I have always been reluctant to spend money on software when there are so many free options available but I have always thought that buying expensive hardware was a good investment. That was until recently when my expensive investment in an iMac has been slowly gathering dust in the corner.When I first bought it 3 years ago, I used it for almost everything. Now, I use it to watch a movie about once a week. So what changed?
About a year ago we were investigating a possible implementation of Chromebooks so I was given a Samsung Series 3 to test its functionality. From the moment I took it out of the box I was impressed. I pressed the power button and within 10 seconds, it was ready to go. The look and feel was a bit like a Macbook Air , albeit on a budget. I am not going to lie and say it is a better machine than a Macbook Air, but if you work on a principle of 'good enough to do everything I need' then it is truly impressive.
What I didn't realise when I first used the Chromebook was how much of my computing was done in the cloud. I expected to have to use my iMac regularly but I found that almost everything I had to do, both work and personal I could do on the Chromebook. There were occasional frustrations and barriers (like no Skype for one!) but in most cases, you can find a Chrome Extension or App that does what you need.
There is also another advantage. I happen to use Chrome as my primary browser in school so when I close the lid on my Chromebook at home and go in to school, I can open up where I left off on my desktop. Also the range of useful third party apps is remarkable. If you already use Google Chrome, check out the web store.
With every OS upgrade, my Mac is getting slower and slower. Soon it will need to be replaced. I think it is highly unlikely that I will buy another Mac, as excellent as they are, when I can buy a Chromebook for a fraction of the price with all the functionality I need. Right now I have my eye on this one , but I will keep using my Mac until it dies and who knows what model will be available then.