Back to Starbucks with my Chromebook.

My foray into the cloud continues…  Well, we’ve all been dragged, some kicking and screaming, into the cloud on some level.  Between storage and backups for the Apple, MicroSoft and Google environments, not to mention all the free online e-mail accounts many of us have accumulated along the way, most of us have been at least partly living in the cloud for quite some time.  I just never thought of it that way.  I’ve started doing so.

I know many people who aren’t comfortable when they think about it.  The biggest worry I hear voiced is security, and they have a very good point.  Seems there’s always some news story about security issues cropping up for large online user bases.  Heartbleed, for example - talk about a biggie.  I have no idea which of my accounts is compromised, which are secure - well, Apple says it wasn’t affected by this one - or when to start changing passwords.  Frankly, I’m starting to run out of memorable, pronounceable passwords.  If I can’t pronounce it, I can’t remember it.  If I can’t remember it, I have to have it reset, and then it starts all over again…

Obviously security’s going to be an ongoing concern as we move more and more stuff into the cloud.  Looks like the bad guys are staying just one step ahead.  Sometimes several steps.  That’s the biggest thing that’s keeping most people I know from consciously embracing the cloud.  Even though they’re being dragged into it without realizing it.

Easier to just not think about it, I guess.  Head buried in the sand, anyone?

So I’m sitting here in Dunkin Donuts trying out my brand new Chromebook. It’s an Acer C720P. I kind of wanted the less expensive C720, which has received overall great reviews from users, but my wife decided that we should get the newer model. She actually had some good points (as usual), so here I sit with the Next Model Up. Setting it up yesterday evening was actually pretty easy. Signing in with my Google ID, going through the basic operations - pretty intuitive - adding a few apps - except Skype. Supposedly I already have it on the machine, but I can’t find it and I can’t seem to add it. I’ll see if there’s a web version I can use to message my wife from work.

 So why a Chromebook? Good question. I’m very happy with my Macbook, probably the best laptop I’ve ever owned. I’ve been taking it with me exclusively for around two years, and it hasn’t slowed down. But taking it with me means I can’t really set up to record my music (I sort of play guitar and try to write songs, but that’s another story altogether). I noticed that when I’m at work, most of what I do with my laptop is web-centered. No need for a lot of installed programs, really. After some research, I dedided to try the Acer and see if it meets my mobile needs. That way I can leave my Macbook set up with the mixer, mics and other stuff without having to break it down all the time and maybe get some stuff recorded.

It's small, but not too small.  The Acer keyboard isn’t bad, not quite standard but close enough, I think. The machine is touchscreen, though I’ve hooked up a mouse and don’t plan to mess up the screen with my fingers. The track pad is fine, but can’t match the one on my Macbook - Apple has it down! 

Will I blog? Maybe a bit, but not as regularly as most people. I never seem to have enough to say to find a “voice”. That seems to be my daughter’s realm (check out Nixxie Rambles on Tumblr). I will write the occasional “snippet”, like this one, which may or may not see the light of day. I will visit my favorite sites, check news, keep up with friends and family, do research and all the other basic stuff I’ve been doing. The only real difference, aside from some of the programs I’ll be using, is that everything will live in The Cloud.

We’ll see how that works out...