Chromebook diaries: day five
In the fifth and final day of the Chromebook experiment, Nic Healey is ready to get back to a more traditional computing experience.
I think I'm ready to get back to my PC.
That's not to suggest that I hate the Chromebook because I most certainly don't. And it's certainly not that today has been particularly hard — it's actually been a bit of a breeze.
I'm not actually sure what's making me pine for the desktop world of Windows, really. It's just a collection of small things I miss, I guess — a kind of gestalt of minor functionality that I'm eager to have.
Spotify, as I mentioned yesterday, is a big part of it. So is my TomTom Multi-Sport watch, which I haven't been able to dock, leaving me unable to upload any of my run data. And a few other bits and pieces.
I'll be writing a proper verdict on Monday after I've had some time to process my thoughts, but if I had to use a single word to describe the experience, it might be "adequate".
In terms of a piece of hardware, however, I've liked the C720. The touch pad took some time, but the keyboard is genuinely good to use: nice travel on the keys and a great feel for a small laptop.
In the whole time I was using it, I don't think the battery got even close to half empty. Some of that was how desk bound I was, but a lot can be attributed to fact that Acer has put a really long-lasting battery into the Chromebook.
And finally, I did eventually find out how to adjust the screen brightness. It turns out I was right: I was definitely being stupid and missing something obvious.