You're right, Beth...I'm certainly not the one to advise anyone on the installation of any kind of Cyber device! Happy New Year anyway! Hal
Dear Beth and other Computer Professors on this Forum, I don't want to keep harping on this into the New Year and the New Decade, but the folks at Best Buy didn't seem to know much about the Lenovo Chromebook, so I'm asking you again. They said that you can't use the same internet providers as with the W10 computers, but didn't explain why. They also said that the Lenovo Chromebook was Wireless! Does this mean that it can communicate with the outside world like a Smartphone, without an Ethernet cable and a Modem? Please don't bash me again, because I'm not into this Cyber technology nearly as much as you, OK? Happy New Year MMXX! Hal
Hal, I think you are confused about "internet providers". That is simply the company that provides your internet, whether a cable company, telephone company, etc. As long as the internet provider gets a line to your house and installs a modem/router (wired or wireless), it doesn't matter which provider it is. You'd simply go into the network connections setup on the Chromebook, look for your home network, select it, enter the password, and done. If the Best Buy sales person said that you can't use the same internet provider for a Chromebook as Win10, they need to go back to connectivity school. Yes, of course the Chromebook can "connect with the outside world." The fact that it's wireless simply means that your home should have wireless internet connectivity. The main reason for buying a laptop, Chromebook or other portable device is that you aren't tethered to a wire and can move freely about as long as you are in range of the signal.
I think that what they meant at Best Buy was that the Chromebook uses a different OPERATING SYSTEM, not a different internet provider, @Hal Pollner . I had a Chromebook, and I used it with AT&T, my regular provider, which works with our ipads, iMacs, phones, and and also with the Dell computer that we had. Most modems nowadays are set to use for either wired or wireless connections. You have mentioned that your modem has an antenna on it, which means that it can connect wirelessly to any mobile device, from any manufacturer. You are not using that capability, because you only want a desktop that you can use in one place, so you have it connected with wires. If you got a Chromebook, then it would look like a laptop, and you could carry it anywhere in your house and use it. This is similar to the difference between the old phones that needed to be plugged in, and the newer ones that are cordless and can be carried around the house as you talk. The different devices come with different operating systems, depending on the company that manufactures them. An Apple device uses their operating system, a Microsoft device will use a Windows operating, and the Chromebook uses a Google operating system, since it is manufactured by Google. It could be compared to a vehicle. Different car manufacturers use special parts made for their brand (Ford, Dodge, etc), and mostly, those parts are not interchangeable. However, you can take any of those vehicles to the gas station and fill them up with fuel; just as you can connect any brand of device to an internet provider.
Oh, and I'm thinking you may be confusing "service provider" with "operating system." A Chromebook runs on a modified Linux Chrome OS and would not have Windows OS. ETA--sorry Yvonne; I see we both had the same idea.
I'll just have to cogitate on that! Little Yvonne has always expressed interest in something, but never follows through on it. I think she survives on just Social Security, so she doesn't have much for discretionary spending. If she balks at the purchase of a Chromebook or Smartphone, I'll just buy it for her, and insist that she signs on to Seniors Only! Hal
Hal, before you do anything rash... make sure she has internet connectivity. If she's on a limited budget she very well might not want to add an internet bill or a bill for new phone service. Buying the device is not the only expense. And you might "insist," but if she doesn't know HOW, you'll be spitting into the wind.
When I see Yvonne this coming Friday morning, I'll feel her out about how she wants to proceed.....if she does at all! Hal
HEY YVONNE: How do you know that she has/had a Facebook Account? I don't even know that! Let up on the pressure, please...your questions ARE hard ones! I don't know what she has, but when I see her tomorrow, I'll ask her, and even she may not know what she has....she's even older than me! Thirty-five years ago, I had a RadioTelephone Operator License from the FCC, which was necessary for the technical Radio-Frequency work I was doing in the Aerospace Industry. Those days are gone, and I am now retired and immersed in a technological age I don't understand anymore, so please try to understand..ALL OF YOU.....walk me through this stuff using Baby Steps, PLEASE!!! Thanks, Hal
I get it. I really do. Thirty years ago, I was programming EMS tutorials, billing software, and other programs. I built a computer from parts and could fix a lot of what went wrong with my computers myself. While I have continued to use computers since that time, I often have trouble learning how to use a new program, let alone doing the coding myself, and I pay people to do repairs. Oh, I could probably figure out how to write a program for a 1980s computer and I could probably make repairs on one of the computers I had then. But technology changes and I haven't kept up with that part of it. For that matter, I have two DVD players (a Blu-Ray and a regular one) that have never been used because I couldn't figure out how to hook them up.
I also get it. I spent nearly 30 years working in IT and frankly I don't care to keep up with technology any longer. I know enough to keep simple things working, but I get frustrated by it now and don't WANT to learn new stuff. When I have a problem with my laptop or other device, I'd love to toss it onto the pavement and use a 16-pound sledge hammer to "fix" it instead of spending hours on technical forums and googling for fixes.
Well, Ken and Beth...I am heartened by your understanding of my situation, and it comforts me to learn that you also feel "snowed under" by this advancing "Tech Wave"! Thank You Both, Hal