Electronic toys

I bought a new one yesterday.
The last one ran hot from the first moment so I suspected it was going to be a problem but the new one is just mildly warm.

We do get power cuts (a lot), sometimes from the supplier, and often when my wife or the maid plugs the vacuum cleaner in and it trips the power on the circuit that includes my office.

There have been many influences on the English language over the last 1500 years, the Vikings, the Norse, colonisation, but no single thing has reduced the use of foul language as much as my UPS.

Samsung Note 9
A monster of a phone with fast everything, and 512 gb of internal memory.
Its ability to run powerpoints directly into an RGB or HDMI projector, and the ability to control them with the S pen, is a serious bonus.
Hardly touched the DeX functions yet but that mode looks very promising.

One point - the local Samsung service centre and the tech staff on their site told me it's impossible to route the audio through the phone's speakers when using it with a projector.
I would have thought they'd know their own product a little better since I managed to work out how to do it.

The Samsung smartwatch I bought is less great.
The message alerts and most other functions work well, and the Ppt controller is great, but you can't turn off the annoying and rubbish fitness functions.
It keeps reminding me I'm walking when I'm out for a walk, tells me how far I've run and how great I am for doing it, but only when I'm driving.
Then I would love to ask the pointless morons at Samsung's watch software development facility why they felt the need to add a function that tells me I should do torso twists when I'm in a meeting.
I end up turning it off, and often don't bother to wear it because the software is so crap.
I strongly recommend against buying one until their design team is replaced with people that have working brains.

After a lot of messing about and being told several times by Samsung people it's impossible to turn the faulty functions off, I have finally managed to do so.
They have to be turned off one by one, and aren't all in the same menu, but it is possible.
The watch is now working perfectly.

Fred wrote:

I bought a HP stream 8 windows tab.
I alread had a tab and a tab/laptop, but I wanted something small, neat, with a SIM card, and USB charging.
I have one now.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/8 … SY355_.jpg

I really must sell some of the old stuff.

This has been a cracking bit of kit, and I'm using it to create this post, but the battery life is getting a bit limited and the charging time is increasing.
I'm looking at the market now but the choice is basically Android or Windows 10.

Android doesn't have the translate functions windows has (something I use a lot), but Windows ten is a rare old pain in the bum because of it's idiotic updating. That and the windows stuff can't really be used on a SIM card because the updates eat data, even when you set it to a limited connection.
10 also has that terrible Cortana rubbish that insists on uploading your personal data all the time, again wasting quota.
I'm on the hunt for a new battery for this one.

Just bought a Samsung Tab S5e, and it's beautiful.

I'm using it in deX mode, that making it very much like a PC rather than a tab, and even has a right click on the mouse. I picked up the Samsung Keyboard with it (Special offer here until 16 June 2019 - be quick if you want one).
My initial feelings are exceptionally good with everything doing exactly what I want, plus I'm finding features I didn't know it had. The screen is absolutely crystal, and sound is seriously sexy, and the keyboard is positive and easy to type on.

It will be replacing the annoying rubbish I know as Windows 10 for all my portable work but, sad as it is, it won't completely replace Windows as yet. However, I have a feeling Samsung are well aware of how rubbish windows has become so they're probably working on ways to make their kit replace it completely for most users.

I have yet to try a word processor, presenter, and Excel style app but I intend to download WPS office later.

As a note, it will accept a SIM card and a micro SD memory expansion - I'll take both from my old Windows 8 tab and stick them in to this little piece of technological heaven.

You do love Samsung, do you, Fred?

Ciambella wrote:

You do love Samsung, do you, Fred?

I have enjoyed good experiences with their Android stuff so I supose it would be reasonable to say I like them.
Their watch was a bit of a pain because I couldn't turn off the dodgy fitness functions, but I finally beat it and all is well now.

Fred wrote:

I finally beat it and all is well now.

Ahem.  When a person beats an item of electronic, it usually ends up in the bin.

