Google Chromebook

Hi - I was just wondering if any of you are aware of the Google Chromebook?  It was only recently that I became aware of the existence of these devices.  Both Acer and Samsung make their own versions of the Google Chromebook.  Here's the Samsung model:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-XE303C12-A01US-Chromebook-Wi-Fi-11-6-Inch/dp/B009LL9VDG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381968899&sr=8-2&keywords=Google+Chromebook

But anyway, it seems that these devices might be of some interest to electrosensitives - at least theoretically.  From what I understand, it is basically a very pared-down laptop - specialized for web-surfing and light document-making.  It has no fan or "moving parts".  It runs a Linux-based operating system that may not be as "bulky" as Windows or Mac OS X - since it seems to be designed just for "light" activities such as web surfing.  I thought that this characteristic might potentially make it a relatively tolerable computer for electrosensitives.

However - my personal in-store experience with the Samsung Chromebook was a bit disappointing.  Although lowering the resolution seemed to provide a noticable amount of relief (although it may have made fonts a little "fuzzier") - this little computer didn't seem as emf-neutral as I had hoped.  And after I left the store, I noticed some eye-strain - which may have been due to the LED backlighted screen.  

Also - there isn't much in the way of disc space, IIRC.  With this computer, you can't save your documents to the computer's disc - you're expected to save your stuff to the Google "cloud" (though there may be ways around this, I'm not sure).

But it may be a satisfactory option for some people here - after all, there are people here who can tolerate iPads!

On October 16, "Svetaswan [via ES]" <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Hi - I was just wondering if any of you are aware of the Google Chromebook?
> It was only recently that I became aware of the existence of these devices.
> But anyway, it seems that these devices might be of some interest to
> electrosensitives - at least theoretically.  

On the other hand, these things are inexpensive, aren't they?  I find that things
that are made "cheaply" can also be quite "noisy", which can cause trouble for
ES folks.  Sometimes those brands that you might otherwise reject as being
too pricy and/or behind-the-times (e.g. Sony, IBM) may have more tolerable items,
because they use higher quality/more expensive components.  Although Apple
seems to be an exception to that rule...

Marc

Good point about inexpensive, possibly-cheaply-made items vs. more expensively-made items.  I think that at least in some cases, it's true.  On the other hand, my relative success with my eMachines laptop may lead one to conclude the opposite - for I do not think that this is brand that uses the most premium components.  In fact - I thought at one point that "cheap" laptops may be the way to go, based on my experience with this eMachines.  Perhaps the screen has a lot to do with it, I don't know.  eMachines clearly wasn't concerned with maximizing the brightness of the screen by using overly-bright, premium CCFL bulbs - or - worse (?) - LED bulbs.  The screen of my eMachines is easier on the eyes, seemingly - than the screens of many more expensive laptops.

It seems that the more expensive brands are more concerned with impressing you with "state-of-the-art", overly-bright LED screens - which may play a large role in (perceived) emf-output.  These companies take the view that one can always dim the screen if the screen is too bright - but in actuality, dimming the screen may introduce additional problems for emf-sensitive people (or for people who may be sensitive to the dimming properties of the backlight).  

But there may be some brands/models that come fairly close to hitting that "sweet spot" between outstanding basic quality, and the knock-your-socks-off type features that may increase emf.  

Speaking of Apple and it producing notoriously-bothersome products - do you think that one reason for this may be Apple's software?  I'm specifically wondering about the alleged security-features built into the operating system that make Apple products impenetrable to viruses and malware.  In my experience, anti-virus/anti-malware programs - particularly if "real-time protection" is enabled - can increase computer emf.  I remember how - at one point - I tried to use MalwareByte's "real-time protection" - but I ended up disabling it because I didn't like the way that it made the computer more uncomfortable to use.  Then again, maybe I'm reaching.  After all - the way that a 3rd party anti-malware program interacts with a Windows computer may be different from how Apple's custom-designed security patches interacts with Mac.  

Also - to your point about more expensively-produced items being more emf-friendly than more cheaply-made items....I had one experience in a store that made me think that Samsung's more expensive 8-inch tablet - the Galaxy Note 8.0 - could be more tolerable than its cheaper, lower-specced counterpart - the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.0.  I didn't seem to "feel" the Galaxy Note as much as I felt the Galaxy Tab - though I'm hesitant to state with 100% certainty that the Galaxy Note is less bothersome (more variables could have come into play).

Although the Galaxy Note may use a more powerful processor - it also seems to be more ruggedly-built; it's just a tad thicker and I believe it incorporates more metal external parts (that may provide some shielding?) than the Galaxy Tab.  

~Svetaswan

On October 16, "Svetaswan [via ES]" <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Good point about inexpensive, possibly-cheaply-made items vs. more
> expensively-made items.  I think that at least in some cases, it's true.  On
> the other hand, my relative success with my eMachines laptop may lead one to
> conclude the opposite

Yes, that's true -- some people have reported good things from eMachines.
So I guess one really can't generalize about cheap/expensive, well-built/not,
old/new, because there will always be exceptions to any "rule" that we come
up with!

Marc