[mitchell]

Hello,

I am very eager to get my hands on a Chromebook. I was looking at the Samsung.

I have a question regarding a few things.

I see that Dropbox works with the chromebook, I've seen the app on the app store.

I'm looking for a word processing application for the chromebook... but I want to be able to save the documents to a flash drive, or if on the local SSD, let it sync up with Dropbox.

At the same time, I really need it to be Office compatible.

Are there any apps out there for that?


It would be useful to be able to use the office file format, so I can save it on a drive, pop it into another computer, make changes, plug the drive into the chromebook, and work some more.


Dropbox sync is a plus - I've seen that dropbox supposidely works. It would be nice because I already pay for dropbox and use it... Although, if I need to use google drive, I will use it in addition to dropbox, but I would prefer to just sync my documents with dropbox.


Regardless of the synchronization :

I really need to get an office type application for the chromebook that will work with office file formats (.doc, .docx), so I can work on them on different computers without errors, without frustration.

 

[mitchell]

I'll be honest ... I don't think a Chromebook is right for you.

Its right for me because:

I learned to ditch MS Office all together
I an still open word docs, I can edit .doc .docx .xls .xlsx .csv, I can save to a Word doc, email them ... but I've learned to do everything I need to do with Google Docs. Microsoft Word is infinately better than Google Docs in every way. Its waaay faster, and tons more features. But why do I need a word processor that can do 10,000 things when I need it to do a handful of things? Why do I keep upgrading my MS Word every 2 years so I can keep on editing the exact same documents I've been using for 20 years? By ditching MS Office, I no longer need to worry about upgrding the software, "compatiblity packs", versions ...

I've learned to ditch Dropbox
Google Drive can do everything Dropbox can do and more. Plus you get 15GB free space right off the bat, plus extra space is cheaper to buy. One big drawback, Google Drive is slower to synch than Dropbox. One big advantage... Google Drive can do a LOT more including offline synch with Mac, PC.

I've learned to ditch USB drives
And also ditch CDR / DVDR's, forget the idea of having to backup data, external hard disks ... if my hard disk crashes who cares? Computer gets stolen? There's no personal data on it anyways... just get another computer / chromebook, login and its all there. Don't even need to install any software ... just need a web browser and an internet connection. And also forget the idea of having to email documents, having to deal with multiple versions / copies, having to synchronize different versions. Instead of emailing a document, you email a link to document ... everyone can view, edit ONE single copy.

I'm willing to do all of this, only problem was that I was hoping it would sync with dropbox.

If it won't do it right, I have no problem using google docs.

I've used google drive and google docs for a long time, no issues... I ended up having an unrelated issue, and I switched to dropbox. I have no issues, other than just not wanting to use two cloud storage provider.

Given google drive is the only option, I will make the appropriate changes and such.

I'm already a google apps user (business apps) and love it.

I do have a number of documents I create on google docs due to the great collaborative features... at the same time, it would be nice to be able to stick a flash drive in and work on a project in a native word / office file format.


I'd like to have the option of using both google docs, and a program that can edit native office documents.

 

[mitchell]

Thanks for the reply.

I can just save documents I work on a lot on a USB Flash Drive - no problem.

I have mobile hotspot on my phone, so I am rarely anywhere without an internet connection on my devices...

There are a few files I would likely keep offline... Notably my daily journal and notes throughout the day...

I don't have google drive saved on my computer, I'll need to do that - or just access it through the web interface.

 

[mitchell]

I got it and I love it!

It's a nice second computer... I use a MacBook Pro for work and games, nice to have a Chromebook to just stick in my bag and take off with - turns on in like 10 seconds if not less.