Looks pretty sleek.

Ciambella wrote:

Fred wrote:

I finally beat it and all is well now.

Ahem.  When a person beats an item of electronic, it usually ends up in the bin.

It very nearly did.
The watch itself is pretty good but the menu structure needs a little work, at least as far as turning the rubbish off goes.
I finally found everything after a lot of messing about and some assistance from electronic toy forums, that saving the watch from my temper.

Travel_n_Hustle wrote:

Looks pretty sleek.

Looks it, and works like it.
The DeX mode (desktop experience) is a lot like a PC with multiple resizible windows and other features such as right click you don't normally get with Android.
It's android on coke.

I was going to suggest the Samsung watch I have is rubbish, but that would be unfair and unreasonable.

I will suggest the designer that created the charger is rubbish at his or her job, and the software writer is about the same.

The watch software is very poorly designed from a user point of view because it doesn't allow easy turning on and off of features, especially the duff heath functions that tell you how far you've run whilst driving,  and congratulates you for climbing whatever number of floors when you're on an escalator. Apart from the obvious faults in the crap software, the moron of a software writer doesn't make it easy for you to dump the crap functions in one easy click.

As for the pointless fool that designed the charger and charging system - Phew, what a loony.

The charger is a vertical L shape, that meaning it won't slip into a pocket without the appearance I'm walking around with a tiny erection, and it can't go near anything that has a magnetic strip as the thing has a very powerful magnet to hold the watch in place when charging. That means it's inconvenient so I end up leaving the watch at home if I'm out for a few days - Bit pointless having it.

I've tried to buy a flat, sensibly designed charger but, whilst these work on my phone, the watch isn't compatible with any I've tried so that effort to sort out the problem has failed in epic fashion.

So, Samsung, if anyone from your company reads this ...

1 - Look at how Garmin charge their watches and consider how much more convenient it is for travellers

2 - Sack the software writers and hire new ones with a clue

3 - Sack the twit that designed the charger and charging system, then do as above.

I recently bought a Lenovo Smart Display for myself. Pretty well-received as far as I can see on Google, with this site even putting it on a pedestal. Have it for a few days now and I enjoy the large, high resolution display, and the nifty camera cover. Sound could be improved though. Not very cheap, and from what I gather durability of Lenovo products are either hit or miss, but so far I'm enjoying it and hoping I don't get buyer's remorse. 

A few wins and a lose or few for Samsung.

The first win is their note 9 (and I suspect the 10 is equally epic). Several months of use and it just gets better and better. The Note 9 is an amazing bit of kit that does pretty much everything but make me a cup of coffee in the morning (Luckily my wife does that and hopefully will continue to do so until Samsung realise their mistake )

The next massive win is the Tab S5e. This wonderful bit of kit has all but replaced my PC as it's so fantastic. The thing works well in Android mode but DeX (Desktop experience) is absolutely amazing.  The things works very much like a PC, but without all the hassle and rubbish windows 10 is well known for.
You can even install Linux on both the Note and the tab - Bonus.

Fails - a few

Samsung sold me the keyboard for the Tab S5e without the slightest mention there's no guarantee so, when a fault occured, it was lots of shouting and harsh words. A wander into their service centre saw me being told there was no warranty and I would have to buy a new one, that being when it was only a week old.
One for Samsung to consider - I'm a more than happy Samsung customer but that episode has made me wonder how honest your company is.

The Samsung DeX stations.
This Note 9 version is an epic fail, not because it doesn't work, but more because the designers are clearly clueless. Samsung have made a phone that will effectively replace your computer, especially when out and about. I can happily conduct a PowerPoint presentation from the thing (The S-pen acting as a remote and the phone turning into a trackpad) so I don't need to carry a computer around with my for most jobs, but the DeX stand is far more awkward to carry than a small laptop, thus it becomes pointless. I bought a small, pocket size, non-Samsung product that does  the same job but slips into a trouser pocket with ease.

