Extra Portable Device
May 10, 2019 8:50 AM   Subscribe

My kid is taking a course this summer that will involve programming in Construct 3 and Sketchpad. The course is BYO computer, and he does already have a robust desktop, but I would like to get him a laptop to use for just this course. Will something like a Chromebook be able to support these cloud-based services adequately for a week, or should I look at something more robust?

Ideally I'd get him a sub $150 machine to use for a week. Part of the reason I'm drawn to the Chromebook-type machine is that he can't easily install Steam on it. Again, he also has a robust gaming desktop, and also an iPad.
posted by anastasiav to Computers & Internet (5 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yes. A lightweight (power-wise) laptop is great for this because the point of these services is to rely on cloud computing; the only the thing the chromebook has to do is render the view on the screen, while the cloud side of things does the heavy computational lifting. If you can possibly test either or both sites on a Chromebook before purchasing, please do so. Or research what chromebooks people have bought with specific reference to those web services, so that you can ensure people are happy with the rendering performance of the Chromebook.

Chromebook naturally runs Google's Chrome browser, and Chrome has plugins for both Construct3 and Sketchpad, which he'll presumably be installing.

He'll need a google account to run the Chromebook-- does he have one, or can he get one? I'd recommend making it his own, rather than him using yours or another parent's.
posted by Sunburnt at 9:40 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]


I would ask the people running the summer course if a Chromebook is okay. I know that for my (university) classes, there are sometimes things we need to use that don't work on a Chromebook.
posted by k8t at 10:12 AM on May 10, 2019 [3 favorites]


If he has an iPad and gaming laptop, a chromebook is not bringing that much value. I routinely recommend refurb. Lenovo laptops as being great for retaining value, being powerful, upgradeable, repairable. You can pickup a T410 (T510 for bigger screen) on ebay for less than the chromebook, and sell it after. There are tons with no hard drive, let me know if you need a hard drive,I have some laptop ones. If you have a use for the chromebook after the class, different story.
posted by theora55 at 11:10 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]


If he has an iPad and gaming laptop

OP says "he also has a robust gaming desktop, and also an iPad" [emphasis mine]
posted by terrapin at 12:24 PM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]


Before you spend any money on this, I agree with k8t: you should discover the class requirements.

That said, a chrome book is a reasonably good bet, as it will provide remote access to other computers. With a bit of twiddling, it will even provide access back to his desktop computer. It won’t run games very well, but in this circumstance that’s kind of an advantage.

If it’s going to be carried around a lot, I’d advise springing for the lightest “light-weight” chromebook you can find. Nothing against Lenovo - I own a bunch of them myself, and I love the trackpoint - but a T410 weighs something like 5lbs?
posted by doctor tough love at 3:04 PM on May 10, 2019


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