And the winner is....

...Chrome OS of course. Was there any doubt? The only reason I am writing this is because I realized that this blog was started 3 years ago to see if Chrome OS could replace Windows for me and it does. Heck I knew that 2 years and 10 months ago. Now this is a long post, but I felt it was a good time to sum it all up.

So before everyone starts telling me I hate Windows & Apple, let me clear some things up. First, I do hate Apple :-) not because they make junk. They make solid devices. I think they are over-priced, especially when they went to an Intel processor and still charged a ton. I also don't like the fact they lock down their devices so much. I like a little freedom and the ability to make it my own unique device. 

As far as Windows goes, back in 2012 I was a total Windows nut. I read all about the Windows 8 preview builds and was excited for what they were offering. I even went as far as to partition my hard drive and install the preview build on my work laptop. In fact, in 2012 this blog would have been called Windows 8 Challenge. It was exciting to see a new Windows. Add onto the fact they were promising one log in across all devices that would sync apps & data was mind blowing at the time. I couldn't imagine logging into a Windows tablet and having all my work apps & data there right away. I was such a Windows fan I was considering dumping my Android phone for a Windows 8 phone. 

At this time our work actually had a Chromebook on the campus, the Samsung Series 3. I remember looking at it thinking, it's just a browser. What can it do? It did boot fast, our laptops were taking minutes (5+ to boot), but web-based apps really weren't a thing in 2012. And all of the apps in the Chrome web store looked like links to websites. I was disappointed and kept my eyes on Windows 8. 

I never made the switch though. I saw that while Windows 8 was great for touch devices, on my work desktop it was difficult to operate with a mouse and keyboard, not impossible, but a lot of unnecessary clicks. And plus let's face it Windows is always going to be Windows. 

So when Windows 10 was getting hyped, I never looked into it. I installed it on my laptop, but that was at the beginning of my challenge and I couldn't deal with the long boot times, Cortana popping up randomly and Edge being a browser but not really cause it didn't work on some websites. 

Chrome OS delivered on all the promises of Windows 8. I can log into any Android phone, Chrome OS device or even a Chrome browser on Windows or Mac OS and have access to all of my files and settings. Flash drives are a thing of the past for me. Worrying about whether or not my file saved is a thing of the past. Chrome OS just works and it does it well. It doesn't run everything, but with Chrome Remote desktop you have access to your regular computer. My wife had a to use a specific program for her doctorate program and needed it for class. She didn't have it installed on her laptop because the program was for one computer only. So what did she do? Install CRD and use her computer through her HP Chromebook at school. 

Windows tried to downplay Chromebooks and Chrome OS, but now they see the gains, especially in the education market, and are trying to play catch up. Microsoft introduced One Drive, real-time collaborating on Word, Microsoft Quizzes, and Microsoft Classroom. Sound familiar? Google Drive, Docs, Google Form Quizzes, and Google Classroom. Microsoft is so busy playing catch up, that they aren't innovative. Google is still releasing new products to help out students & educators. 

Computers are changing. The need for super powerful computers with tons of storage aren't necessary anymore and wen-based apps are improving daily. Chrome OS can do everything I need from a computer and I would be willing to bet it would work for you too.

Updates

I just noticed it has been a long time since I have posted anything on this blog, so I thought I would update everyone on what has been happening.

• I am still using Chrome OS exclusively. I have my site issued laptop, but it just sits next to my desk and doesn't even get powered on. I seriously wished we would have gone with some type of Chrome OS device for the staff, but I gave them reasons why and that's all I could do. At work, I have my Asus Chromebox and at home I use my Dell Chromebook 13. It is so nice to have everything just sitting there as soon as I log in. Nothing to take home, no worrying about forgetting something, it's just there when I log in.
• My students still use their Chromebooks everyday. Having Chromebooks has really opened up and made me rethink the way I teach and assess. Honestly, I really want to get a class set of the Acer Spin 11 Chromebooks with the stylus support. Imagine being able to hand write in notes and have them at a moments notice. Add in the fact the recent integration of Google Keep into Google Docs and this is a no brainer.
• Personally, I am looking closely at the Samsung Chromebook Pro. I have a Note Pro 12.2 that I use with my students to do notes on. But the Android version of Docs doesn't show up the same as they see. Also some of the formulas I use don't show. So using a Chromebook would mean I see what they see exactly. So I am probably going to sell the Dell Chromebook and use that to get the Samsung model.
• Professionally, it is frustrating at times trying to convince people of the simplicity of Chrome OS & Google Apps for Education. I feel like I am at a point where it is more trouble to push something than to just give up. I have tried to implement various things within my department & the school and just get complaints. I showed the principal a Staff Resource shared document that had calendars, links, forms, and other things important to teachers. The idea is to cut back on emails with attachments. If you have one place for all the information, no need to search your inbox for it. Attachments of rosters would be gone because the rosters would be online and changed whenever the owners made changes. It started fine, but wasn't supported by admin and is dying a slow death. Moving my Geometry team to Google Calendar from the old paper pacing guide has been a mess too. I put links and attachments in the calendar and still get staff wanting email attachments. I created an online referral form for the staff to cut back on the paper referrals and it is sitting in limbo. Tried moving AP Applications to a Google Form to where the teacher would literally do nothing and it would flag who is in and who is out automatically, that is dead. They went with a Google Form that will still require the teacher to go through student by student. Frustrated beyond belief right now. I honestly don't know what to do and it is tiresome.

So that's where I am right now. Hopefully, I will get something posted before end of school. Maybe the next post will be about my new Chromebook.