The terrible Samsung watch that isn't terrible but is a rare old pain in the bum.
The watch does a million things, even acting as a PowerPoint presenter and air mouse, but the fitness software is worse than useless, it annoys me.
It is possible, with a hell of a lot of messing around, to turn of the faulty fitness functions that congratulate me on running a long distance when I'm driving, and tell me I'm great for climbing so many flights of stairs when I'm on escalators. However, once you've managed to dump all that crap, the thing works well, but there's still a problem.
I'm off out and about for a few days and I want to travel light so I will leave the watch at home. The watch isn't a problem but whatever clueless moron designed the charger was  probably drunk, on drugs, stupid, or just inept as the charger is roughly 5 times the height of the watch.  The thing works fine as a home charger, or even when I'm out and about and have the tab with me, but the ridiculous size and shape means it doesn't even fit very well into the bag I use for the Tab, and looks like I have a tiny erection if I pop it into my trouser pocket.
All the watch needs is a sensibly designed charger that's small, light, and thin, but Samsung made one that's big, heavy (It has a large magnet in it to keep the watch fixed as the thing demands the watch is counter vertically - Drrr), and is a fat as I am.

I can imagine the accessory design team.

Lads, we're designing a portable product that is intended for use by people that need productivity on the move and the lads upstairs have come up with some cracking designs for phones and tabs, but we have to design accessories.

Great, let's get out some mind altering substances and design bricks that are all but useless as portable bits of kit.

Samsung - Dump your useless people and hire new ones with the brains to work out portable gear has to be portable, and that means small, light, and efficient. Your accessories are fantastic, but the silly designs mean they're useless for the portable work your top quality Note 9 and Tab S5e are so great for.
As for the watch with a brick for a charger - Drrrrr, dribble dribble, anyone got a tissue?

Bought a new toy in the form of an ebike yesterday. Researched for something I could test before maybe fully investing in the technology. Got the Cyclamatic model from this list which looks sleek and can also travel at 15 miles per hour. No throttle mode though. Looking forward to trying it one of these days, maybe on a free weekend.

The Samsung watch is giving me the right hump.
The thing too ages to set up as getting rid of the fitness notifications (Like the one that tells you how well your running is going whilst your driving) is a pain in the rectum because there is no universal 'get lost, rubbish' control, rather you have to go into a series of menus to dump the crap.

The other gripe is the charger, a fine item if you're using the thing from home and can charge it every night, but an idiotically designed lump of junk if you travel and want to charge the watch when your out and about. The problem is the charger's design, a really daft L shape that means it won't slip into a pocket as it looks like you've managed to get excited and have a tiny erection.  It won't go in my small tablet bag without sticking out of that as well.
I don't know what they employ for designers at Samsung, but I wouldn't be half surprised if a few moneys were missing from zoos.
"Buy a sensible charger", I hear, but you can't because none of the chargers I've tried, and I've tried a good few, will work with it. They're fine with the phone, but sod all use with the watch.
Basically, it's been a pain since I bought it, and I do believe a dustbin awaits it, just as they normally wait for rubbish to be slung into them.

Sounds like you were unlucky and ended up with a lemon:  my husband and I both have them (Gear S3 Classic for me, latest model Samsung Watch for him) and they both run ... like clockwork.  No surprise or malfunctioning apps at all.
Yes, the charger is a weird little piece of gear.  Ours will also charge without it, albeit less quickly, by being in close contact with our phones while they charge.  All phones probably not compatible.

I have the Samsung Note 9, a lovely bit of kit but the thing won't act as a charger for the watch. The Note 10 and whatever follows it, will.

The Note 9 is going strong and is amazingly useful

The Tab is an absolute cracker

The Tab keyboard, the one Samsung refused to guarantee, is showing up as a bit of a problem, often not connecting to the tab at all.

