I will be a freshman biochemistry major at UT Austin, is the Toshiba 13.3″ Chromebook 2 good enough for class registration and my classes? or will i need a PC/Mac
Well, you need wifi to do about anything on it. That makes it hard to use on the go. It’s very basic I’m using an Acer Chromebook right now and finding it pretty frustrating. I can’t do anything as big as, say, watching a movie on it. There’s little memory. It’s definitely not recommended as a college laptop. But if you really are unable to get anything else, I suppose you could use Google Drive for assignments… I would suggest a PC if you can swing it, though.
Simply put, a Chromebook is a terrible choice for school laptop. I had a netbook which is pretty similar and my major rarely needed a computer, but it’s just the worst to use when I HAVE to use a computer. You will find it frustrating. You also need to have internet to use your Chromebook at all. You’ll probably have internet all the time while you’re at college, but that means you basically have a brick when the Wi-Fi goes down or you’re trying to work while traveling.
Try to get a laptop computer if possible. They sell them at similar prices at Walmart.
Even though Macs run super smooth, the price for them is insane. Way too expensive. I have to say, chromebooks are garbage. Isn’t Microsoft office not compatible with a chromebook? Anyway, I got an Asus computer for $370 (this one:https://www.amazon.com/Asus-F555LA-AB31-15-6-Inch-i3-5010U-Processor/dp/B011KFQASE/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1470165680&sr=1-5&keywords=asus+laptop ) for my birthday and it’s amazing. The only wonky thing about it is that the battery life is a bit lacking.
Yeah, get a cheap windows computer if you’re looking for value. Something in the $300 to $500 range.
there are some really good laptops on amazon with reasonable prices, look for them.
As someone who was in love with their chromebook; No. It’s simply just isn’t enough to do everything you need for college. It sucks, especially since they’re so cheap. But you need constant wifi, can’t download programs/run them, and more.
Chromebooks are amazing, but just aren’t enough for the average college student.
I had a chromebook and it just randomly stopped working after 6 months. Definitely would not recommend. Also, you won’t always have Internet and you need it to do anything on a chromebook.
No. I am typing on a chromebook now that I’ve had for a few years. I love it. But you can’t do papers or anything like that on them. They’re great for notes and web browsing but not much else.
Get a cheap laptop on top of the chromebook if you want but you need a laptop.
A chromebook is a decent substitute for a tablet - if you’re primarily planning on taking notes and doing light word processing. However, it is NOT a substitute for a laptop. Chromebooks are typically slower than your average to low end windows laptop and the Chrome OS severely limits your software options. In your specific case as a biochemistry major you may have homework assignments or research projects which involving MATLAB, Mathematica, or R - and you may take an intro Commputer Science class either as a degree requirement, to pick up a useful skill for your career, or just for fun. As far as I know, none of this is possible on a chromebook. Additionally (as others have mentioned) you’re tethered to WIFI, which is fine 90% of the time, but can get tedious if you are in an area with poor connection or want to work on - for example - a plane, long car drive, while out camping with friends, etc.
If money is an issue you can buy a budget windows laptop for about $500 (though you should only expect it to last a couple of years). Or, if you’re feeling adventurous and have slightly above average computer skills, you can buy a used machine or budget laptop and install a Linux distribution (I recommend Mint or Ubuntu, though everyone has their own preference). I’ve found that installing Linux on a budget laptop can greatly improve its speed, battery life, and (most importantly) usable lifetime. And with tools like WINE and the open office suite you should be able to install and run any required programs on a Linux machine.
I had one my first semester and it was gone by the start of my second. It simplyt wasn’t powerful enough. Anytime the internet was out (wich was often for me) I couldn’t write papers or do projects. No. Do not use a chromebook. Get a real laptop.
We used Chromebooks in my second high school. They’re so slow, and I hated that apps weren’t available.
I bought my 2010 MacBook for $250-ish. I know that sounds very old, but it actually runs very well. I hated my HP, since it often overheated, but my MacBook never has.