[spidermonkey09]

I need a new laptop and am tempted by a Chromebook due to their simplicity, stripped back nature and the fact that saving stuff to the cloud seems to be the future. I also use an Android phone which makes things easier. The laptop will almost exclusively be used for word processing, browsing and reading pdfs, so my only concern is their cross compatibility with Office, particularly Word. I know you can get the Android app and online versions of Word and suspect this will probably be enough as I wouldn't be a 'power user' by any stretch. Any experience of this and finding anything you couldn't do?

Anyone own a Chromebook or had experience of them for work use, particularly academic work? I'm starting a PhD in te autumn so this will be its primary use. Recommendations also welcome; I'm leaning towards the Pixelbook Go as my tolerance for large amounts of internet research into the differences between each laptop is low and they allow you to pay for it monthly over 2 years with 0% interest! https://store.google.com/gb/product/pixelbook_go?hl=en-GB

[remus]

Sounds like it'd be a good fit for your use. If you're worried about excel, word etc. you could upload a few test docs and check you can do everything you need to https://www.office.com/

You can edit microsoft office files on google docs these days too. As above you could upload a few test things to google drive and open them up to play around and see how it'd work.

[Oldmanmatt]

All four kids use Chromebooks for just about everything imaginable. Though only up to A level school work so far, but Google Docs seems to be fully functional as for word processing. Mrs OMM also has a Chromebook now for work (Estate/Lettings agent) and similarly has abandoned Word/Excel in favour of Google Docs.
We’re hybrid Apple/Chrome and it works fine, just using Google Drive to transfer between the two.
We have PC’s gathering dust, but not one has been turned on for five years or more.
This combo is how we run the business, home life, kids studies and all my higher ed/professional courses and work. Though, for work I’ve been using nothing but iPad/iPad Pro for years now (even for Engineering drawing, or, at least, editing of such. The Apple pencil really kicked that up a notch over my old Bamboo pen).
Very occasionally I’ve had to use one of the Chromebooks, because the iPad won’t cut it (last month I had to do the enhanced Official Secrets Act online vetting and their portal just doesn’t function on Apple devices or Android tablets. Chromebooks work fine though).
Not actually found a downside yet.

[dunnyg]

Dont know what the PhD is in, but worth looking into compatability with uni systems. If you are likely to be running models, then being able to ssh into the uni network is useful. E.g. if you need a specific client to connect to uni linux servers, it would be worth checking that a version exists for chrome OS (if you are likely to need them).

Also, might be worth getting uni to pay for it and get a uni laptop instead of a desktop if this is an option?

Supervisor should be able to answer those questions if you cant.

[RobK]

A couple of things:
1. I would be slightly wary of a Chromebook for academic use. When I was at Leeds, everything is so (increasingly) intertwined with Microsoft/365 that my non-Windows machine (Linux) was a nightmare for some things and I had to often make use of a virtual desktop which was a pain. I have no experience of using a Chromebook so not sure if this would be an issue or not, just something to be aware of (I have vague memories of a colleague having a Chromebook and finding it very unhelpful at times, I could be making this up though!).  Lots of specialist software requires Windows too, but doesn't sound like this will be what you're using it for.
2. In terms of paying for it, you should check with your supervisor about an equipment budget. I didn't have to pay for my PC out of my own pocket. Obviously you don't then get to keep it after the PhD!

[spidermonkey09]

Thanks all - some interesting points. First thing to say is that its a history phd so I can't see that I'll be needing anything beyond office; certainly no models or anything.

RobK's point about 365 entanglement is my main concern. That said, given Mac users seem to handle this fairly easily I can't see it would be *that* big an issue. I'll also be working from home the vast majority of the time so wouldn't need to connect to the abysmal eduroam or similar all that much.

Good shout about checking if the uni can pay for it though, I will definitely do that!

[jwi]

Office 365 (with subscription) is acceptable on Chromebooks unless you are needing Excel workbooks with macro or need any of the more advanced features of Word (like mailings/macros/forms etc). Chromebooks can be used with Excel for data entry and Word for simple text editing.

(I recently looked into getting a thin client and setting up a virtual machine on a rented server as an alternative to getting a premium laptop. I concluded that it requires really fast internet always and was more expensive than just owning the machine myself)

[Paul B]

Thanks all - some interesting points. First thing to say is that its a history phd so I can't see that I'll be needing anything beyond office; certainly no models or anything.

I take it Mendeley etc. all play nicely with Office 365? No interest in putting yourself through the completely unnecessary pain of LaTeX just for smugness?