The watch charger finally gave up the ghost so I hunted for an alternative, one that wasn't designed by a clueless monkey. The idiotic L shaped charger that makes you look as if you have a tiny erection when you put it your trouser pocket was always a stupidly designed item and many generic chargers just don't work, some not at all, others making the watch get really hot, but I found one that's small and actually works. It charges quite slowly compared with the Samsung version, but it works well, is small, and will power from any standard USB supply or powerbank.

The upshot is, I can more than happily recommend Samsung's phones and tabs because they are nothing short of bloody great, but I can't recommend any accessories as Samsung refuse to guarantee them (even the expensive stuff), and they have been nothing but a right royal pain in the arse.

The refused guarantee applies in Indonesia - Check your country to see if they pull the same crap trick there.

Those of you with better quality phones and tablets from Samsung will be aware of Bixby, the worst ever virtual assistant in the history of anything from any planet.
It has several problems

It's crap
It takes up memory with no advantage to anything
On phones like the Note series it has a dedicated button that is really easy to press accidentally and you can't disable it
You can't dump it

It's actually putting me off buying new Samsung products because it's such a pain in the backside. I can ignore it on my Tab S5e because you have to long press the 'home' button and I never do that, but it's the one thing I hate on my Note 9 because the useless Bixby button is so easy to catch when you go for the power or volume keys.

If Samsung insist on keeping it on their otherwise great phones, they should at least put the button in a non-brain dead place so users don't have to keep turning it off after accidental presses.

I used my iPhone 4 for years longer than it should have lasted; it still works fine today, just no useful apps work on it anymore, so It's just a 64gb music player these days with a PAYG sim card in it just in case I ever need another phone - as they say in Dutch, it doesn't eat any bread.

Next I tried a Windows phone; that was fun for at least 2 hours, it went straight back in its box and I went back to my IP4 for another year or so.

Then my son upgraded his iPhone (6 I think) to a 9, so I inherited the 6 for a year until he ditched his 9 for some other thing and I got his 9.

I like iPhones, they just work, I don't watch movies or TV on them, that's what God invented televisions and sound systems for, but if the time ever comes that I want to watch a 1cm high image of Ironman fly across the screen, but I won't, so I shan't even bother going there. 

I don't need a smartwatch to tell me things I already know i.e. how far I walked, that I just got a message, e-mail that Sky News has just issued something earth-shatteringly important - I don't care, it can wait till I get home, or next pick up my phone or turn on my Mac.

I'm also using the iP4 as makeshift mp3 player, good as a backup when I travel to places which does not provide wifi to stream spotify.

Sometimes, old school still pretty much the best and most adaptive without the need to stay connected to the internet.

I have iP6s and that was my second phone until today, although the front camera;s wrecked but I use it mostly for my mobile business.

I'm going a little old school with a satphone. I decided before the virus that I would buy one anyway, in case I find myself in trails and places where data is naught and free Wi-Fi is hard to come by. This source made a pretty convincing argument for me anyway, despite the costs. Unfortunately I won't be able to make much use of it right now given the circumstances, so I'm keeping it pretty much for the (possibly) far future.

I use DeX on my Samsung Tab S5e when I want 2 apps open at the same time or when I need 'right click', but I've hardly ever tried it on my Note 9.
That changed, at least as far as an experiment goes today as I decided to hook the phone up to a 32" screen and give it a blast. I paired a small bluetooth keyboard and a very nice Logitech BT mouse, and off I went.
For the unfamiliar, DeX is ' desktop experience' a way to have a desktop style on a TV or projector from some Samsung phones and tabs, but it's still Android.
The test has gone very well so I can see me using this more, mostly when I'm out and about and likely need to conduct a presentation.
This will save me taking a laptop with me when I have just one or two jobs to do.

