Why a Chromebook isn’t the same thing as a budget laptop – CNET

If your MacBook or Windows laptop is on its last legs, you may find yourself tempted to replace it with a Chromebook. But whether you’re attracted to the lower price or simplicity of use, it’s worth making sure it’ll meet your needs before you hand over your money.

I primarily use a MacBook Pro but have an Asus ZenBook Flip to scratch my Windows 10 itch, and I recently started using a Toshiba Chromebook 2. Each machine has its strengths and weaknesses, but I find I’m using the Chromebook more and more. Then again, I spend most of my time on my MacBook using Chrome and Google Docs so a Chromebook was a natural fit for me. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

No matter the ways in which you use a laptop, there are areas where a Chromebook differs from a traditional laptop and areas where they aren’t so different. Let’s have a look.

1. The operating system

The main difference is, of course, the operating system. A Chromebook runs Google’s Chrome OS, which is basically its Chrome browser dressed up a bit to look like the Windows desktop. A search button similar to the Windows Start button sits in a taskbar in the lower-left corner along with shortcuts to Gmail, Google Docs, and YouTube.

A status bar sits in the lower-right corner that provides quick access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, volume and settings. In a blissfully stripped-down settings panel, you can choose a wallpaper and theme, and you can tweak the settings for the touchpad, keyboard and display.

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Google

Because Chrome OS is little more than the Chrome browser, it’s incredibly lightweight compared to Windows and MacOS. Even with low-end parts, Chromebooks feel snappy. Better yet, it updates itself automatically and the updates take a fraction of the time of Windows and Mac updates to install.

The reason I like my Chromebook so much is its easy maintenance. It just works without any effort needed on my part. It always springs to life instantly and never makes me sit through a frustratingly long update and restart routine.

2. The apps it runs and the way it runs apps

Google offers a few familiar touches so that Windows converts will feel comfortable with the operating system, but the similarities stop when you open an application. Most Chromebook apps launch as a new tab in Chrome. A handful — Files, Get Help and Chrome Remote Desktop — open in a separate window.

Unlike Mac OS Sierra and Windows 10, Chrome OS uses only web apps and won’t let you download applications. This means no Photoshop, Skype, iTunes or any other non-Chrome apps you might use.

You can find alternatives in the Chrome Web Store, including online versions from Microsoft itself. You can use Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint and others. And Chrome’s native Google Docs and Sheets can handle Word and Excel files.

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Google

Despite relying on web apps, you don’t need internet access to run a Chromebook. You can edit Google Docs offline and watch movies and shows on Google Play offline. You may not be able to download more than one movie at a time, but a Chromebook can get you through a flight on a Wi-Fi-less plane.

Google’s Android and Chromebook divisions have also teamed up to bring Android apps to Chromebooks, in a process that began earlier this year. Not all Chromebooks have touchscreens, so you may need to get used to controlling Android action with a keyboard and touchpad rather than tapping and swiping on a screen.

3. How much it costs

You won’t need to pay for a Windows software license or that Apple logo, which makes a Chromebook cheaper than any MacBook and most Windows laptops. Chromebooks start at less than $200 (international prices start at about £160 or AU$300) and don’t get much above $500 (about £410 or AU$660) with a few exceptions. You can find a few entry-level Windows laptops in that price range, but they can’t run Photoshop any better than a Chromebook can.

4. Its build quality and display

Chromebooks and budget Windows laptops are indistinguishable from one another from the outside. They typically feature plastic enclosures and low-resolution displays; sleek, aluminum Retina Display MacBooks they are not. Then again, even the cheapest MacBook is about four times the cost of a Chromebook.

I picked the Toshiba Chromebook 2 because it’s one of the few models with a full HD display. Most Chromebooks feature displays with a 1,366×768 resolution. In addition to its relatively high-res display, the Chromebook 2 avoids many budget laptop pitfalls. The plastic chassis isn’t terrible, the keyboard isn’t mushy and the touchpad isn’t skittish.

5. How much storage it supplies

Chromebooks embrace the web and web storage. You’ll get a speedy SSD but it won’t offer a lot of room. A few Chromebook models feature 64GB SSDs but most have 16GB or 32GB SSDs. An entry-level Windows 10 laptop might have an SSD as small as 32GB, but others come with larger but slower 500GB hard drives.

To help offset the lack of local storage, Google throws in 100GB of free Google Drive space for two years with any Chromebook purchase.

6. How it handles your printer

You can’t just connect a Chromebook to a USB printer and start printing. Among the many things you can’t download and install on a Chrome are printer drivers, so you must route your print jobs over the web using Google Cloud Print. You’ll need a cloud-ready printer that can connect directly to the web, or you can use a classic printer connected to a Windows computer or Mac.

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Google

To sum up, a Chromebook has a budget Windows laptop look, it may not run all of your favorite apps, doesn’t offer a much in the way of local storage and can be a bit tricky if you own an older printer.

