Millions of people are using Chromebooks, but despite their simple and "for everyone" nature, not every power feature is easy to access. 6. Chromebook laptops … Go where no laptop has gone before. Find the perfect Chromebook for you All Chromebooks offer speedy, secure, simple computing to help you get things done. You could also install other Linux applications like Minecraft and Skype for Linux, both of which are now Microsoft applications. If participants will sit 6 feet from the screen, then git a 60-inch screen or a projector that shows a 60-inch image. You got it. So can a Windows laptop. |, The now-familiar knock seemingly started when the very first Googley laptop rolled off the line. From Photoshop to Office and beyond, here are five powerful things you might be surprised to learn you can do with a Chromebook. Press Ctrl + Shift + Q twice in a row to open the logout screen and confirm that you want to quit. I’d be remiss not to mention the tons of little things you can do to make your Chromebook work better for you, so here’s a short list of other things to check out if you’re looking to optimize that experience just a bit more: Connect to a VPN for a more secure web experience; Print from your Chromebook; Monitor your Chromebook’s system resources Your Chromebook has a full keyboard, but sometimes you want to type a character that doesn't have its own key, like æ or Ü or ʓ or even string them together for the perfect look of disapproval ಠ_ಠ. If you'd prefer to lock down your Chromebook so only specific people (or just you) can sign in, head into the settings menu, and under the Users area, you can restrict sign-in on the device to only specific accounts. Categories. Whether you need to save a piece of information for reference or just need to help someone out by showing something visually, it's extremely simple. After testing … If you've ever used a Mac, this is just like Expose. As you can’t install regular programs or software, a Chromebook isn’t able to do as many things as a traditional laptop. Shop all of Amazon's Holiday Deals starting now. The best printer for a Chromebook should at the very least have Google Cloud Print compatibility (to wirelessly connect to your laptop), as well as … According to THX.com a good rule to follow says take the size of the screen and use it to find the distance from the screen that works best for the space. Because you'll often have no more than 32GB of internal storage (unless you feel like upgrading that yourself) on your Chromebook, you may find yourself wanting more. Once the app is installed, click on “Open” or go back and locate the application via the Chromebook app launcher. Go into your settings and search for Powerwash in the search bar, or go to advanced settings and find it at the bottom. Adobe and Google recently announced they’d be making Photoshop available as a streaming Chrome app. Yes, this means you can now use Skype on a Chromebook. Recent advancements like Chrome apps, Android apps on Chromebooks, and Photoshop for Chrome OS show Google is serious about evolving the platform. Read your Gmail and compose new messages? PCWorld You would normally shut down your Chromebook using the power button or through the system tray, but like everything in Chrome OS there is also a quick and easy shortcut. If you just want to hand your Chromebook to someone else for a quick bit of research or something simple, use the guest mode from the lock screen. 5 powerful things you didn't know Chromebooks could do Run Photoshop. Chromebooks have a better keyboard than netbooks, and obviously a much better keyboard than iPads, and that's all some folks might need to know. Click the button, then confirm, and your Chromebook will reboot momentarily, looking just as it did the day you took it out of the box. The idea of the hybrids like the Surface is to address all these different sets of user needs. All the Games You can Play on a Chromebook! It's easy to do the math. “Sure, Chromebooks are nice, but they can’t run Photoshop.”. Open the settings page, and click on the name of the network you want to change. It's also just as useful! On the top row of the keyboard, just press the []]] button (above the 6 key) or swipe down from the top with three fingers on your trackpad or touchscreen to go into the overview. In the window that comes up, choose the network tab. Jerry is Mobile Nation's resident nerd and proud of it. Chromebooks can use Google Drive as extra storage and it acts the same as the local storage does. Hopefully, after mastering these few tips and tricks you'll be using your Chromebook like a pro, and can maybe even help out another person or two who are getting acquainted with their own Chromebook! Some apps, including Google Docs and Gmail, can still be accessed without an internet connection because local versions are cached on your Chromebook, but you won’t be able to send email, for example, until you … We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. The Chromebook is becoming a more and more robust laptop option by the year. This means Photoshop will work on Chrome OS, and even in Chrome on desktop Linux! It saves those Office documents to OneDrive, where you can access them using Office apps on any other device—even the full desktop version of Office on your Windows or Mac. Open a window or two on your Chromebook and press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Reload. Turn on your TV. But for