October 18th of last year Samsung released the “New Chromebook“. A Chromebook is a small notebook computer that runs the Chrome OS. Chrome OS is simply a version of  the Debian Linux that has no other function other than accessing the Internet using the Google Chrome web-browser.

What good is a computer that only has a web-browser and nothing else?

When I call a friend and ask “Hey! Wat cha doin?” does that person reply “I’m playing Wing Commander Privateer on my computer.”? These days most people are using the Internet when on their computer. They are updating their status on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. They are checking their Gmail or watching videos on YouTube.  If this is what you are doing then why not have a computer that does nothing else.

Can I do anything else besides social networks, Gmail, YouTube and surf the web?

Sure! The things you can do now days on the Internet are innumerable. With the new web-applications you can do almost anything. You could edit Photos using Pixlr. Create documents and spread-sheets using Google Drive or Skydrive.  Manage your important data of all find with Evernote. You could do programming in PHP, Ruby, Python, Pearl and many other languages using ShiftEdit. You can read Kindle books without buy a Kindle reader. Listen to music of any genres for free with Spotify, Grooveshark or Pandora. Stream movies and TV shows with Hulu and others. You can even edit and render video online. In the case of rendering video if you don’t have more than one computer you could tie up your computer for days rendering a big movie that you have edited.

What are the advantages use using a Chromebook?

1. It’s fast! It boots up in less than 20 second from a totally powered down state and almost instantaneous boot from stand-by. The other way it is fast is from start-up to actually accessing a web-page. With a Chromebook  it might be 10-20 second. With a Windows computer you have to wait for the computer to start. This alone could take minutes. After you log-in and you’re at your desktop, you click on your browser and you sometimes have to wait a long time for this. The reason is there are still many programs starting up in the background using your CPU, RAM and hard-drive. Finally your browsers up. You type in the URL, hit enter and the page takes quite a while to come up. In most cases this is not the fault of your Internet service provider. It could be your antivirus working in the background, scanning the pages to see if  they are safe for you to visit. Chromebooks do not have other software to impede your activities and there is no anti-virus so you’re always up and running fast.
2. Stability and Security are to good reasons to get a Chromebook. It cannot be infected! Because the Chrome OS at its core is Linux (a very secure operating system). That alone provides safety from infection. Secondly the Chromebook frequently check your system comparing it to a known good image. If it see something has changed it will replace that code and your system will be pristine again. This also keeps your operating system from failing for any other reason. Your grandchildren can’t delete the system directory. What would you give for a computer with this kind of stability? It’s always a new computer.

1. Always backed-up. If your Chromebook breaks or gets stolen your data is still safe and sound because it was saved in the cloud (networks of computers in server-farms all over the world). If you get on a different computer or buy a new Chromebook your data is there and you can begin working right where you were just before the problem.

1. It is multi-user machine. All users are isolated from the OS including the owner. Users login to the Chromebook with their Google account. There they’ll find all of their stuff (Gmail, documents, bookmark, etc.). A friend that wanting to barrow a cup of internet can login  through a guest account. This is not tied to a Google account and does not remember and settings or customizations. The guest account feature can be turned off.

Remember to always use a strong Google password just in case your Chromebook is lost or stolen. How to create secure passwords that you can remember when logging into your Chromebook.

Wasn’t there an earlier Samsung Chromebook?

Yes there was. The Series 5 was the first Samsung Chromebook. It is more powerful than the new Chromebook but is heavier, hotter, with shorter battery life, also it has a $450 price tag.

What does the New Chromebook cost?

The Samsung Chromebook cost $249. What a great deal!

Specs

What about a desktop machine!

Yes! Samsung also has a desktop computer called Chromebox. It is more powerful than the Chromebook because it does not need to save energy as much, always being plugged in.

The Samsung Chromebox does not come with a monitor, mouse or keyboard and cost $329.

Conclusion

Can you imagine having a small office or school with computers the never need repair, reconfiguring or reinstalling? That is the promise of the Chromebook and Chromebox.

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