[spidermonkey09]

I just had to google what LaTeX is, so...no!

A look at the website suggests it is, albeit there is no specific app for Chrome OS. Paperpile looks like a good option as well, although you have to pay.

[andy popp]

First thing to say is that its a history phd

What's the topic? Sorry, have no advice on Chromebooks.

[M1V0]

I’m sure there’s been a Chromebook thread before, but depending on how the Uni has set up their Eduroam wireless, Chromebooks can be really difficult to set up. I used to work IT support and sometimes Chromebooks would not connect at all and there was little we could do. Check the university help pages for instructions on Chromebooks. If they don’t mention it in their documents, they may not support it and they won’t help you.

[Paul B]

I asked about them on the Google Shit thread but didn't end up needing one in the end.

[TobyD]

I've had a Chromebook for years, used for all the things you describe.  I think its great,  and haven't ever really found anything its restricted in. I think I got it around 2013, and it's been abused in bags and used in cafes etc a lot, and it still seems fine. Mine has a slightly annoying keyboard setup, but that's about the only bad thing I can say about it. 

[spidermonkey09]

Cheers, sounds like it will be fine for my purposes, pending a check of the eduroam!

Andy, the topic is "Before High Imperialism: exploring the trans-imperial nature of British colonial violence in Australia, India and South Africa, 1857- 1884"   

[andy popp]

Andy, the topic is "Before High Imperialism: exploring the trans-imperial nature of British colonial violence in Australia, India and South Africa, 1857- 1884"   

Sounds great ... challenging too, in several ways probably. Good luck with it, I'll be keen to follow your progress.

[Falling Down]

Thanks all - some interesting points. First thing to say is that its a history phd so I can't see that I'll be needing anything beyond office; certainly no models or anything.

I take it Mendeley etc. all play nicely with Office 365? No interest in putting yourself through the completely unnecessary pain of LaTeX just for smugness?

I’m using EndNote, it has a fab plugin for  MS Word so you can embed references into the text and it auto formats to the various academic styles and auto-creates reference lists at the end of docs. Super helpful.

Oh, and congrats on the PhD! (I’m at home writing MA case studies today)

[TobyD]

I've had a Chromebook for years, used for all the things you describe.  I think its great,  and haven't ever really found anything its restricted in. I think I got it around 2013, and it's been abused in bags and used in cafes etc a lot, and it still seems fine. Mine has a slightly annoying keyboard setup, but that's about the only bad thing I can say about it.

Err slight update on this, it seems to have died this morning, which although very irritating isn't that surprising, it's a decade old.

Spidermonkey, did you get one in the end? Any recommendations?!

[spidermonkey09]

I got bored of researching what was what and went for the Pixelbook Go, which has all the bells and whistles (touchscreen, 8GB RAM, backlit keyboard etc). It stands up well to my girlfriends Macbook Air in terms of aesthetics and speed. The keyboard is really good, a massive improvement on my previous laptop. I'm sure you could get similar specs for £100 less but my patience was wearing thin so I just went for it.

In case anyone else is interested, it seems to be doing everything I need currently. The Chrome OS has been an adjustment and the online versions of word aren't quite as good as I expected, but Google Docs is way better than I expected so have switched to that. The referencing manager to use if you use Google Docs is unquestionable Paperpile, its not even close.

[Will Hunt]

A Microsoft office account gets you loads of cloud storage on OneDrive (hugely useful for backing up with no effort, though I expect Drive will do the same) and all the office software. Annual fee is nominal considering what you get in my view. It’s been a godsend for the guidebook as I was trying to faff with shitty Apple office software beforehand.

[TobyD]

I got bored of researching what was what and went for the Pixelbook Go, which has all the bells and whistles (touchscreen, 8GB RAM, backlit keyboard etc). It stands up well to my girlfriends Macbook Air in terms of aesthetics and speed. The keyboard is really good, a massive improvement on my previous laptop. I'm sure you could get similar specs for £100 less but my patience was wearing thin so I just went for it.

In case anyone else is interested, it seems to be doing everything I need currently. The Chrome OS has been an adjustment and the online versions of word aren't quite as good as I expected, but Google Docs is way better than I expected so have switched to that. The referencing manager to use if you use Google Docs is unquestionable Paperpile, its not even close.

Nice review,  thanks.  I can't really stretch to one of these myself,  so it's probably going to be one of the ASUS,  Acer or HP ones.

[Paul B]

Can anyone recommend a video editor that works on Chrome? I'm not looking for anything fancy, just to trim some footage and if possible export screenshots.