this list, we’ve decided to focus on the best games you can natively play on Chromebook in 2020. Learn how to plug your Chromecast in to your TV. Follow their guide to set up the room if you can change things. They also change from time to time, but you'll always find some sweet freebies that are definitely worth grabbing! MakeUseOf has a great primer on installing Linux on a Chromebook if you’re curious. A good Chromebook can do almost anything a regular laptop can do, and the best ones feel better to use than their Windows counterparts. Onshape provides most features--excluding support--free. Steam for Linux running in Ubuntu running on a Chromebook. Setting up some of Chrome OS’s offline capabilities. Knowing what the Unicode characters are isn't something you'll be memorizing (here's a cheat sheet) but once you know the Unicode number typing them is easy. Copyright © 2020 IDG Communications, Inc. (period) and they'll appear along with your other files and folders. But it does provide a familiar interface and more-or-less guaranteed compatibility with Microsoft Office documents. Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. 10. The Duet finally gives us the kind of Google tablet we've wanted for a decade. Google Play has more than 100 games for Chromecast, but if you’re a Nintendo fan, you can download CastNES, the NES emulator and enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Microsoft offers a completely free web-based version of Office called Office Online, complete with Word Online, Excel Online, and PowerPoint Online. If you find yourself with a lot of windowed apps running all the time, this is a great time-saver. The Skype Android app running in a Chromebook, complete with system notifications enabled. Chromebooks have access to a vast library of Google-approved apps. So can a MacBook. But you can also run Windows apps with Crossover or Wine (though this can admittedly be a bit flaky, depending on the app). Edit documents in Google Drive? Learn more. Finding out just what you can do so you know which ones to remember is easy. Yes, you can work offline on a Chromebook. On your Chromebook, sign in to your account. The file manager hides folder and file names that start with a dot (like .Filename, for example) and you normally can't see them. Photoshop will be integrated with Google Drive, so you can easily keep track of your files. Reborn as Office Online they’ve been much improved. You can do that with Chromecast. But this is World Beyond Windows, where I tout the benefits of Linux, so I can’t leave it out. These are usually files and folders you don't want to edit unless you know what you're doing. For wireless printing, connect your printer to Wi-Fi. Plug in your Chromecast. You can get many excellent Chromebooks, like the Dell 11 Inspiron Chromebook for $170. You can even purchase TV shows and movies from Google Play Movies & TV and download them to watch them offline, too. So there you have it - ten things you can and can't do with the Chrome OS netbook. Currently, this feature is in beta and available only to “select North America based Adobe education customers with a paid Creative Cloud membership.” But it should eventually come to all Creative Cloud subscribers. Pop a 64GB SD card into your Chromebook and use it just like you would the local or Google Drive storage. Since it opens in a browser tab, searching Google for the parts you don't understand is easy! At the bottom, you can choose which name servers to use. When Google is done, Chromebooks will be able to access a whole new universe of software without any hacks whatsoever. Onshapeprovides collaborative CAD in the cloud. April 15, 2012; Do you need antivirus for Chromebook? While the SD card slot is useful for transferring pictures off of your camera and getting them up to Google Drive or moving files between computers, for many people, it may be most useful as semi-permanent external storage. Microsoft even makes these apps available in the Chrome Web Store. But what does a Chromebook do? June 8, 2016; The Best PDF Tools for Chromebook October 17, 2018; How to Print From Chromebook via USB April 2, 2018; Need help with your Chromebook? In fact, there are so many that it's almost impossible to keep track of them all. For a wired connection, connect a printer to your Chromebook with a USB cable. Just right-click on it and pick the Shelf position menu for your settings. For example, typing "Google" will only show windows with the word Google in the title. Nor are many other Chromebook myths. Some say they are faster; some claim they are more secure, and using one is a great way to get around any silly content blocks that may be in place on the servers of the people who provide you your Internet. You'll see automatic and Google options, or you can enter some manually if you know specifically what you want. You can use VMware on Chromebooks to run Windows applications, and there's support for Linux software, too. We've rounded up the top ten tips and tricks for you to try on your Chromebook so you can start making the most of your machine. Work offline. More: How to take a screenshot on a Chromebook. Looking to protect your Asus Chromebook C434 while out and about? All work and no play something something. Google is working toward allowing all Android apps to run on Chrome OS. This feature is very likely to keep improving, so apps that don’t work perfectly now should eventually work better. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. To do it, you'll need to type what's called a Unicode character. Softwareception! If you'd rather see things in a graphical interface, you can install the Cog System Info Viewer Chrome app by François Beaufort. It's easy to do the math. The downside of these two 2-in-1s is that they’ll pull you up out of the Chromebook’s traditionally low price range. You'll find him across the Mobile Nations network and you can hit him up on Twitter if you want to say hey. Shop all of Amazon's Holiday Deals starting now, Make your Chromebook more powerful with these docking stations, Here are the best sleeves for the Asus Chromebook C434 in 2020, These accessories complete your Chromebook perfectly, Free in-game item pack for Fallout Shelter (Worth $20), 100GB of Google One storage for 12 months (worth $24). Download the games to your mobile device and easily play them on your TV by using the device as a controller while you run the game on your TV. If you just want to kill some time, you can also install games that run offline. This last feature isn’t for the novice users that just buy Chromebooks for their simplicity. The list of things a Chromebook can’t do is shrinking rapidly. Part of the value of a Chromebook is in the extras you get along with your purchase. Experience the best of what Google's Chrome OS has to offer with one of these laptops or two-in-ones. A Chromebook isn’t ideal if you need lots of space, as it is primarily web-focused. If you want to altogether remove your Google account and information from your Chromebook and reset it to a "like new" state, it only takes two clicks of the mouse in the settings to use a feature called "Powerwash." If you want to see hidden files, open the File manager and press Ctrl +. Use a Chrome app like Google Keep to compose notes or manage your to-do list with an app like Wunderlist or Any.DO. Meet Chrome OS. Try it out and get 75% off a three-year plan for a limited time! master your machine 15 best Chromebook tips and tricks 2020 If you love Chromebooks like we do, you'll want to see these tips and tricks to make the most of them. Chromebooks Run More Apps Than Any Device on the Planet Right now, most Chromebooks can run Chrome web apps and Android apps out of the box. And, in Chrome 39—which is still working its way through development versions, so you probably won’t have this feature yet—you’ll be able to play an endless running game whenever you see an “Unable to connect to the Internet” page. In a few months, many will also be able to run Linux apps. The Dropbox app provides access to a cloud-based repository for your photos, videos, and other file types through an intuitive interface that fits right in on your Chromebook. Chrome OS used to pretty much be a glorified browser, but things have changed in recent years. The SD card shows up in the Files app, just like another folder, where you can use it any way you'd like. Here are the best sleeves to consider whether you carry your laptop in a backpack or a briefcase. Here they are! Set up Chromecast with your Chromebook. In the Omnibar type chrome://drive-internals/ and click the Clear local cache button and the next time you open the file manager you'll sync again. Nothing done in the guest mode will be tied to your Google account, and everything will be completely erased as soon as the guest account signs out. Use Office Online. Visit Chromebook Central . As you might expect, Google is at the forefront of adding offline features to Chrome OS. Using the Input or Source button on your TV remote, change the input on your TV until you see the Chromecast home screen. It’s 2014, and even a Windows or Linux laptop feels practically unusable when there’s no Internet connection available. By now, you know that Chrome OS is full of handy keyboard shortcuts for things like reloading a page or going to your home page in the browser. Compared to Google Docs, Office Online doesn’t offer any offline support, which is a bit of a bummer. ; To print, open a document, press Ctrl+P and choose Destination > See More.Select a printer and print the document. By Chris Hoffman, It's all laid out in an easy-to-read fashion, and you'll know everything there is to know about your Chromebook's insides. Although you can edit images and video on Chromebooks, they are not the best option for multimedia applications. You can now join a meeting, sign up, or sign in. You can get that in the HP Chromebook Enterprise x360 14E. You can install a full desktop Linux system (like Ubuntu) alongside your Chrome OS system. Best Chromebook for 2020: Acer, HP, Asus, Lenovo and more. There is a built-in overview mode on your Chromebook that lets you see every open window at a glance. Create an object in your browser, then share it with other people whom you may allow to view, comment, edit, and/or share. All the best Chromebooks are powerful tools that are just waiting to be used to its full potential, and once you know a few tricks, you'll feel like you're getting even more value out of your inexpensive computer. When you first set up your Chromebook, it feels like it's just locked to your own personal Google account, but one of the perks of Chrome OS is the ability for any machine to work with any Google account. When you use demanding functions, they can be sped up because they’re running on Adobe’s servers—they won’t drain your laptop’s battery faster or send modest Chromebook processors screaming. In essence, Chromebooks are designed to run a lightweight operating system that’s intended to help you with some productivity tasks, but mostly … By default, your Chromebook's shelf (the taskbar) is along the bottom of the screen but you can also set it to be on the right or left side. 5. 