Meet the Chromebook
This class meets for one full afternoon from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM
This class is intended as an introduction to Chromebooks and is not a comprehensive tutorial. This is a demonstration, not a hands-on class. If you are not familiar with the Google Chrome browser, please consider taking that class as well.
If you are in the market for a new computer, you may find that a Chromebook may fulfill most of your needs at a very affordable price, especially if you spend most of your computer time on the internet – email, watching TV, sports events and movies, reading, social networking and other forms of media consumption.
A Chromebook is a laptop of a different breed. Instead of Windows 10 or macOS, Chromebooks run Google's Chrome OS. First marketed to schools as an inexpensive alternative to Microsoft and Apple computers, Chromebooks are not just for kids anymore, although they are now the most used school computer. Small businesses, especially startups are showing serious interest as well. Chromebooks startup in seconds, last up to 14 hours after a battery charge and are easy to carry.
You can use a Chromebook to do just about anything you'd normally do online: read websites, check your email, watch online videos, etc. While you cannot install all of your familiar PC or iOS programs, you can usually find equivalents in Google Apps or in the hundreds of extensions available in the Chrome Web Store or among the 2.7 million Google Play store apps. Google has just announced that future Chromebooks will be able to run Linux apps as well.
Please bring a personal flash drive with at least 0.5GB of free space to copy the class materials for home use. Feel free to bring your personal laptop, especially if you have a Chromebook!
If there is sufficient interest, we will also discuss developing a Chromebook discussion group and/or additional classes.
Instructor: Dennis Korger
Updated August 2019