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AIBU?

AIBU to ask you about Chromebooks and Msc?

26 replies

FromSussexWithLove · 30/04/2019 21:15

Evening all!

Sorry - shamefacedly posting for traffic.

I work FT and am starting a masters degree PT next week.

I have only had my work laptop for the last few years as I've not had the need to do additional word processing etc. outside of work hours (mostly living on my phone and Mumsnet Active Wink )

I've decided that I obviously need something for my actual uni work that is completely separate from office life (also, that would clearly be a breach of privacy policies at work) - I think I've settled on a Chromebook of some sort but have never had one. I understand the pitfalls of requiring connectivity etc. but want something quick, very lightweight, that can handle word processing/powerpoints etc. and that uploads directly to Cloud (after a horrendous undergrad dissertation backup failure 10 years ago) so GSuite is perfect.

So my questions if you/family have a Chromebook:

  • What one do you have? There are so many different models that it's quite overwhelming
  • If so, is it good/anything I need to know?/Would you recommend?


Price ranges are vast at between £150 - £1000 - ideally I wanted around £300 max but want to be sure it will manage everything I need it to do and it's hard to tell quite how much better the £600 ish options really are.
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Gindrinker43 · 30/04/2019 21:20

Can't comment on the Chromebook as I am using a Macbook for my MSC (actually on Mumsnet rather than working), however don't buy any software until you have a university e-mail account as you will then be eligible for student discounts.

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AndOutComeTheBoobs · 30/04/2019 21:21

I got a chromebook for my degree. I absolutely love it.

It was about £300

As for the make, I don't know. It's grey 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was given a brand new Lenovo shortly afterwards and it's absolutely fucking terrible.
I love my Chromebook.

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HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend · 30/04/2019 21:22

MacBook for anything university related, as it can be saved in the cloud if anything untoward happened so you have that additional safety.

Chrome book for everything else.

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AndOutComeTheBoobs · 30/04/2019 21:22

Oh but the massive downside is not being able to share ANY essays etc with anyone

And I can't get the free software that uni provides like Office.

I'm in the third year now and I've worked round it, but it is a massive pain the arse and I always said if I realised that it was such an issue with Chromebook then I never would have got it.

Other than that, it's great. 😂

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WannabeMathematician · 30/04/2019 21:23

The laptop just for writing on or is there any specialist software you need?

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Fiveredbricks · 30/04/2019 21:24

I have the Pixelbook. It's brilliant. But they're all the same OS as the lower spec ones just different speeds and hardware tech.

If it's for Uni you'll need ms office tbh. Even saved in the right docx format most of my submissions from google docs went screwy on my lecturers PCs (most running ancient pcs tbh so it has been very frustrating).

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AndOutComeTheBoobs · 30/04/2019 21:24

Also I'm from sussex too. Brighton uni, so if that's where you're going you definitely won't be able to swap essays, info or Download office for free either.

I can't speak for all other unis though

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Fiveredbricks · 30/04/2019 21:25

@AndOutComeTheBoobs you just save google docs as docx files or use Office Online with a student discount code or with the access code from your Uni? 🤔

What way are you saving them? 😂

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LongtimeLurker29 · 30/04/2019 21:25

I've got an Acer Chromebook. Had it as a gift and wouldn't have chosen it first off but I love it! Syncs with my phone too so I can access my work wherever I am

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AndOutComeTheBoobs · 30/04/2019 21:28

Firedbricks I didn't say I had a problem saving my essays. Hmm

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TheFirstOHN · 30/04/2019 21:28

DS2 and DS3 each have an Asus C202 as part of a scheme at their school.

Portable, reasonably priced, starts up quickly, good battery life, easy to use, very hard wearing (survives teenage boys who walk & cycle to school and whose bags get chucked around).

They can't play games on them (I see this an a positive; they might not agree).

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AndOutComeTheBoobs · 30/04/2019 21:29

And I do use office online.

Which is shit if you have bad internet or want to go to a place that isn't your home with full wifi.

It also crashes repeatedly during an essay.

Downloading the full Office is a far, far better option. Which you can't do on Chrome...

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Lifeisabeach09 · 30/04/2019 21:29

Acer Chromebook. Approx 200ish when bought.
Small and lightweight.
I love it because it doesn't have all the crap programmes installed like PCs do. It's very simple.
However, downside was using MS office was a bit of a hooha. I either had to use the chrome versions then convert then to .doc, excel formats or MS Online. Can affect the formatting when uploaded.
Not all apps have chrome versions so you may be limited there (I think Adobe is an example of this) but there are PDF openers that are chrome combatible.
Apparently, Chromebooks are less likely to get viruses too.
www.howtogeek.com/398481/no-you-dont-need-antivirus-on-a-chromebook/

I'm a huge fan- I find them easy to use, quick to start up and serve my purposes: school work and netsurfing.

