Peter H. Gregory - Chromebook For Dummies

Chromebook For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and may not be used without written permission. Chromebook is a registered trademark of Google, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020902717

ISBN: 978-1-119-65171-0; ISBN 978-1-119-65172-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-65174-1 (ebk)

1. Chapter 4

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 21

Laptop sales have been declining for years. This decline is mainly due to the rise in popularity of smartphones and tablets in the consumer market. Technology is getting smaller, faster, and more portable, so the worlds dependence on full-size, full-featured computers with fixed connections has begun to decrease.

However, in this declining market, the rising star is the Chromebook a low-cost portable computer powered by Googles Chrome OS, the first popular operating system inspired by and designed specifically for the Internet. Unlike Windows PCs and the Mac, which were designed for general computer use with lots of big applications, Chromebooks are designed primarily for Internet use. Instead of a gigantic hard drive, Chromebook relies mainly on cloud-based storage. Instead of lots of expensive memory, Chromebook uses the Chrome browser that doesnt use a lot of memory. And instead of resident applications, Chromebook uses mainly web-based applications that are accessed and bookmarked through the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play store.

By offloading the bulk of the functionality to the cloud, Google made it possible for hardware manufacturers to create computers with hardware configurations designed specifically for life on the web. The result is an accessible, user-friendly computer with a much lower price point, making it an excellent option for schools, students, companies, and budget-conscious people in need of modern computing power.

Its paying off. Chromebooks make up almost two-thirds of all computers sold to K12 schools in the U.S., and theyre gaining traction worldwide. This market share means that the future of Chromebooks is bright. What students use in school today, theyll use at home and at work tomorrow.

Similarly, more corporations are offering Chromebooks to employees for their corporate workstations. Chromebooks have a lower price point, are easier to manage, and dont have the security problems experienced by Windows (mostly), and Macs (a little, and growing).

Although Chromebooks use Googles Chrome OS operating system, by no means are Chromebooks Google only computers. Tools from Microsoft (Office 365, Word, Excel, and Skype), Apple, and Amazon work on Chromebooks, too. And because Chromebooks are browser-centric, the entire world of the Internet is your oyster!

Sometimes the greatest obstacle with new technology is the fear that you wont be able to learn it fast enough for it to be of use. The good news is that this book is designed to remove all the guesswork. Chromebook For Dummies, 2nd Edition is designed to give you all the tips and tools you need to excel with your Chromebook.

You dont need to have any preexisting experience with Chromebooks, Chrome OS, Android, or the Chrome browser to be able to use Chromebook For Dummies, 2nd Edition. You dont even have to own a Chromebook: This book can help you choose the Chromebook thats right for you! (See for details on selecting the right Chromebook for your needs.) If you do have a Chromebook, this book guides you from the initial setup phase to the features that make Chromebooks unique and easy to use. Later sections of the book give you step-by-step instructions on installing popular apps that can make you productive (or entertained) on day one. By the time you hit the advanced settings and features section of the book, youll probably consider yourself an advanced Chromebook user.