Chromebook Debate-Love or Hate?

12 years ago

I did a search and found nothing on this forum in regards to the Google Chromebook which surprised me. As I research this product on-line I am finding many who have and use Chromebook love it vs. many who think the format and device to be ridiculous and useless. I am intrigued because I am looking for a couch laptop, something simple for my husband to surf the web with, and something we can take with us when we travel.

I have my eye on refurbished, for $165.00 inclusive and am wondering what feedback you may have.

Also, this particular Chromebook, come with OS installed, but no OS product key. Could that be a problem in the long run?

Here's a link - I hope it works!!

http://www.cowboom.com/product/1286560

Here is a link that might be useful: refurbished Chromebook

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Comments (8)

grandms
12 years ago
This is wi-fi powered. Do you have wi-fi network in your home? If so, this might be a good buy. I would worry about the lack of product key.
User
12 years ago
If you don't have product key, you may not be able to re-install the os if the laptop crashes. There will be no guarantee that any discs for os will be of any use until you need to use them. Make a copy of os first thing when you do buy one. Personally, I would not spend my money on anything that did not have the product key.
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Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
Chrome OS is free, there's no product key.
traceee
Original Author
12 years ago
"Chrome OS is free, there's no product key."

What? How confusing this is to me. All of the refurbished say "OS installed" but some say "OS Licence Key" missing. Anyhow I ended up ordering one that included the OS Licence key for $165.00 including tax and S&H. I won't know if it will come with the free 100 gb google drive or the 12 free in-flight passes until I fire it up.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I got it from cowboom.com which is a Best Buy company so returning it should be no problem.

I am obsessed with cowboom.com, and pleased with all the purchases I have made with them in the past. These are the items people trade in or return to Best Buy that they fix up and sell. Products and prices change all day long so you have to research and then be ready to jump when the item becomes available. That's what I did tonight with the Chromebook so I am ready to give it a try.

Thanks again - TM
Elmer J Fudd
12 years ago
My comment could have been wrong, let me back it up a step.

My understanding is that a Chromebook has the Chrome OS (developed by Google) preloaded. The hardware is designed for the OS and vice vesa. (the OS is a Linux derivative). The software is customized for a variety of features, including background updating.

Your support for the OS should be from the hardware manufacturer, I'm not sure why an issue of a key would enter into it, but I'll end my comment with what I'm sure of.

Chromebooks seem to be an interesting halfway house between a laptop and a tablet - it's laptop-ish but with stripped down features and limited capabilities. But, with those capabilities most people use most. I'm sure you'll enjoy using it, and its light weight makes it very portable.
jaych
11 years ago
No product key for Chrome OS.
I've used a chromebook for months and I can say you need to worry nothing, just use it. However, if you have any problem, there is a huge community that may help you(link below).

Here is a link that might be useful: Chromebook forum
evenshade
11 years ago
This is a timely thread for me. Even though we have a laptop, pc and tablet, I had done some reading and decided to purchase a chromebook yesterday. As snidely says it's different than a laptop or tablet, sort of a mixture of both. It's perfect for logging on to the web and accessing anything there that you'd usually do with a laptop. Mine is the HP Chromebook 14 with a 14" screen and I'm very happy with the screen resolution and how easy it is to use. You can't download freestanding program as (from my understanding) there is no hard drive. Everything is stored in the cloud. It's Google based so you can use any app in the google play store and it has its own apps for word processing, spread sheets, etc. It I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
evenshade
11 years ago
Just noticed this is an OLD thread. :) Sorry.

Chromebook Debate-Love or Hate?

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grandms

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grandms

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