ASUS Chromebox

[SrDriver]

This all started when on a whim I bought a HP 14 inch Chromebook with 4 gigs of ram and a 32 gig solid state hard drive about 6 weeks ago with plans on sticking Ubuntu on it in a dual mode.

Found the the Apps from the App Store did what I wanted done without installing Ubuntu and a couple of weeks I bought a ASUS Chromebox with the Haswell processor like the Laptop has.

Google Drive gives 100 gigs of free storage space for 2 years + the regular free 15 gb.

There are several off-line apps now too and after watching several U-Tube videos I learned a lot about the Chrome O/S.

The only 2 issues that I really had was setting up my Brother wireless color laser printer to work. That was NOT the fault of the Chrome O/S but hard to understand instructions from Brother.

The 2nd issue was Skype but after watching a few videos. Discovered that you can use Skype through your Hotmail, Live, or Outlook Microsoft email app. That was not really an issue for me as I use Google Hangouts anyway but wanted to see if it would work.

Is a Chromebook and/a Chromebox for everybody? No but for many people who surf the net, do email, watch video, U-Tube, etc., it works fine.

I have a Windows 8.1.1 desktop and a ASUS Ultrabook also running Windows 8.1.1 and both are not seeing much use anymore.

Wife has a Windows 8.1.1 laptop and has already said that her next computer will be a Chromebook.

Boot time is about 7 seconds from either the Chromebook or Chromebox.

No Virus, Trojan, Malware, Keyloggers to worry about either. Updates are done in the background.

 

[dparm]

Looks like there are several models of the Chromebox, and not all of them are Haswell. Still, not a bad little setup for the money.

The idea was intriguing years ago when it was introduced, but I'm curious to see if the market take-up has been growing at all.

 

[SrDriver]

From reading articles on the Internet Chromebooks captured 21% of the laptop market in 2013.

Link To Article

I am guessing those numbers are even higher for 2014? Too I understand that the top 2 selling laptops on Amazon are Chromebooks.

You can find a lot of You Tube reviews on the different models. I see that HP is now coming out with a Chromebox too.

Friend just ordered an Acer C720.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Like you, I bought a Chrome device on a whim, this one an Asus Chromebox from Newegg, $129 open box special. Couldn't pass it up, especially with the Haswell processor.

The absolute easiest computer I've ever setup in my life...3 minutes (if that) to being up & running. So vastly different than the 20+ floppy disks of Windows 95 or OS/2 back in the day. Quite amazing how far we've come with desktop computers.

No, it's not for everyone, but using webmail access for email and Office in the cloud with Outlook/Hotmail service, no need for Google docs at all and I can still get my work done.

For $129, I'm pleased.

 

[dishdude]

If you do everything through a web browser, it's tough to beat the Chrome OS. I picked up a Chromebook to travel with because it comes with 12 free in flight internet passes, and it's an impressive little machine. People don't need a Windows or Mac computer if they only surf the internet with it.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I'd like to have a Chromebox. I already have a Chromebook and it works well. My computer in the garage (for YouTube and Pandora) is an older minitower with Xubuntu, and it works okay, but video is slow and a Chromebox would be a much better fit for that application. I've been watching Craigslist, but will have to keep an eye on Newegg as well.

OP: pics of your setup please!

 

[racer12306]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
People don't need a Windows or Mac computer if they only surf the internet with it.


I'd go further to say that if all you do is basic word processing with a couple of spreadsheets thrown in the mix, plus surf the web, then you don't need a full computer.

When my daughters get to the point of needing a computer for school, it will certainly be something like a Chromebook/box depending on what's available. Fortunately, that's 5+ years off.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Don't mean to poop on the Chrome party (I'm not) but there are things that absolutely do not run on Chromebox/books.

If your kid plays Roblox, Minecraft...which a lot do these days... or any other game not purely based in Flash, you're going to have problems running it, if at all. The average person isn't going to spend the time on a Chromebox trying to make it work, either.

Like all things Chromebox/Chromebook, reduce your expectations of what to run on it and you'll be happy with it.

 

[SrDriver]

Chromebook/Chromebox is not for everyone but it does offer some games and a lot of educational apps for children.

Many schools are now issuing them to their students. Google offers educational applications geared to both students and teachers.

Back up north in Wisconsin where I am from the schools in both towns near there are using Chromebooks. One of the schools issues them to students from the 2nd grade on up and not sure of the policy of the other one.

As far for casual use I find that they fill the bill and are well suited to people that want a simple device that starts in a few seconds, requires no anti-virus software, and is used for web browsing, email, documents, videos, etc.

Both the Chromebox and Chromebook I have support 1080P video streaming with no issues.

