Tech Advisor - UK (2020-02)

FEBRUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 69

chips, so location-specific apps won’t work. Ditto for

those who rely on rear cameras that the Chromebook

may or may not have – Pokémon Go, for instance.

One of the strengths of Windows, though, lies

within its historical archive of bits of code, utilities, and

other apps that have collected in dusty old hard-drive

folders, FTP sites, and elsewhere. Batch resizing apps

for images, custom calendar apps, macro managers –

everybody has their favourites, and Chrome OS simply

can’t compete. On the flip side – and this is important

• Chrome OS doesn’t include the type of crapware
  Windows PCs also sometimes ship with, requiring
  apps like CCleaner to tidy up.

What’s it like using a

Chromebook versus a Windows PC?

While it’s easy to focus on what you’re going to do with

either a Chromebook or a Windows PC – web browsing,

games – it’s easy to lose sight of the little things.

One of the best features of a Chromebook that’s

easily overlooked is Google’s approach to updates

and security. Everything takes place behind the

scenes. Windows downloads updates for antivirus

and other programs in the background, but others

require reboots. If you don’t have Windows properly

configured, those reboots can even occur while you’re

using the PC, which can be hugely annoying. While

Chromebooks occasionally need to be rebooted to

apply updates, the process is quicker and less intrusive,

as Google reloads the pages you were on quite quickly.

In fact, ‘quick’ is one of the best features of a

Chromebook. While they’re less full-featured than

FEBRUARY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 69

chips, so location-specific apps won’t work. Ditto for
those who rely on rear cameras that the Chromebook
may or may not have – Pokémon Go, for instance.
One of the strengths of Windows, though, lies
within its historical archive of bits of code, utilities, and
other apps that have collected in dusty old hard-drive
folders, FTP sites, and elsewhere. Batch resizing apps
for images, custom calendar apps, macro managers –
everybody has their favourites, and Chrome OS simply
can’t compete. On the flip side – and this is important

• Chrome OS doesn’t include the type of crapware
  WindowsPCsalsosometimesshipwith,requiring
  appslike CCleaner to tidy up.

What’s it like using a
Chromebook versus a Windows PC?
While it’s easy to focus on what you’re going to do with
either a Chromebook or a Windows PC – web browsing,
games – it’s easy to lose sight of the little things.
One of the best features of a Chromebook that’s
easily overlooked is Google’s approach to updates
and security. Everything takes place behind the
scenes. Windows downloads updates for antivirus
and other programs in the background, but others
require reboots. If you don’t have Windows properly
configured, those reboots can even occur while you’re
using the PC, which can be hugely annoying. While
Chromebooks occasionally need to be rebooted to
apply updates, the process is quicker and less intrusive,
as Google reloads the pages you were on quite quickly.
In fact, ‘quick’ is one of the best features of a
Chromebook. While they’re less full-featured than