But don’t write off the Chromebook. It runs a lean OS, so it works well with low-end parts. My Toshiba Chromebook 2 feels snappy with its Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM, and its battery lasts roughly 7 to 8 hours on a single charge under normal use.

But, really, I like it best because it doesn’t spring updates on me at the least convenient of times. Without needing to power and constantly update a more complicated, wide-ranging OS, my Chromebook just works; it’s always on and ready to go whenever I need it.

How to install an Automatic Pro in your car – CNET

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Jason Cipriani/CNET

Automatic is best known for a series of gadgets that interface with your car to monitor your driving habits and score your driving. The better the score, the less wear and tear your car will experience, and your gas mileage should improve. The company’s latest product is the Automatic Pro, a small accessory that plugs into the On Board Diagnostics (OBD) port in your car.

Unlike previous products from Automatic, the Pro forgoes a Bluetooth connection to your phone. Instead, the adapter comes equipped with a cellular connection and communicates directly with Automatic’s servers as long as there’s cell service.

It’s a handy accessory for keeping track of miles traveled, trip habits or a teenager’s car.

How to turn your smart home on and off using your car

With the right gadgetry you can easily teach your smart home to recognize when you’re coming and going. Here’s how.

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Will it work with your car?

Before picking up an Automatic Pro, make sure it will work with your car. Thankfully, if you own a car made after 1996, it will most likely work.

However, it doesn’t hurt to double-check. You can visit Automatic’s compatibility website and enter the year, make and model of your car to ensure it will work.

Don’t plug in the adapter yet

First, install the Automatic Pro app — you’ll find it for Android here and iPhone here. Note, the Pro app is different from the standard Automatic app. Look for a blue Automatic logo to confirm you’ve installed the Pro app. Next, you’ll need to sign up for an Automatic account through the app if you don’t already have one.

It’s a good idea to move your car out of a garage or parking structure during initial setup so the adapter can find a good cellular connection and get everything up and running.

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Jason Cipriani/CNET

After installing the app, setting up an account and parking outside, follow the prompts in the app. You’ll need to enter the six-digit number on the back of the adapter into the app, plug it in to your car’s OBD port, and sit through a firmware update. As noted in the app, OBD ports are typically under the steering wheel just where the dash in your car ends.

All said and done, the process takes about 10 minutes, the majority of which is the firmware update.

Last but not least, make sure you set up the Crash Alert feature. If the car is in an accident, your phone will contact emergency services with your location, along with the emergency contacts you add in the app.

Want to make ChromeOS feel more like a full OS? Try this – CNET

ChromeOS is essentially the Chrome browser with a bit of window-dressing. There’s a desktop space that lets you choose your own wallpaper. There’s a start button in the lower-left corner for launching apps. There’s an app launcher shelf where you can pin your favorite apps. There’s a tray in the lower-right corner that provides quick access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, volume and settings.

Despite these various accoutrements, nearly everything you do in ChromeOS is done inside the Chrome browser. When you launch an app, the default action is for it to open as a new tab in Chrome. If you are like me, then you have enough tabs open in Chrome at any given moment without your apps adding to that figure. Thankfully, ChromeOS has an easy setting to change this behavior.

For any of the apps you have pinned to the app launcher shelf in the lower-left corner, right-click on an app icon and choose Open as window. That’s it!

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Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

Now, when you click to launch that app, it opens in its own window instead of as another tab in Chrome. Better yet, the window doesn’t look like a Chrome window with the URL bar and the tabbed interface and makes it feel like the app opened in its own space outside of Chrome. Sure, it’s still just a Chrome window but it makes ChromeOS feel more like a full OS. And the best part is that it helps you in your efforts to keep the number of open tabs under control.

For more, learn how a Chromebook differs from a laptop.

8 things Alexa can do that Google’s Assistant can’t – CNET

It was only a matter of time before Amazon Echo got some competition. Google Home was announced last week and while we haven’t yet tested it, it looks like it’ll be a worthy competitor to Amazon Echo.

But even though Google Home can do a lot that the Echo can’t — like contextual conversations or throwing images and videos to your televisions — it has plenty of catching-up to do with Alexa.

Here are eight things Amazon’s assistant can do that Google’s can’t.

Taylor Martin/CNET

DIY Alexa

Back in March, Amazon released an API for Alexa Voice Service (AVS), the service which powers the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Amazon Tap. This allowed developers and users to put Alexa on custom hardware, like Raspberry Pi. It also allows third-party manufacturers to build their own Alexa speakers (or Alexa-powered computers.)

So, if you don’t like Amazon’s speakers, there are third-party or homebrew options to choose from, like the Matrix Creator, an add-on board for Raspberry Pi that has an 8 MEMS microphone array and an arsenal of other sensors.

