[lug] Computer For Small Retail Business

[Jeffrey S. Haemer]

Robert,

I'll add a small note here: just as there are apps and an app store for
Android, there are apps and an app store for ChromeOS. I think of my C720
more as a "Nexus 10 with a slightly bigger screen and a real keyboard" than
as an underpowered laptop.

Like the Android phone, it's a one-person appliance, and is built for the
Google user in the Google ecosystem. If you're thinking, "I'll just
customize it to use Outlook and my Apple apps," you're barking up the wrong
tree. Me I have a Nexus 5 and a Nexus 7. If he's got an iPad and an iPhone,
like my sisters, the mismatch may prove annoying.

The Acer C720 retails at $240, but it routinely sells for $200 on Amazon.
You might want to point him at the 720P, which is the touch-screen model. I
find touch-screen laptops annoying if I have a keyboard, but the non-geeks
I know love 'em.

The 11-inch screen is a little smaller than I'd like -- there's a 13-inch
Acer coming out at the end of the month -- but the weight makes it a
perfect, little, carry-it-everywhere appliance.

For printers, any cloud-print-ready, wireless, laser printer from Amazon
with lots of stars and reviews should do fine. Me, I like color, but if he
doesn't need it, then b&w.

I don't do anything fancy, so I love Google Drive. HP was offering 4G Drive
space for life a day or two ago, but I don't know your friend's storage
requirements. I also use sharing a lot. Friday, a friend at work told me
he's switched from onboard apps to Google Drive just because the sharing's
so helpful and convenient. On the other hand, if, say, your business
depends on fancy Excel macros, Google spreadsheets really won't cut it.

I can say other stuff about the chromebooks -- some good, some bad -- but
none of it is relevant to your friend's situation. If you're ever
interested, show up at a Hacking Society or a BLUG meeting and I'll let you
play with the one I'm typing on right now.

On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 3:29 PM, Davide Del Vento <
davide.del.vento at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think Chromebook and Chromebox are an excellent choice IF YOU MAKE SURE
> your user fully understand the "limited functionality". For example, in
> Google docs you cannot have text rotated vertically (in a way often times
> people do in fliers, e.g. to have an address the reader of the flier tears
> away). This is just an example, there are many many things people are used
> to with MS Office, Libre Office or even KOffice that Google docs lacks. At
> work we have Google Docs and some people joke that it does not have any
> feature whatsoever, besides the "sharing" (which your user does not need,
> if I understand correctly).
>
> He can try the "Chromebook experience" on his Mac already. Unistall
> everything and see if he can live with his browser only.
>
> On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 1:05 PM, Robert Racansky <
> robert.racansky at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> A friend of mine who operates his own retail shop is moving to a
>> larger store, and asked me for recommendations for replacing his
>> current computer setup, which is an old MacBook with a broken
>> keyboard.
>>
>> My recommendation to him was
>>
>> - Acer 720 Chromebook:  $240
>> - Samsung SL-M202W "Cloud Print" compatible printer:  $65
>>
>>
>> My reasoning is in this document ( 7 page PDF ):
>>
>> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9AN5yLBiVOnb05UdzRJNTducUk/
>>
>>
>> If any of you have other suggestions, or criticisms, I would appreciate
>> them.
>>
>> Keep in mind that this guy is not a technical user, so I want him to
>> be able to do his work without having to call me for help all of the
>> time.
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>
>
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-- 
Jeffrey Haemer <jeffrey.haemer at gmail.com>
720-837-8908 [cell], http://seejeffrun.blogspot.com [blog],
http://www.youtube.com/user/goyishekop [vlog]
*פרייהייט? דאס איז יאַנג דינען וואָרט.*
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