My first Chromebook

Well I picked up an acer chrome book 11 today for my birthday.  So far I have to admit that I am very impressed.  It is very light and the screen is very sharp.  I should explain my situation a bit though.  I have been using google chrome and google docs a lot on a windows machine.  I am a grade 5 teacher and I started using chrome because it allowed me to change some of the things on my computer that I could not change because of the security policies of the school board.  So I have been using google docs on and offline for a while.  It was my birthday yesterday and I got some cash from my parents enough to buy a chrome book so I thought to myself I can at least try it out for a couple of weeks.  Now I should mention as an open discloser that I also work as a technology sales representative for Staples Canada.  The store I work for is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  I love working at Staples.  So I am going to use my blog to chronically my usage on my new Chrome book and the advantages and disadvantages.  This will be from a lay persons point of view.  While I am fairly technological I want to see if an average person could use this.

Okay so the first thing I have notices is how light this laptop is.  I am not going to list how heavy it is but it is crazy light.  I am obviously writing this post on it.  The screen is very clear and crisp and I love the fact that is is a matt finish.  I did have a problem connecting it when I first started it up.  It said it could not find a DHCP hookup.  Now I knew what DHCP is but could not imagine my mother knowing how to fix that.  I just hand to reset my wireless router and I was good to go. I was not happy about this at all though.  Like I said I know what that is.  I did a quick search and found out this is a common problem with chrome books.

If you are thinking about getting a chrome book you have to understand that it uses goggle docs not Microsoft office.  Now I can open up word documents and use them but this is a whole different operating system.  It would take a while for most people to get used to this.  A couple big advantages though
1.  I don't need security software.  The OS is constantly being updated by Google so you really don't need security software.
2.  You don't need to buy office.
So when you buy a chrome book you really don't need anything extra.  Now I work at Staples I would highly recommend that you allow us to setup the chrome book for you.  If I was talking to a customer I would tell them that we would take their documents and photos and put them on Google Drive for them and setup a Google account if they didn't have one already.  I would also highly recommend a one on one tutorial.  Like I said it is quite different and while I am enjoying it so far I am already familiar with Google products.  If I wasn't this would really frustrating.  The setup services that Staples offers is to make the experience of getting a new computer as fun, exciting, and smooth as possible.  I would not want my mother to get a new computer without the setup.  Now I am the one that sets up her stuff.  The question remains would I want my mother to have this?  Not sure yet.  My kids yes that is easy this would fit their school work perfectly.

I will write some more in a couple of days.

Staples Chromebook Link

June 6th the anniversary of D day

So today is the anniversary of D-day. It is important to remember those that have fought and died for our freedom.  The challenges that we face today you should be thankful for. Without the brave arm forces that still operate today you would not have the freedom to complain about the arm forces.  It is, in my opinion, ironic that people today who look down on people who are in the forces or were owe their freedom to do so by the people they look down upon. So even if you don't like them you still owe them some level of politeness and respect after all they are protecting your right to speak your mind.