Will this $250 computer do everything I need as an Instructor?
At only $250.00 - I've been very tempted to tryout and live with a Google Chromebook. Now I have my chance!
"It looks like you need another new hard drive." That was the opinion from Dr. Bookem (brother Dan who's the smartest person in our family) after giving my two year old Dell a through examination. Which would be the third hard drive, beyond the original, that this laptop will have needed.
The first sign of trouble was at the San Francisco airport, waiting for my flight back from Jim Karana's memorial service. The thing would freeze as soon as I tried to boot it up. After six tries it finally caught. The next day the same thing. So off to see the doctor. "It will probably run fine forever... if you never turn it off." Better to replace the drive and have me move (he called it ghost) all my files from the old drive to the new. A new drive is about $100.00 and the typical cost for this service would be $150 ish depending on who's doing it.
That $250.00 also happens to be exactly what Amazon charges for a new Samsung Chromebook. So I hit the buy it now button, along with agreeing to pay the additional $3.95 for next day shipping for Amazon prime members. Next day was really important for me. I'm leaving for LA and the MINDBODY FitPro conference on Thursday and simply can't go without a functional laptop.
I have very little understanding of what I'm agreeing to. Chromebooks don't run any of the normal programs that I'm used to using. No Word, no Excel, no iTunes, no Spotify - but it does of course run the Google Chrome browser. And no DVD drive.
To replace all that software normally found on you computer, Chromebooks run a bunch of free Apps that are based in the cloud.
I have a sort of easy peace about all of this, combined with a slight tingle of fear... do something everyday that scares you 🙂
Stay tuned for this weekend when I report on my early experiences.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
- ICI Podcast 238 Meet Nerd Fitness Creator Steve Kamb - April 6, 2024
- ICI/PRO Podcast #113 Explosive Power pt 3 – Video PROfile with Tom Scotto from Stage 5 Cycling - March 31, 2024
- Spinning RideBook of class profiles - March 28, 2024
John,
The free apps aren’t bad. My son turned me on to Open Office. (.odt) I didn’t need it but tried as an exercise to show my daughter – whose new MacBook Pro was inadvertently ordered without such apps – that not having MS Word/Excel & PP was not the end of the world.
Once they’re running they look, work and feel like what you are used to. Try it.