# Anti-isolation-goin'squirrly measure:Want to buy a Chromebook **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985 "2020-03-21T23:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/21 "2020-04-06T13:26:44Z")
I got a chromebook a year ago - I really like it. My computer needs have drastically decreased in the last several years, and it fits exactly what I need. I guess I wish I could load up Steam and play some games on it, but that’s alright. (Yes, you can install a Linux kernel, but that’s a big pain, and I haven’t quite figured it out yet.) I recommend increasing your Google storage amount. I think I pay $30/year for 200GB of cloud storage, and now I can finally get around to sorting through my digital photos. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/22 "2020-04-06T23:25:29Z")
It came! A day early. And the Staples delivery person didn’t ring the doorbell, just dropped it on the porch. It’s a good thing Mrs P looked out the door just to check the weather. However, given the cuffs, probably not many porch pirates out and about. So, busy getting it connected. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/23 "2020-04-07T02:15:56Z")
Seems to be working okay. Except all the set-up instructions were en français. I’ll have to figure out how to switch it to English. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/24 "2020-04-07T03:28:29Z")
Argh. I appear to have set the keyboard to Dvorak! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/25 "2020-04-08T01:10:10Z")
Is there an equivalent to «Alt-Tab» to move from the open tabs ? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/26 "2020-04-08T01:26:24Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > [Nope](https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/17/18312056/chromebook-printer-digital-pictures-how-to-connect-cloud). 30 seconds to add the Printer. 1 minute to figure out the Printer interface. Test sheet printed. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/27 "2020-04-08T14:04:48Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Is there an equivalent to «Alt-Tab» to move from the open tabs ? Not sure of what you mean here. Chromebooks have a different keyboard layout that others with some [special keys](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1047364?hl=en). (Note the arrow keys.) It takes a bit to learn these. Here’s a [list](https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183101?hl=en) of keyboard shortcuts, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/28 "2020-04-08T14:06:33Z")
Thanks for the link - Control-Tab skims thorugh the open tabs. That’s what I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/29 "2020-04-08T14:42:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Thanks for the link - Control-Tab skims thorugh the open tabs. That’s what I was looking for. That seems to be a Chrome thing, rather than a Chrome_book_ thing - I just tried it on my Mac and it worked. Also, thanks - that’s going to be useful! ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/30 "2020-04-08T14:48:17Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I guess I wish I could load up Steam and play some games on it, but that’s alright. I think [Google Stadia](https://stadia.google.com/) is going to be a game-changer for Chromebooks. With a decent broadband connection, we’ll be able to play AAA games at high-quality settings on modest Chromebooks (or any other device with a Chrome browser). I haven’t pulled the trigger on Stadia yet, but I’m tempted. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/31 "2020-04-09T03:37:14Z")
Getting the hang of this thing, but Twitter is tweeting to me en français. (Not the tweets, they’re in the language of the tweeter) but the surrounding Twitter framework). Plus, ironically, I can’t get French accents to work. This seems to be a common complaint on the Chromebook pages: you have to switch keyboards to get French accents. The Mac is way better on that issue; doesn’t need to change the keyboard, as the accents work regardless of the keyboard. The voyage of Chromebook discovery continues. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/32 "2020-04-10T01:25:41Z")
Local storage options. Repurpose an old hard drive. Put it in a mobile case and connect it to the Chromebook. Most have USB 3.0 port(s) which is plenty fast enough. If your Chromebook has an SD card port (or you add an adapter); a fast 128 Gig SD card is cheap. USB stick, plenty fast and huge capacities. The Google Docs (word processing) and Google Sheets (spreadsheet) work fine. Simpler documents and spreadsheets can be read into and out of equivalent Word/Excel files. Conversions, import, export are in the save/file options. Plenty of PDF document readers/editors on line as well. If your not a high level gamer, Chromebooks are plenty. Bonus, your children/grand/great grand kids are probably using a Chromebook. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/33 "2020-04-10T15:16:26Z")
I wanted to insert an en-dash, and it appears Chromebook doesn’t have an easy way to do that, either. However, in poking around I’ve come across a page that says I can install an extension that allows the right alt key to become a “Compose” key, and then enter short codes for all sorts of special characters: [extra-keyboards-for-chrome-os](https://github.com/google/extra-keyboards-for-chrome-os/tree/master/composekey) Three questions: (1) What is a “Compose” key? never came across that term on my Mac. (2) What is an “extension” and how would I install it? (3) Is this a reputable source? Any comments / suggestions would be most welcome. (I’m sorry if these seem obvious questions, but as I have stated in other threads, I am not a tech guy.) ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985/34 "2020-04-10T22:32:27Z")
Extensions and apps [applications] Add an app or extension Open the Chrome Web Store. In the left column, click Apps or Extensions. Browse or search for what you’d like to add. When you find an app or extension you’d like to add, click Add to Chrome. If you’re adding an extension: Review the types of data that the extension will be able to access. More at: [https://www.google.com/search?q=install+chromebook+extensions&rlz=1CATTSD\_enUS774US774&oq=install+chromebook+extensions&aqs=chrome..69i57.10362j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=install+chromebook+extensions&rlz=1CATTSD_enUS774US774&oq=install+chromebook+extensions&aqs=chrome..69i57.10362j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-isolation-goinsquirrly-measure-want-to-buy-a-chromebook/849985.md?page=1)