Chrome books - useful or not?
-
For light tasks a cheap Chromebook is a good choice, if you plan to do anything more demanding a more expensive model is recommended. I bought a cheap Acer Chromebook11-cb311 for my wife two years ago, and she is very pleased with it. In the past she always struggled with Windows notebooks, those worries are over luckily. See overview here: chromebooks-for-general-use-around-300[^] The only problems we have with the Chromebook are that our favourite photo printing service is not supported and that we chose a model without touchscreen which is not suitable to play Android games. You might also be interested in best-dev-setups-for-chromebooks[^]
I miss my touchscreen on my desktop after using my Surface(s). :laugh:
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
-
I am exploring the purchase of a Chrome book (or equivalent) for email, web browsing, notes and other light tasks during long travels. Anyone have any thoughts on these? I know they generally need a continuous internet connection, and do not have much storage (ram and ssd), but I think I can upgrade those from my junk drawer stock. It looks like I can develop Android apps (Xamarin?), which could be useful.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
My kids use school issued Dell Chromebooks. They seem to like them. So, yes they are useful in that sense and purpose.
-
stoneyowl2 wrote:
I was planning on development with VS2019 using the Xamarin projects.
I suspect you will be out of luck: VS2019 requires Windows, and Chrome OS isn't that! Visual Studio 2019 System Requirements | Microsoft Docs[^] I'm pretty sure Chromebooks don't have nearly enough disk space to even install VS2019, even if the rather limited ram they have woudl let it run at more than a crawl. You may get VS Code working though: How to install Microsoft Visual Studio Code on a Chromebook | Windows Central[^]
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was going to develop on my main development machine and transfer the final product to the chrome book. Although VS Code may work too, depending on the chrome book I decide on...
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
-
I was planning on development with VS2019 using the Xamarin projects. My only concern is if I have to go through the app store to get privately developed apps, used by only me, onto the chrome book.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
stoneyowl2 wrote:
I was planning on development with VS2019 using the Xamarin projects.
Have you done any Xamarin yet? I'm also using VS2019 and want to do some Xamarin.
If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.
-
stoneyowl2 wrote:
I was planning on development with VS2019 using the Xamarin projects.
Have you done any Xamarin yet? I'm also using VS2019 and want to do some Xamarin.
If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.
Not really. Got a app running on the simulator with a button and some text. That's it so far. I am looking for something to do - my thought is: I have ceiling fans in each room of my house, each controlled by Bluetooth, so maybe I can make some sort of master controller for the house.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
-
I am exploring the purchase of a Chrome book (or equivalent) for email, web browsing, notes and other light tasks during long travels. Anyone have any thoughts on these? I know they generally need a continuous internet connection, and do not have much storage (ram and ssd), but I think I can upgrade those from my junk drawer stock. It looks like I can develop Android apps (Xamarin?), which could be useful.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
Keep in mind that Google sets some [drop-dead dates](https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/22/buying\_a\_chromebook\_dont\_forget\_to\_check\_when\_it\_expires/) for support, so once yours is no longer supported, you start being at risk for exploits that will never get patched just like Android phones and tablets whose support has been prematurely dropped by manufacturers. Which is pretty bad for a system that is designed to be continuously online. To me, that pretty much rules them out completely. I have a number of 12-15 year old laptops I'm still getting some uses for, and if I cannot do with the hardware whatever I may please, that makes them a non-starter. Best compromise - if it's not so locked down that you can blow the OS away and replace it with some version of Linux, do it on day one so you have nothing committed to ChromeOS.
-
Not really. Got a app running on the simulator with a button and some text. That's it so far. I am looking for something to do - my thought is: I have ceiling fans in each room of my house, each controlled by Bluetooth, so maybe I can make some sort of master controller for the house.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
I haven't gotten too far either. My big hang up is connecting to a WebAPI to Send/Receive data. It works differently in debug than in live mode, and I can't seem to find a simple tutorial or help. Most of the one's I've found all seem to focus more on creating an Asp.Net Core API with EF then in wiring it up an XF app, or they're just outdated. Keep me up to date with your progress, if you don't mind. BTW, have you looked at MAUI? It's supposed to be the next gen replacement for Xamarin Forms.
If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid.
-
I am exploring the purchase of a Chrome book (or equivalent) for email, web browsing, notes and other light tasks during long travels. Anyone have any thoughts on these? I know they generally need a continuous internet connection, and do not have much storage (ram and ssd), but I think I can upgrade those from my junk drawer stock. It looks like I can develop Android apps (Xamarin?), which could be useful.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
For your needs, I find an iPad is a far better option.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
-
I am exploring the purchase of a Chrome book (or equivalent) for email, web browsing, notes and other light tasks during long travels. Anyone have any thoughts on these? I know they generally need a continuous internet connection, and do not have much storage (ram and ssd), but I think I can upgrade those from my junk drawer stock. It looks like I can develop Android apps (Xamarin?), which could be useful.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
I got the overpriced but pretty slick pixelbook go. There is a path to putting Debian Linux running inside of the Android os. Set up Linux on your Chromebook - Chromebook Help[^] I’ve had moderate success running VS code. It’s definitely under powered, but it’s a pretty nice environment for fooling around. Unsure about xamarin dev work though.
-
I am exploring the purchase of a Chrome book (or equivalent) for email, web browsing, notes and other light tasks during long travels. Anyone have any thoughts on these? I know they generally need a continuous internet connection, and do not have much storage (ram and ssd), but I think I can upgrade those from my junk drawer stock. It looks like I can develop Android apps (Xamarin?), which could be useful.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, navigate a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects! - Lazarus Long
It's unlikely you'll be able to upgrade the SSD or the RAM. Depending on the model the machine might be glued together or the RAM soldered to the motherboard.
