rickhamilton620
has a fetish for terrible cars
I'm typing this now because if I don't, I won't.
I use my desktop computer for 99% of my "computing" tasks. The rest I do on my phone. However, my phone is inconvenient to use as a car repair "youtube, PDF manual reading and forum research" device when I'm out working on my car. - the screen is small and not good in sunlight due to being glossy glass, it's finicky to hold/balance on shit, rewinding a video is frustrating, and the battery life tanks like a lead balloon when it's used heavily in direct sunlight.
I also want a portable machine for any family and friends tech support tasks I'm called upon.
I sold my Dell Venue 8 Pro because it gathered dust - the standby battery life was abysmal + I found my phone more convenient due to higher quality apps and a easier to use virtual keyboard. I considered a keyboard dock but even then, I wanted a mouse, it's one more thing to charge/manage....I may as well buy a regular laptop at that point.
Now, I should mention, I do have a laptop. It's an ancient Dell Latitude D630 (14 inch, Intel Core 2 Duo) laptop running CloudReady (essentially Chromium OS). It's seen better days though:
It has had a internal cleaning and repasting that solved the "throttling and heating enough to fry an egg" issues but I dunno if I should put money into installing a new display, battery and keyboard.
My options:
I use my desktop computer for 99% of my "computing" tasks. The rest I do on my phone. However, my phone is inconvenient to use as a car repair "youtube, PDF manual reading and forum research" device when I'm out working on my car. - the screen is small and not good in sunlight due to being glossy glass, it's finicky to hold/balance on shit, rewinding a video is frustrating, and the battery life tanks like a lead balloon when it's used heavily in direct sunlight.
I also want a portable machine for any family and friends tech support tasks I'm called upon.
I sold my Dell Venue 8 Pro because it gathered dust - the standby battery life was abysmal + I found my phone more convenient due to higher quality apps and a easier to use virtual keyboard. I considered a keyboard dock but even then, I wanted a mouse, it's one more thing to charge/manage....I may as well buy a regular laptop at that point.
Now, I should mention, I do have a laptop. It's an ancient Dell Latitude D630 (14 inch, Intel Core 2 Duo) laptop running CloudReady (essentially Chromium OS). It's seen better days though:
- The screen is ridiculously dim - a combination of age and being spoiled by LED backlit devices.
- Needs a replacement battery and a new keyboard
- It's 14 inches and heavy AF
It has had a internal cleaning and repasting that solved the "throttling and heating enough to fry an egg" issues but I dunno if I should put money into installing a new display, battery and keyboard.
My options:
- Super cheap 10 to 13 inch Windows Laptop (HP Stream 11/13, Acer CloudBooks, ASUS E200 HA, ASUS X205, etc...) - Pros: Runs Windows so I can easily do tech support tasks that require windows. (reviving the BIOS on my brothers computer couldn't be done from my Chromium OS laptop, for example). I can keep stuff offline for viewing outside of wi-fi range as it's a bit flaky in my yard sometimes (car repair youtube vids, manuals, etc). Cons: Not a ton of free space, are slower overall than equivalent Chrome OS systems. Probably drains battery a bit faster.
- Chromebook: Pros: Cheap as fuck, Simple and fast, can run select Android apps now and will have access to entire Play Store later this year, some look really upscale for the price. Cons: limited offline abilities but it's getting better and I could probably get away with it as long as it'd let me playback downloaded youtube videos and open PDF's offline. If I need a Windows app for whatever reason I'm hosed.
- Used laptop off eBay: Pros: may be more powerful and better built than a brand new ultra cheap laptop. Cons: Could be picking up someone else's problems
- Keep and fix up existing laptop: Pros: Machine I already know. Sticker covered lid like a boss. Cons: Add up the repair costs and maybe I could afford a newer, potentially faster computer. Still will be heavy with a dim screen in comparison to a newer or smaller computer. May start to get slower and slower on the web/video playback due to aged internals compared to new computers.
What do you guys think? Common sense says to just buy the Windows laptop but the newer Chromebooks like this all aluminum Acer: http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Chromebo...id=1463720405&sr=8-4&keywords=acer+chromebook are appealing. I have plenty of experience with them at work but in an "always connected" scenario.