I'm the proud owner of 2 laptops, both Windows 10, an Intel NUC with Windows 8.1, and a Samsung Tab S5e on Android.
One laptop is used for my son's school work, the other for some bits and pieces I can't do on an Android device,  and the NUC is sitting there gathering dust.
My main machine is the excellent Samsung tab - I've installed Google's office software, finding it easily enough to do pretty much everything I need.
I find windows to be a rare old pain in the bottom, even just for internet use where the dammed rubbish takes an age to load pages when compared with Android.
I've just found a nice script that dumps a lot of bloatware from Windows 10, so I ran it and was very pleased with the results. The machine is notably faster now.
Sadly, that rap Cortana is only disabled,not dumped in the toilet of total rubbish it should be in, so I'm looking for something that will get rid of that crap and disable Windows updates.
I realise there are potential security issues when you stop updates, but I don't use port and scam sites, so I'm not too concerned.
I gather it may be possible to install Chrome OS on the NUC, so I might just have a pop and see what happens.

Fred wrote:

Just bought a Samsung Tab S5e, and it's beautiful.
......
As a note, it will accept a SIM card and a micro SD memory expansion - I'll take both from my old Windows 8 tab and stick them in to this little piece of technological heaven.

https://media.karousell.com/media/photo … 1a4122.jpg

Time has seen this become my primary machine, and I'm even more pleased with it than when I bought it.
This is very probably the best toy I've ever bought.

I have bought 2 phones over the last few months. One is a Samsung A11 - I use it for Satnav, GoJek, payment apps, and stuff like that. I also use it for streaming BBC Radio 4 and stuff of that nature. I added a micro  and loaded my audio books.
Handy little toy with just enough processing power and memory do do what I need.

The other is a Samsung Note 20 ultra with 512 gb of memory, and it's stacked in the same way a porn star's bra is.
It's an absolute monster that basically does everything a phone can do, and a lot more. The stylus is really handy as a remote when I conduct a powerpoint based lecture, and the camera is amazing at it's worst.
It runs on my Samsung smart TV wirelessly, so I just add a bluetooth keyboard and mouse to make the thing into a handy little computer.
Yes, DeX isn't perfect, but it's bloody handy.
Basically, if you're that sort of phone user, buy one.

New Year clear out of the spare bedrooms and I found an old GeForce video card in an old PC one of the kids left when they left home, so in a fit of boredom decided to see what else I could find and the result is I just rebuilt an old tower PC; the only thing I bought was a Blue Tooth dongle for £10 from Amazon and est voila, I have a Windows multimedia box - connected it to my sons old NEC multisync monitor he left when he moved out and its really, really good, what else can I say.

I'm sick to the back teeth of Windows - Have been for a while.
Google's office suite now does pretty much exactly what Microsoft's mobile version do, except it's free.
I do almost all my work on my Samsung tab, let it save on the cloud, then I can open it when I only have my phone with me.
No messing, no charges, and I can actually do more than I can on the Microsoft stuff.
My next computer, when this tab finally dies, will very probably be a Chromebook.
My slight problem with the Android version of Chrome not being that great wit translations when compared to the Windows app is much lessons with the latest update.
At the end of the day, I have large problems with Windows 10 being a rare old pain in the arse, but no issues with Google's stuff that's worth much of a mention.

I like my toys, so I bought a car DVR with two cameras, one front facing, one rear.
I already have a reversing camera (really handy on a minivan because you can't see anything close behind you), but this is mirror with a display. It will be handy for reversing as the viewing angle is far wider than the mirrors offer, but it's really just a toy - Retail and electronic therapy

I bought it, as I do so many things, from my favourite electronic toy shop in Jakarta

https://www.jakartanotebook.com/kaca-sp … play-black

Seriously, I absolutely love this place because they have loads of wonderful gadgets, are generally cheap, and deliveries are like greased lightning. I can't remember the number of times I've ordered late afternoon, and been playing with the box before the following evening - They are spectacular.

The thing is a mirror with screen, a front camera built into the body, and a rear cam. I had to extend the power cable for the rear cam, something not everyone will be able to do, but instalation was pretty easy.

Samsung Note 20 Ultra

Picture the scene - I'm laying down on bed, pillows stacked up to shove my head and neck into a nice position to watch a bit of YouTube on my 32 inch Samsung smart TV. The air conditioning is on, but I've been hot (temp as well as sexy) all day, so I'm shirtless (yes, that sight is as sexy as it sounds), my Samsung Note 20 ultra resting nicely on my burger belly, the bump that makes me look 8 months on.
I picked up the phone for a quick check of the forum, and it's telling me I've used up my 20 attempts to open with fingerprint recognition.
The PIN sorted that out, but the thing sees my tubby bit as an attempt to open the phone.
So there you are, watch out if your phone is next to your perfect white flesh, you could find it locked up and unrecoverable.

Ladies, you may email me at sexybeast<at>iwilllieifithinkiminwithhalfachance.con
Men, you may also email me, but when I tell you I've run out of ladies

One for the screen purists that blast on about nits and pixels - The plastic screen cover that the phones comes out of the box with is still on my Note 20.
Death threats may be emailed to
idontgivearats<at>toughcookie.con

I was also quite an electronic toys guy as well but now the release on new, updated devices are going so fast that I started to give up on this.
I am also quite a fan of Samsung. Actually, not that I am a fan but the fact is, most of my devices are from Samsung...
Smarphones: When the smartphone generation came up, I bought an iphone. That was I thing the Iphone generation 3. Of course, that time, it was amazing. Then after few years (I think when the generation 5 of iphone came up), i passed by a Samsung shop where they introduced the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Impressive big screen (that time), good camera, different functions between Android and IOS... I just bought one. Effectivelly, I felt much more comfortable with the samsung that my previous iphone. So, when the Note 3 came up, I just bought it, then later the Note 4. While I had the Note 4, I needed a 2nd phone (As I was between 2 countries), so I bought an iphone 6. Very soon, I was very disapointed about my iphone 6. I found that the android OS was more convenient, that the camera on the Samsung. I then replaced both Note 4 and Iphone 6 with the Note 8 (I skipped the Note 5 and 7...). I had my Note 8 for few years until end of last year when he died (the main board died) and I had to rush to get a new phone. I entered in the first phone shop and bought a Note 10+. I have been using it since 2 months and find it amazing. Of improved from my previous Note but still good as expected from my previous Note. All of course depends on your personal needs and use. For me, I won't work with my phone as it is too small. Means, apart from opening an Excel, Powerpoint...attachement to have a quick look, I won't work directly from the phone itself. Instead, I am using a lot emails, social media and games. But also, I am taking a lot of pictures, both personal and professionnal, so the improvment of the camera on smartphone is great for me so the camera will be a big factor on my selection of new phone.
Tablet: When tablet market started, basically with the Ipad, I bought on Ipad. I think it was the generation 2 of Ipad. After few months, I found it useless. It was for me only like a big iphone... So I sold it and decided that I didn't need any tablet.
Instead, I bought a Macbook Air (2012). It was great to be use a personal laptop. After few years of use, and with all new device upgraded, I found that my Macbook Air was getting old (I think only 2Gb RAM, only 128GB SSD, no retina display...), I bought a Windows Surface Pro (generation 4): i7, 512GB, 8GB RAM...perfect. it both tablet / laptop.  When my saw it, she just stole it from me it was the perfect laptop for her, easy to carry...so I went back to my Macbook Air until I bought a new Windows Surface Pro, generation 6. I find it great. I still use it. But the only issues I found with the Surface Pro was the batterie which not last long and the use of some app such as Netflix: I used to travel a lot ( short flights but at least 4 times a week) and it was not convenient at all to download on the way some movies / series on Netflix (I don't know why). Instead, I was using my Samsung Note. I could download a serie episode, movie in few minutes before boarding and then watch on my phone during the flight.
I then reconsidered to buy a tablet, mostly for the purpose of my travels. I first thought to buy the new Ipad Pro but was not convinced, maybe especially about the price. Instead, I saw the release of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 which was looking good. But the Covid came, things changed in my life style, no more travels... Until last month, when I saw the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+. I bought it! It exceed my expectation! It can replace my Surface Pro for work. it has the battery that I need. It has amazing display. It has amazing speakers....and it has Dex. You can connect an external drive, insert a SD card...and it's Android.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+. I bought it! It exceed my expectation! It can replace my Surface Pro for work. it has the battery that I need. It has amazing display. It has amazing speakers....and it has Dex. You can connect an external drive, insert a SD card...and it's Android.

My main machine is a Samsung Tab S5e with keyboard case. It's replaced my windows laptops and, here's the bonus, Google's Sheets, Docs, and Slides, have replaced The Microsoft versions

Fred wrote:

My main machine is a Samsung Tab S5e with keyboard case. It's replaced my windows laptops and, here's the bonus, Google's Sheets, Docs, and Slides, have replaced The Microsoft versions

The Tab S5e has now become my carry around toy because I bought an ASUS Chromebook Flip C214MA-BU393.

Chromebooks aren't going to be for everyone but they're amazingly fast at everything, updates take seconds rather than forever, and it does everything I need (Almost).
Internet, spreadsheet, docs, and presentations - all easy - and all free.

It looks like a laptop but flips over to become a functional but fat tablet. I use it as my main machine from home with a 32 inch TV for a monitor, and a wireless keyboard and mouse.



I bought it a month ago and love it.
If you're sick of windows, take a look at what you use your computer for and you might find a Chromebook will do the job.

Users with greater, more complex, needs (and gamers) will hate Chromebooks.

Added - If you're reading this in Indonesia, I bought mine from Bhinneka - They were fast and efficient.

https://www.bhinneka.com/asus-chromeboo … 3336935316

I'm not using my tab a lot at  the moment as I'm hardly out, but it remains my favourite little toy.
The Chromebook is an absolute cracker for home use as it does everything I need, and it does it really well.
It did an update a while ago - A message appeared but I was busy so I ignored it. I went back to it, pressed the button - The machine restarted in seconds - update done.
The only issue is I was going to make a cup of coffee whilst waiting for the update to finish but I didn't even have time to open the packet.

Talk about a break from Windows - This is more like three months on a really relaxing tropical beach drinking free pineapple juice in a 5 star hotel from Windows.

My main uses are serious internet searching - Google's Chrome being my favourite browser as its translate function is easily the most advanced, creating spreadsheets in order to get the acquired data into a readable format, slide shows to present the data to others in an easy to read form, and word processing.

The Chromebook does the lot, does them very nicely, and everything is free - No more paying for Microsoft's office stuff.

As a nice little bonus, I use Google cloud so everything I create on my Chromebook can be accessed and edited on my phone and tablet.

There are a lot of rubbish reviews on Chromebooks that say the things don't do what windows will, won't work with an internet connection, and are seriously limited.
Every one I've read/watched has been wrong for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they expect Chrome OS to be Windows - it isn't.

Chromebooks are great for people like me who want simple but functional, but useless to high power for the sake of it computer geeks, gamers, and people who need specialist software that will only run on windows.

It seems Chromebook sales have gone through the roof of late, and I can fully understand why.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/06/googl … ise-users/

Chromebook pushed the school market and did well, but they're now taking aim at windows business users.
I make no excuse for being miffed at Microsoft, but this is a 'frog in hot water' job - people don't realise just how bad windows is because the rot has spread slowly.
Microsoft have seen the problem so they tried to introduce a lite version of Windows - Looks like that's dead

https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/7/22424 … led-rumors

For those of us who can't stand the messing around Windows imposes, take a look at your computer use and see if a Chromebook would suit you.
Mine is saving me a fortune because I'm no longer buying large boxes of headache tablets.

