Flipping open a Chromebook for the first time is a special moment. It is a laptop, but not quite as you know it. Soon after getting started, you begin to understand the hidden talents of these powerful PCs and how there is nothing lightweight about this laptop’s capabilities.
Chromebooks are more than a laptop, they are a new way of doing business, catching up with friends, and consuming your favorite shows. They are quick to boot up, stay powered up for longer, and give you a World Wide Web full of features, with all of Google’s online software and gigabytes of online storage available to you anywhere and at any time. Open it up, connect to the internet, and once you are logged in, ‘Let’s Go’.
Oldest Tricks In The Chromebook
With a Chromebook you already have a word processor, spreadsheet app, and online cloud storage waiting for you. Google Docs, Drive, and more give you access to the basics from the moment you log in, and if you use your existing Google account all your documents, photos, and files are waiting for you.
This is perfect for business and for pleasure. If it is a laptop for work, you will never be searching endlessly for your files or USB sticks – all your data is in one place and accessible from anywhere there is an internet connection.
For the rest of the laptop basics, you have Google’s App Stores and Chrome’s browser add-ons for everything you could possibly need. From solitaire to blackjack to FreeCell, and beyond – all the classic games are available.
Playing a little blackjack in between tasks is what laptops were secretly made for. Use this free blackjack cheatsheet to master the basics and up your game when you play. You can keep its free PDF chart open on a Chrome tab and use it to beat the dealer and enjoy some wins between updating spreadsheets and tending to emails.
Becoming A Sensei Of Search
One of a Chromebook’s powerful unique features is its search button called the ‘Everything’ button. Instead of a Windows key, it has a search key you can use to instantly bring up a search bar that searches the web, your documents, and all of your apps.
Want to open an app without using the mouse? Tap the search button and type. Need a quick answer to a question? Google it instantaneously by simply tapping search and typing. There is even an auto clicker function for Chromebooks that can help you automate repetitive tasks to speed up your workflow, giving you less reason to tote a mouse and pad around.
You can speed up your experience further by mastering the Chromebook touchpad. This device is a little smarter than the ones you find on a typical Apple or Windows laptop. You can use multiple fingers to give you access to right-click menus and even a middle mouse button.
Tapping the touchpad with two fingers registers as a right click, and three fingers as a middle mouse button. This is just the start of the touchpad’s tricks.
There Are No Empty Gestures From A Chromebook
Tapping on a touchpad only goes so far. The true power of the touchpad comes from interpreting gestures. You can swipe two fingers across it forwards or backwards to navigate in your web browser or through pages in a PDF.
Swipe your fingers up or down, and you can scroll through a document or blog with ease. This makes work and play faster, smarter, and helps you get more from every browsing session and every hour of work. You get more done with a Chromebook.
Using three fingers opens up another level of control. Moving three fingers horizontally across the touchpad will move you between tabs in Chrome, and swiping down with them opens up the Chromebook’s task switcher to show you all open apps at once to quickly choose between them. You can even use facial gestures to control your Chromebook. Why use a mouse anymore?
Lightweight And Low Power, Yet Powerful And Full-Featured
Chromebooks are much lighter than a traditional laptop, but don’t let that fool you. These PCs are packed with features and full of potential.
This begins with their operating system, ChromeOS, which has been designed with security and safety in mind. They typically boot up in around 10 seconds or less and ChromeOS lets you start working or playing right away, but this is just the beginning.
Their lightweight design and powerful but efficient operating system has a huge impact on battery life, giving you more than 10 hours of continuous work on a single charge. This is a massive change from traditional laptops that only last a handful of hours of operation before they need to be plugged in. Chromebooks are a truly portable personal computer.
When you begin using a Chromebook, you will wonder how you ever used anything else. Settle in with your favorite games, apps, and websites and start unleashing the power hidden inside.
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