Re:Why are Chromebooks still a thing?
by jdietrich on Sunday October 20, 2013 @04:47PM
(#6581403)
Chromebooks are brilliant, they're just not for you.
An awful lot of people just need a browser. They don't want a computer, they just want an internet appliance. If you're one of those people, a Chromebook is so obviously, self-evidently the best device that any debate over the matter seems ludicrous. No viruses, no mysterious slowdowns, no annoying things that pop-up in the bottom right corner, no inexplicable pauses when the damned thing refuses to shut down (Windows updates). The Damned Thing Just Works.
For my grandmother, a popup window from her antivirus asking to install an update is a complete showstopper, because the dialog is written in jargon she doesn't understand and because she doesn't have the confidence to take a guess at the right action. For her, a Chromebook is a wonder machine.
OP's argument appears to be a variant of the old "Macs are overpriced, I could build a computer with similar specs for far less" trope. Macs and Chromebooks have virtues that are non-obvious to people within the tech community, who have taken for granted the vices of Windows or Linux running on typical commodity hardware.
An awful lot of people just need a browser. They don't want a computer, they just want an internet appliance. If you're one of those people, a Chromebook is so obviously, self-evidently the best device that any debate over the matter seems ludicrous. No viruses, no mysterious slowdowns, no annoying things that pop-up in the bottom right corner, no inexplicable pauses when the damned thing refuses to shut down (Windows updates). The Damned Thing Just Works.
For my grandmother, a popup window from her antivirus asking to install an update is a complete showstopper, because the dialog is written in jargon she doesn't understand and because she doesn't have the confidence to take a guess at the right action. For her, a Chromebook is a wonder machine.
OP's argument appears to be a variant of the old "Macs are overpriced, I could build a computer with similar specs for far less" trope. Macs and Chromebooks have virtues that are non-obvious to people within the tech community, who have taken for granted the vices of Windows or Linux running on typical commodity hardware.