Category: Chromebook

[Update] Thanks to Google+ user Luke Hook who pointed out that those of you who have the original Chromecast also have these offers available to you.  This is not just limited to the new Chromecast.  Thanks Luke!

If you have been one of those who have picked up one of the new 2015 Chromecast devices, there are some offers available to you through the Chromecast app that you won’t want to miss out on.  The offers are from a range of content providers, all obviously Chromecast enabled, to bring you TV, movies and music to you.  Two of the offers come from Google themselves:  a free movie rental through the Google Movies & TV app and a 90 trial subscription to Google Play Music Unlimited.

Review of the 2015 Chromecast

While we often think of the Chromecast as a media and streaming tool, it actually has a lot of versatility when it comes to your computing needs. The most common use of course is to show a presentation from Slides via a Chromecast on your Android phone or tablet. However you can easily show the content of your Chrome browser or your Chromebook to a Chromecast device with one simple extension in Chrome.

In this How To I’ll show you what you need to get all of this setup which is pretty simple. Once you have it setup you can easily show your Chromebook’s browser or desktop and if you are on a PC, you can show a tab in your Chrome browser.

Toshiba has pulled back the covers on their latest Chromebook, the Chromebook 2, which will be available next month and starting at only $329.99.  The 13.3″ displayed device which weighs in at only 2.9 pounds and has a full HD display running at 1920 x 1080.  To come with that display are front facing Skullcandy tuned speakers for a superior audio experience.

The Chromebook 2 will come in two variants according to the Toshiba press release.  For $329.99 you will have the Intel Celeron powered device while for $100 more you can have the 5th Generation i3 processor powering your Chromebook.

While Chrome OS is rock solid as a platform, like any Operating System, there are times where things go wrong.  The technical term is “poop”.  Sometimes it just poops and you are stuck looking at a screen that tells you there is a problem with it.  Fortunately Google has made it very easy to recover your Chromebook and Chrome OS through a Recovery drive.  You can create these drives ahead of time which is a good idea so you have one with you in your back while you are traveling.

Creating a Recovery drive for your Chromebook is pretty easy but you have to make sure you follow the steps to assure you get the right build for your particular Chromebook.  In this How To I’ll show you how to create a Recovery drive so you have it ready in case the worst happens.

In addition to the six new smartphones that Acer announced today at IFA 2015 in Berlin, the company also announced a brand new 11″ Chromebook, the R11.  The Chromebook R11 is the first fully convertible Chromebook from Acer and sports an 11″ 1366 x 768 LCD display and is powered by an Intel Celeron processor.  The R11 will be able to have up to 4GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage depending on the configuration you purchase.  As for price, the Chromebook R11 will start at $299.

When I received the Acer C670 to review, I commented to my wife that the world has come full circle. When I started my career first in networking then in telecommunications, I had a green screen CRT that tied me back into mainframe.  Now, I have a Chromebook that ties me back into the Cloud. The only difference is that power and performance in a Chromebook is far superior to a dumb terminal.

The Acer C670 Chromebook is by all accounts a middle-of-the-road spec’d device. But don’t let that fool you or pass it over.  At only $149, it is an exceptional value for what it does and it has plenty of horsepower to meet your needs as a lightweight, almost always connected device. Truthfully the keyboard on the C670 is one of the better chicklet-style keyboards I’ve tested and it is large enough to feel like you are typing on a full sized keyboard.  While the display on the C670 could stand to be a bit better, overall this Chromebook is one to consider if you need something lightweight, small and always ready-to-go for your Google Doc and other online editing needs.

Acer C670 Chromebook – $149.99 – Amazon