[iamamomof5]

Your internet goes out when a project is due. Can you do anything with your Chromebook? Or are you forced to search for a 24 hour restaurant with free internet? Can you save a copy of the project that you could use on a windows based laptop?

 

[russcasey]

There are a few chrome extensions/apps that support local functionality - basic calculators and text editors, and Google docs will be introducing these features soon too. Other than that, without a web connection you're pretty much hosed with a Chromebook.

However if you're using a Chromebook then you'll be keeping everything of value on the web anyway - your documents might be in Google Docs or Office.live.com, your project plan might be managed at liquidplanner.com or pivotaltracker.com, your expenses claims are all on expensify.com, etc.

My company already does this, so these days when I'm on the road with my windows laptop it is almost completely useless for doing project work without a web connection. This means a chromebook is not such a big step for me.

If you currently work with local MS Office documents, then consider the cloud alternatives - they offer most of the same functionality (there are some limitations) but with really cool collaborative features - we often have 6 people editing the same document at once. The idea of each person having their own copy of something, and the consequent problems with merging changes and distributing the latest version is just a memory for me

 

[homer]

Yeah, right now you have to take advantage of the offline apps that there are. Outside of that you just have to wait a little longer until offline apps are further developed.

 

[russcasey]

Yeah, right now you have to take advantage of the offline apps that there are. Outside of that you just have to wait a little longer until offline apps are further developed.

That's an important point right there. HTML5 is pretty new - currently few sites use it and fewer support offline storage. That will change over the next few years.

 

[Jason]

Your internet goes out when a project is due. Can you do anything with your Chromebook? Or are you forced to search for a 24 hour restaurant with free internet? Can you save a copy of the project that you could use on a windows based laptop?

Many places I have seen are requiring something online for work. Such as Sharepoint, Google Docs, Office Online and such. Also since you can connect via Mobile Data..you can always have a connection of some kind...**** my gas station by the house advertises Free WiFi...

 

[ptath2]

Yeah, I would be out of luck, but most of the time I would be out of luck with my Windows laptop I would be out of luck as well, most of what I do can't be completed with out a network connection, whether I need to VPN to the corporate network, or have access to Salesforce.com. We have construction going on at work and when the network goes down so does a lot of work, a lot of people go get coffee, water cooler conversations pick up, and some use it as an excuse to go home and work from the house.