Betty, I am so sorry for the loss of your house. I can only imagine the emotional stress that causes. All the best to you and your family. Not trying to hijack this discussion, but I was wondering what you Chomebook folks think about Android tablets? In particular, I have an ASUS TF701, which has a keyboard docking port. An added benefit of the keyboard dock is its internal battery, which charges the tablet so I get at least 12-16 hours of continuous use (movies on long flights, etc). When I am away from wifi I just us my cell phone as a hot spot. It is a lot lighter to carry than my laptop when traveling, is great for email etc. One big disadvantage is no libreoffice apps, but there are Android replacements. I can even work on an Android application using AIDE, the android ide that runs on android. Not as easy to use as Eclipse, but workable. Google Drive and dropbox are great for keeping everything in sync. I use KeePass2 with dropbox to keep my passwords current. My next step is to get an VPN working for I can access my network when traveling. Thanks for your thoughts! Mark On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 11:48 PM, der.hans wrote: > Am 07. Jul, 2013 schwätzte Betty I so: > > moin moin Betty, > > > Hi all; >> (I used to be the lady that was 'nice penguin @ webcanine dot com' but had >> to change my email so now I have this one.) >> We lost our house in Yarnell to the fire last weekend and are staying in >> > > Sorry to hear you lost the house. Hope you, the family and the dogs are > all OK. > > > Phoenix. But you guys have always been good for information on computer >> stuff in general, so i thought i'd ask here first. >> >> We have good insurance, and it is going to cover replacement cost for our >> computers up there. They were old, pentium III's that i had put ubuntu on >> and were great desktops. but i am thinking that since we don't do a lot of >> computer intense work up there, just surf online and read emails, that >> maybe it would be better to just get laptops. Then i was thinking maybe of >> getting a chromebook instead of a 'regular' laptop; but my son said that >> those are all 'cloud ' based. >> > > A relative in Flagstaff tested a chromebook and found it lacking. He has > some particular needs, but he said the chromebook wasn't hacking it for > normal use and he hadn't even gotten to the specialized things. Most of > his use was in areas with wifi, but not necessarily good connections > upstream of the wifi. > > If you don't regularly have Internet connectivity a cloud-based setup > seems less than optimal to me. I already find phones and tablets to be > paperweights[0] on a regular basis[1], I don't want my laptop to also be > completely network dependent. > > That said, pay attention to Joseph's feedback as he is knowledgeable about > Chromebooks and, unlike me, actually uses one :). > > I do suggest following his advice on the Zotac-like desktop. I was also > going to recommend it as I have been happy with mine for a light desktop > for a couple of years. Initially, I bought mine based on specific feedback > from Joseph and a couple of other PLUG members :). > > > But does that mean that they have no functionality if we're not online? >> >> What do you guys think? >> I have time, since it's going to take about 4 months to get a new >> manufactured home up there :( >> >> also, OT, i did just finish an html class and made my final project a few >> webpages with photos of the place and the fire stuff. of course, we >> haven't >> been allowed back up there but we're hoping for early this week. >> >> http://ipmarizona.com/eclass/**before.html >> > > I bet the dogs do love it up there. Glad you got out of there. > > [0] well, not completely useless as I still do some non-networked stuff on > both types of devices. > > [1] just spent a week with almost no data connectivity and spotty phone > reception on my phone. Also had crappy wifi from another cell provider and > my mobile broadband card from yet another cell provider had absolutely no > data connection at all. One of the aforementioned is the cell provider > that ostensibly has the best coverage in the southwest. The week was > spent in a medium-sized city, so I wasn't even in the boonies. The drive > too and from was in the boonies and was conducted offline due to lack of > connection. > > ciao, > > der.hans > -- > # http://www.LuftHans.com/ http://www.LuftHans.com/**Classes/ > # Keine Ahnung, was ich dir sagen soll, > # keine Ahnung und keinen (.)plan. -- die Toten Hosen > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >