Getting started with a new Chromebook? Here’s where to begin.

So you just got a new Chromebook? Awesome! They make for a great little laptop, and are a favorite of many of us here at Android Central. We use them both for work and play (I’m writing this on one) because they are ultra-portable, easy to use, and make for a great portal to everything the web has to offer.

But there are a few things you’ll need to know while you’re getting started. A Chromebook is not your regular laptop, and it’s pretty different from that Windows-powered ThinkPad you may be using at work.

We’ve assembled five things you need to understand about your new Chromebook so that you have a better handle on what it can do, how to do it, and why you’ll love it!

Windows users who switch to Mac spend large sums on peripherals. You have to throw out that stuff when you get a Mac, right? No.

Making sure all the other stuff — mice, keyboards, printers, displays, external drives, gamepads, and more — works is important, but Apple makes it pretty easy. Whether it’s mice, keyboards, printers, monitors, external drives, or more, that’s the switcher concern I’m trying to alleviate this week.

P.K. writes:

“I have an HP I’d like to give up on and use a Mac instead. But I’ve got a perfectly good Wi-Fi printer and a Logitech keyboard and mouse combination I’ve spent good money on. Not to mention this external screen. Do I have to buy those again?”

That’s one of the great things about the Mac mini: It comes with none of that stuff. Neither does its bookend on the other side of the Mac line, the Mac Pro.

If you’re on a budget and you’d like to reuse as much of your PC as possible without, y’know, the actual PC part, swap it out with a Mac mini. They start at $499.

• Mac buyer’s guide

Macs are really good at figuring out what kind of devices are attached or available on the network, and they’ve gotten progressively better about filling in the gaps themselves.

Keyboards and Mice

Any USB keyboard or mouse, unless they’re a really funky, unique and non-standard layout, should work without having to install any special driver software.

Some mice manufacturers do offer special driver packages for OS X — consult your mouse maker’s web site to see if they do. Even without it, though, Apple’s built-in drivers are aware of two-button mouse designs, and lets you manage tracking speed and double-click speed at the bare minimum. Even a wireless mouse that works with a USB dongle should be plug and play.

The first time you plug a new keyboard into the Mac you’re sometimes asked to press the keys next to the keyboard shift keys so the Mac can figure out what you’re using. But after that it should work.

Again, some keyboard manufacturers offer OS X driver downloads to enable media control keys and other special buttons to function, so check with your manufacturer for sure.

Good news for P.K. — Logitech’s one of the companies that is pretty good about OS X support.

Printers, Scanners and Multifunction devices

The Mac can make sense of just about any printer on your Wi-Fi network, and most of the big names support OS X more proactively right out of the box. Even if the printer connects using USB, OS X’s printer drivers will try to match it, and if they don’t find a match, they’ll ask you if it’s okay to download drivers to make them work (it’s okay).

I generally shy away from the “driver” packages available for download from printer makers’ web sites, because they’re often bundled with lousy apps that don’t work very Mac-like.

Features like faxing should be pretty well supported using existing driver frameworks, often available as an option when you go to print a document.

The Preview app Apple includes with OS X, already on your Mac, supports scanning itself (go to the File menu, then select Import from Scanner. If you have a Wi-Fi printer with scanner built in, you’ll find it there). Many image editing applications like Adobe Photoshop also include scanning ability, so don’t jump to put the one that came with your printer on there.

Storage

If you’ve invested in external hard drives or other external storage devices like USB thumbdrives, they’ll all work with the Mac. Though you’ll likely have to reformat them using Disk Utility in order to get them to work well on the Mac.

The Mac should, at the very least, be able to read those drives even if they’re not formatted with Mac-compatible partitions. Having a good file conversion plan like using Apple’s Migration Assistant is important here.

Joysticks and gamepads

Gamepad and joystick support is very hit-or-miss in Mac games, though some companies clearly invest more effort in it than others.

I’ve had the best luck with games I’ve downloaded from Steam. Games I’ve downloaded from Feral Interactive and Aspyr are usually pretty good at supporting mainstream game controllers from Logitech and other makers; you can even get your PlayStation or Xbox controllers to work if you’re willing to put in a little effort yourself.

Bottom line: Apple’s made it less scary than ever to switch to the Mac. So enjoy your conversion!

Have any questions? Let me know in the comments.

The Nexus Player is now officially being sold in the UK for £79.99.

After only being available in the US, Japan, and Canada, the Nexus Player has made its way into the UK and is now available for purchasing. Priced at £79.99, the Nexus Player is available from the Google Store, Amazon UK, as well as in stores like Argos.

Popular endless runner Subway Surfers has snagged yet another update today — this time bringing its action to Paris.

In this latest update, players will continue their world tour all around the majestic city of Paris, France, picking up new awards and outfits along the way.

Gamers on the go will want to check out these powerful laptops.

Consoles are far from the end-all be-all of gaming, and these laptops have the power to prove it. The latest graphics cards, giant displays, a wealth of inputs, and tailor-built keyboards are all expectations when it comes to machines of this caliber. Be warned: these laptops are bulky, power-hungry, and not cheap. On the upside, they’ll offer almost all of the enjoyment you’d get out of a standard desktop gaming rig while you’re out and about.

A user over on XDA Developers has leaked images of what appears to be the upcoming LG G4.

I’m really excited about Force Touch for a bunch of reasons. But where I think it’s going to really succeed? Accessibility.

I’ve been thinking about Force Touch almost non-stop since the Apple event a few weeks ago — what it means for Macs now, what it could mean for the future of software development, and how it might change artistry on the iPad. I’ve also been musing on what it could bring to accessibility in computing.

What if we had a trackpad or other surface that could simulate Braille, for instance, if a setting was turned on? Or a Force Touch trigger that would let you know if you’d moved to the edge of a window, or on a button? There are so many potential avenues for exploration here — a thought accessibility ace Steven Aquino expounded upon in an article for MacStories:

Imagine, for example, iOS 10 or 11. Apple will almost assuredly bring Force Touch to the iPhone and iPad, and they could utilize the technology in a slew of ways. They could effectively solve the problem with buttons in iOS 7 and 8 by using haptic feedback to denote a “button press” everywhere in the system. Thus, visually impaired users like me wouldn’t have to struggle so much in figuring out what’s a button versus a text label. Likewise, Force Touch could save those with motor challenges from the work of extra taps by allowing force-pressing to bring up contextually-specific controls. There are lots of possibilities here.

Aquino has written for iMore previously on tech accessibility, and he’s a smart cookie when it comes to this stuff — I can’t wait to hear what he has to say once he’s spent more than a few moments with a Force Touch trackpad.

His article more than ever convinces me as to the power of Force Touch in the tech disability landscape. During my time at the Apple Store, I once worked with a woman who suffered from partial blindness: In order for her to properly work at her laptop, she needed several accessories —  including a Braille keyboard — during her training appointment; although we managed to help her get what she needed done, it was still a struggle for her.

With Force Touch, it’s easier to imagine a future where the only laptop accessory she’d need was the laptop itself. And that’s overwhelmingly exciting.

More: MacStories

Streaming media app Plex snagged an update today that brings Android TV support to more users, along with a redesigned dashboard.

The app also now includes some new ways to view your content, Plex Home support for managed users, and the requisite bug fixes.

According to a new report out of ZDNet, Microsoft has acquired LiveLoop, a company that makes collaboration tools for Office users.

Just as promised, the second stage of the Xbox One April update preview is now rolling out to preview members.

Today’s update brings voice messages, dedicated servers for party chat, and expands the What’s One section to users in Canada and the UK.