Thursday, January 6, 2022

On Chromebooks in a new year

The central question to my first analysis of Chromebooks revolved around whether or not I could use the platform to replace my dependency on Windows as an operating system to enable my activities. While this was, perhaps, an unfair premise for evaluation, it was also necessary. As Microsoft has more openly discarded any concern for individual freedom or anonymity, the pressing desire to abandon their product has grown. Yet there are very pronounced dependencies to attend. Steam gaming habits. Photoshop projects. File storage. Video editing. Audio editing. None of these pastimes could be abandoned and all would require replacement. Even so, no suitable replacement is found. This was rendered frustrating because of the perceived necessity of migration.

Yet, with honest evaluation, is it really fair to laud the Chromebook as a more private alternative to Windows in its most invasive form? Not really. Google's nascent OS initiative is built upon a Faustian disregard for personal privacy. If my primary concern is being tracked, traced and catalogued then Chromebooks simply do not apply. 

So, in the air of this reality, I tried to disregard the death of my Chromebook. I complained to my wife on the day it refused to charge or boot again, thinking perhaps we would agree to find room in the budget for a replacement. However, we were in dire financial straits at that moment. The idea of purchasing a new computing device was laughable at best - especially when weighed against the fact that I posses plenty of devices, including another Chromebook (tablet). No deprivation would actually occur. These realizations settled in quickly and I sought to save face by not pressing the issue. The machine I once considered my main system ignobly passed from paperweight to trash bin without further remark. And this was meant to be the end of it. 

So, why am I continuing to discuss Chromebooks? As it turns out, Chromebooks are worthy of consideration for their own merits. They do not need to be positioned as a reasonable replacement for something Windows or Mac. They are just great in and of themselves. In the weeks which followed where I attempted to acclimate myself to life without a Chromebook, I found my reliance on Chromebook tablet greatly increased and my reliance on Windows computer unchanged. Windows did not move in to fill the gaps left behind by my deceased Chromebook. In many ways, it couldn't.

That statement probably strikes readers as odd. Rightfully so. Summarily, I just stated that Chromebooks are incapable of replicating many of the necessary tasks performed by Windows-based computers. It is well known that the base functions Chromebooks do offer are also available in the Windows ecosystem. This is the core argument of all those who insist Chromebooks are only good as cheap alternatives for people who couldn't (or shouldn't) afford better. The people who insist this are MANY. There are entire websites run by them. People who own and love iPads and attempt to review Chromebook tablets - inevitably coming to the conclusion that the Chromebook tablet is, in fact, a tablet but not actually an iPad and therefore unworthy of money. People who own and love Windows gaming computers who insist that Chromebooks can play games, but they still fail at running the games which only run on their Windows gaming computer. People who aggregate such sentiments to state that Chromebooks with powerful hardware are merely silly excess because Chromebooks are obviously nothing more than a niche alternative for people who can't afford the real thing.

It is tempting to see the logic in these statements. Indeed, I have bought the false syllogism personally. Yet, one thing remained. I missed my Chromebook. Daily. 

Oddly, when my Windows computer stopped working, I forged ahead and managed to only miss it very circumstantially until I had no choice but to replace it. I have used both iPad and Macbook and somehow manage to live without missing either at all. But my niche, unnecessary alternative Chromebook I've missed daily. Fervently. Passionately. Annoyingly. 

I didn't replace my Chromebook because there were just so many things I couldn't do without it. I replaced it because I wanted to have it for the things I can do with it. I am not sure what that means, but certainly, for myself, I have to recognize that ChromeOS is not just a cheap, less effective alternative to other so-called "full" OS experiences. ChromeOS is a full OS in its own right, worth my money and my consideration.

So, perhaps I should continue to explore why.

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