chromebooks

Debbie got a message on her Chromebook that says that Chrome is missing or damaged and she can't log in. Leo says it's easy to fix by using the powerwash utility if she can get to the sign-in screen. However, if she doesn't get to the log in screen, that points to a more serious problem. There's also a keyboard reset - Turn it on and press CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-R. This will open up the powerwash utility and completely reset and reinstall the ChromeOS. If that doesn't work, it's likely a hardware issue. Should she buy a new one? Leo says Chromebooks are still a great solution.

Barb recently bought a Chromebook and wants to know if they have screensavers? Leo says no. Screensavers are an anachronism from the old CRT days when images would burn into the screen. That doesn't happen anymore with LCD screens. The Chromebook just goes into power saving mode and shuts off the screen. That's how it saves the screen. The screen also flickers a little. Leo says that the image may be too bright and that causes it to flicker. That's an easy fix, you just turn down the brightness a bit.

Sherman is going to be going hiking around the world and wants to know which service to go with? Leo says that Google Fi is great because it uses three separate mobile carriers. He could also go with TMobile, they offer 2G around the world for no extra cost. But it's slow. He's also getting a Chromebook, is an i5 processor fine? Leo says it'll be expensive, but he can. Does he need a VPN? Leo says not really.  Especially in a country like China, where using a VPN will get him arrested.

Veronica wants to know if her Chromebook works on a home network. Leo says if you have internet access, you will. Are they secure? Leo says absolutely. The thing is, a Chromebook uses ChromeOS, which uses a browser-based interface. This makes it far more secure. And if it does get infected you can simply use the "power wash" feature to start over. But it stores all your data in the cloud, which is far more secure than a hard drive on your laptop.

Robert has been looking at Chromebooks lately, and was told that Google makes a Chromebook and Chromebox, but hasn't seen any. Are they worth the money? Leo says that Google makes excellent Chromebooks, and they recently created the Pixel Slate with a detachable keyboard. But coming in May is Google IO, and the word is that they're going to announce a new PixelBook model. Supposedly, that means the previous model is going to drop in price. 

Check out the Pixelbook on Amazon

Jon would like to convert his old Windows laptop into a Chromebook. Leo says to check out Neverware. They have a list of compatible hardware and he can install Neverware and turn it into a Chromebook that's up to date and secure. Check out this article at XDA Developers. 

Jason is tired of maintaining his Windows machine to guard against malware, so he bought a Chromebook. He really enjoys the simplicity of it and how secure they are. Leo says that Chromebooks are great and everything is going online now. So with that, all most people really need is a Chromebook. Even photography and videography are starting to be done online.

Dan needs to buy his son a new laptop and wants to know whether a MacBook Air or Chromebook. He'll be traveling to China for an exchange student program. He also wants to maintain his social media. Leo says that either one will work, but he should be sure to obey the rules and regulations while being a guest there. Don't try and get around China's censorship by using a VPN. That's just asking for trouble. Email is not blocked, so setting up an email publishing scheme is best.

Glenda has an Asus Gaming computer and it constantly slows down, and is too heavy. So she wants something lighter, like a Mac Air or iPad Air size, that she can use Microsoft Office with. Leo says that there are versions of Office for the iPad, so going with an iPad Pro could be a good option. You can get them with a keypad and it's just like a laptop (costs the same as a laptop, too). Microsoft's Surface tablets are also a good option if you still need to use Windows. But if you don't, then the iPad Pro is worth looking at.

DeLois wants to know how she can print using her Chromebook. Leo says that Google uses Cloud Printing, which will enable her to print wirelessly from anywhere in the world. Her printer just needs to support Wi-Fi.