New Cromebook user after a lifetime of Microsoft. What to expect?

[u/Able-Finish1011]

Hello :)

I just got a Cromebook from my dad (he accidentally got water on my previous one) and it's one of those yoga laptops from Lenovo, which can transform to a tablet.

Its a fine laptop, but I've been a Microsoft user my whole life, so I'm a little overwhelmed by it.

I think most of the questions I can get answered by ChatGPT, but I somehow trust reddit more with their on hand experiences, so my questions would be:

Do I need to install Linux? I tried to install Firefox (it's my go to browser) and everywhere I look it says you need linux for everything. Is it true? Is linux as hard as it seems?

Also, I use the laptop for my university, would it be necessary to install Microsoft office (and even how?? Through the appstore?). Or are the pre-installed apps on the cromebook good enough over a longer period of time? And also, are there good notes apps for this laptops?

Also, can I install tor ?

And also also, what can I expect? Does it work smoothly or is the Google system annoying? And what to expect on the negative side?

Thanks :)))

Edit: forgot to write, what are the advantages? :D And also, I sometimes like to install old games (like Harry Potter, Simpsons, sims 2), is it possible to install them trough the usual sites?

[u/Vectrex71CH]

May i ask, how much RAM is installed!? Because the experience is totally different between 4GB /8GB and 16GB or more

[u/Able-Finish1011 → u/Vectrex71CH]

Oh, idk, let me check 😅

[u/Able-Finish1011 → u/Vectrex71CH]

Its 4GB

[u/Vectrex71CH → u/Able-Finish1011]

Ohhh ok! I had also a 4GB Version a while ago. For WebApps (PWAs) it's ok but don't install the Android System nor Linux with just 4GB. ....it's possible but it will slowdown your Chromebook like hell! If you want to use Android and Linux then i would highly recommend 16GB . You wont believe the difference!! So keep your Chromebook nice and clean and use it "only" for WebApps. There are tons of great Apps out there besude Gmail, Docs, Youtube, Sheets, Slides, Maps,AI Studio, GDrive, Photos, Nerflix, GeForceNow ,Reddit, photopea, CapCut in Browser and and and ......

[u/Able-Finish1011 → u/Vectrex71CH]

Great, thank you so much! I'm really sorry for the following questions, im a big noob in those languages, but what you mean by PWAs and WebApps? Googles answer didn't help me much 😅 you dont mean the appstore, right? Upgrading isn't really a option (financialy), but im fine without linux and android, as i need the laptop mostly for University stuff and I think (hope) that will be enough. Just downloading some old pc games may be something I miss, like to play them when im sick or something :D

[u/Vectrex71CH → u/Able-Finish1011]

Most of Chromebook's are not upgradable, because the RAM is part of the Mainboard , not expandable. PWAs are so called Progressive Web Apps. Some of them i already mentioned in my first comment. What does that mean!? Well. For most People YouTube is a Website. BUT it is also a PWA. This means....you can INSTALL the Website as an Application, so it will appear in the Applications Menu down on tje Left side of your Chromebook. But why should you Install YouTube as an App!? Well as an App, you don't have the typicaly WebElements. It has a look and feel like an installed App.

See here for more infos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_web_app

[u/Vectrex71CH → u/Able-Finish1011]

You can Play (Stream) PC Games via NVidia GeForceNow https://play.geforcenow.com if you have STEAM Games

[u/jmmio1970]

Un acierto

[u/Bryanmsi89]

Change your entire frame of reference away from apps and instead make web apps of everything you use an app for today.

[u/1st_Paladin]

Chromebooks are my daily goto. In general if you MS Office needs are moderate in complexity then you will probably be ok with the online version of MS Office or the Android app from Google Play Store. The nice thing about Chromebooks is the ability to sign into MS OneDrive which allows files to be accessed from the Chromebook File Manager. If you are willing to consider Google Workspace apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, it will be a better fit for Chromebooks

[u/Kassenshlager]

Pains me to say this. What to expect? An OS on its deathbed. Wipe chromeos and install linux. Or buy a googlebook.

Your options

Half baked, heavily restricted os on its deathbed as Google launches googlebook

Half baked, heavily restricted brand new os as google shifts away from its old chrome os

Mature capable unrestricted os with a massive cinnunuty around it although the learning curve is steep (linux)

Windows - Mature, highly vulnerable os heavy overhead and a lot of invasive background shenanigans.

[u/bluesixer]

Microsoft Office is available on Chromebook as a cloud based service. But Google has their own suite of office apps capable of reading and creating files compatible with MS Office - and it's free

What I love is that Chromebook has no equivalent of Windows Degradation Syndrome. My first Chromebook I had for four years it remained as crisp and responsive on it's last day as it was right out of the box. The file browser app in Windows is so slow to load and so crash probe that it actually makes me angry. The equivalent app on a Chromebook launches instantly. Rebooting a Chromebook takes just seconds, but there's far less call to reboot a Chromebook, soo...

[u/OldBlueKat]

Chromebooks are ‘thin clients’ with limited storage space for programs. They use the ChromeOS, and Chrome as the preinstalled web browser, and theoretically you don’t install anything. You use web based applications and services. 

It really depends on what you want to do whether you need to get outside that sandbox. If you mostly just stream, surf, do email, maybe some low level document processing, just do it online, save to the cloud. 

Heavier gaming, pic and video processing, etc you might need to go for Linux (and get more deets from people who do that.)

I love the simplicity of Chromebooks for my uses. Rather than ChatGPT, look around here first:  https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/15458201

[u/SnooOwls1061]

Is it too late to return it? I think your going to find it very limited compared to a windows laptop.