I could live with a Chromebox or Chromebook for everyday use if necessary.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: SrDriver
Both the Chromebox and Chromebook I have support 1080P video streaming with no issues.


This is one thing that really impresses me about them. I have much heavier laptops that don't stream HD video as well as this little Chromebook with an ARM processor. They seem to be ideally suited for the majority of "residential" computing, meaning internet, email, YouTubing, etc. They're obviously not intended for software development, coding, graphics processing, etc.

I think most would still find a use for a larger laptop/desktop, for photo management, home movie editing/processing, etc. But for most tasks, the Chromebooks/boxes are relevant.

 

[Cutehumor]

I read somewhere that Windows was worried about Chromebooks. Windows even discounted their OS on laptops to help lower laptop prices. Windows thought Apple was sticking a fork to them. Google maybe the one to knock them out of 1st.

 

[ClutchDisc]

I would love to pick up a cheap $199 Chromebook.. It's just at the moment I don't have a need for it.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Google maybe the one to knock them out of 1st.


So this finally may be the Year Of The Linux Desktop?!

 

[ClutchDisc]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Google maybe the one to knock them out of 1st.


So this finally may be the Year Of The Linux Desktop?!

I would love to see google knock MS out of first.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I was messing around with our Chromebook today and found that, at some point between shortly after we got it and today (edit: looks like was way back in February 2013), Google has implemented true multi-display capability, with "screen scrolling" or whatever that functionality is called. I think when we first got it, the Chromebook would mirror its screen to an HDMI device, but you didn't have real multi-display functionality where you can have two different apps open on two different screens.

Now you can. I have a 24" ASUS HDMI monitor hooked to the Chromebook and you can drag windows from one screen to the other and have different windows open on each screen, a window open on one with the desktop on the other, or no windows open on either and the blank desktop on both. The window "ghosts" as it transitions between the physical monitors, a nice visual touch. It essentially operates exactly like a Windows computer with dual screens. The only difference is the task bar is shown on BOTH screens...a nice differentiating touch in my opinion.

I'm liking this Chrome OS stuff more and more. I'm selling a few of my older machines (a desktop and a laptop) and plan to replace them with a Chromebox to try that out. Most of the data I use all the time is on my Google Drive, including my spreadsheets and documents, so I can edit those without Office using Google Docs.

I'll never get my wife off the Windows desktop environment (she's comfortable in it, and that's fine with me), but it's fun to experiment with this other stuff. I like that the Chrome hardware is very efficient (low power use) and optimized for internet use, to include streaming HD video like a champ, including Netflix (which the ARM-powered Samsung model couldn't originally do).

 

[97tbird]

Hockiefyd: which Chromebook model exactly do you have ?
(sorry if you mentioned it and I missed it somehow).

 

[Hokiefyd]

I have the ARM-powered Samsung Series 3. The least powerful and least expensive. But I prefer it because it runs everything in Chrome just fine and there are ZERO moving parts inside. The Intel Celeron models usually have at least a small cooling fan, which is something else to break/fail/clog, and you have to worry about keeping cooling ports free and clear. The ARM-powered Samsungs don't have a cooling fan, and have a completely sealed case (except for two small speaker grilles), so you can lay it on a bed, on your lap...literally anywhere. It'll never overheat.

 

[Subdued]

Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Google maybe the one to knock them out of 1st.


So this finally may be the Year Of The Linux Desktop?!

I would love to see google knock MS out of first.

Won't ever happen. MS' bread-and-butter isn't chrombook's target audience.

They may take a bite out of MS, but it's only going to be a bite. Corporate America runs on Microsoft, and it would take an act of God to change that.

And despite what some think, Google isn't God. They're a giant corporation, just like Microsoft.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I have the ARM-powered Samsung Series 3. The least powerful and least expensive. But I prefer it because it runs everything in Chrome just fine and there are ZERO moving parts inside. The Intel Celeron models usually have at least a small cooling fan, which is something else to break/fail/clog, and you have to worry about keeping cooling ports free and clear. The ARM-powered Samsungs don't have a cooling fan, and have a completely sealed case (except for two small speaker grilles), so you can lay it on a bed, on your lap...literally anywhere. It'll never overheat.


Thanks for the info, Hokiefyd - I am pondering over getting a used one for travel purposes sometime soon. I will keep Samsug series 3 model in mind.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Thanks for the info, Hokiefyd - I am pondering over getting a used one for travel purposes sometime soon. I will keep Samsug series 3 model in mind.


I'm sure they still sell this new at Best Buy for you to play with and look at, but if they don't and you want to put hands on one before you buy, let me know; you can test-drive mine.