I recently picked up a Chromebox to replace my home computer. It’s basically a Linux OS computer that is designed to run the Chrome browser very well, and not much else. It works for my family though. Even before we bought it, 95% of what we did on our home computer was somehow connected to the Web. The Chrome browser has a buttload of great applications and extensions that are all free, everything I’ve needed so far, I’ve found. The clincher for me was the HTML5 remote desktop extension; if I ever find myself needing any Windows-based programs, I just remote into my work network, and everything’s there.
I like that I no longer have a nagging worry in the back of my head about: have I downloaded the right virus protection? have I properly backed up all of my hard drive files? have I messed up my computer by visiting this or that website, or downloading this or that file? am I current on the latest software updates? etc. All of that is handled automatically by people who know far better than me what the hell they’re doing. As far as it being useless without an internet connection, on the rare occasions that internet is out at my house, it’s more productive for me to do almost anything else other than try to work on my computer without internet.
I think Chromeboxes and Chromebooks could be a threat to a Microsoft along the lines presented in this article. Acer recently announced a Chrome laptop for $199, and Samsung has one for $249. Both come with storage and internet access freebies that are worth more than the purchase price. It’s still a bit of work in progress, but soon there will be a 4G LTE version, and if it has a good hardware/price package, that would be pretty compelling. Corporate IT is already moving to cloud computing; Chrome computers fit perfectly into that.
So, for the time being, at home, I’m free of Microsoft and Apple, and it feels good! Of course, now Google knows everything about me . . .