Quick Chromebook vs Cloudbook question.
Quick Chromebook vs Cloudbook question.
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So

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

253 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all

One of my lot needs a cheap school computer and my choices are a cheap Chromebook https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8814700

or a cheap Cloudbook.https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1344284

He'll be using MS apps (cloud-based). for school.

My guess is the Cloudbook will be better. Am I right?

Many thanks

Corso Marche

1,906 posts

232 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all
Ask the school if they have any preference.
But yeah, if it's MS apps then the Cloudbook would be a better solution over the Chromebook.

Just make sure and ask the school (find the IT guy or the IT curriculum lead) if the apps will work on Win 10 S, or if full fat Win 10 is needed.
If you can get an email address for either of the above by phoning the school it might be quicker than visiting the school trying to get answers.

So

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

253 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all
Corso Marche said:
Ask the school if they have any preference.
But yeah, if it's MS apps then the Cloudbook would be a better solution over the Chromebook.

Just make sure and ask the school (find the IT guy or the IT curriculum lead) if the apps will work on Win 10 S, or if full fat Win 10 is needed.
If you can get an email address for either of the above by phoning the school it might be quicker than visiting the school trying to get answers.
Time is of the essence, but I have asked him by email. I have another child that's managing fine with a Chromebook, so I assume the basic Windows OS will be OK.

(Though I did swear I would never buy another Windows machine).

sgrimshaw

7,587 posts

281 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all
Corso Marche said:
Just make sure and ask the school (find the IT guy or the IT curriculum lead) if the apps will work on Win 10 S, or if full fat Win 10 is needed.
If you can get an email address for either of the above by phoning the school it might be quicker than visiting the school trying to get answers.
Win10S can be taken out of S mode for free to become Win10 Home if desired ... but once done, you can't switch it back.

Corso Marche

1,906 posts

232 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all
sgrimshaw said:
Win10S can be taken out of S mode for free to become Win10 Home if desired ... but once done, you can't switch it back.
True, but I wouldn't even attempt running full fat Win 10 progs on the machine linked to above.

So

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

253 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all
Corso Marche said:
True, but I wouldn't even attempt running full fat Win 10 progs on the machine linked to above.
I think that's the whole point of these machines isn't it? They are a "thin" device with everything happening on the cloud. Correct me if I am wrong.

Corso Marche

1,906 posts

232 months

Friday 10th January 2020
quotequote all
So said:
I think that's the whole point of these machines isn't it? They are a "thin" device with everything happening on the cloud. Correct me if I am wrong.
Yep, exactly. They don't have the horses or resources for anything other than Win 10 S and apps intended for S.

sgrimshaw

7,587 posts

281 months

Tuesday 14th January 2020
quotequote all
Corso Marche said:
So said:
I think that's the whole point of these machines isn't it? They are a "thin" device with everything happening on the cloud. Correct me if I am wrong.
Yep, exactly. They don't have the horses or resources for anything other than Win 10 S and apps intended for S.
You might be surprised.

I have a couple of Linx 1010 "tablets" running Win10 Home and they are quite capable of running MS Office ... admittedly they start to struggle with multiple programs running .. but they are running 4GB RAM with 32GB storage. Windows updates are interesting, but that is more a problem with only having 32GB storage.

The Celeron processor in the Acer linked above is much (relatively speaking) faster than the Atom in the Linx, so it should be more than capable of running MS Office etc with Full Win 10 :


Corso Marche

1,906 posts

232 months

Wednesday 15th January 2020
quotequote all
I probably would be, to be honest! wink

A distributor gave me a 4GB/32GB convertible Win 10 laptop for a few months to evaluate. It also had some version of an Atom processor. That was mid to late 2017, I can't remember the manufacturer (it may come back to me, but it was a known big brand).
Personally I would never have classed it as usable, except for light web browsing. I decided against it at the time, as I could see nothing but complaints ahead if we deployed them in numbers.