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Lifeisabeach09 · 30/04/2019 21:30

*compatible

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strongandlong · 30/04/2019 21:33

I love my Dell Chromebook.

The main thing to look for is at least 4Gb of RAM, preferably 8.

You can work offline if you set it up to do that.

If you get a touchscreen version you can install the Android versions of word etc, but I think Google docs is miles better!

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FromSussexWithLove · 30/04/2019 21:35

Thanks guys!

@AndOutComeTheBoobs - yes I use Gsuite for work and you can save as a doc file (though I think formatting does get a bit screwy tbh). Also good to know re. Lenovo - Acer, Samsung, Lenovo, HP etc. all seem to make Chromebooks but I'm never sure what the "real" Chromebooks are Confused. Nice to see a fellow Sussex-er - I'm not Brighton, the other one ;-)

@Gindrinker43 - you're a star! I totally forgot I'm eligible for discounts now and have already got my ID/email etc. as it's where I studied undergrad (lots of) years ago so they had me in the system! Also have my (new version) of NUS! Will go and look for discounts!

@Fiveredbricks - GAH I was hoping nobody would say Pixelbook because I really want it but it's the most expensive! I think I'm intending on getting MS Office on it anyway as I'm more familiar (used to pay the £8pm fee for Cloud Office and would do the same again via the app) but would appreciate GSuite for my note taking etc. (In lieu of the coveted ReMarkable)

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Littlebluebird123 · 30/04/2019 21:36

I have a Chromebook I use for my essays etc and it's great.
There are a couple of issues though:
-printer compatibility, it's only compatible with a few types of printer, total pita

  • docs and office compatibility are normally fine, but sometimes they aren't and it's really hard to sort them out. For example, I can start a document on Google docs and convert to office compatible but the formatting changes, and the same the other way around so sometimes I can't edit a table or line it up the way I want it
  • you can't run specific software so if a certain program is used for your course it won't be compatible


Pros are definitely the cloud storage, ease of use, price, no overheating.
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AndOutComeTheBoobs · 30/04/2019 21:42

Mines an Acer, I've just remembered.

My issues were when lecturers would send back my essays. I couldn't see anything they had written on them. And it's very very difficult to sort out.

Then the lecturers ask me to format my stuff differently and sometimes it's not possible to do exactly what they are asking.

It basically makes a simple task very bloody complicated.

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lifebegins50 · 30/04/2019 21:43

I have both. For online access CB is good as start up quick, low likelihood of virus and saving docs online. It is also cheap.

The issue is working with MS documents. Formatting from Gsuite to Doc doesn't always work well and the functions with Gsuite can be frustrating.

If you use Android you could use the apps and see how you get on.

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FromSussexWithLove · 30/04/2019 21:44

Hmmmm all the Office Issues are starting to put me off a bit :( So frustrating as I feel like I had at least narrowed it down from windows vs mac vs. chromebook but I definitely need to not waste time faffing with re-formatting etc. And it looks like my Uni do do the free Office for Students but no Chrome link (obviously) :(

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FromSussexWithLove · 01/05/2019 13:11

Sorry to ping you all with a notification again but you've all been really helpful so far... one last question:

I've checked the Uni guidance on document types for TurnitIn/Canvas etc. and they say that preferably to avoid formatting issues we should export as PDF anyway - so assuming that really is the case and I won't get caught out (and can live without dynamic tables of contents etc.) I could use a Chromebook with GSuite and export to PDF - correct or missing something?

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FromSussexWithLove · 01/05/2019 13:14

I basically have 2/3 options for what I've checked using Which etc. which is any number of Chromebooks
OR

This
or
This used as a Cloudbook

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Mustbetimeforachange · 01/05/2019 13:24

DD loved her Chromebook because it was so light to carry around,but had trouble converting things to Word/excel as everything had to be submitted in Office format (I know there are ways around but this was a few years ago & some functionality wasdefinitely lost). She also needed specialist software so had to have a laptop as well.

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FromSussexWithLove · 01/05/2019 13:31

Thank you @Mustbetimeforachange

In that case I will swing for one of the other two options. It's marketing related so no specialist software needed but lots of word/excel/powerpoint

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Andromeida59 · 01/05/2019 14:04

Chromebooks are excellent. I'm using one for my MA. Google Docs also have a bibliography feature where they help with referencing. It's saved me so much time!

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