them are. The old adage that “you get what you pay” is true here. There is a wide range of available chromebooks, from low -end plasticky models to high -end models made with premium materials.
The key is to do your research before buying and not being satisfied with the cheapest available model. You wouldn’t buy a Windows laptop at the bottom of the barrel, then say that all Windows PCs are waste, right?
Pass the cost compared to construction quality, specifications and brand. Cheaper models are more likely to suck a certain way – I know it from experience – while high -end models can be as good as Windows laptops. On this note, it is important to know the differences between the laptops Chromebooks and Windows in order to obtain the right machine for your needs.
Myth: Chromebooks are just a wrapper for the Chrome browser
Dave Parrack / Foundry
Chromeos is certainly a simple and elegant operating system. But people who think it’s just a packaging for the Chrome browser – and see it as a negative – are at best wrong. Even if Chrome is at the heart of the operating system, you can (if you really wanted) spend months without ever launching Chrome.
In fact, Chromeos is based on Linux – and you can really allow the Linux subsystem to unlock more power. Between this and the possibility of running Android applications via the Google Play Store, you can really make a plot With a Chromebook beyond Chrome. Add progressive web applications that can move away from the browser and you have a winning combo.
Myth: Chromebooks can print anything
Dave Parrack / Foundry
At the time when Chromeos made its debut, some older printers were not compatible with it because they needed owners who could not be installed on a Chromebook. Google Cloud Print tried to get around this with a web printed service, but it was interrupted. Users did not know the Chromeos print interface either.
And so chromebooks have developed a reputation for laptops that had trouble printing. But it is no longer true. Chromeos now supports the Internet Printing Protocol (PPI) for sending jobs printed to printers attached to the network, and in 2019, the PPI is available on 98% of printers sold.
In short, it means that you can Print with a Chromebook as long as it is up to date and as long as you have a somewhat modern printer. Some advanced printing features can be missing, but these days you can print almost everything you would need with a Chromebook.
Myth: Chromebooks lack offline storage
Dave Parrack / Foundry
While chromebooks are designed to rely mainly on cloud storage, they all come with a few Outstanding amount of storage. This amount depends on what Chromebook you buy and the configuration.
My pixelbook Go, for example, at 64 GB of internal storage – and I have not felt limited by this since the years that I use it – but I could have chosen 128 GB or 256 GB options. There are others like that, including the Samsung Galaxy Chrome Chrome Plus with 256 GB of storage and the Acer Chromebook plus 514 with 512 GB of storage.
Whatever the amount, everything is fine as you pay attention to what you download and clean your files from time to time. This means uninstalling the applications you no longer use, delete files when you have finished with them and use cloud storage when you can. The perceived lack of offline storage is just a problem if you neglect this.
Myth: Chromebooks cannot run the applications you need to use every day
Dave Parrack / Foundry
One of the biggest false ideas on modern chromebooks is that you can only execute extensions and applications from the Chrome online store. If it was true, I would understand the complaint – all laptops seriously Helved by access so limited to software.
Nowadays, Chromebooks can run Android applications, Linux applications and progressive web applications. And since most application developers keep support for at least one of these platforms, you should be able to execute most Applications you need on Chromeos. The only warning here is if you are counting on applications that are only Available on Windows and / or MacOS.
Do you worry about Microsoft Office? Soft? Photoshop? Evernote? They all work on chromebooks! And if you have applications that are simply not available on Chromeos for any reason, you can usually find an alternative good enough to fill the gap. Chromebook available is only a problem if you are using niche and / or industry software.
Myth: Chromebooks cannot play games
Dave Parrack / Foundry
This one, we must approach with a few nuances. Yes, you can play games on a Chromebook – with warnings. We have written an entire article to find out if chromebooks are good for games, but here is a summary.
If you care about local games, you can think of Chromebook games like mobile games. You have access to Android games and web games, and you can also run a beta version of Steam for Chromebooks. With Steam, you will need a high -end machine with at least one Intel i3 or Ryzen 3 and 8 GB of RAM processor, and only a small steam game fraction is compatible with chromebooks.
However, the game of clouds becomes more and more popular, and this is excellent news for chromebooks. Notable platforms include NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Xbox Cloud Gaming, which allow you to distribute demanding games remotely for a monthly subscription. You will need a quick internet connection and you will encounter an input lag, but it’s a hell of a good way to play a much wider selection of games on a Chromebook!
Read more in -depth: The best chromebooks to buy this year
