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Old 06-03-2013, 03:27 PM   #21
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I'm in the process of moving all of my spreadsheets to Google docs. IMO, works better than Excel. Getting Excel to import stock prices is way too hard. The GoogleFinance function solves this problem. I imported my primary AA spreadsheet the other day and with a few tweaks, it works as expected. I also appreciate access from multiple devices, plus it's always backed up (even though I back-up my GoogleDocs occasionally, just in case).

As for security, that one also had me a bit worried. But google has two factor authentication, so I think it would be difficult for someone to get access to my accounts without me knowing. Plus, it's really just a bunch of $ values, so if someone does get access, they'd know my assets and their values, but that's it. There are no account numbers or anything else that could be used for identity theft.
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Old 06-03-2013, 08:42 PM   #22
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Yup I've gone almost exclusively to cloud storage, it sure is nice not to be the one worrying about backing my stuff up. It took some pain to burn all my music CDs to put on Google play but man that is nice to have done too.
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Old 06-04-2013, 07:50 AM   #23
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I don't store sensitive information in the cloud (e.g passwords, etc).

If some one wants to look at my checkbook or see that I have 736 shares of an S&P 500 mutual fund, enjoy. They can also see the closing share price with the snazzy googlefinance function.

That said, there is a lag time, so there are some things I only do local in an excel file.
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Old 06-04-2013, 09:45 AM   #24
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Oh, Brave New World. Sounds great but not for me since I prefer to store my financial spreadsheets locally only. Seems like we are moving more and more towards cloud storage of everything. If local storage of my spreadsheets becomes impossible in a few years, at that time I will go to paper spreadsheets.
+1. Though intellectually I know the (big name) cloud sites are probably way more secure than even desktops connected to the internet, there are some things that make me nervous on the cloud. Cloud storage sounds bulletproof on paper (and probably is 99.99% of the time), but until I stop reading about the occasional Chinese (military) hackers et al, I just can't. I do far more online than most of my (age) peers and music, pics and most of my files are OK in the cloud (and some are already out there). But there are a handful that will probably remain on paper and/or thumb drives for me. So far...but I know I'll relax, or have to one day.
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Old 06-13-2013, 04:23 PM   #25
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Another quick question:
After 2 years of free storage of whatever they give you, must you pay a monthly fee even if you haven't used up the original allotment of data space that comes with initial purchase? Reading this in the description of the cloud storage, it was ambiguous to me.
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Old 06-13-2013, 08:15 PM   #26
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Another quick question:
After 2 years of free storage of whatever they give you, must you pay a monthly fee even if you haven't used up the original allotment of data space that comes with initial purchase? Reading this in the description of the cloud storage, it was ambiguous to me.
I have had my Google account for many years and have never paid anything for anything. Perhaps they do if you consume a large amount of cloud storage, I don't know about that.

Another consideration is the NSA reportedly has direct access to Google cloud servers and is probably rooting through your stuff.
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Old 06-14-2013, 07:14 AM   #27
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I have had my Google account for many years and have never paid anything for anything. Perhaps they do if you consume a large amount of cloud storage, I don't know about that.

Another consideration is the NSA reportedly has direct access to Google cloud servers and is probably rooting through your stuff.
Some recent discussion casts doubt on some of the claims. However, I'd think if one cloud is compromised, then all are.

This is all interesting in light of the fact that PCs and local storage seem to be going away.
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Old 06-14-2013, 11:09 AM   #28
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Yup I've gone almost exclusively to cloud storage, it sure is nice not to be the one worrying about backing my stuff up. It took some pain to burn all my music CDs to put on Google play but man that is nice to have done too.
+1 me too! Instant syncing (documents, music, email) with my Android to boot!
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Old 06-15-2013, 06:38 AM   #29
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Another quick question:
After 2 years of free storage of whatever they give you, must you pay a monthly fee even if you haven't used up the original allotment of data space that comes with initial purchase? Reading this in the description of the cloud storage, it was ambiguous to me.
Depends.

As a whole the limits on the free tier for companies offering cloud storage slowly rises over time, and I assume the requirements for your average user rise too as pictures and videos get higher res, it becomes easier to take them with any device, etc. I've not given much thought as to which is rising faster.

Google currently offers 15 gigabytes of free storage. That is far more than I need, and far more than I can imagine using up for things like pictures, documents, and spreadsheets. I also burned every CD I own and uploaded them to Google Music which allows up to 20,000 songs to be stored online for free and doesn't count against the cloud storage limit. Now when I travel for work I can stream any music I've ever bought in my hotel room, I love it.

