Category: Chromebook

After being announced a few weeks back and virtually no device getting the update immediately, Chrome 63 is finally rolling out for Chrome OS.  It is an important release because it addresses the vulnerabilities outlined by Intel and Google earlier this week.  With Chrome 63, devices running Chrome OS will be protected.

Clearly users of Chromebooks and Chromeboxes need to update to this new build immediately.  You can do so by typing chrome://help in the omnibar of the browser and then clicking the Check for Update button.  The update will take about 5 minutes to download depending on your device & connection speed.  As is normal with Chrome OS, you will need to reboot your device to apply the new build.

With CES 2018 next week, we are already starting to see some pre-show announcements.  HP jumped on that bandwagon today by announcing updated version of their HP Chromebook 11 and Chromebook 14.

The HP Chromebook 11 G6 is black with orange trim, sports a 180° hinge and is powered by the 7th generation Celeron N processors.  It will come standard with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.   The updated HP Chromebook 14 G5 will have a slightly better processor option, can be configured up to 8GB of RAM and has 64GB of storage.

One of the most common questions that I get asked, both here on the site, as well as by friends and family has to do with the hardware and software I use every day.  It is a fair question and one that people ask out of both curiosity as well as doing a “stare and compare” with their own tech.

I’ve always said that you need to use the right technology that works for you.  That may be an Android Phone or an iPhone.  That may be a Windows PC or a MacBook Pro.  Whatever the technology, it has to get the job done for you and for me, this list of hardware and software, works for me.  I encourage readers to look into what I use to see if it fits their needs but at the end of the day, it is a personal use case as to whether it will or will not.

I’ve broken this article into two parts.  The first is the primary hardware that I use each day with the second focused on the apps that I use on them.  The apps could be on my phone, my tablet or my Chromebook and I’ll note that as I go along.  As for hardware, I’ll cover what I use every day as well as other devices I use from time-to-time.  You’ll note that very little of what I have is new and that’s on purpose.  I tend not to buy the latest and greatest because I, like most of you reading this, are looking for value in my purchases or I use things for a long time before replacing them.

One of the great features of a Chromebook is the ability to save a site you regularly visit to your Shelf for quick access.  It is a feature that is exclusive to Chrome OS and not something you can do on the Chrome browser for Windows or MacOS – at least not yet.

If you are new to Chrome OS and a Chromebook, adding a site to your Shelf is very easy to do and in this How To, I’ll show you were to find the somewhat buried menu to do so.

First, navigate to the site that you want to add to your Shelf in the browser.  Now go to the overflow menu (the three vertical dots) and go down to More Tools.  There you will see the second menu option, Add to shelf.

If you are a Chromebook users that uses Android apps, Chrome 64 is likely going to bring you some very good news.  The beta of that train is out and in it, Android apps continue to run when they are in the background.  Currently the apps will pause (with a few exceptions) when they are no longer the focus app on your Chromebook.  That is, if you move from one app to another or from an app to a web-based app in Chrome, the app will pause.

Chrome 64 addresses this primarily through an update to the Android Framework running in Chrome OS.  Way back in March, I posted that this framework would be upgraded from Android Marshmallow to Android Nougat.  It was in Chrome 61 but it didn’t work well as apps continued to pause in the background.  With Chrome 64, the framework is updated to Android Oreo and, based on early beta testing, is able to handle multiple Android apps running at the same time without pausing them when they are not the primary focus app.

Today over at Amazon you can pick up a great deal on the Acer Chromebook 14.  Right now this all aluminum chassis Chromebook is available with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage for $268 when you pick it up in the aluminum finish.

This Acer Chromebook 14 is powered by a Intel Celeron N3160 processor running at 1.6GHz and the display renders at 1920 x 1080 full HD.  As mentioned already, it has 4GB of RAM which is really handy on a Chromebook and has 32GB of storage for those things (like Android apps) that you need to store locally.  It also has a built-in battery that is rated to give 12 hours of life between charges.  Overall it is a great package and one of the higher rated Chromebooks out there right now despite it being nearly a year old.

The Chromebook 14 also supports Android apps now in the Stable channel so you have that benefit with this Chromebook too.