My New Toy: An HP Chromebook 11 G5

Last week I received a package in the mail at work that contained a laptop sleeve. Included with it was a note from a vendor that told me how to get a Chromebook that fits perfectly in the sleeve. I thought about not contacting them because I knew it would involve a sales call. Then they guys around me at work actually thought talking to this vendor would be well worth our time. I submitted my information and soon received an e-mail from our sales representative. It is someone that I have had frequent contact with and so we set up a meeting to talk and catch up. That meeting happened yesterday and actually went very well.

I got home late last night from the Bay Area and my HP Chromebook 11 G5 was waiting for me on my desk. This morning I pulled it out and started playing with it. In order to use the device, you need to connect it to the Internet. That didn't take too long. Next I pulled up YouTube and played a video of one of my favorite songs. The speakers are not too bad considering the size of this very inexpensive device. Next I did a search to see what you can do with a Chromebook.

Over a decade ago I worked for an Oracle spin-off called Network Computer that later changed its name to Liberate Technologies. We created a Network Computer which is exactly what a Chromebook is now. If only we had continued refining our idea instead of going after the set-top box market, the company might still be around.

I have spent about an hour playing with this very functional device and think it is well worth the price I paid for it (free). If you are someone that uses your computer to read e-mail and surf the web, a Chromebook is a very inexpensive option with mine having a suggested price of around $200. I actually like it more than my Samsung tablet I got for free several years ago. Part of that is because of the keyboard included with the device. I also prefer using a mouse over a touchscreen. I hate fingerprints on my screen.

So would I run out and get a Chromebook? No, but only because I have a laptop that I don't mind carrying around. So what am I going to do with this free gift? I am going to put it in my kitchen for when my wife wants to look up recipes or one of the kids wants to surf the net. It is replacing a very old desktop computer that stopped working recently. I expect it will work quite well.

Time for a New College Laptop Again

Back in February I wrote about how my youngest son will soon need a new laptop. I didn't see the urgency in making a decision at the time because heading to college seemed so far off. In two weeks he will be home after spending two years in Armenia and getting ready to attend college.

As I wrote before he will need to talk with his academic advisor to see the best recommendation for his engineering program in school. Some engineering software is only available for Windows and so a Mac might not be a good choice. Or the opposite could be true. I doubt it, but it could be.

A quick stop at Best Buy shows that there are even more choices than before. In addition to Windows or Mac, you can also choose a Chrome OS laptop. If you can get by with using online applications for everything you do, then it is a viable option. I don't think it is a good choice for an engineering student though and so I won't bother looking at one of those.

The next question boils down to budget: How much do I want to spend for my son's laptop. I always joke with my other children about how I like my youngest son the most. They all think that is true but reality is that whatever I do for one child, I have to make it fair for all of the rest. When my older son went to pick his laptop, I looked at the lowest price MacBook Pro and used that as the maximum budget. Why? That is what I got his two sisters. While time passes and laptop specifications change, Apple has done a pretty good job identifying realistic price points for student computers. Yes you can get a lower-priced computer but they don't last nearly as long as if you spend a bit more. Just look at my oldest daughter's experience as most of her college roommates needed new computers before the end of the first year.

I am often asked if brand makes a difference. The short answer is, "Yes." You want to be careful about what you purchase online. However if you are visiting a reputable store like Best Buy, they won't carry a junk brand and so your choice will boil down to features for a given price. I recommend more RAM over a faster processor. I also favor a solid-state drive over rotating disk even though you can get enormous disks for next to nothing. If you think your child will have a lot of large files, spend $60 and get an external USB drive and factor that into the cost of the computer.

Writing all of this down has helped me organize my thoughts as I get ready to help my son with his computer. Hopefully it helps you as well. Naturally I will be sure to let you know what I decide.