Your usage requirements may be different so you might find 15 gigs isn't enough because you have lots of home movies. You might find one of the other services works better for you on free tier, maybe you like Dropbox has a niftier UI or Skydrive integrates better with Windows 8. Everyone has different needs.

Bottom line = you only pay a fee if your storage requirements exceed what is offered on the free tier.
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Old 06-22-2013, 01:32 PM   #30
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I bought one of these (the Samsung that Mulligan mentioned) a couple of weeks ago, and think it's fantastic. My main complaint is that the keyboard is not backlit, otherwise it's amazing what can be done within the "confines" of a web browser. I've also set some things up in Sheets, and that works well for my purposes. I don't worry much about storage, because I use very little. These things are great if you are careful about what you're doing.
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Old 01-28-2015, 10:00 AM   #31
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I'm thinking of replacing my original Chromebook in the near future, so have been looking into current offerings. It was surprising to see the new companies that have offerings.

Here's a roundup for 2015 that may be of interest.

I have no complaints about my current one, except the lack of a backlit keyboard.

http://m.blog.laptopmag.com/best-chromebooks
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Old 01-28-2015, 10:02 AM   #32
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I'm thinking of replacing my original Chromebook in the near future, so have been looking into current offerings. It was surprising to see the new companies that have offerings.

Here's a roundup for 2015 that may be of interest.

I have no complaints about my current one, except the lack of a backlit keyboard.

Best Chromebooks 2015 - Chromebook Reviews
Thanks for the link.

DD has the Asus Chromebook with touch screen. I can't get it out of her hands!
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Old 01-28-2015, 10:38 AM   #33
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Some recent discussion casts doubt on some of the claims. However, I'd think if one cloud is compromised, then all are.

This is all interesting in light of the fact that PCs and local storage seem to be going away.
I think the business model is getting you hooked on a monthly payment for cloud storage. I prefer having my own processor and hard drive, but many don't care about that.
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Old 01-28-2015, 12:31 PM   #34
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I have a Chromebook (HP 14 inch) and I love it. I have been using it for more than 6 months, and I replaced an old Windows laptop that I used at home, and I haven't looked back. I also switched my spreadsheets to google sheets (the new version) and I am very happy. The Chromebook does 98% of what I need to do, and it is easy to use, it boots up in 6 seconds, the battery life is great, it is light, it is quiet, it is inexpensive, if I lose it or break it I can get another one for less than $300 and all of my data is still in the cloud and I will be back up and running in a few minutes, all of my settings are updated when I log in. No more constant windows updates or Java updates or virus software updates or viruses or bloatware.

I really don't see the need to buy a Windows computer anymore for home.
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Old 01-28-2015, 12:35 PM   #35
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I think the business model is getting you hooked on a monthly payment for cloud storage. I prefer having my own processor and hard drive, but many don't care about that.
You can read/write to an external hard drive or flash drive with a Chromebook. I was a little surprised to just read that you cannot read/write to an external CD/DVD.

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Old 01-28-2015, 12:45 PM   #36
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You can read/write to an external hard drive or flash drive with a Chromebook. I was a little surprised to just read that you cannot read/write to an external CD/DVD.

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You would need burning software to copy files to an external CD/DVD. The Chrome OS must not have it installed.
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Old 01-28-2015, 02:37 PM   #37
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I am the original poster, and since someone renewed this thread, I will add my 2 cents.
I bought the Toshiba 13 inch chromebook about a year ago and I love it. My 7 year old Dell had XP on it and I finally stopped using it on the internet. I only run a checkbook program on it, as I can't find a good substitute on the google store. I cannot run CITRIX software that runs an online educational webinar, that I subscribe to. I use the Ipad for that, but I am not satisfied with it. This year I am going to file taxes online , because no programs can be loaded on the CB. It is so fast and has more power than my Ipad.


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Old 01-29-2015, 12:51 PM   #38
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Has anybody used Plex on a Chromebook? Any issues with it?
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Old 02-03-2015, 04:28 PM   #39
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That review I posted mentioned speaker quality as an item to think about when trying out Chromebooks.

Over the holidays, I heard a friend's Bluetooth speaker and was impressed with the sound. So I ordered one of the same brand and tried it out last weekend, first with iPxxxs, then with my first-gen Samsung Chromebook.

They all worked perfectly and easily. Speaker? No problem!
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Old 03-23-2015, 10:09 AM   #40
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Another thing I tried with success over the weekend was using VNC (virtual network computing) to connect/control my home desktop computer from the Chromebook.

I used RealVNC, which has a free Chrome viewer app that works well on the Chromebook. The server-side (desktop) software is offered in several versions with the basic (Personal) edition free.

We used RealVNC a lot at work, but there have been a few times since that I'd have liked to be able to get to my home computer while away (like on vacation).
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