Need to buy a notebook for mum.

[AB96]

Alright. My mum is an office-goer and wants to buy a notebook.

I'm looking for a notebook with screen size not more than 14" and good battery back-up. The budget is about 20-25K.

I've found that Chromebooks fulfill most of the needs, but I'm not entirely sure about them as I'm yet to use one.
Is it similar to Windows (which is the only OS my mum has ever used)? And does it support MS Office?

A quick reply will be appreciated.

 

[Sushubh]

It does not run Windows.
It does not run Microsoft Office.
It does have Google Drive powered web apps which lets you work on Office documents. But you do not get full support for all the features that are available through Microsoft Office.

If your mum works in an office, I do not think Chromebook would suit her needs.
To get a general idea about what Chromebooks can do, just think what all Chrome can do on your computer

 

[AB96]

My mum only uses Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files. And I'm sure Google apps fulfill those needs.

The question is, can these files be used offline? If yes, will she be able to transfer and open it in a Windows-powered system?

 

[Sushubh]

google apps work offline. you can try it on your existing computer to check.
Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides - Chrome Web Store

and since google drive works on all computers (through a browser) it would work on windows machines.
and yes, you can export and import word files so it can be used along with microsoft office.

the problem is compatibility issues. if these files are basic documents/spreadsheets/presentations, it should be fine. but complex stuff does not usually work out well.

so it all depends upon what kind of files she has to work on for her office work. chromebooks are great for homes because these things do not matter much for regular home use.

 

[ghpk]

I would advice you to go with a 10/14 inch netbook/laptop
your mom would feel little confused, if she needed to handle something related to her office and chromebook
would lack that compatibility.

Had it been a teenager he would handle the pros and cons of a chromebook but in your case I would strongly
suggest a netbook from Asus/Sony/HP whatever is available.

 

[Sushubh]

yup. there are a bunch of compromises that happens with chromebooks that are very visible in an office environment. i have been using chromebook for 2 years now i believe. and i have been tracking a few bugs that are still unresolved. let me give you a very simple example.

you just cannot open a password protected zip file on a chromebook. when i started with it, chromebooks did not even support password protected pdfs. that bug was fixed a while ago.

password protected archive support is currently being worked upon and might finally get fixed in the near future. but this is just a simple example.

but let me also say this, it is a great computing device. it has worked perfectly for my dad. but then he has access to me 24x7 and i have access to a regular computer to handle things it cannot for my dad.

 

[Sushubh]

Issue 167686 - chromium - FR: Support password protected archive files (ZIP). - An open-source project to help move the web forward. - Google Project Hosting

Looks like we finally have support for password protected ZIPs!

 

[Sushubh]

HP Stream 11-d023tu (L2Z29PA) Notebook (CDC/ 2GB/ 32 GB EMMC/ Win8.1) Rs.19990 Price in India - Buy HP Stream 11-d023tu (L2Z29PA) Notebook (CDC/ 2GB/ 32 GB EMMC/ Win8.1) Online - HP : Flipkart.com looks perfect for you mate.

 

[Sushubh]

I have checked the international reviews. Battery life is good. 32GB is too little for non-casual use. Might not be capable of handling more than a few apps at any given time.