For what its worth, Google has reportedly been pushing the idea of Google Home to some of the biggest players in the home audio industry. So it may not be long before you see some third-party options. But for now, nothing is official.

Third-party apps

The Alexa Voice Service API has also enabled developers to harness the power of Alexa within applications, such as Roger, Lexa and Lexi. One developer created an online tool — called Echosim.io — so developers can test their skills without needing to own the hardware. As a plus, now anyone can take Alexa for a test drive in their browser.

Aside from streaming audio, these virtual versions of Alexa work exactly the same as the official devices from Amazon, meaning you can get the full effect of Alexa before ever having to spend a dime on Amazon’s speakers.

Here’s everything the Amazon Echo can do

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Voice shopping

Amazon’s main goal in being in the hardware business is to use various devices — like Kindles and Fire devices — to sell more physical and digital items through Amazon. Alexa devices are no exception to that rule.

You can order millions of items using nothing but your voice. Just say something like, “Alexa, order Old Spice deodorant,” or “Alexa, order an Echo Dot.” It will use the one-click billing information stored in your account, your default shipping address, and is protected by a four-digit passcode set by you.

Track packages

Since you can order items using Alexa, it only makes sense that you can track orders placed through Amazon with Alexa, as well. All you have to say is, “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” She won’t give you a ton of details, like where the package currently is or the status of the shipment, but she will tell you the day it’s estimated to arrive.

Seeing as this is a feature already integrated into Google Now, which seems to be the basis of much of Home’s functionality, it’s likely only a matter of time before Google Home can also track packages placed with practically any online retailer. But there is no mention of package tracking in the long list of features of Google Home.

Skills

Chris Monroe/CNET

One thing that has propelled Alexa forward is the introduction of skills, or independently developed integrations for Alexa devices. Skills are to Alexa as apps are to Android and iOS devices.

These skills allow smart-home devices that do not have native Alexa support to be controlled using the Alexa Voice Service. They also allow users to place orders for Domino’s pizza or an Uber. And thanks to skills, you can make your Capital One credit card payment, check your car’s fuel level, pair wine and beer with a meal, check travel prices on Kayak and much more.

There are over 1,000 skills available right now, with more being added daily.

iHeartRadio and Prime Music

Chris Monroe/CNET

The services officially supported by Google Home at launch will be Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora and TuneIn.

Obviously, with Amazon’s Alexa speakers, you also get Amazon Music and Prime Music by default. But iHeartRadio is also supported.

That said, Google Home will acts as a Chromecast Audio receiver, meaning any audio service which supports Chromecast streaming will also work with Google Home.

Hit the road

For now, Google Assistant is embodied by a single device, Google Home, which competes more directly with the Amazon Echo than other Alexa devices.

However, the feature set of the Amazon Tap is virtually identical to that of the Echo, meaning you can take Alexa practically anywhere you go, so long as you have an open Wi-Fi connection or a hotspot. You can also use one of the many third-party Alexa apps to tap into Amazon’s assistant while on the go.

Technically, you will be able to do the same using Google Assistant on Android phones. However, Google Assistant is only officially supported at the moment on the Google Pixel and Pixel XL; you can get a taste of what it has to offer in Google’s new chat app, Allo. All other devices will continue to use Google Now until Google decides to share the Assistant love across the entire Android platform.

Voice remote

Sarah Tew

If you just want to be able to control your Echo from out of typical voice range, all you need is an Alexa Voice Remote for $29.99.

To accomplish the same thing with Google Home, you will need to add a second Google Home for $129 a pop (currently only available in the US, that directly converts to about £106, AU$171).

3 unusual ways to find your misplaced phone – CNET

Unless you’re willing to lash it to your forearm, chances are good your phone is going to go missing at some point. I don’t mean lost or stolen, though that’s always a possibility; rather, phones have a way of falling out of pockets and into couch cushions. Or bouncing onto the floor and under the couch. (Seriously, couches are like the Upside Down for phones.)

But maybe you just left it in the car? Or upstairs in the bathroom? Laundry room under a pile of freshly folded clothes? Wrong pocket of a purse? Dang thing could be anywhere, and you’re running late!

What better way to rescue lost tech than with other tech? For local, hard-target searches, consider leveraging one of these cool and unusual tools.

1. “Alexa, find my phone”

You can ask Amazon Echo devices for just about anything: pizzas, Uber pickups, even storytelling. But can Alexa actually locate your phone, too?

Yes! In fact, there are three ways to use an Echo to locate a misplaced phone. The coolest is a combination app/skill called Trackr, which will make your phone ring loudly — even if it’s on mute — when you say, “Alexa, ask Trackr to find my phone.”

CNET

That’s a huge plus over the old-school method of calling your phone — assuming you actually have another phone around with which to do that. (So many people have abandoned their landlines.) If it’s muted, your house better be whisper-quiet if you hope to hear the phone vibrating.