Fred wrote:

It seems Chromebook sales have gone through the roof of late, and I can fully understand why.

https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/06/googl … ise-users/

Chromebook pushed the school market and did well, but they're now taking aim at windows business users.
I make no excuse for being miffed at Microsoft, but this is a 'frog in hot water' job - people don't realise just how bad windows is because the rot has spread slowly.
Microsoft have seen the problem so they tried to introduce a lite version of Windows - Looks like that's dead

https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/7/22424 … led-rumors

For those of us who can't stand the messing around Windows imposes, take a look at your computer use and see if a Chromebook would suit you.
Mine is saving me a fortune because I'm no longer buying large boxes of headache tablets.

"For those of us who can't stand the messing around Windows imposes, " example please - I walk to my desk switch on my computer and use it everyday - what "messing around" are you refering to?

Andybris2020 wrote:

"For those of us who can't stand the messing around Windows imposes, " example please - I walk to my desk switch on my computer and use it everyday - what "messing around" are you refering to?

Mostly updates, but the generally slow way Windows does anything is a pain in the bum.
When it comes to Google meets and zoom calls, the audio comes through to my Chromebook well before it gets to any of my Windows PCs, and lag is much reduced or disappears. The book also logs onto meetings far faster and displays my video long before the windows machines manage to do the same.
All the Windows laptops have original windows 10, and none have any software except Google Chrome - No virus infections are possible as they are only used for the kids' school work - nothing else.
Same wifi, same meetings, same time - but Windows machines are slower by far.
Same for boot up time - The Chromebook takes around 3 seconds.
Moving on to Microsoft's office software - Google's versions are fully loaded (as far as most users go), but cost nothing. I'm trying to work out a downside to that.

My Chromebook's spec is far lower than any of the Windows machines, but it still runs faster. Seems like I'm on a winner (As far as my computer use goes).
People who need fast machines to run complex programs might well need Mac or Windows but, for a very large number of ordinary users and small businesses, Chrome OS smashes Windows.

Fred wrote:

Andybris2020 wrote:

"For those of us who can't stand the messing around Windows imposes, " example please - I walk to my desk switch on my computer and use it everyday - what "messing around" are you refering to?

Mostly updates, but the generally slow way Windows does anything is a pain in the bum.
When it comes to Google meets and zoom calls, the audio comes through to my Chromebook well before it gets to any of my Windows PCs, and lag is much reduced or disappears. The book also logs onto meetings far faster and displays my video long before the windows machines manage to do the same.
All the Windows laptops have original windows 10, and none have any software except Google Chrome - No virus infections are possible as they are only used for the kids' school work - nothing else.
Same wifi, same meetings, same time - but Windows machines are slower by far.
Same for boot up time - The Chromebook takes around 3 seconds.
Moving on to Microsoft's office software - Google's versions are fully loaded (as far as most users go), but cost nothing. I'm trying to work out a downside to that.

My Chromebook's spec is far lower than any of the Windows machines, but it still runs faster. Seems like I'm on a winner (As far as my computer use goes).
People who need fast machines to run complex programs might well need Mac or Windows but, for a very large number of ordinary users and small businesses, Chrome OS smashes Windows.

Oh ok,, i'm on a AMD Ryzen desktop machine with 64 gig ram and NVMe drive so I dont get any of the slow stuff your talking about or "messing around" and it's connected by ethernet so non of the connection issues you mention, I dont use lapops but I do have a samsung tablet and it's as useful as my phone but larger so I dont have to put my reading glasses on, which I sometimes use for looking at youtube or movies if travelling.

Andybris2020 wrote:

Oh ok,, i'm on a AMD Ryzen desktop machine with 64 gig ram and NVMe drive so I dont get any of the slow stuff your talking about or "messing around" and it's connected by ethernet so non of the connection issues you mention, I dont use lapops but I do have a samsung tablet and it's as useful as my phone but larger so I dont have to put my reading glasses on, which I sometimes use for looking at youtube or movies if travelling.

A chromebook will look like a piece of nothing to you, but works perfectly for me as my needs are small business style.