4. Windows users could use Office Online to get an official Microsoft Office experience for free, and they let desktop Linux users use an official version of Microsoft Office without hacking around in Wine, too. Chromebooks just get keep getting more potent. Chromebooks can now run Android apps, and some … But unless you’re an accountant, you probably don’t need all those fancy features. Or, even better, install Steam for Linux and play games—as long as you have an Intel-based Chromebook and not an ARM one, that is. Google Drive had offline support for a while, and it’s great to use. We can't promise you'll understand everything you see in there, but whatever you need (or want) to know is given to you. They recently released just four Android apps for Chrome, but enterprising hackers (the good kind) have found ways to make (almost) any Android app run on a Chromebook. Well, that just isn’t true anymore. Your Chromebook is a productivity machine, and staying productive wherever you are also means having the right accessories to complete the experience. When you're on the lock screen of your Chromebook, you can click "Sign out" in the bottom left corner and let someone else sign in with their own Google account. Plus and Premium Chromebooks offer all of that and more. Whilst you can use Microsoft 365 on a Chromebook (the online version), some features will not be available. Clicking any of the thumbnails will open that window, and clicking in a blank space will return you to the last window you were viewing. You can access or store anything using the app and your free Dropbox account. Sure, many things on a Chromebook can only be done online, but let’s stop pretending that’s unique to Chromebooks. Think Google Docs, but for 3D objects. As a bonus, while in overview mode, you can type to filter what you're seeing. Press Ctrl + Alt + ?, and you'll see an overlay of the keyboard with all the key functions and shortcuts. This one serves no purpose except to have fun. After your Chromebook saves your notes, you can edit them or write new notes offline. Today, Chrome OS feels like a modern operating system that offers a first-class web browser, the flexibility of mobile apps, and a desktop experience in one box. It runs Chrome. ChromeOS is based around the Chrome browser, so you can certainly do most of your productivity work on one of the best Chromebooks. You can now use the ARChon Package app on Android to quickly convert an Android app to run on Chrome, or install the twerk Chrome app to quickly package an APK file for installation in Chrome. Yup, Microsoft makes Skype (and now Minecraft) for desktop Linux, but not Chrome OS. Follow the steps that show on your TV. Now, that’s not to say you can’t do the essentials. View your Google Calendar? No problem. Sure. These include all the standard 3D design features you'd expect, as well as versioning, branched design variations, and assembly modeling (e.g. You can take a screenshot on a Chromebook just as easily as you can on any other computer. Onshape also makes an Android and iOS app. Read our, Learn more about PCWorld's Digital Editions, making Photoshop available as a streaming Chrome app, make (almost) any Android app run on a Chromebook. If you love Chromebooks like we do, you'll want to see these tips and tricks to make the most of them. It can all seem a bit messy—shouldn’t developers be making Chrome apps and not Android apps?—but it’s undeniably making Chromebooks more powerful and capable. Any changes you make will show up in Google Keep the next time you’re online. They won't have access to your main account, and all of their previous activity on any other Chrome device will be set up on this new machine in its own profile. Just press Ctrl + U + the number and they'll be inserted in place. After buying your Chromebook and getting logged in, be sure to head to the Chromebook Perks Page to pick up these offers: The offers expire 60 days after you first associate a Google account with your Chromebook, so make sure to use them before they run out. Access a whole new universe of software without any hacks whatsoever have fun at a.. Can certainly do most of your productivity work on one of these laptops two-in-ones... For Chrome OS has to offer with one of these laptops or.. 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And choose Destination > see More.Select a printer on “ open ” or back. A row to open the logout screen and confirm that you want to edit unless you know specifically you! Games that run offline Online they ’ ll pull you up out the! Hidden files, open a window or two on your Chromebook is becoming a more and more Chromebook you! The number and they 'll be inserted in place 365 on a.... They can ’ t do is shrinking rapidly watch them offline, switching to a Chromebook cable! The Duet finally gives us the kind of Google tablet we 've wanted for wired. Ve been much improved option by the year evolving the platform evolving the platform you it..., switching to a vast library of Google-approved apps 64GB SD card into your settings can many!
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