2. “Phone, where are you?”

Not sharing your living space with Alexa? That’s OK, you can still ask your phone to show itself, as long as it’s within earshot. The app that makes this possible: Blare for Android.

More ways to find your missing precious

• Use Google Search to find your lost Android phone
• Use Google Search to find your lost iPhone
• Find a misplaced iPhone using your Apple Watch

Like an Amazon Echo, a Blare-equipped phone is always listening — in this case for whatever keyword or -phrase you set up. You could make it something like “Rumpelstiltskin” or “Phone, where are you?” Then, whenever you need to find your phone, just call out that trigger.

Assuming your phone hears it, it’ll, well, blare: a loud alarm will sound, even if the phone is set to silent, and there’s an option to make it vibrate and flash its LED as well.

Although such an always-on app sounds like it would be a battery-killer, the developer notes that it’s memory-efficient and “doesn’t take up a significant amount of battery.” There’s a free, ad-supported version, but as part of the app’s introduction, you can get the premium, ad-free version for just 99 cents.

Fear not, iPhone owners: An app called Marco Polo brings this same basic functionality to iOS. Alas, despite the amusing implementation — you yell “Marco!” and your phone responds, “Polo!” — the reviews suggest this 99-cent app isn’t particularly adept.

3. Push-button tracking

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could push a button and make your phone beep? That’s the idea behind short-range trackers like Tile and Trackr. (Yep, the latter is the same Trackr mentioned above, but this time with hardware other than Echo.)

A Trackr fob on your keychain can help you find your missing phone. Alternately, your phone can help you find your missing keys!

Trackr

It works like this: You attach a little Tile or Trackr fob to your keychain. It’s perpetually paired via Bluetooth to your phone. Push a button and presto: the phone starts beeping, even if it’s on mute. This works in reverse, too: You can use the corresponding app on your phone to find your missing keychain.

There are a couple limitations, of course, starting with the comparatively limited range of Bluetooth: You might have to walk around a bit before the two items get in range of one another. You also have to make sure you can find the button when you’re trying to find your phone. (If your keys go missing with similar frequency, consider giving the button a permanent home, say, in your kitchen or by your door.

A single Tile will run you $25; a Trackr, $29. (The price drops a bit if you buy multiples.) Depending on how often a missing phone causes you aggravation, and how great that aggravation gets the more time you spend searching, that might prove money very well spent.

Have you found a better and/or more effective way to locate a missing phone? Share it in the comments?

Assemble your best six to train in Pokemon Go – CNET

Thanks to the 0.41.2 for Android and 1.11.2 for iOS update, you can now assemble your best Pokemon to train in your team gym. Before, you could only take on your gym with just one Pokemon. Unless the chosen Pokemon was a monster like no other or the gym was protected by low-CP Pokemon, there was no way you were going to beat the gym with just one.

Now training works just like battling rival gyms. You can form a team of six go up against your fellow teammates, making it much easier to beat the entire gym.

You can now pick six Pokemon to beat your gym.

Screenshot by Alina Bradford/CNET

How does the new training work?

Training with your six is just like battling an opposing team. Tapping on a gym will bring up the option to battle. Start the battle by tapping on the glove icon in the bottom right-hand corner. Then, the game will suggest six Pokemon to use in the training battle. If you don’t like the picks, tap on the Pokemon you want to change and choose a new one from the list.

Pro tip: Before you choose your team, scroll through the Pokemon in your gym and take note of their CP and type. Then, choose your six. For example, if the first Pokemon is a 1,300 CP Vaporeon, choose an electric type with a similar or higher CP as your first Pokemon.

Once you’re satisfied with your lineup, tap the Go button at the bottom right side of the screen and battle as usual.

What does training affect?

Though some people have speculated that Pokemon will be able level up when new training features are introduced, it hasn’t happened with this update. When you beat a gym you only get XP and gym prestige.

Just as a test, I took note of the CP and stats of my Pokemon. Then, I went to my local team gym, battled and beat the it. The CP and stats did not change for my Pokemon, no matter how many times I beat the gym.

Beating your gym gives your XP and gym prestige.

Screenshot by Alina Bradford / CNET

Does Niantic give you a fair fight?

In the update notes for the 0.41.2 for Android and 1.11.2 for iOS update, Niantic says, “The CP of the Pokémon you are battling may be temporarily adjusted lower for your training session.” This would be a great feature for new trainers with low CP Pokemon since most gyms are guarded by Pokemon with very high CPs.

As a I entered the gym and started to battle, the CP of the Pokemon didn’t adjust for me at all. I tried this several times and I never noticed an adjustment. Of course, Niantic said “may be temporarily adjusted,” so I guess there’s no guarantee of a fairer fight.

Pokemon Go Plus keeps you catching them all…

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